Matthew Woodring Stover

A thoroughly enjoyable piece of high pulp. Matthew Woodring Stover's 1998 fantasy novel won't be winning any awards for classiness, but it's one of those books you read at a tear and with no thought for anything else. An interesting but peculiar mix of fantasy and sci-fi – in a dystopian, rigidly caste-ridden future, people pass their time watching – or rather the sensory VR experience of 'first-handing' – the real-stakes adventures of Actors in a parallel universe which seems to be show more every fantasy RPG brought to life. Why this alternate universe has magic in it is never really explained, but as you quickly get caught up in the story it never really matters.

The book follows the superstar Actor known as Caine as he navigates conspiracies at home in the dystopian caste society and also the blood-and-guts magical adventures of the 'Overworld' – a mix of Westworld and The Hunger Games with lashings of ultraviolence and classic fantasy narm. Looking back on it now, having finished the book, the plot doesn't seem particularly remarkable or innovative, but it's told with a real storyteller's art and a moment-by-moment sense of immersion and anticipation.

The book has its flaws – the violence is overdone and exacerbated by rape fantasies and eye torture, and the culmination of the plot isn't as mind-blowing as other reviews would have you expect – but it's really a lot of fun to chew on. Some of the story is told with exceptional skill – I'm thinking of the initial meeting between Caine and Ma'elKoth (pg. 191 onwards) – and it's a robust example of the genre, a lazy-Saturday-afternoon sort of book. It may be indulgent but it's certainly worth indulging. show less

This latest novel that just came out a few years ago is still a high quality Caine adventure, but there's a new twist.

He's being ridden by a god. He's still the badass that everyone fears (and respects), but he prefers to go by other names and live by his own slightly milder agenda. He wants to be left alone. He wants to not need to kill people.

Of course, he has the gratitude of a god and near unlimited power to wield in the name of chaos and pure severing, all of which he doesn't want, so show more in all real effects, this novel is the tale of a wandering reluctant cleric, and NOT of the master assassin that just doesn't give a fuck about who he kills as long as he saves the ones he loves.

Don't get me wrong. This is also a novel of growing up even after you're past age 50. It also happens to be another of a great revenge novel, a smite your ass novel, and the trickling after effects of a GENOCIDE from the previous novel.

It also happens to be full of fantastic revelations like the first two, rife with not just fantasy and SF worlds, but also a ton of time travel and that peculiar black oil that makes people's heads explode on command. Gotta love that shit. This old man still knows how to kill gods.

My only complaint, strangely enough, is that I think I might have preferred to read a clever editing of both the 3rd and 4th novels combined as one. That way we can have the full force of the great fighting scenes, the rising tension and genocide, right up against the wall of Caine's becoming.

Sure, it would be one hell of a long novel, but that's not too different from the first two, and together, 3 and 4 make an explosively awesome tale that yet again outdoes the predecessors in scale and implication.

I love fulfilled expectations. This is doing it. Totally cool shit.

I won't lie and say it's the end-all of all SF and Fantasy, because it isn't. But it is a (relatively) quiet exploration of good and evil, forgiveness and permission, the wounds that make up a person, memory, and justice. It's still smart as hell and doesn't flinch at asking the really hard questions. It's not just good action and plot and characters. It's philosophical in just the right tone as to not get pedantic.

Okay, let's face it, Caine can't get pedantic. He'd probably kill your ass before he finished trying to make his point. :)

I absolutely loved seeing the dragon fly over the studios. Righteous. :)

Oh yeah, and horse witch?

Yeah. I love her loads. What a character she is! What romance! :) I kept thinking of the timey-wimey stuff from Doctor Who and Dr. River Song. :) show less

The Star Wars Expanded Universe lucked out when they found Matt Stover. So far, he's written the deepest SW novel (Traitor), the darkest (Shatterpoint), and now the funnest* with Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor. Lots of action, tons of laughs, a billion EU references, and spot-on characterizations make this one of, if not the, best Star Wars novels ever.

*Not a real word, I know. Deal with it.

Oh, Kratos, what have they done to you? After all the hours I have spent playing your video games, and replaying your video games, and eagerly anticipating future video games, I feel as though I know you. While your methods were questionable, your pursuits were always honorable ones, your entreaty reasonable. Plus your blind fury, unquenchable blood thirst, uncontrollable rage, and your blatant disregard for anything barring your path made for very satisfying gameplay.

So what happened? What show more did they do? They created this haphazard novelization of your quest to slay the god of war, Ares; which stiffly recounts the events of the first video game. The major events are there; the battle with the hydra, the ruin of Athens, the search for Cronos, the Temple of Pandora, all that. They even added some extra goings on, Athena's reasoning for favoring you, why various gods decide to bless you with their powers, and other explanations for the events in the game. That's all fine and good, but...but it's not YOU.

You do not whisper prayers to the gods before a battle, you defy them. You do not rescue Greek soldiers, you're a Spartan. You're a machine, an uncaring one with only one goal, one reason for existing. That is you, and the Kratos found in these pages is not the Kratos I know. Where is the anger? Where is the defiant, insolent, bullheaded Spartan I know and love? He is not here.

What purpose, then, does this book serve? It would be an atrocity for someone to experience the God of War story for the first time through it, and those who have played the game will surely be disappointed. So why? It is nothing but a ruse, a way to cash in on the name of our favorite tragic hero, and a poor one at that. I heartily recommend avoiding the book unless you are desperate for a fresh dose of Kratos...and even then, I'd encourage resisting the craving. show less