Gears of War: Aspho Fields

Just finished reading this novel and I must admit it was very entertaining. I was skeptical while reading it at first, not because it was a novel based from a video game since I'm a big video game fan myself and I know how much plot-lines can be in some of them. But I never knew much of the Gears franchise, but that was because I never played the games before. After this I can safely say that my opinion has changed and I am now an official Gears of War fan.

The plot revolves around several characters namely Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago and Carlos Santiago (the latter of which was killed fourteen years prior). Other characters of worth are Victor Hoffman- the company sergeant, and Bernie Mataki- a retired sniper who happened to be found show more again during a mission early in the novel. The world they live in is post-apocalyptic; after an event known as Emergence Day (E-Day for short) alien entities known as Locusts surfaced from underground to declare war on mankind. With the human race on the brink of extinction man's last line of defence rests on the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) forces and their front line soldiers known as Gears. The characters listed above are Gears and the book highlights how each of them are dealing with the war and how their life was uprooted after E-Day.

Now the biggest draw of this book is the style. For one it takes place in differeny time periods beginning after E-Day well into the Locust War and then going back to fourteen years before E Day when the Santiagos and Fenix were kids and ended up joining the COG Army. It is a very high tension atmosphere when going back and forth between conflicts and scenarios until both reach that final climax. And to add some garnish there is a quote from one character at the beginning of each chapter to give it some extra personality, heck even the Locust Queen herself was quoted.

Also this book does feel like a war novel, it captures realistic themes like the stress on resources and on society itself. And the seperation between civilian life and Gear Life even going so far as creating a sense of animosity between the two. The battles are pretty intense too, was recommended this novel because of the detailed fights and I'll have to agree the mayhem and gore from the game is indeed right here and described with the frantic flair one would expect in war.

All in all I enjoyed the novel, and I am looking foward to reading the sequel some time in the future. four and a half out of five stars. show less

Review from Badelynge
Karen Traviss does a great job of bringing some Gears of War goodness to those of us who like to relax our trigger fingers once in a while. Traviss admits herself that she's worked on a lot of stuff in her day, tie-ins and the like and that not all of the varied franchises and projects have been particularly worthy. But Gears is different. She thinks it's special. I'm inclined to agree. Working on something you really love rather than it just being the latest meal ticket has really brought out the best in the writer, both in these books and her hands on work with the latest Gears game.
This one tells the untold Story of the battle for Aspho Fields. A battle we've heard about in the game that takes place several years show more before Emergence Day when the humans of Sera are still locked in a world war over Imulsion that has lasted the best part of a century. At this time they are unaware that another race called the Locust are biding their time beneath their feet, waiting for a good time to pop out and call 'Time' on human Seran history. The Cogs have discovered that the other power block are developing a weapon of mass destruction called The Hammer of Dawn at a research base at Aspho Point. Now at this stage Gears fans will most likely be grumbling that a Gears book without Locust is not something they signed up for. Traviss cleverly frames the pre-Emergence Day sequences with a story set between games 1 and 2, just after the deployment of the Light Mass Bomb. The Cogs are consolidating as best they can and are cautiously hopeful that the worst of the Locust threat has been dealt with. A face from the past in the form of a veteran female Gear called Bernie brings the past back to the surface. Dom Santiago wants to know the full story of the death of his brother Carlos at Aspho Fields. Marcus and Bernie were the only witnesses and neither are keen to talk about it. During an escort mission all the main characters get a chance to reflect and more of the story of the friendship of the brothers and Marcus gets revealed along with a lot of other stuff involving the feud between Hoffman and Fenix. These books can't tell the big story - that is for the games to tell, instead they tell the other stories that the games don't have time or the opportunity to tell. It's very well written with a great feel for the characters. All the dialogue just feels right, so much so that you can't help hearing the voice acted tones from the game; Fenix's tortured gravel, Cole's booming bonhomie, Baird's verbal sniping, Dom's quiet dignity, Hoffman's caricatured parade ground bark. And Traviss's new female characters fit in fine. The military attitudes are very believable. It's infantry soldiering with thoughtful introspection in a world that has become so desperate that the values of humanity are having to be sacrificed. Sure it still knows it's an actioner filled with chunky guys, chunky guns and chunky aliens... getting chunked, but it doesn't mean it has to be empty between the ears.
Even though fans of the game will get the most from this book I'm convinced that folks who enjoy gritty military sci-fi will still enjoy themselves. That was violent, reckless... and necessary! Well done. show less

If you are familiar with the Gear of War video games, you will like this book. I listened to the audio book, though, and just be forewarned that it takes a bit of concentration to listen to because the story goes back and forth between 3 different time periods. Good story, though and a lot of good background info on the characters and their experiences together.

Surprisingly good. First time I've ever read anything by Karen Traviss, but I've heard of her because of her Star Wars Republic Commando novels. She does a very good job writing scenes of battle and war, as well as the camaraderie between solders. I also very much liked the dialogue between the characters in this book, and she has really filled them out by what they say and how they act. In fact, I liked the "character building" parts of this novel much more than I liked the action.

I was very happy to find that this book was not simply a poor brand extension. On its own it stands as an enjoyable read, and manages to develop the characters nicely. A game like Gears does not give off the impression that the plot and character development will be given much thought, but this book gives the story some good history.

The flow of the story was good, and kept me entertained. Once I got moving on the story I did not want to set it down.

I have read all of the Gears books, they are all well written and add a lot of depth to references made in the games. Aspho Fields takes you back to the beginning including the end of the pendulum wars and E-Day also covering the truth about Doms brother. The book series gives insight into the minds of Col. Hoffman, Anya and others. If you enjoyed the games I highly recommend the books.

For those people who have played the Gears of War Game(s) this book is a must read! I was actually amazed at how well written the book was! Go Karen Traviss! I read this book, both for personal enjoyment and for an article I was writing about the commericalization of childrens & YA books. The book is based on the characters from the extremely popular Gears of War franchise, mainly Dominic Santiago and Marcus Fenix. This book is a back story that helps explain why the characters are the way they are in the video game. The story takes place in both the present the Locust Wars (between Gears 1 and Gears 2) and the past, the Pendulum Wars. In the present, Dom is trying to find out what really happened to his brother Carlos at Aspho Fields show more from Marcus who fought with Carlos. The book introduces alot of new charcters, like Bernie and Dom's brother Carlos and many others that the games mention. The book helps to flesh out the characters that your play in the game and the back story of the world. Even if you haven't played the game (the author didn't) it is a very good sci-fi style war novel. The story sucks you in! I would recommend this for older middle school children and high school age. If nothing else, you'll get a kick out of lancer floss! show less