Doom [Mass Market Paperback]

John Shirley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2005

Based on the groundbreaking and legendary PC games from id Software that have been played by millions of hardcore fans, DOOM is a terrifying battle with the forces of Hell. A space marine's reassignment to the Union Aerospace Corporation's Mars research facility seemed simple, until the scientists' discoveries and experiments unlocked the gates to Hell itself. Now, in an epic clash against pure evil, he must fight to understand who is against him and what must be done to stop this nightmare from reaching Earth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

'John Shirley is an adventurer, returning from dark and troubled regions with visionary tales to tell. I heartily recommend a journey with [him] at your side.' -- Clive Barker. The author of several novels and short story collections, John Shirley also writes for film and television and is co-screenwriter of the seminal genre film The Crow.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141650995X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416509950
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,306,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun novelization that can stand on its own., December 27, 2008

By 

James Seger (The Woodlands, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Doom (Mass Market Paperback)

I do agree that the Doom movie (and therefore this novelization) isn't much like the Doom game. But after all 'Dafydd Ab Hugh' wrote a four book series based on the first two games and Matt Costello is currently putting out Doom 3 books. You can always read those for the 'true' Doom experience. For what it is, this novelization is a fun read.

I'm surprised how much I enjoyed John Shirley's adaptation of the Doom movie. Really. I picked it up because I wanted to blow off some steam with a nice, goofy read about space marines shooting monsters. I got that in spades.

What surprised me though, was that even with these meager ingredients, John Shirley's strength as a writer was able to shine through, polish it up a little and make it something better. The book is pretty compellingly written and worked well as a thriller for me. One of those books where I would tell myself 'one more chapter' before putting it down. He takes a pretty laid back, colloquial writers voice. It kind of felt like the story was being narrated to you by one of the soldiers themselves, though the book isn't written in first person.

Though there is plenty of action to be had in these pages, he also builds in a lot of suspense and tension. I also have to give him credit for trying to give his characters a little bit of depth. He doesn't quite pull it off. You are still reading about space marines who call themselves Reaper, Destroyer or Sarge, but I appreciated that he tried. It kept what really should have just been a hack job from being just that.

The book did have the same problem that the (fairly decent) movie had: the ending. The ending just seems to take the concepts the book was playing with a little too far. It makes the mistake of switching from sci-fi/horror to a sort of goofy super-hero brawl to try and pump up the adrenalin at the end.

Still, the novel is a fun, action packed and grisly weekend read. John Shirley seems to have been the perfect author for this project. He really added quite a bit to what should have been terrible. I have to say that I enjoyed Doom much more than my previous John Shirley experience Aliens: Steel Egg.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad adaptation, November 3, 2005

By 

D. Fleming "sci-fier" (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doom (Mass Market Paperback)

Doom wasn't a bad film, and this isn't a bad novelization, either. It's well written, and if one can just tear their mind away from the fact that this ISN'T supposed to be religiously based on the game and try to accept it on it's own merits, they might actually enjoy it.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rip Roarin Yarn, February 3, 2007

By 

Luciferal "plebiscite" (salt lake city) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doom (Mass Market Paperback)

Once again Shirley delivers the goods in this gripping, superbly characterized screen adaptation of the infamous 1st person shooter game that charmed our socks off over ten years ago. What is it exactly that you want out of a video-game-turned-movie novelization? I personally have less interest in a paint-by-numbers representation carefully shaded in to please fans than I am in simply reading a killer story w/believable characters, and that is exactly the author's approach in this satisfying homage to "shoot first ask questions later" pulp sci-fi horror.

It's a shame some folks don't seem to appreciate the simple literary approach of a rip roarin yarn the author has woven here, because if you can check your baggage at the door, you are in for one hell of an intensifying reading experience. This book is the literary equivalent of a sure-shot, one-clip barrage from a BFG emptied into the reader till he's effectively been rendered into so much pulped swiss cheese. I.e, it is best experienced in one sitting (if possible for a great part of its target audience, notoriously short of attention span), because it works like a pot of cold water put on a burner set on high: by the time you get to the last 10 percent, the narrative is boiling over with such fury the reader almost has to hold their breath to get through it all.

It is a sustained symphony of violence so adeptly handled by the author, that when the reader reaches the crescendo it is all one can do to refrain from tearing the pages out as you turn them. This is straight up pulp fiction at its finest, it transports the reader to another world of unbelievable horrors and action in a stylistic manner which renders the whole experience a sustained sense of realism, and that is all one could ask for in a narrative such as this.