Customer Reviews

Fable: The Balverine Order

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Peter David is an American writer of comic books, I've read several books he wrote in the past, and I liked them. That was the first reason why I purchased this book.

The book is easy to read, but it was very plain and very predictable.

The book is set between the events of Fable II and Fable III. I've played all of the Fable games, so I could relate to the setting, characters, and the stories. The book is about two young adventurers set out to kill the balverines. The book seems to be setting up for the reader to get a feel of the industrial age of Fable III.

The second reason I purchased the book was because of the Shardborne Sword that it comes with the book. The code is bound to the middle of the book, and you scratch-off to get your code.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, and it was something to read to get me pumped for the release of Fable III. I recommend reading the book if you want a light reading material about Fable, or if you just want to pay $10 for an in-game item... but you could easily skip it and still enjoy the release of Fable III without it.

PS. You do not get a code from buying it through the Kindle version. Amazon doesn't mail you the code, and the code is bound to the middle of the physical book.

Posted from my column "Reading Realms" at The Outhouse:

The plot itself is fairly generic. Without spoiling anything, I'll say that it's about two young adventurers setting out on a quest. This quest is initially about vengeance against "Balverines" (Fable's version of werewolves more-or-less), but, of course, turning into a bit more as they encounter interesting characters and obstacles along the way. The reader really does not need to know anything about the Fable video game to understand or enjoy this book. At most, a player of the game might recognize names of things or places without explanation and the magic system parralells the games'. Magic itself doesn't play a big role until the last few chapters. Much of the book being magic free.

One reason the book remains magic free (besides young characters) is that Albion, the Fable world, is slowly moving toward industry and that move is driving magic and all the mystical creatures further out of the developing areas. This takes our story out of the setting the video games have been based on, to cross the sea to a new land that is less "civilized", but more inclined to superstition and mysticism. (From what I've read about the new game, I believe Fable 3 will allow travel off Albion as well).

Being that it is a video game tie-in novel, it may not have a ground breaking plot, but Peter David still delivers something enjoyable to read. In the midst of most epic fantasy stories, spanning countless volumes and character point-of-views, it's nice to have a break and relax on a fun adventure with a couple characters in a single novel. He keeps the pace moving and character interaction interesting. Peter David also breaks the story up by use of narration. It starts out as a story being told to a king and then every few chapters the king tends to interupt the story-teller for questions and comments. These are short page breaks and really don't distract from the story at all. In fact I think the use of narration adds to the pacing and the story.

As a side note, for those that play the video game, this book comes with a code for a unique in-game weapon: the Wolfsbane sword. The code is on a card attached to the middle of the book with a scratch off to get the code, so it doesn't matter where you get the book, they all come with it.

The first thing that always gets me is the writing style. It wasn't bad here, but it was a bit amateurish. It wasn't quite smooth enough to pull you in and make you forget you're reading. This is to the Dragon Age novels what The Suite Life on Deck is to True Blood. not horrible, but just not the same caliber, either.
It's definitely one for the fans, as there are points in the book where, if you weren't a fan, you would have to put the book down and ask yourself why the author decided on such a random event. Even if you did play, there are definitely points in the book where you think "This is a bit random..." And there are such obvious ties to the latest game and its gameplay that you are immediately thrown out of the story. Certain things happen that made a red light flash in your head going "that only happens that way in Fable III". All of a sudden, you aren't in the book anymore, you're in the game and that kind of mentality juggling just doesn't work.
The biggest thing has to be that the book is titled the Balverine Order and our young adventurers are on a quest to find their special Balverine...yet somehow Balverines feel like they hardly in the book, like they were just thrown in at the end to justify the title.
When all is said and done, you get a bit more lore, but you have to ask yourself what was the point? It doesn't really enhance the gameplay as Balverines are basically a nonissue/random mob except for one tiny scene where this book sort of throws some light onto a situation that really didn't need any more light. Unless this comes up in later expansions or episodes of the game, I don't really see what the reasoning was for commissioning it. I'd have much rather learned more about Reaver's skeevy past, Teresa's mystery, or just revisited the old days if Heroes and explored that lore some more.

This book was fairly gripping and reminded me of the games themselves. The soliloquies were well done, and gave you that same sense of choosing good or evil as the games do.

One thing, however. I bought this book on my kindle, and I was just shopping for more books when I noticed the print cover for this book: it includes a free DLC code for a free sword. Unfortunately, I can't find this code on my kindle version. Has anyone found it? or have any suggestions?

In all I found this book to be surprisingly addicting. I will say that after reading the World of Warcraft books, this one was better than all but one or two. As somebody who loves game lore though, my opinion isn't exactly impartial. Though it wasn't perfect, I could see many more books being written in the Fable universe, at least a continuation of this book in a series. The characters were likeable, but it was almost as if there was so much more that just could not be fit in. A lot from the game series is still left open to be expanded upon, and I would hope that they recognise it's potential and continue from this great start.

This book is for fan's of the series, but Those that haven't play the game would also like this book. it has humor, drama and suspense, action and so much lore that it will immerse you in as soon as you start reading it. i am a fan of the fable game's and this book is top notch, it captures the essences of the game to its fullest. Love it.

To be honest, I got it for the code inside. I don't know if I'll ever get around to reading it. A friends of mine, who's a Fable fanatic, absolutely loved it.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. However, mine did not come with a code. Very sad, but that is life, no?.

Grammatically, the book was well written. In fact, this is by far the best edited book I've read in quite some time. Unfortunately, that is about all this book has going for it. The two main characters were flat and the plot extremely weak. What should have been really exciting moments were mere bumps on their quest that took way too long and yet not long enough. The ending was a disappointment with the unexpected addition of a third character that literally hijacked the story. I'm sorry, but I cannot in all honesty recommend this story.

The book was completely true to the game and I look forward to more exciting titles linked to the franchise. I'd love to see many more, especially from this author. I felt as though I was watching another player playing the game. The scenes were familiar; the landscapes real. Somehow I could imagine clothing, weapons and housing as the writer guided me the level. If you love Fable, you'll find this book a worthwhile side trip. The action scenes were so gripping I discovered I had been holding my breath when they were over. Incredible! There are few authors with this talent. Use this book as a means to stay in the game while exercising your mind and imagination. As a side benefit, you can give your tired fingers a rest.