Customer Reviews

Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an avid video game fan Gears of War was alwasy right up my alley, on a whim I bought Traviss's first Gears of War book Aspho Fields and loved it. I marked my calander's for Jacinto's Remnant and I was not disappointed.

The second book in the series surpasses the first book in almost every way. Traviss brings back the beloved characters she created in Aspho Fields, namely Bernie, and just like in the first book keeps feel of the games as well as enhancing the characters from them.

In Jacinto's Remnant she really lets us see Dom's pain after his wife's death in GoW 2, we watch as he slowly moves on and reaches a resolution all the while struggling with the "why's" and "what if's" that will most certainly plague him for the rest of his life. She couldn't have written him any better.

Bernie is back and better than ever, I always loved this sassy Gear Traviss created and was glad to see her return. She adds more depth to this character, bringing out a painful past and showing that Bernie has her own darkside when they run into some Stranded that Bernie met a long time ago...you have to read to see what happens there.

And for the first time Traviss gives us Anya Stroud's perspective which in my opinion really brought the second book up a notch. We finally meet the woman who's voice follows us througout the game, we get even more insigh into Marcus and Anya's relationship and with that we get to see more of Marcus than we ever have before. If you weren't a fan of Anya and Marcus before, after reading this book you will be.

The book also explores the origins of the Stranded and why such hatred for the COG exists. The lenghts the humans of Sera went to is devastating and we finally see how Sera became the shell of the world that it is, how it was devestated and the reasons for it. It leads to philisophical debate and reveals a new side to the Stranded, it will make you rethink everything you've taken for granted when it comes to the Stranded, I guarantee it.

Bottom line this book is amazing, probably the best game-based book I've ever read bar none. Check it out, you won't be dissapointed

I literally finished this 30 minutes ago and have to say although I love the whole Gears of War experience on the XBox I found this book, and ASPHO FIELDS lacked a bit. When I say "lacked" I guess I was expecting a lot more action - I mean wall-to-wall action. These books seemed more concerned with telling back story and character development. All of which is fine but I wanted a true action escape and it wasn't something I received.

One comment I would like to make is that I caught the Gears of War 3 trailer ([...]) on YouTube yesterday and it had a lot more punch because of the interpersonal relationships established in the books. The tired look on Dom's face and the reference to "brotherhood" had more meaning as a result.

Karen Traviss continues the Gear of War storyline with the consequences of their decisions made in the two video game storylines. The first game consequence is the destruction of the major cities to deny the resources from the Locust Horde. How those decisions affected the surviving humans and their personal lives is explained.

The second game consequence is flooding Jacinto to destroy the Horde. This story mainly focuses on building shelter and providing essential services to survive the winter season.

The third plot consequence in Dom in dealing with the loss of his wife.

The author's writing style involves primarily character conversions between each other. The action is intermittent and focuses more on humans fighting each other for survival rather than the Horde.

The book also involves more flashback chapters to describe the characters' backgrounds further. Some readers may not appreciate the disruption to the storyline flow as the flashbacks are almost every other chapter.

Overall, a storyline of survival, to rebuild human society after a series of catastrophes. Unfortunately, there is very little edge of the seat action scenes found in the video game or in the previous book. Having a planetary map that depicts the major cities and locations described in the storyline would have presented a more detailed image to the reader, rather than just vague guesswork.

This story is perfect for the G.o.W. series, and conveys alot of emotion through what all the characters are feeling, and going through after the fall of Jacinto.

You really get to look into the lives of some of the characters, see what war can do to someone, and what type of recourse comes from not only battling an enemy, but battling ones self also.

Great book, great story, great characters... what else can one say?

Picks up within minutes of where Gears 2 left off and allows the reader a look into the struggles of the gears as they try to piece their lives back together. Also shows some of Hoffman's past which is a nice look into his character and gave me a greater respect for the character that is Hoffman.

Okay, I have not read any book not related to school for awhile. This book has changed my life. It is easy to read because it's like playing the game. Just import the images from the game, add some islands and you can eat while reading. I would say, I might just cancel Netflix this month because between the game, and the other books of Gears I'm going to read, there's no other form of entertainment I think I need. FYI, these books will make the story mode play better because she fills in the gap between gears 2 and 3. Forgive me if your not a fan of Sci-Fi, but it's like watching a TV series with finale as a video game.

I really liked the intensity of Jacinto's Remnant, it really explained a desperate situation, in which the human race has been placed in.
The flashbacks wasn't as good as the first book, but it was still exiting to find out how the locust almost won the war, and what measures the humans must take in order to survive.
Like the first, we are told about a lot of persons: Baird, Cole, Anya, Hoffmann and so on.
I really like how these guys are displayed, because it is very different than from the game, which only scratch the hollow of these characters so far.
If you read the first and have doubts about the second don't.
You won't be disappointed.

I am a huge fan of the Gears story. I read the first couple novels on my Kindle reader app and had to pick up the comic series. Haven't finished it yet, but the quality of the book is great.

one of the best books i have ever read. wasnt big fan of the game but the book kickd some much ass it just lured me in and i felt like i was theere with the action. i seriously recommend that book and the entire series.

These books are beyond fabulous. I cannot play the games (I am a video game idiot), but I watch my son and husband play and I got really intereseted in the characters so I decided to read the books. I have read Aspho Fields and now Jacinto's Remanent and I absolutely cannot put the down. They are well written (which I have to say shocked me), but I love learning about the characters. My only complaint, and its not really a complaint, is that they keep Marcus as an inigma. You learn about the motivations of the other main characters, and some that are not in the game, but you learn the least about my favorite character Marcus. I am definitely going to continue the series, and I hope that as it unfolds, I will learn more about the motivations of the mystery of Marcus. If you like the games, you will love the books, because it gives you background on the war, the characters, and the world of Sera.