Nova (Starcraft Ghost) [Mass Market Paperback]

Blizzard Entertainment (Author), Keith R. A. DeCandido (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 28, 2006

Four years after the end of the Brood War, Emperor Arcturus Mengsk has rebuilt much of the Terran Dominion and consolidated a new military force despite an ever-present alien threat. Within this boiling cauldron of strife and subversion, a young woman known only as Nova shows the potential to become Mengsk's most lethal and promising "Ghost" operative. Utilizing a combination of pure physical aptitude, innate psychic power, and advanced technology, Nova can strike anywhere with the utmost stealth. Like a phantom in the shadows, she exists only as a myth to the enemies of the Terran Dominion.

Yet Nova wasn't born a killer. She was once a privileged child of one of the Old Families of the Terran Confederacy, but her life changed forever when a rebel militia murdered her family. In her grief, Nova unleashed her devastating psychic powers, killing hundreds in a single, terrible moment. Now, on the run through the slums of Tarsonis, she is unable to trust anyone. Pursued by a special agent tasked with hunting down rogue telepaths, Nova must come to terms with both her burgeoning powers and her guilt -- before they consume her and destroy everything in her path....

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Best known for blockbuster hits, including World of Warcraft and the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., a division of Activision Blizzard, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes thirteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players. Visit Blizzard.com.

Keith R.A. DeCandido was born and raised in New York City to a family of librarians. He has written over two dozen novels, as well as short stories, nonfiction, eBooks, and comic books, most of them in various media universes, among them Star Trek, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Marvel Comics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Resident Evil, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, Farscape, Xena, and Doctor Who. His original novel Dragon Precinct was published in 2004, and he's also edited several anthologies, among them the award-nominated Imaginings and two Star Trek anthologies. Keith is also a musician, having played percussion for the bands the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, the Boogie Knights, and the Randy Bandits, as well as several solo acts. In what he laughingly calls his spare time, Keith follows the New York Yankees and practices kenshikai karate. He still lives in New York City with his girlfriend and two insane cats.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743471342
• ISBN-13: 978-0743471343
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 0.9 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #578,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Keith R.A. DeCandido was born and raised in New York City to a family of librarians. He has written over two dozen novels, as well as short stories, nonfiction, eBooks, and comic books, most of them in various media universes, among them Star Trek, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Marvel Comics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Resident Evil, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, Farscape, Xena, and Doctor Who. His original novel Dragon Precinct was published in 2004, and he's also edited several anthologies, among them the award-nominated Imaginings and two Star Trek anthologies. Keith is also a musician, having played percussion for the bands the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, the Boogie Knights, and the Randy Bandits, as well as several solo acts. In what he laughingly calls his spare time, Keith follows the New York Yankees and practices kenshikai karate. He still lives in New York City with his girlfriend and two insane cats.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Alas, poor Nova, if only they hadn't killed your game ... August 22, 2007

By Sicarius Plurimi

Format:Mass Market Paperback

First and foremost, the criticisms that people are listing here that the novel ended strangely are (unfortunately) spot on. The reason for this is that this novel was originally intended to be a prequel to the video game StarCraft: Ghost, which was also set to follow the protagonist, Nova. If anyone is to blame for the awkward ending, it is Blizzard rather than DeCandido -- if you read the beginning of the book, you will even notice that there is an apology included from Blizzard that was pasted in at the last minute.

I have always imagined that Ghosts would be tragic characters. They are overwhelmed at a young age by external emotions and thoughts that they cannot control or understand, typically to such a point that they must drug themselves with "inhibitors" that render them as little more than pharmeceutical slaves to the highest military bidder. This is a depressing existence, and I feel that the mood is perfectly captured in this novel. Nova is a great character, and I deeply enjoyed reading about her genesis. The protagonist is very well developed in this story, and I did feel a distinct and emotional attachment to her. I cared about what happened, which is more than I can say for the characters in most other StarCraft novels.

With the exception of Hickman's Speed of Darkness, Grubb's Liberty's Crusade, and DeCandido's Nova, I would be amazed to find that any of the other StarCraft authors even went so far as to pass an introductory-level Creative Writing course. Stick to the three I just mentioned and you'll be okay ... fans of the series looking forward to StarCraft 2 should also read the Dark Templar series that begins with Firstborn.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars good story, some awkward moments December 27, 2010

By Jim

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Overall a good read and even better for anyone familiar with the Starcraft universe. The story wasn't what I expected, but it was engaging and kept me reading all the way through. DeCandido made the characters interesting enough for me to care about what happened. From a literary perspective however, it was a little disappointing with some distracting typos and moments of awkward dialogue. It doesn't have the storytelling power of official Blizzard lore, but overall, it's a fun quick read.

In short: great for Starcraft fans or scifi fans looking for something simple

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice look into Nova's history March 28, 2012

By Richard Baker

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The Good: Gets Nova's backstory across, use of UNN new feeds to tell you about the ongoing battle of the Zerg is unique

The Bad: The made up slang is lame, he sensors cuss words with "flick", not very sophisticated

The backstory of Nova is very interesting, and this book was to be the behind-the-scenes of her from the cancelled PS2 game. The book starts out at Nova's 15th birthday and leads up to the death of her family. She then runs from the rich area to the Gutter to live in alleys and she discovers she's a teep/teek or telepathic/telekinetic. What she has to grow through is pretty horrible, including her working for the drug lord Fagin, and the Wrangler who is sent to capture her for the Ghost program.

The story is very simple, and isn't very sophisticated, but it gets the job done and you can really feel bad for what Nova is going through. Knowing she's just a girl makes her seem more vulnerable, including the fact that she almost gets raped, and must kill for Fagin to stay alive. For some reason DeCandido tries making up his own slang that the people in the Gutter use and it feels forced and is pretty lame. His style of writing is very simple, but he gets his point across. I would have liked to have seen some more detail in the world of the city she lives in, but due to the shortness of the novel you get the bare minimum. The book doesn't feel very StarCrafty except some names from the game and the ongoing battle with the Zerg that goes on in the background of the book through UNN feeds she hears. I thought this was the most clever part of the book, but overall that's it.

Nova is a decent novel and gets the story of her across, but don't expect anything fancy or deep here. With the terrible use of the made up slang, and his simple style of writing this makes for a weekend read, but after that you will probably forget about it.