REVIEW: God of War by Matthew Stover and Robert E. Vardeman

God of War by Matthew Stover and Robert E. Vardeman

Publishing information: Paperback; 301 pages

Publisher: Titan Books LTD.; 28 May 2010

ISBN 10: 1848567189

ISBN 13: 9781848567184

Copy: Out of pocket

Reviewer: Tyson

Back of the Book: "The first official tie-in novel to the hugely successful God of War series of action-adventure video games. This is an epic adventure set in the world of Greek mythology. This novel takes the mega-successful God of War franchise to a new level! Kratos is the new god of war, but the other gods refuse to welcome him as one of their own. Zeus kills him, but he is saved by the goddess of the earth, Gaia. She sends him back to Mount Olympos - where, once again, he will challenge the might of the gods...Written by Matt Stover, the hugely popular, bestselling writer of many Star Wars adventures, gaming fans should not miss this brand-new God of War story!"

As a huge video game player and fan of the God of War series I was really looking forward to the latest adaption of the game by Matthew Stover. However, after a few chapters in I realized that I was not going to get what I was hoping for.

All of the players are accounted for. We have Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, and Athena as well as a few other gods. We also have the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos, our hero. with all of the Dramatis Personae accounted for this should be one rocking adaptation of God of War. However, it falls flat. All of the personalities are as they are represented in mythology (for the most part) and in the game. but they never go beyond what we have seen in the video games. A book is always far better than the movie, or in this case the game and this is the first time that it has not been true. 

The setting is Ancient Greece during the height of the Greek gods rein. Ares is no longer content with the status quo on Mt. Olympus and has started to stir things up and cause trouble for his sister Athena and his father Zeus. This altercation draws in the other gods as each side attempts to garner support for the others downfall. A decree by Zeus that no god may slay another god brings Kratos front and center as he will be Athena's secret weapon and ultimately Ares' downfall.

The story is, as far as I can recall from playing the original game just that, the original God of War. There are no deleted scenes or additional elements to improve the plot. If you have played the game and made it to the end, then you have read God of War. The journey that Vardeman takes you on is boring as we have been there, seen it, and bought the t-shirt. The entire book reads as if someone started playing the game and then just wrote down the dialogue and rehashed what was happening on the screen. The reason I have to say that Vardeman has taken us on the journey is because it reads nothing like all of the Stover novels I have read in the past. Stover always has great characters, narration, and action sequences. This book did not. The opening sequence does draw the reader in which leads me to believe that it may have been written by Stover. But once you get past the opening scene you are bogged down until the last page. By the time I reached the end, it was painful. 

While not a die-hard fan of the God of War franchise, I am a fan. Even with that background behind me the novelization of God of War was unbearable. I was reading what I had already played years ago. With Kratos well-known to gamers they had a lot of ways to take the character and the authors never bothered to do it. Instead we find ourselves reading something we have already seen and experienced. I am not even sure if someone who was not familiar with the series would enjoy this book as the action sequences are sub-par. Kratos is one of the most violent and action worthy video game protagonists and in this book he could not keep my interest. This book is a disgrace to the franchise. Unless you are dying to read a book based on the God of War series I recommend staying far away from this one. This has to be the worst book I have read this year and may even be one for the record books.

Plot  4

Characters  4

Style  2

Overall  1/10