Despite having really got into (and enjoyed) ‘Lamentation’ I still needed another dose of fiction where large guys unload ludicrous amounts of ammunition into slobbering alien creatures. Karen Traviss’ ‘Aspho Fields’ has been sat on the ‘to read pile’ for a few weeks now in anticipation of such a need arising... ;o)
Karen Traviss has done sterling work on the two ‘Republic Commandos’ books that I’ve read so I was hoping for more of the same in ‘Aspho Fields’, a tie in novel for the ‘Gears of War’ computer game (which I’ve never played, is it any good?) As it turned out, ‘Aspho Fields’ did its job well enough but I was left thinking that it could have been so much more...
The war against the Locust Horde may have been won but the remnants of the human population on the planet Sera are still in a full on fight for survival, both against the locust drones that are still alive and against the ravages that years of war have bought to the planet. Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago have fought together through the Pendulum Wars and the war against the Locust Horde, developing a bond that stretches right back to their childhoods. That bond is in danger of being broken though as the return of an old comrade threatens to dredge up a secret that Marcus has sworn to keep. Dominic’s brother, Carlos, died fighting in the battle (at Aspho Fields) that changed the course of the Pendulum Wars. The truth behind his death has been a closely guarded secret until now...
Karen Traviss plays a very good game when it comes to writing military science fiction as she shows time after time that she really knows just what makes a soldier tick whether they’re fighting in the field or home on leave. Traviss also knows how to get the best out of the military terminology available to her and shows a deft hand at showing the manoeuvres involved in the build up to combat. This is all very much on display in ‘Aspho Fields’ and if you’re already a fan of Traviss then I reckon that there’s a lot here which will appeal to you. I’m also sure that fans of the ‘Gears of War’ game will get a lot out of this book as it expands on the history of characters such as Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. I’ve never played the game, so don’t have that connection to the book, but I still found myself wanting to invest a lot of time in both the characters and a world where citizens must go hungry so that the soldiers are well fed enough to fight...
It was a real shame then that ‘Aspho Fields’ didn’t work for me as well as it could have done...
While Traviss’ skills at depicting military manoeuvres are not in question, what I did find questionable was how much of the book they took up... The overabundance of terminology and tactics really unbalanced the story itself; making reading a chore at times which ended up robbing climatic moments of their power. With ‘Aspho Fields’ being a tie-in novel, I was left wondering just how much story Traviss was actually given to work with seeing how far the balance was tipped towards descriptions of military build up and machinery...
On the surface, splitting the narrative between past and present helps to establish characters in greater depth as it gives the reader a lot more insight into what makes people like Marcu behave the way they do. Traviss makes it clear that war leaves scars that last a lot longer than the physical kind...
This approach is a real double edged sword though as we get to find out the secret of Carlos’ death way before Dominic does and this robbed the climactic scenes of any sense of climax as far as I was concerned. The secret wasn’t all that impressive either...
‘Aspho Fields’ leaves the reader with developments that will make interesting reading if there is a sequel. I’d probably pick up a sequel but I’d be hoping for a lot more from Traviss next time round...
Six and Three Quarters out of Ten
If you like Halo you'll probably like GoW, to answer your question in the first paragraph or so. I'm more of a Call of Duty fella, but to each their own. The game is certainly enjoyable.
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