The year is 2144...and the battle over Earth's precious resources has raged for a century. With global economies in ruins and all-out world war more than a possibility, the U.S government turned to the Union Aerospace Corporation, giving it carte blanche on the legendary red planet of Mars in a desperate bid to construct an off-world outpost that might provide resources, a military advantage...as well as something so secret that even members of government don't have a clue about it....
Special Ops Marine Lieutenant John Kane was once a careerist simply glad to have a job, and couldn't care less about politics just as long as Uncle Sam's check cleared. But that was before he listened to his conscience and disobeyed a direct order. Busted down to private, Kane has been reassigned to the "U.S. Space Marines" -- the private army of the UAC -- with the prospect of becoming little more than a glorified security guard on Mars....
Now Lt. Kane's fate leads him to Mars City -- part environmental community, part lab center, and all owned and protected by the UAC. It's a strange world with a fatal environment, and the thousands who live and work within the city have already begun to think of themselves as Martians. And away from Mars City, at the strange ancient sites uncovered on the planet, a small squad of marines stand guard while scientists uncover wall glyphs and search for artifacts, having already found something that is so far amazing and inexplicable -- including the relic called "U1," nicknamed "the Soul Cube" -- and unknown to all, the bringer of destructive chaos and unspeakable horror....
This book was written by the same guy who wrote the script for the video game "Doom3". It had some great back-story of the scientists and the history of some of the marines leading up to "the incident". Great book if you liked the game. On it's own, this book felt incomplete..like one very big chapter to the start of a good story. This may be because I have played the game and know what is coming and am just anticipating it. All in all, I am looking forward to book #2. If it was available I would have bought it today.
I never actually finished Doom 3—I found it hard to enjoy—but I did play the first half of it recently. This novel is more of a prequel, though the start of the game does occur near the end of it, and significant changes are made.
The biggest one is that the nameless protagonist is now creatively named Kane (the big reveal in the final pre-prologue paragraph is that his first name is John, of course), and instead of just being a space marine on assignment he gets some of the original Doomguy's back-story and becomes a disgraced regular marine who gets sent to Mars as a punishment. Interestingly, where the real Doomguy's transgression was fragging a superior who ordered him to fire on civilians, John Kane's is rescuing other marines from terrorist rebels of plausibly deniable ethnicity (in "Terekstan") after his superiors order him to stand down—however bad you thought the American political climate was in the '90s, it got way worse after 9/11. Other changes are mostly that other characters are made more prominent, and more humans survive uncorrupted in general. Some of these are new, others, like General Hayden, were originally going to be in the game but were cut—Costello wrote the script for the game, and I guess he wasn't happy to lose him. Only three monsters show up:
Anyway, this book isn't good. It's clearly the product of someone who's had a bunch of novels published previously and let that make him too cocky about how much editing his work needs—punctuation, word division, and basic sentence construction suffer noticeably, especially in the later chapters. That the plot is uninspired and tedious is, of course, mostly because Doom 3's plot was uninspired and tedious (which wasn't just Costello's fault), but where it diverges from the game's plot it isn't better—it then just also fails as a novelisation. I know it's ridiculous to criticise a video game novel for not being very good, but it is possible for them to be better than this. Between the main games, the mobile games, the movie, and these books, Doom 3 was just a rotten era for the Doom franchise all around, I guess.
(Like almost all hack sci-fi horror writers, Costello tries to borrow some credibility from H.P. Lovecraft. Like most, he manages to misspell "R'lyeh" as "R'yleh".)
Я очень не люблю DOOM 3 и свято надеюсь, что прочитанный мной роман это отменённый/переделанный вариант изначального сценария. Таким образом я смогу ненавидеть DOOM 3 ещё сильней, потому что книга на удивление неплохая для подобного рода литературы.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It felt very aligned with the game, and added a great introduction to the build up of the incident on Mars City. I also REALLY like that you can hear Dr. Betruger’s evil, dark voice in this. It’s like he’s standing there next to you.
I recently been replaying the Doom games, but was totally surprised that one my favorites Doom 3 had a tiein book series. Story: John Kane is having a very bad year, first he is stripped of his rank and jailed for disobeying a direct order that saved a squad of marines but made a political situation a bit sticky for his superiors, after 6 months or so of waiting to be "terminated" he is given a reprieve in the vein of being sent to Mars to Join the newly formed Space Marines for the UAC corporation. Unknown to him (and to the despearte masses on earth) the uac corporation has found evidence of a long lost civilizaion on mars, and using some of thier findings they have been able to begin experimenting with transporter technology. Unfortunatley the "volunteers" that test this tend to end up a bit on the scrambled side when they are brought back. On the same day that Kane arrives the lead scientist (who is hearing alien voices in his head) is ready to do his most ambitious test using a curious artifact that was found at the dig site. One thing is for sure when the good doctor opens the transporter portal, John Kane and his fellow space marines are in for one heck of a first day. ---- This was actually a pretty good book for somthing based on a first person shooter that mostly focused on if it moved shoot it. So far it does seem like it's going to be better than the orignal doom novels and the doom movie. The author mostly builds the back story in this book and includes the portal opening and the inital reaction to the aliens being unleashed, which means that you have to wait till the next book for how kane escapes from mars how he deals with the aliens. I can't wait for the read the next one, so for this reminds of the Descent novels by peter telep which were also very good. Would recommend this one to anyone who likes good scifi adventures and those who would like a good story set in the doom universe.
This is the fist book I’ve read based on a video game. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The author already had a world, and in this case creatures, to play with. How could he take what is in essence backstory and turn it into something interesting? Make no mistake about it, Mr. Costello pulled it off by staying faithful to the Doom universe and blending Science Fiction and Horror into a solid book.
From the publisher:
The year is 2144…and the battle over Earth’s precious resources has raged for a century. With global economies in ruins and all-out world war more than a possibility, the U.S government turned to the Union Aerospace Corporation, giving it carte blanche on the legendary red planet of Mars in a desperate bid to construct an off-world outpost that might provide resources, a military advantage…as well as something so secret that even members of government don’t have a clue about it….
Special Ops Marine Lieutenant John Kane was once a careerist simply glad to have a job, and couldn’t care less about politics just as long as Uncle Sam’s check cleared. But that was before he listened to his conscience and disobeyed a direct order. Busted down to private, Kane has been reassigned to the “U.S. Space Marines” — the private army of the UAC — with the prospect of becoming little more than a glorified security guard on Mars….
Now Lt. Kane’s fate leads him to Mars City — part environmental community, part lab center, and all owned and protected by the UAC. It’s a strange world with a fatal environment, and the thousands who live and work within the city have already begun to think of themselves as Martians. And away from Mars City, at the strange ancient sites uncovered on the planet, a small squad of marines stand guard while scientists uncover wall glyphs and search for artifacts, having already found something that is so far amazing and inexplicable — including the relic called “U1,” nicknamed “the Soul Cube” — and unknown to all, the bringer of destructive chaos and unspeakable horror….
We're going on a little trip...
Worlds on Fire tells two stories: the first being Lieutenant John Kane’s downfall as a Special Ops Commanding Officer and eventual resurrection as a private in the UAC assigned to Mars City. The second story is the birth of Mars City and the secrets buried beneath the surface. It isn’t until both storylines intersect that things really get going. Once that happens, there’s no looking back. And that’s one of my complaints with this story, the slow pacing. Like a train chugging and struggling up a mountain, Worlds on Fire sputters along at first. The Kane storyline is interesting enough to keep readers engaged until what I’m dubbing “The Event,” when all the storylines intersect and the shit hits the fan in the last quarter of the book.
I enjoyed my time with Lt. Kane, even his botched mission on Earth. Mr. Costello does an excellent job writing tight paced action scenes. Kane also felt like a real soldier with his mannerisms and thought processes. It was fun seeing him react to being a private after leading combat missions back home on Earth. All he wanted to do was go with the flow and do his two years on Mars but there’s always that one guy who gets in your face. Needless to say, Kane didn’t make too many friends on Mars.
Many of the secondary characters were also well written adding to the payoff at the end of the book.
I wasn’t fascinated by all of the science presented in this book but it was interesting enough to keep me reading. To be honest, I already knew much of what happened from playing the game. I think that’s one of the drawbacks of actually having played the game, I knew too much. To be fair to the author, that’s not his fault. It did, none-the-less, affect my reading experience. However, the last quarter of the book more than makes up for it.
What I liked:
•The characters. Most of the characters, even secondary characters, were engaging and three dimensional. Kane is easily the star of this book and a guy you can’t help but root for. I also enjoyed my time with Private Maria Moraetes too.
•The world. Let’s face it, Doom 3 was a great game set in a fully realized world. Mr. Costello does a good job staying faithful to that world while adding a few new layers with the science behind “The Event.” He even mentions the BFG (Big Fucking Gun, in case you haven’t played the game)!
•The action. When readers hit the action, there’s no looking back. All you can do is buckle your seatbelt and hold on until the purple goo and blood stained ride is over. Oh, and keep your mouth closed. You wouldn’t want to swallow any Martian purple goo.
•The creatures. C’mon, it’s Doom 3! All the badass creatures you know and love from the game are here in this book and they want to rip your face off.
What I didn't like:
•The pacing. The first half of the book moves a bit slow (other than the Kane battle scenes). If you can get through it, however, you’ll be rewarded with some quality action scenes.
•People who played the game will already know most of what’s going on. I think that’s part of the reason behind the slow pacing, because much of the Mars parts didn’t feel new to me.
Overview: I’m giving Worlds on Fire three and a half stars out of five. It’s definitely a solid read that stays faithful to the awesome world of Doom 3. I could easily see this being a successful film and the book leaves you wanting more. Great characters like Kane are what keeps this train chugging along until all the storylines intersect and the action grabs you by the pants and propels you through to the end of the book. While I think people who have played the game will be a bit bored, Worlds on Fire still delivers the goods. If you like futuristic Sci-Fi with a dash of Horror, then you’ll probably enjoy this book. I know I did. So grab your BFG’s, shotguns, and whatever other weapons you can scrounge up and prepare for those “Pinkies” as they crawl toward you, hungry for your flesh. This book is going to take you to Mars…and the Hell unleashed there. Lock and load, people!
Another Doom book, this time with a (thankfully) different, more serious approach, sadly ending in another disappointment. The novel suffers from the fact it's a 'Part One'. The Doom 3 game (which is possibly my favourite game of all time) doesn't even begin until about two thirds of the way through the novel, and the story treads a lot of water introducing a large array of forgettable characters. Mars City and its environs doesn't possess remotely anything like the immersive atmosphere of the game. One to avoid.
There were quite a few errors on the kindle addition. Lots of words running together and no spaces after punctuation. I'm assuming they'll fix that at some point. The story was quite interesting. Certainly would be a good horror/action novel on it's own, but coupled with the game, it creates a fun, albeit gory universe.
Certainly don't have to be a Doom or video game fan to enjoy the story. Already starting the second book.
I liked this book. It is the perfect mix of all the elements that I like. It is worth noting however that this is the first book in a planned trilogy that was never completed. Two out of the three books were written before Id scrapped the third book and moved on to other things. It's a shame. I liked the books far more than the game it released next to.
I actually enjoyed this book... As a huge fan of the game its nice to put a story behind it all.. I only wish they would make a TV series or movie that Actually makes sense.
I read the first Doom book (by Dafydd ab Hugh, Brad Linaweaver) and was greatly disappointed. But, not having had my fill of the franchise, I decided to pick up the next book in the series written by a new author- and find out that it was written by an original writer for the game, Doom 3 itself. The difference between the two books is almost staggering. Costello's first book follows multiple converging story-lines headed towards what the reader knows is coming and is eager to get to.
But, Costello is such an unforgivable tease, it's almost mocking. Each of the multiple perspective chapters is important and interesting (which is a feat in and of itself) and not one time did I want to skip a "boring" or "lesser" POV... and each POV chapter ends on a cliffhanger. Each chapter is long enough that you forget being annoyed about being blue-balled, only for the chapter to end, and it happens again. Every single time. It makes for a fraught, stress-filled reading experience. 10/10
And, because Costello is such an unrepentant tease, this book is only the run-up to the ultra-violence we all love and want- luckily, there's a second book, which I'm going to start immediately.
This book, if nothing else, really does showcase how masterfully Costello can set up a story for a reader (or player) to discover piece by piece without ever getting boring or dragging on.
This book has a good storyline, with about half of it being on Earth following an marine officer Kane in engagement before he's sent to Mars; and the other half on Mars itself before the incident. Kane is the main POV character although we do follow several others throughout the book. I've read that some people didn't like having the Earth plot but I think it helps set the background history up. By the end of this book you start to see some zombies etc but it looks like most of the games storyline will be in the 2nd book.
The typos (missing spaces between words or things like "so" rather than "do") and spelling errors are quite a pain though. There are numerous errors throughout it which really detract from enjoying it. I would have rated it higher if it weren't for them. If you can get past the errors I'd recommend this as a good read, especially if you like the game.
The 2nd book thankfully only has the odd error, so if you can make it to the end of this book then i'd recommend Doom 3: Maelstrom.
This was a great book for someone like me (a Doom geek). I tried to read some of the earlier books published for the series (by another author) but they were terrible. It was like they were just re-enacting the game, level-by-level.
This book is not like that. It explores back-story and the set up. A Mars colonisation, and a rebel Marine who gets caught up with it all. Dr Betruger is a bit of a "mad scientist" who is conducting experiments on Mars that go horribly wrong. Ian Kelliher; the chief of UAC is aware, but turns a blind eye, in the hopes that Betruger will achieve teleportation.
The end of the book seems to open up to the rest of the story (ie things go horribly wrong, and presumably where the "game" would begin).
I have the second one in the series, and am looking forward to reading it next - as well as playing Doom 3 again...
I'm a big fan of the video game. This is essentially a prequel to where the game starts. I guess book 2 in this series will take it from there. I enjoyed visiting the characters and environs I've enjoyed in the game itself, and the writing was very good. However, it did have something of a 'set-up' feel for when the real action starts.
The first book in a trilogy based on Doom 3, the see troy is interesting enough with both excitement and moments of exposition. I enjoyed the book though would have liked to have seen more character building, I am also peeved that only the first and third books are available on Kindle.
Had it been reviewed a little more before being published this book would be perfect. Might have been left for future editions :) All in all it was a very good story and I look forward to reading the sequel.