Gears of War books

I'm relatively new to the Gearsverse and the reason for that is because for one thing I'm not that good at first person shooters like Gears of War or Halo and secondly I don't always have the amount of time I'd like to devote to a game that extensive. I received Gears of War 2 for my birthday about two years ago but played for about an hour before getting annoyed and giving up. When I heard on Karen Traviss' website, though, that she was going to be writing the Gears of War books I knew I had to start reading them. I decided to go back and really put in some serious effort to play the game I had, even if that meant using an online guide from ign.com to help me.

It did.

After reaquainting myself with the controls I set out with my trusty guide to beat Gears of War 2. I decided on playing on the easiest difficulty since I have no interest in paying Microsoft an extra $10 a month to play online so I didn't care if I got to be any good or not. I just wanted to play through the story. Which I managed in about three days last summer. I found that once I got into the swing of the game I only used the guide when I had died a few times and wanted suggestions on how to do something differently, or when I got lost and needed to remember where to go and what to do. Once I beat the game I decided I could safely go and read the books. I have yet to bother getting my hands on the first game. Since I've only just started on the books I'm not sure whether I'll regret that decision or not.

I'm starting with Aspho Fields which, as far as I can tell, takes place after the first game but before the second game. If I'm wrong on that someone feel free to correct me. But if I'm right it's cool with me, I haven't hit anything from the first game that I should know about that is hindering my reading. So far the book has held to what I'm used to from Karen Traviss. Nitty gritty ugly war stuff that, unless you've been in war or know someone who has, you might not think of. Lack of supplies, lack of food, hostile environments and what's it's like to rely 100% on the person next to you to watch your back and keep you alive. She makes it seem terrifying and yet sometimes I feel as though she would be one hell of a military recruiter. Not to mention how real she makes the characters. They all have their fears, their worries and especially in the case of Dom, their hopes and dreams.

As I finish the book and make my way on to the other ones (which are fortunately available at my library now) I'll continue to share my thoughts on the books, and I'll try not to drool over Karen Traviss' writing too much.