Doom 3: Worlds on Fire

To start, no this book is nothing like the other Doom books written by Dafydd ab Hugh (aka David Friedman) & Brad Linaweaver. In fact, it has nothing to do with those books at all, but is actually a more fleshed out version of the origins of the Doom 3 video game. Matt Costello, the story script writer for the game, takes the idea of the game and details the beginnings of Mars City up until the demons come through the portal and the origins of Kane - the marine you play as in the PC/X-Box sci-fi smash hit. Ill admit, this title starts off a tad slow with a lot of scientific talk about stuff happening on Mars City, with a dabble of action here and there that shows how Kane was actually sent to Mars because of an order he disregarded to save the lives of some 30 marines trapped in a city under siege by Russian forces. And I'll admit again, the story doesn't have much action in it except when Dr. Betruger opens up the teleporter and lets the demons through and Kane fights his way from Dr Ishii (the scientist you meet in the very beginning of Doom 3 the game) up to the Administration building. However, Kane does fight a Pinkie at one point which was cool =) This book is pretty interesting though because it introduces you to characters that didn't make the cut into the game such as Maria or (I don't remember if he was in the game but) Campbell, gives them some details, as well as shows basically the beginning of Doom 3, the tension and secrets on Mars, and fleshes out who Kane really is. Matt Costello's writing style is very descriptive, and breathes life into all the characters that he introduced into the story as well as into the environment. He even makes the part with science talk pretty interesting. Once the action picks up though, the book gets real cool. Kane fights civilian zombies, marine zombies, and a Pinkie... but I think the second book will be a lot better since it'll be (basically) the actual novel adaption to the game. Fans of sci-fi will enjoy this book. ...I know this isn't my best review, but what ya gonna do?

I saw this in the Wal-Mart for much less of a price than it deserves - but nonetheless, this was an awesome book. Let me elaborate. I always wanted a DooM 3 novel, and never thought they would ever make one; I was stuck with the Daffyd ab Hugh books, which, honestly people, weren't that bad. Come on, at least they were funny at some parts. Anyway, I couldn't believe they'd made a DooM 3 novel, and, having always wanted to hear the backstory of this particular iteration of the franchise, I got what I wanted: something that would detail everything leading up to the events of that great game. The amount of detail it goes into about just what happened to the characters gives you a linear sense of attachment to them, and it also does the one thing I ALWAYS wanted to see done: the Doom(3)guy was finally given a name. I never did think 'Player' would be too practical for a space marine, but John Kane is just awesome. Unfortunately, it only goes up to the release of Hell upon Mars City in the UAC facility, and about 25% of Kane's journey, all the way to Administration - and an abrupt end. This means the next book will pick up RIGHT where this one left off - leaving readers of the first volume having to refresh their memory or even reread parts of the first book to get an understanding of sequence. It's for this reason that I hope the second installment comes SOON. I'm also curious as to, since the entire DooM 3 game takes place during an event that lasts maybe a day at most, how this is going to be a trilogy? Hopefully, the second book will detail Kane's trek through the UAC facility, and the third novel will cover the events of Ressurection of Evil. That would be simply genius. But anyway, this book is well-written, a realistic tale that covers the Mars tragedy of 2145 and is a fine example of how game-to-book novelizations should be done.

This is one good book. MUCH better than the Dafyyd Ab Hugh Versions. Makes much more sense, is way smarter, and is WAY easier to read. Great character development, and storyline. I would reccomend this to anybody, not just DOOM fans. BUY IT TODAY! Cant wait for book 2!

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 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.

I purchased this book on a whim not expecting much. I was soon surprised to find a very good book. The characters are stereotypical in some aspects, however you can actually see yourself reacting in a similar fashion. I read the original Doom books with the Fly Mctarggart character. The story is better i think then those books. Mars has been colonized by a giant corporation the UAC with backing from the U.S. Government. The head of the company knows there are experiments going on and but the results are being hushed up. So he has it setup so his lawyer and head of security will go meet with the head scientist regularly. The main character is Lt. Kane who disobeys orders and rescues a squad of trapped marines, he is busted down to private and 'enlisted' into the space marines which is basically security for the UAC. Shortly after getting to the station all hell breaks loose. Its a good build up for the game and gives exceptionally more depth to the Doom 3 story.