Time to head back into a love/hate franchise: Predator. Over the years, the Predator series has tried to expand into novels, comics, and video games. Whilst it's received warmth and love in the comics and games industry, it has always struggled in novel format. Though personally, I've enjoyed a few of the older titles in the past. This title Stalking Shadows, is a prequel to a video game I have not played, so I am going in blind. Hopefully, I will enjoy myself and have some fun along the way.
Title: Predator: Stalking Shadows
Author: James A. Moore
Blurb: An action-packed prequel to the new IllFonic video game Predator: Hunting Grounds - revealing deeply buried secrets in the battle between the ultimate hunters and their human prey.
This official prequel novel leads into the new Playstation 4 video game from IllFonic. Predator: Stalking Shadows is the bridge between Predator 2 and the current day continuity. U.S. Marine Scott Devlin takes on a new assignment that begins with the clean-up of a Los Angeles combat scene revealing what appears to be alien weapons and tech. His next mission, to an equatorial jungle, seems like an assault on a drug cartel until his team finds human bodies, skinned and suspended from the trees. Justifiably freaked out, Devlin digs deeper and discovers hidden truths, clandestine agencies, savage opponents... and an unexpected ally.
Format: 336 pages, Paperback
Review
First up, the bad news. This is a timeline-jumping novel. What I mean is we start in LA in the 1980s and end up in 2019/20. If you hate the 10 years later format, I recommend you avoid this story. This title works for me because I don't mind it when done well.
The feature of this title is Scott Devlin, a US Marine who has become increasingly embroiled within the secret web of the Hunters throughout his career. We experience chance meetings, random green liquid spilled and an accent, muscle bond special operative.
What I like about the novel is the fact that it doesn't focus on one event, one predator or one mission. Instead, we get a very well-thought-through character progression. It is great to go from a fresh-faced, want-to-save-the-world trooper, into a Spec Ops veteran, to a top-secret mission organizer. We learn about his comrades and brothers in arms, and we feel his loss, his excitement, and his anger. This is a very genuine and interesting way to create a predator story. It was refreshing for once to care about the humans in a Predator title, which sounds silly for sure.
I won't go too deep as there are spoilers related to movie plots, and I assume the game so I will end here. Overall a fun read, it captured human nature in a way I hadn't expected and is a great addition to the franchise. Go read it!
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