Book Review: The Quartz Zone Massacre by Rebecca Levene
Delving back into the futuristic war zone of Nu-Earth for one last time this week, we are heading back to the front lines with Rogue and his bio-chips. Now, what we have here is a book that ties in with a video game from Rebellion Publishing, a game I have not tried, so this is entirely new to me. Maybe if the book inspires me enough, I will grab the game.
Book Details
Title: The Quartz Zone Mazzacre
Author: Rebecca Levene
Publisher: Rebellion Publishing Limited
Type: E-Book
Page Count: 256
Fluff: Rogue Trooper: genetic infantryman; sole-surviving member of his unit, cut off and hunted remorselessly by enemy forces. Rogue is hot on the trail of the Traitor General who sold out him and his buddies, three of whom accompany him as sentient life chips stored in his high-tech weaponry—novelization of the sci-computer game title.
Review
First, you need to realize this is not the comic version of the story. Though the tale takes a tremendous amount of inspiration from the comics, it does go off on its path, and I would describe it as an alt-verse version of the tale. What it does for the reader is help fill out the main character of Rogue and give you a valid reason for the whole revenge script. Rogue comes across as a more likable character, as we get to experience some fundamental human traits from him, like fear of failure and comradeship with his bio-chip. But what impressed me was Levene's brilliant ability to describe battle scenes and make the Nu-World landscape come to life.
I feel no book can be perfect, so where does this book fall flat? It's too short and rushed. I would have loved spending time on the characters, allowing them time to grow with the reader and more battle scenes. Levene did a great job with these. I truly feel this could have been a full-sized novel or even a few books rather than a rushed short read.
For a computer game tie-in, this is a solid read and worth the low cover price.
Let me know your thoughts.
