The game isn't particularly hard, nor is it all that scary. Some of the changes Morris employed are just absolutely maddening to read.įirst off, I just want to say, this game had no need to be novelized. Instead, I assume they were given some synopsis or storyboarding details, but not much beyond that. I think the developer had set this novel up to be released simultaneously with the game, because I can't seriously believe the author had access to a finished copy of the game or even played the game in order for this book to be the outcome. What started off as a relatively promising book fleshing out the world of Dead Island quickly nose dived into "did this author play the game?" Now, I'm reading this many years after both titles have been released, in fact, I've just finished up playing Dead Island 2 which came out very recently to give people an idea of the time frame we're talking about here. Not the best adaptation (though I haven't read other video game novelizations) but if you're a fan of the game or like zombies, check it out. So even if you're excited to read a novelization of your favorite video game, always go at it with a grain of salt.Ī simple but entertaining book. The same can be said for movie to book adaptations. Note: This is the first time I have ever read a video game to book adaptation because while the idea of a favorite video game being turned into a book is great, there's always a chance the book will not live up to the expectations of many gamers. The characters could've used some development (the same can be said about the game as well), the plot could've been more fleshed out, and that's about it. While the book was simple, I did enjoy some parts and was entertained. If you played the game, that's pretty much what happens in the book. The best way I can describe this adaptation is 'simple.' By simple, I'm not saying it's bad (though some people don't like simplicity and want more, which I understand), but the plot is just them going around Banoi, killing zombies, rescuing a few people along the way, and that's about it. Now, if you've never played Dead Island or heard of it, you can google it and it'll give you a straight forward plot of what happened. The novel version is loosely based off of the game plot albeit, some slight alterations. Now they must fight their way through hordes of zombies in order to escape the fresh hell known as paradise. I wasn't expecting one from Dead Island though.įor those of you who don't know, Dead Island (the video game) is about a group of 4 survivors who are at an island called Banoi, enjoying the tropical scenery when BAM, zombies appear. Imagine your favorite video game or franchise getting a book. His most recently published or forthcoming work includes a novella entitled It Sustains for Earthling Publications, a Torchwood novel entitled Bay of the Dead, several Doctor Who audios for Big Finish Productions, a follow-up volume to Cinema Macabre entitled Cinema Futura and a new short story collection, Long Shadows, Nightmare Light.ĭead Island marks my first video game to book adaptation I have ever read. His short stories, novellas, articles and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines, and he is editor of the highly-acclaimed Cinema Macabre, a book of fifty horror movie essays by genre luminaries, for which he won the 2007 British Fantasy Award. He has since published a further sixteen novels, among which are Stitch, The Immaculate, The Secret of Anatomy, Fiddleback, The Deluge and four books in the popular Doctor Who range. Mark Morris became a full-time writer in 1988 on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and a year later saw the release of his first novel, Toady. There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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