BigBadBob's Blog

I just finished reading Resistance: Gathering Storm. I originally picked up the book because it tells the story of what happens between Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2, both video games for the PS3. I was really interested in this because the games themselves offer little transition.

For those not familiar with the storyline, Resistance takes place in the 1950s, in an alternate history in which Nazi Germany never emerged, and there was no WWII. Instead, in the 1940s, Russia suddenly goes into a cone of silence, and nothing gets in or out. Most people assume there is a power struggle going on or something. Then in the early 1950s, the truth becomes known as swarms of the alien race known as Chimera rampage across Russia and quickly overtake all of Europe. Soon, only Britain remains in the fight, and eventually the U.S. sends over some troops to try and help them push the invading Chimera back.

Resistance: Fall of Man follows Nathan Hale, a U.S. soldier who is air-dropped into Britain, but is soon bitten and infected by the Chimeran virus. Normally the virus will convert a human into a Chimera, but Hale seems to be immune. However, he does gain the some of the Chimeran traits, such as the yellow eyes, quick reflexes, and healing ability. Fall of Man ends with Hale destroying several important Chimeran command towers, and then being taken picked up by the U.S. Army.

Resistance 2 picks up a few years later, but offers no explanation of the events which occured during the missing years. The game takes place in the midst of the Chimeran invasion of the U.S., and Hale is among a group known as Sentinels who, like Hale, are immune to the Chimeran virus. Thus, the Sentinels are an elite team used to take on Chimera. Im not going to get into how the game ends, since it has nothing to do with this post.

What this post deals with is the book Resistance: Gathering Storm, which supposedly bridges the two games together. However, in this it fails. Rather than spin a story to complete the missing pieces, it adds an unnecessary story that has nothing to do with putting the two games together, and never answers any lingering questions.

I got the book because I was hoping it would be based on the early Chimeran invasion of the U.S. The first games ends with the Chimera being pushed out of England and not having stepped foot on American soil yet, and then the second book has the U.S. attempting to fight off an invading horde that have already established a solid hold on key U.S. cities, in particular Chicago. There is no mention of when it first started, or where the Chimera originally invaded, or anything like that. It just starts right in the middle, with no introduction.

The plot itself is a bit silly too. Basically, the President of the United States decides to try and make diplomatic communications with the Chimera in order to make a deal which would save the remaining U.S. Some of his advisors find this to be treason, and head off to an underground resistance movement who are bent on taking on the Chimera and the corrupt government. Eventually, Hale is sent to find this advisor, because he is told that he is the one trying to make a peace deal with the Chimera. Along the way, Hale also does a few silly things, including visiting his family’s farm, saving two kids, and making sweet, sweet love to a random woman. Oh, and lets not forget about the lady who works for the Chimera, helping them round up American prisoners and then eating human flesh and possibly “pleasuring” Chimera.

I guess my biggest complaint is that not only did the book not flesh out more of the background story, but it built Hale into this character which I didnt see him being. I dont know…he just didnt feel like Nathan Hale. It felt as if he was some other guy running around doing all these things.

The book did have some good qualities. It made plenty of references to Resistance weapons and Chimeran species, which was pretty neat. There are a lot of new species introduced in Resistance 2, and the book had a good way of further describing each one, and their roles. It also delved a bit into the Chimeran mentality, which was neat to look at. We also got a look at Daedalus, who was once human but can now be seen as somewhat of the “leader” of the Chimera.

So like I said, there was some good, but a lot more bad. In the end, Im glad I read it. It was an interesting read, even though I did not like the direction it was going. I would have personally liked the book to fill in more backstory rather than creating its own plot. I would have liked the book better if there was an earlier prequel to the book that filled in what happened to Hale and the Chimera between Fall of Man and Gathering Storm. Hopefully someday that book will surface.

In the meantime, if you have played the series on the PS3, check the book out. I got it on the cheap for like $7 from amazon. If you never played the games or did not like them, then dont get the book. Without previous knowledge about the “Resistance universe”, you will be extremely lost.