Yes, it’s true…there is a novel out for God of War, which is based on the first game. Being a huge God of War fan I had it pre-ordered, and I read it during my down time on the honeymoon. I was a bit skeptical at how the author would tackle turning an action game into a good read, but I was pleased with the results.
The book follows the action of the game very closely. All the puzzles that you must battle your way through, the enemies you must dispatch, the events that occur in the game…it’s all in the book. It was a bit tough to read at certain parts, especially the three-page sections devoted to a single trap or puzzle that I already knew about from playing the game. So some parts of the book did drag on in this respect.
However, the additional information in the book goes a long way to really laying out the storyline of the series. For example, there are whole chapters which are dedicated to the gods as they watch over Kratos’ quest. I got a lot out of the book, and it really made the game make more sense to me. For example, it explains in a way why Ares is attacking Athens in the first place, gives you some background mythology on the gods themselves, and also a lot of the backstory to Kratos. I loved the game, but there was only so much that was explained. This book really does a great job in filling in some plot holes and giving the reader additional information that is absent from the game.
The book is clearly a must-read for any fan of the series. But I will warn you: if you didn’t play the first game, or even if you played it and didn’t like it, then avoid the book. While the additional details are great, you will need to wade through the entire game all over again by reading it instead of playing it, and it’s not as fun. Personally, I really enjoyed it, and I hope that the author is working on books for the other games in the series as well, so that the story of Kratos can continue to be fleshed out.
