Rating: 
Summary: The Best Book Based on a Video Game Ever
Review: And winning the narrow catagory of "Best Book Based on a Video Game" is . . . Centauri Dawn!
If you enjoy playing Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, this book will expand the game a little bit for you, and develops some of the neat story-elements in the game. If you don't play SMAC, you might still enjoy the books, and then you can have the added bonus of buying the games and reliving some of the story elements. For those not familiar with the game, it (and the book) take place on a habitable planet on Alpha Centauri. An interstellar colony ship arrives, only to learn that the developing war on Earth has apparently cut off all contact with Earth. Seven archetypical leaders (a scientist, a merchant, an environmentalist, etc.) start factions on the new planet, and risk repeating Earth's destruction.
If you enjoy this book, then I have two more recommendations for you. First, try Red Mars, Blue Mars, and Green Mars, by Kim Staley Robinson. Those books explore very similar themes, from a little bit more of a "hard sf" perspective. Second, if you haven't read it yet, try the Iliad, by Homer. Most of the second half of Centauri Dawn is a retelling of the story of Achilles, Patrokolus, and Hector, and it's fun to trace the two stories together.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Based on a Video Game Ever
Review: And winning the narrow catagory of "Best Book Based on a Video Game" is . . . Centauri Dawn!
If you enjoy playing Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, this book will expand the game a little bit for you, and develops some of the neat story-elements in the game. If you don't play SMAC, you might still enjoy the books, and then you can have the added bonus of buying the games and reliving some of the story elements. For those not familiar with the game, it (and the book) take place on a habitable planet on Alpha Centauri. An interstellar colony ship arrives, only to learn that the developing war on Earth has apparently cut off all contact with Earth. Seven archetypical leaders (a scientist, a merchant, an environmentalist, etc.) start factions on the new planet, and risk repeating Earth's destruction.
If you enjoy this book, then I have two more recommendations for you. First, try Red Mars, Blue Mars, and Green Mars, by Kim Staley Robinson. Those books explore very similar themes, from a little bit more of a "hard sf" perspective. Second, if you haven't read it yet, try the Iliad, by Homer. Most of the second half of Centauri Dawn is a retelling of the story of Achilles, Patrokolus, and Hector, and it's fun to trace the two stories together.
Rating: 
Summary: Breaks the Mold
Review: For those of you who are tired of reading Star Trek novels; this one has characters that experience change. I look forward the the other two novels in this triology. It's refreshing to see a new world that doesn't adhere to any rules,that must preserve a franchise that sells action figures and toys. Michael Ely has taken the concept of the Alpha Centarui game and gave it a life I never expected. The characters and story in this first volume are worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: A tribute to Sid Meier's game
Review: I bought Centauri Dawn yesterday, and I enjoyed it a lot! I stayed up until I was done reading it. I have to admit, every time I played the Alpha Centauri game, I wondered how it would look like for "real", and this book, I think, has brought that image into my mind like I always expected it would be. Although it might be a tad more easy to understand things that occur in the book if you have played the game, it's still an excellent book! I recommend buying it!
Rating:
Summary: A tribute to Sid Meier's game
Review: I bought Centauri Dawn yesterday, and I enjoyed it a lot! I stayed up until I was done reading it. I have to admit, every time I played the Alpha Centauri game, I wondered how it would look like for "real", and this book, I think, has brought that image into my mind like I always expected it would be. Although it might be a tad more easy to understand things that occur in the book if you have played the game, it's still an excellent book! I recommend buying it!
Rating:
Summary: fantastic series
Review: I bought the book because I really like the game but I have to say that the game is a WHOLE LOT better than the book. The book starts off with several good scenes that set up an interesting situation but the author isn't able to sustain his momentum and ultimately devolves into a disappointing us vs. them fight that nobody wins. Perhaps the author is stating that fighting a war is a lose-lose proposition. This is a generally true statement given the amazing destructive power of modern warfare. But he gets too caught up in the increasingly self-destructive motivations of his protagonists and the story becomes nothing but a chronology of the horror of war. I really can't express my disappointment at how the book went from the intriguing high-level scope of the game to watching a couple of factions beat each other to death. I finished the book but it was a constant struggle between boredom and disgust.
Rating: 
Summary: Good start but ultimately weak
Review: I bought the book because I really like the game but I have to say that the game is a WHOLE LOT better than the book. The book starts off with several good scenes that set up an interesting situation but the author isn't able to sustain his momentum and ultimately devolves into a disappointing us vs. them fight that nobody wins. Perhaps the author is stating that fighting a war is a lose-lose proposition. This is a generally true statement given the amazing destructive power of modern warfare. But he gets too caught up in the increasingly self-destructive motivations of his protagonists and the story becomes nothing but a chronology of the horror of war. I really can't express my disappointment at how the book went from the intriguing high-level scope of the game to watching a couple of factions beat each other to death. I finished the book but it was a constant struggle between boredom and disgust.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I got this book for christmas and didn't start it for awhile. But once I did start it I couldn't put it down. The story really moves along, and I finished the whole book in a day and a half. If you're looking for a book with some great action and interesting characterizations (and a cut above the usual novelization), I'd recommend this one. In particular, the ending is interesting for what the writer does with (and to) his main characters. No one escapes this book unscathed.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Written, But Depressing
Review: I rarely read science fiction, but I'm playing the game, and thus became curious about this novel. I found it reasonably faithful to the game and well written. It held my interest with believable characters I came to care for. I became absorbed in it, basically reading the last half in one sitting to see what happened. However, I was put off by what I considered a depressing ending. Upon reflection, I'd consider it an anti-war book and it's taken me out of the mood to read any follow-ons.
Rating:
Summary: Well Written, But Depressing
Review: I rarely read science fiction, but I'm playing the game, and thus became curious about this novel. I found it reasonably faithful to the game and well written. It held my interest with believable characters I came to care for. I became absorbed in it, basically reading the last half in one sitting to see what happened. However, I was put off by what I considered a depressing ending. Upon reflection, I'd consider it an anti-war book and it's taken me out of the mood to read any follow-ons.
| 
