Rating: Summary: A different but not so bad take of the game IMO... Review: Improved greatly over the WC3 novel. It has a superb beginning in the portrayal and history the Confed. But the excitement goes down when Blair walks matter-of-factedly into the realm of the Border Worlds with apathy as if switching college roommates. The lack of surprising element in Blair and the other crewmembers especially troubled me when the star port vet and Towyn were brought onboard without foreknowledge. Major inconsistencies with the game, such as the elimination of Vagabond and Catscrach as major characters, and the very unnatural romance between Blair and Sosa reduces the enjoyment a bit. The novel still brings you unexpected adventures, and I recommend it as an excellent companion to the game.
Rating: Summary: Wrought with anticlimatical apathy; exciting nontheless. Review: Improved greatly over the WC3 novel. It has a superb beginning in the portrayal and history the Confed. But the excitement goes down when Blair walks matter-of-factedly into the realm of the Border Worlds with apathy as if switching college roommates. The lack of surprising element in Blair and the other crewmembers especially troubled me when the star port vet and Towyn were brought onboard without foreknowledge. Major inconsistencies with the game, such as the elimination of Vagabond and Catscrach as major characters, and the very unnatural romance between Blair and Sosa reduces the enjoyment a bit. The novel still brings you unexpected adventures, and I recommend it as an excellent companion to the game.
Rating: Summary: Comments on Price of Freedom Review: Much of the research that went into WC:Price of Freedom was based on Great Britain after World War II. England carried the war in the west alone after the fall of France, and before the US entered in a big way in middle-late 1942. Great Britain, having already given up a generation in World War I, was bled white in fighting the fascists. England the victor was in almost as bad a shape as France and Germany and needed the Marshal Plan just as much.So, what does this have to with the Confederation? I imagined England without a Marshal Plan, with cities bombed and factories destroyed, an economy on the ropes, a government too strapped for cash to take care of its veterans properly, and a society fumbling to adapt from being in an extended state of total war. The Blair character was based on career soldiers and pilots I have known who fought as officers leading squadrons and combat battalions who suddenly found themselves without occupations in the draw-downs that followed Desert Storm/Desert Shield. Many felt cut adrift, and had a hard time at first in adapting their military skills. Most adapted in a booming economy that could not afford to keep those skills on the shelf... but Origin's Confederation is barely surviving, much less booming. Bill's outline and selection of plot threads avoided some of the most common options in the game. No matter what the choice had been, there would have been a critique of the road not taken. The outline offered an opportunity to look through the eyes of two veteran warriors (Blair and Tolwyn) whose focused lives have been cut adrift, and need new causes to sustain them. Blair finds his mid-way though the book, and his edge returns. The outline was chosen to emphasize this side of the Blair/Tolwyn story. The Blair/Sosa romance is not part of the game, but was included as a conventional decision to give the lead character a love interest. Sosa's appearance at key moment also an opportunity to be a catalyst for Blair's growth. The selection of hardware and the decision to make the majority of it semi-obsolete was based on studying the military inventories of developing nations. The Border Worlds, like Brazil in the 1960's, was strapped for cash and had a tough choice... buy a few very expensive top-of-the-line models, or get a lot of war surplus cheap and make do. I chose the latter route, as that is what most developing nations have done. Brazil, for instance, still uses vintage World War II tanks and P-51 fighter planes are still in service in several countries. I also thought it made a better story... the plucky little guy improvising solutions that outsmart a bigger and stronger opponent.
Rating: Summary: Wing Commander 4 and a half Review: My first Wing Commander book was "Heart of the Tiger" and I got it for the same reason I bought "The Price of Freedom". I liked the game. Since I had already played the game two or three times, I kept thinking of the things that had changed and what was different. The plot unfolded in much the same way as the game but filled in many gaps that would make a video game boring. Of course this works the other way and leaves out a few details. The new look at Admrial Tolwyn shed a different light on his character. The game designers never had time to explain his character the way an author could. Thus I liked the book Tolwyn better than the game Tolwyn. I wish as much could be said for Col. Blair. The game showed him as a war hero who was itching to get back to life as a pilot. The book showed him as an old, fat man with a drinking problem who oftem questioned himself. Overall I enjoyed reading the book cover to cover and have suggested it to other Wing Commander fans.
Rating: Summary: Wing Commander 4 and a half Review: My first Wing Commander book was "Heart of the Tiger" and I got it for the same reason I bought "The Price of Freedom". I liked the game. Since I had already played the game two or three times, I kept thinking of the things that had changed and what was different. The plot unfolded in much the same way as the game but filled in many gaps that would make a video game boring. Of course this works the other way and leaves out a few details. The new look at Admrial Tolwyn shed a different light on his character. The game designers never had time to explain his character the way an author could. Thus I liked the book Tolwyn better than the game Tolwyn.
I wish as much could be said for Col. Blair. The game showed him as a war hero who was itching to get back to life as a pilot. The book showed him as an old, fat man with a drinking problem who oftem questioned himself.
Overall I enjoyed reading the book cover to cover and have suggested it to other Wing Commander fans.
Rating: Summary: Well..... it's..... different..... Review: Okay, I know the changes in the book was done for the sake of the book, but... well... I loved Vagabond in the game, whether it's his personality or his fate at the end. (And this has nothing to do with me being a Chinese...) but in the book, he is, well, not there... a few seconds, maybe, but not enough... Also, the book never told how Maniac and Vagabond lived from the last mission to Kilrah... I mean, it's pretty logical that they were picked up by the Kilrhathis, but... I'd have liked to see it explained in the book... but don't get me wrong, it's a very good book... I recommand it to every WC fan out there...
Rating: Summary: Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom Review: The book that is based on the game is really good. But there are some things that are not so good like for example, Blair never fell in love with Sosa in the real game. I really can't see why at all he could fall in love with her. But it is still a good book.
Rating: Summary: A different but not so bad take of the game IMO... Review: The one thing I never understood in the WC Universe was the portrayl of Tolwyn in the game versus the portrayl of the books. This is especially true for Price of Freedom, where in the game you find out something amazing about his character. I thought the book explained it a little better. Sure the game wins hands down for being more stimulating, but it's a good novel nonetheless. Most people want to see heros as unthinking patroits with no depth. But Blair's brooding and drinking is more than appropriate for a man who has seen so many die for so long but still accepting what must be done. I think people talking about the change to the Border Worlds in the novel is quick and uneventful forget how fast Blair put on a BW suit in the game without mention. And as for Sosa, I liked that she and Blair got together. Catscratch wasn't very appealing in the game, and just dropped off the universe when you save him. And I am glad Vagabond wasn't in the book much, because I hated to see him die in the game. Plus, the book brings more reality to the game as to the smaller resources and other problems of the Border Worlds rather than just letting you change over and destroy Confed fleets at will. Anyway, this is leaps better than any Pilgrim(can we say Use the Force, Luke) novel or WC movie, and is the last good WC book (until I read False Colors that is.)
Rating: Summary: To different Review: This book has it all wrong. The border world's flying outdated craft. NO WAY!! Tolowyn is potrayed all wrong. Same with Blair. Blair never fell in love with Sosa! What happend to Catscratch? He was in it for about two pages! And last but not least, The Lexington is not a Concordia class carrier! It is the same class as the old rust bucket in Wing Commander 3. The Victory. Anyway. On the bright side it has the wing commander name on it and that has to count for something ehh?
Rating: Summary: The Best Wing Commander Book I Have Read! Review: This book is superb! A real gem in the wing commander saga. -Collin Hoffman Silver Moon Online Books
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