X-COM : UFO Defense - A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A Pretty Good Read
Review: This is a good book to read if you liked the game or you like sci-fi and alien stories. I reccomend playing the game before reading the book because the book doesn't tell descriptions on the alien species or air\space craft that well. All that aside, it's a great book. It has a lot of geographical truths and is pretty interesting, especially if you liked the game. The plot is set up perfectly and it had me guessing till the end, which was exciting and I couldn't put it down. Over all short but sweet.

Rating:
Summary: Great book with a lot of good storyline.
Review: This is one of the better books I have read. It centers on the building of a new base in Andermatt, Sweden. During the building of the base the aliens find out and the X-Com team has to go into overtime to stop the advancing aliens. All in all this book is great for those who like Sci-Fi. The only problem I can find is that there isn't another one coming.

Rating:
Summary: Great book with a lot of good storyline.
Review: This is one of the better books I have read. It centers onthe building of a new base in Andermatt, Sweden. During thebuilding of the base the aliens find out and the X-Com team has to go into overtime to stop the advancing aliens. All in all this book is great for those who like Sci-Fi. The only problem I can find is that there isn't another one coming.

Rating:
Summary: A boring novel based on a fantastic game
Review: This novel is what you get when you hire a character-oriented writer to write a book based on an action-oriented game. As a fan of the original game "X-Com" that this book is based on, I was very disappointed. It was obvious to me that Diane Duane wasn't familiar with the actual game, but was probably writing the book based on descriptions given to her by the game company. There are no insights into the aliens or technology of the game, and actually quite a few errors in that regard. The novel doesn't carry the military feel of the original game, and never convincingly portrays the "X-Com" world.

As for the required battle scenes, Duane seemed uncomfortable writing them, because she skimmed over them with as little detail as possible. This alienates fans of the game who looked forward to the battles, so what you get is a novel that completely fails to satisfy its core audience.

I think an author who had actually played "X-Com" might have done a better job. I wish the game company had chosen an author with the skills to write a military/action/scifi novel and the respect for the source material to handle it right, instead of tossing money at a brand-name author like Diane Duane to mess it up. If you like Diane Duane, I suppose you'd like this novel. If you like "X-Com," you'll probably hate this novel.

Rating:
Summary: A boring novel based on a fantastic game
Review: This novel is what you get when you hire a character-oriented writer to write a book based on an action-oriented game. As a fan of the original game "X-Com" that this book is based on, I was very disappointed. It was obvious to me that Diane Duane wasn't familiar with the actual game, but was probably writing the book based on descriptions given to her by the game company. There are no insights into the aliens or technology of the game, and actually quite a few errors in that regard. The novel doesn't carry the military feel of the original game, and never convincingly portrays the "X-Com" world.

As for the required battle scenes, Duane seemed uncomfortable writing them, because she skimmed over them with as little detail as possible. This alienates fans of the game who looked forward to the battles, so what you get is a novel that completely fails to satisfy its core audience.

I think an author who had actually played "X-Com" might have done a better job. I wish the game company had chosen an author with the skills to write a military/action/scifi novel and the respect for the source material to handle it right, instead of tossing money at a brand-name author like Diane Duane to mess it up. If you like Diane Duane, I suppose you'd like this novel. If you like "X-Com," you'll probably hate this novel.