sersi's review
4.0
I love the Bioshock games. They’re the reason I read this book and they’re why it’s a bit difficult to actually evaluate it. As someone who has played Bioshock 1 and 2, reading this was very, very fun. A prequel to the first game, Rapture serves to flesh out the world and history behind the games. Told from an array of perspectives (most belonging to some fairly significant figures within the games), it traces the rise and eventual decay of Andrew Ryan’s dream city.
The quality of the writing is fairly strong for a commercial tie-in novel, at least compared to the last few I’ve read (Wayne of Gotham, the first two Mass Effect novels) and despite having a fairly good sense of where this is all going to end up, Shirley manages to produce a fairly tense environment. I also found the novel to be very atmospheric, but I’m not sure how much of that was due to the writing and how much of it was due to my experiences playing within the locations. Finally, the book manages to set up both Bioshock 1 and 2, so if you want to read this and have any interest in the games, I recommend playing both first. It won’t ruin the game play experience, but I think knowing all about Sophia Lamb and her cult when there’s no real mention of them in the first game might be a bit jarring.
In short: This book was very enjoyable, but hard to review because so much of my experience was tied in with the games and my love of them, not necessarily the writing itself. However, for what it is/what I’m capable of evaluating it as, this is definitely worth reading.
The quality of the writing is fairly strong for a commercial tie-in novel, at least compared to the last few I’ve read (Wayne of Gotham, the first two Mass Effect novels) and despite having a fairly good sense of where this is all going to end up, Shirley manages to produce a fairly tense environment. I also found the novel to be very atmospheric, but I’m not sure how much of that was due to the writing and how much of it was due to my experiences playing within the locations. Finally, the book manages to set up both Bioshock 1 and 2, so if you want to read this and have any interest in the games, I recommend playing both first. It won’t ruin the game play experience, but I think knowing all about Sophia Lamb and her cult when there’s no real mention of them in the first game might be a bit jarring.
In short: This book was very enjoyable, but hard to review because so much of my experience was tied in with the games and my love of them, not necessarily the writing itself. However, for what it is/what I’m capable of evaluating it as, this is definitely worth reading.
mkean's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book. It's been a while since I played the actual game, but that means that there was more of an "oooh" revelation at some of the plot twists. I forget how much plot information the actual game gives, but the history of Rapture in general is really... far-fetched? Of course it is, it's fiction, but it was almost in an improbable way. Creating a city under the ocean? Sure, I dig it. Ryan becomes a tyrant? A given. But scientists doing human experiments and creating a drug from a sea slug that creates mutant addicts and brainwashed demon children? Uh. I understand that there are some radical scientists out there, but the extreme combinations seem highly unlikely, even for a fictional game. In a way, the game was more convincing than the book. I'm not sure how well they gave the backstory in the game itself, but it was almost better when I just accepted that it all just happened without needing the whole explanation.
As a standalone book, if you haven't played the game, makes the implausible situations even more unbelievable, in a fictionally-written, unconvincing sense. The writing was good, but not extraordinary. Ad the ending seemed rushed; the balance of action and development seemed off. Still, dystopian utopias hit a certain sweet spot for me, so I can't complain too much. I'll take what I can get.
As a standalone book, if you haven't played the game, makes the implausible situations even more unbelievable, in a fictionally-written, unconvincing sense. The writing was good, but not extraordinary. Ad the ending seemed rushed; the balance of action and development seemed off. Still, dystopian utopias hit a certain sweet spot for me, so I can't complain too much. I'll take what I can get.
vudemn's review against another edition
3.0
"I chose the impossible, I chose Rapture!"
Verovatno je bio poduhvat pretočiti sadržaj igre u knjigu. Vizuelno gledano, teško je preneti taj filing, ali donekle je uspeo, ovaj Shirley. Donekle, jer je ipak nemoguće to potpuno uraditi, a i smatram kako se previše oslanjao na igru, pa mi baš smetaju audio-dnevnici koji su bukvalno preneseni ovde.
Priča u suštini prati Billa Mcdonagha, iako se fokusira i na POV pripovedanje, gde imamo Ryana, Sullivana, Diane i ostale poznate i nepoznate junake iz originalnog Bioshocka. Mogu se osetiti svi oni delovi, od jezivog Medical Pavilliona, pa sve do čudesne Arcadie.
Dok piše prateći određenog junaka, Shirley se potpuno unese u njegovu ulogu, pa čak iako je u pitanju treće lice, junak se oseti kroz samu deskripciju, ponajviše Tenenbaum, Fountaine(koji ima odličan fragment o otimanju identiteta), i možda Ryan, o kome sam menjao mišljenje više puta tokom čitanja, ali on je, kao jedna od centralnih figura ovde, predstavljen kroz više slojeva, jer je i sam napredovao na mentalnom nivou tokom svog boravka dole.
Utopija postaje distopija, Levine je fino odradio posao i za Rapture i Columbiu, predstavljajući raspad jednog grada i društva postepeno, kroz rupice u njima koje postanu pukotine, a zatim i čitavi krateri kroz kojih,u ovom slučaju, protiče mlaz divlje vode.
Već sam toliko toga pisao o Bioshocku, tako da mi se čini kao da je sve što bih napisao ovde samo reciklaža, pa ću to i izostaviti. Ko želi da sazna malo više o Raptureu jer mu nedostaje taj podvodni grad, mora uzeti i ovo u šake.
Verovatno je bio poduhvat pretočiti sadržaj igre u knjigu. Vizuelno gledano, teško je preneti taj filing, ali donekle je uspeo, ovaj Shirley. Donekle, jer je ipak nemoguće to potpuno uraditi, a i smatram kako se previše oslanjao na igru, pa mi baš smetaju audio-dnevnici koji su bukvalno preneseni ovde.
Priča u suštini prati Billa Mcdonagha, iako se fokusira i na POV pripovedanje, gde imamo Ryana, Sullivana, Diane i ostale poznate i nepoznate junake iz originalnog Bioshocka. Mogu se osetiti svi oni delovi, od jezivog Medical Pavilliona, pa sve do čudesne Arcadie.
Dok piše prateći određenog junaka, Shirley se potpuno unese u njegovu ulogu, pa čak iako je u pitanju treće lice, junak se oseti kroz samu deskripciju, ponajviše Tenenbaum, Fountaine(koji ima odličan fragment o otimanju identiteta), i možda Ryan, o kome sam menjao mišljenje više puta tokom čitanja, ali on je, kao jedna od centralnih figura ovde, predstavljen kroz više slojeva, jer je i sam napredovao na mentalnom nivou tokom svog boravka dole.
Utopija postaje distopija, Levine je fino odradio posao i za Rapture i Columbiu, predstavljajući raspad jednog grada i društva postepeno, kroz rupice u njima koje postanu pukotine, a zatim i čitavi krateri kroz kojih,u ovom slučaju, protiče mlaz divlje vode.
Već sam toliko toga pisao o Bioshocku, tako da mi se čini kao da je sve što bih napisao ovde samo reciklaža, pa ću to i izostaviti. Ko želi da sazna malo više o Raptureu jer mu nedostaje taj podvodni grad, mora uzeti i ovo u šake.
bookishbabe431's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Gore, Body horror, and Gun violence
Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Racial slurs, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
tombristow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
olivierv's review against another edition
2.0
It might be a nice add on for the fans of the games and it was fun getting to know more about the characters backstory. But I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who hasn’t played the games.
laedyred's review against another edition
Boring, caricature-like characters littered with stereotypes that are supposed to serve as personalities. The "plot" drags with so many unnecessary words that I guess are an attempt at world building. References to the games are just thrown in for the reader to say, "I know that!", nothing more. This is a disappointing, disgraceful depiction of the Bioshock series that destroys the magic. I was tempted to push through just to see how Lamb and Fontaine were involved, but I put the book down for a week and never picked it back up.
shepardsolbear's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Fire/Fire injury
vetara's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
minja22's review against another edition
4.0
I like it! It tied everything in with the game really well. Nothing was left skipped over. IT was dark a lot of the time which was to be expected. Like the game, a lot of things the psycho's did just left me sickened. When I finished a was laying inside a room a 1:30 am and there was window on the ceiling away from me. There was a blue filter pulled down over the window which gave me the sense of being underwater as the light streamed through. Especially since I wasn't sleeping under it and could only see the effect of the light on the room. That was cool... but more freaky. Anyway, good book!