Friday, September 07, 2018

Book Review: 'God Of War' by JM Barlog

The official novelization of the PS4 video game by JM Barlog, is a pretty faithful retelling of the video game, of Kratos and his son Atreus travelling to the highest peak in all the realms to scatter the ashes of Kratos' wife and Atreus' mother. Along their dangerous journey, they cross paths with Aesir, dwarves, and many foes determined to stop them.

It's a good and enjoyable story, that focuses on the father / son relationship during their quest, which pads out the narrative a bit more for me, as Kratos struggles with, as a now single parent, trying to guide his son away from following his own dark path as well as keeping him safe from the many dangers they face on their way. The appearance of Mimir adds a levity to the story too, with his sometimes witty retorts as well as filling in some of the back story of the Norse Aesir and Vanir mythology the game is very much steeped in. It does kind of gloss over some of action and fighting as well as some other areas of the game though. So I would recommend playing the game beforehand, as it adds more to the experience, and helps fill in some of parts where the book treads more lightly. That criticism aside, the novelization is still a worthy companion to the brilliant video game.

The audiobook is also narrated by Alastair Duncan, voice of Mimir in the game, which was pretty cool and a nice little bonus for fans of the video game.

Available from Amazon, Waterstones, Audible Audiobooks and all good bookstores.

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