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cowvboy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
that resident evil fever never really goes away, it seems. raccoon city hits different every time.
mattcolewilson's review against another edition
3.0
As far as video game adaptions go, this was pretty solid! I would have thought that basing a novel on the game would have resulted in the worst adaptation, but this proved to be much better than the movie. (Although that's not really high praise.)
However, reading the events of the story as a novel really highlights how ridiculous it all is. Some things just work better in a video game. Fighting a giant crocodile in a game can be cool and intense and fun, but it doesn't have the same impact when reading that in a novel. And all of the game's influences felt almost embarrassingly naked on the page. (The G-parasite as the chestburster from Alien. The unstoppable Mr X. as the Terminator.) The game included these things but somehow made them feel wholly original. Just different methods of immersion, I guess.
The author got ~most~ of the characters right and included enough specific moments and locations from the game to trigger plenty of good feelings. The written word has the benefit of relying on the reader's imagination, and my mind was filled with the world from the video game. And as a huge fan of RE2 in particular, that world was very nice to revisit.
But as other reviewers have pointed out, attempting to get into the mind of Ada was probably the author's biggest mistake. She's not one of my favorites, but the whole point of that character is her cold mystery. Yeah, she's cheesy as hell in the game and the story does imply some *chemistry* between her and Leon. But spilling her inner, intimate thoughts onto the page deflates the whole concept of her character.
Another issue is that a lot of things were shuffled around and I don't think these decisions helped tell the story. Fans of the game (the only audience for this book) are pretty sensitive about things lining up, so the seemingly needless shuffling burned through a bit of my good will. But on that point, this whole series isn't canon anyway, so I'm not sure it has much appeal outside of an extremely specific feeling of nostalgia.
All that said, I had a pretty fun time. And I really wish I would have gotten into these books as a kid.
However, reading the events of the story as a novel really highlights how ridiculous it all is. Some things just work better in a video game. Fighting a giant crocodile in a game can be cool and intense and fun, but it doesn't have the same impact when reading that in a novel. And all of the game's influences felt almost embarrassingly naked on the page. (The G-parasite as the chestburster from Alien. The unstoppable Mr X. as the Terminator.) The game included these things but somehow made them feel wholly original. Just different methods of immersion, I guess.
The author got ~most~ of the characters right and included enough specific moments and locations from the game to trigger plenty of good feelings. The written word has the benefit of relying on the reader's imagination, and my mind was filled with the world from the video game. And as a huge fan of RE2 in particular, that world was very nice to revisit.
But as other reviewers have pointed out, attempting to get into the mind of Ada was probably the author's biggest mistake. She's not one of my favorites, but the whole point of that character is her cold mystery. Yeah, she's cheesy as hell in the game and the story does imply some *chemistry* between her and Leon. But spilling her inner, intimate thoughts onto the page deflates the whole concept of her character.
Another issue is that a lot of things were shuffled around and I don't think these decisions helped tell the story. Fans of the game (the only audience for this book) are pretty sensitive about things lining up, so the seemingly needless shuffling burned through a bit of my good will. But on that point, this whole series isn't canon anyway, so I'm not sure it has much appeal outside of an extremely specific feeling of nostalgia.
All that said, I had a pretty fun time. And I really wish I would have gotten into these books as a kid.
emziethebookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Resident evil city of the dead takes place in the resident evil 2 game era but what can I possibly say another amazing read from S.D Perr, love how it is different in some parts and parts that stuck to the actual game play.
Throughout reading city of the dead I can quite possibly say it was nerve racking at some bits as you didn't know what was going to happen next, or if there was going to be an easy road for our main characters, there was no possible way of knowing, the main point was to escape which I am glad they managed too.
However, the ending was different for me as it was very different from the actual game ending, which was a surprise for me.
Now onto underworld to see what waits for me and my favourite character Leon Kennedy.
Throughout reading city of the dead I can quite possibly say it was nerve racking at some bits as you didn't know what was going to happen next, or if there was going to be an easy road for our main characters, there was no possible way of knowing, the main point was to escape which I am glad they managed too.
However, the ending was different for me as it was very different from the actual game ending, which was a surprise for me.
Now onto underworld to see what waits for me and my favourite character Leon Kennedy.
chriszlol's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jjarthur's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
michaelmac316's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
rubblez's review
4.5
Thoroughly enjoyed this, it's a great novelization of RE2. I'd recommend it to any fan
shiv91's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Leon has always been my favourite Resi character, so I was looking forward to this! Really fun read, with, as expected, lots of scary creatures.
As jacksepticeye would say, RPD = Real Proud Dad
As jacksepticeye would say, RPD = Real Proud Dad
tkat's review against another edition
3.0
Now this is the Raccoon City I know and love.
Welcome ladies and gents to the third book in the Resident Evil series, City of the Dead, based on the Resident Evil 2 game.
Here in city of the Dead, we are introduced once more to Claire Redfield sister to Chris Redfield, and Leon Kennedy. Both arrive in Raccoon City for their own reasons, Leon because he is a rookie cop starting the beat, and Claire in search of her brother. But what they find is more than either one of them is willing to handle.
Raccoon city is full of the living dead. Shuffling zombies searching mindlessly for new, fresh flesh to devour. The entire book is the pair of them evading the dead and trying to save those few who they find living in the catacombs beneath the city after the Umbrella Corporation mucks up yet another experiment.
You know, you think they would learn eventually. Viruses that turn people into zombies is a BAD thing! Stop experimenting already!
Welcome ladies and gents to the third book in the Resident Evil series, City of the Dead, based on the Resident Evil 2 game.
Here in city of the Dead, we are introduced once more to Claire Redfield sister to Chris Redfield, and Leon Kennedy. Both arrive in Raccoon City for their own reasons, Leon because he is a rookie cop starting the beat, and Claire in search of her brother. But what they find is more than either one of them is willing to handle.
Raccoon city is full of the living dead. Shuffling zombies searching mindlessly for new, fresh flesh to devour. The entire book is the pair of them evading the dead and trying to save those few who they find living in the catacombs beneath the city after the Umbrella Corporation mucks up yet another experiment.
You know, you think they would learn eventually. Viruses that turn people into zombies is a BAD thing! Stop experimenting already!