God of War - The Official Novelization

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Speaking of, the novelization changes Kratos's final line to Baldur from "The cycle ends here. We must be better." to "You chose this end", therefore robbing the scene of its thematic relevance to Kratos's character development since GoW III and his desire to spare others from the cycle of violence that destroyed his life, and instead it's like...yeah, okay, he killed Baldur because if he didn't Freya would die and that'd make Atreus sad I guess? Literally robs the entire death of any emotional impact (save what impact is left from Baldur's final words, which still get me a bit). J. M. Barlog grew up in Chicago before serving in Vietnam with the US Air Force. He has authored numerous novels across many genres. Windows to the Soul, his debut novel, won the Readers’ Choice Award for suspense at a “Love Is Murder” Mystery Conference. Barlog currently lives with his wife in Southern California, where he is busy writing sequels to his popular novels The Heart of the Lion, Minno, and A Connecticut Nightmare. All dialogue is removed from the scene where Atreus and Kratos spread Faye's ashes, instead replaced by Atreus thinking about how he shouldn't cry because that wouldn't be godlike and he wants his father to respect him as a fellow god, which turns an emotionally touching scene that's the culmination of their quest and shows how they've actually become closer as individuals into "Toxic masculinity and the kind of mentality that's gotten Kratos where he is...is good, actually." Kratos and Atreus encountering Brok a second time is much shorter than in the game; the duo never entered the dwarf's new shop right after reencountering him and Kratos was never introduced to the mystic gateway. Obviously a lot of the side stuff is left out completely, which is understandable as the world in the game is pretty massive for exploration sake, but because this is all left out, when Atreus mentions that Mimir had said something about the Valkyries, as a reader you HAVE to be confused.

When the duo came across the statue of Thor, Kratos never revealed his knowledge of knowing Thor's status as the God of Thunder. Is this what it is to be a god? Is this how it always ends? Sons killing their mothers... their fathers?"In my opinion, you can enjoy this book very well without having played any of the God of War games or being a gamer at all. It is a great fantasy taking place in Norway, including the amazing Norse mythology. It has all sorts of mythical creatures, the Norse gods and the nine realms and all of that is written so well, you don't need any knowledge about it before hand. Everything is explained along the way, so everyone can enjoy it. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves a good (fantasy) story, not just to gamers and players of God of War Týr's Temple is said to be covered in barnacles, though in the game much of the structure isn't, save for a few areas.

But what chance does a mere mortal have against a god? Armed with the deadly chained Blades of Chaos, guided by the goddess Athena, and driven by his own insatiable thirst for vengeance, Kratos seeks the only relic powerful enough to slay Ares . . . a quest that will take him deep into the mysterious temple borne by the Titan Cronos! I am a gamer and love playing games for their stories. God of War has been on my to-play list ever since the fourth game was announced, only to find out that it is Playstation only (I am a PC gamer). A bummer, but that makes this novelization of God of War 4 even better for me to experience the story.

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However, I think that this is plagued by more problems than solutions, and actually manages to ruin what's probably one of the best stories told by a game in the last ten years or so. So do yourself a favour, and play the game - or watch gameplays on Youtube. And regarding world-building, there’s nothing. No one explains anything. I’m not ignoring Mimir’s trivia, I’m talking about that the game creates world-building with everything it has at its disposal: sounds, ambiance, environment, music, little bits of lore found by Atreus, monuments that you come across, runes, gameplay included, and a little more through dialogue and character interaction. The author decided that the only viable way to convey world-building in a book was through dialogue, forgetting that he has at the tip of his fingers the ability to also translate all those things I enumerated and integrate them gracefully in the narration and actions of the characters. Well, I was wrong. Also Kratos's eyes are described as grey and not gold, which doesn't affect anything on a thematic level but it bothers me. Especially since Fallen God's first issue has just been released and yep...those are VERY gold eyes. Set in ancient Greece and full of the gods and monsters of Greek mythology God of War was a fantastic series and called to me. The setting, the creatures, the epic boss fights, Kratos, the main character, angry with a fiery rage, hell-bent on vengeance against the God’s, the sweet weaponry that he wielded, I mean, c’mon the Blades of Chaos are amazing! and, I’m not gonna lie, the gratuitous violence and copious bloodshed appealed to.

If I hadn’t played the game, I wouldn’t have understood half of it and the rating would be so much lower right now. Because this book doesn’t stand alone at all. In my eyes, I felt this novelization brushed over some of the bigger moments of the game. Most of the action felt inconsequential and without much stakes or detail. But I guess that all comes with the territory when translating a video game.Some of the Stranger's dialogue upon meeting Kratos has been slightly changed, with an example being Yet you hide out like a frightened rabbit in these woods...you pathetic coward., with the original being " And yet you hide out here in the woods-like a coward.".