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A review by vikingwolf
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy by S.D. Perry
2.0
A series of brutal murders in the woods around Raccoon City has everyone on edge and the STARS teams are being assembled to go and investigate. Bravo Team go in first but send out a distress call about damage to the helicopter and Alpha are quickly sent to follow. On landing, Alpha find the damaged helo, a missing team, the remains of a man and crazed killer dogs. With the dogs in pursuit, Alpha take refuge in the mysterious mansion which turns out to be a strange maze like structure with zombies and other traps behind the doors.
This is part of a series of seven books that are based on the Resident Evil console games following characters like Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Rebecca Chambers.
I liked the start of the book where the characters are preparing to go on the mission and the following scenes where Alpha land and have to run from the dogs and get into the mansion. However it was after that where I started to struggle with the story. I found it hard to get a mental picture of the mansion in my head because of the strange layout of the place. When we switched between characters I found it impossible to work out where everyone was in relation to each other. Confusing! I think the problem is that I haven't seen or played the ccomputer game so I find it hard to work out what I should be seeing. It got even harder as the book went along when the characters went into the garden area and went on different adventures.
There are a lot more things than zombies in this book to be afraid of. There are snakes, spiders, killer plants and a range of mutated monsters as the book progresses. That side of it is entertaining but I found the conspiracy subplot a bit less interesting, though that is just personal taste really. The way the book is written made it hard for me to get into as a zombie read. I think the focus was more on the conspiracy than the actual zombies at times.
Overall, this book didn't really do it for me. I much preferred the novels based on the films. The other issue I have is that there is no consistency in the story through these books. In this book, a member of Bravo escapes with a couple of Alpha members. That is how the book ends. In book 7, we are given Bravo's story...which has a totally different ending with no Alpha team involvement. That just doesn't sit right with me at all if these two books cover the same night, same event but have two different conclusions? That seems barmy to me!
I did finish the book but I wouldn't want to read the other books to be honest.
2.5 stars.
This is part of a series of seven books that are based on the Resident Evil console games following characters like Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Rebecca Chambers.
I liked the start of the book where the characters are preparing to go on the mission and the following scenes where Alpha land and have to run from the dogs and get into the mansion. However it was after that where I started to struggle with the story. I found it hard to get a mental picture of the mansion in my head because of the strange layout of the place. When we switched between characters I found it impossible to work out where everyone was in relation to each other. Confusing! I think the problem is that I haven't seen or played the ccomputer game so I find it hard to work out what I should be seeing. It got even harder as the book went along when the characters went into the garden area and went on different adventures.
There are a lot more things than zombies in this book to be afraid of. There are snakes, spiders, killer plants and a range of mutated monsters as the book progresses. That side of it is entertaining but I found the conspiracy subplot a bit less interesting, though that is just personal taste really. The way the book is written made it hard for me to get into as a zombie read. I think the focus was more on the conspiracy than the actual zombies at times.
Overall, this book didn't really do it for me. I much preferred the novels based on the films. The other issue I have is that there is no consistency in the story through these books. In this book, a member of Bravo escapes with a couple of Alpha members. That is how the book ends. In book 7, we are given Bravo's story...which has a totally different ending with no Alpha team involvement. That just doesn't sit right with me at all if these two books cover the same night, same event but have two different conclusions? That seems barmy to me!
I did finish the book but I wouldn't want to read the other books to be honest.
2.5 stars.