Review: Gears of War
War is not hell.
In hell the innocent are spared."
Are you looking for a feel-good read? Something nice and comforting to get lost in whilst curled up on the sofa with a big steaming mug of hot cocoa and some lovely chockie biscuits?
Yeah... No. Sorry. Move along. This ain't it.
Gears of War by writers Joshua Ortega and Karen Traviss and artists Liam Sharp, Simon Bisley, Leonardo Manco, Pop Mhan and Colin Wilson is the gritty, dark and very violent story based on the game by Epic Games. On the planet Sera two previously warring factions - the Coalition of Ordered Governments (COG) and the United Independent Republics (UIR) now battle the Locust Horde, a race of humanoids that inhabit the caves beneath the planet surface. Also known as 'grubs', these creatures use conventional weapons as well as aggressive native predators against the humans.
GOG soldiers - or 'gears' - resembling American G.I.s circa 1968: grungy, muscle-bound grunts toting extremely large weaponry, transported to battle zones in military choppers ('ravens'). The fighting is often close-quarters and involves much in the way of decapitation and exploding bodies. The Locust Horde are feral monstrosities: huge fangs, claws and tremendously overdeveloped muscles. Their bestial appearance makes them the archetypal demons from below, emerging from underground to attack. Human soldiers unlucky enough to be captured alive are dragged deep below the ground to be tortured. The grub culture also has some arcane elements, with armour reminiscent of Viking designs. Think: orcs on steroids...
The gears have something of the Vietnam air about them; fatalistic pawns pitted against an entrenched enemy, dark-humoured and often lacking in humanity even towards their own species. There is a sharp sense of morality being an expensive luxury with women used primarily as breeding stock to produce more soldiers (in "birthing creches" set up specifically for this purpose, rife with exactly the kinds of abuse this inevitably creates). Many civilians and soldiers suffer from 'Rust Lung', an illness caused by fallout from the devastating lightmass bomb used against the Horde; a situation ignored by the authorities (shades of Agent Orange).
The dark story is illustrated in a dense, atmospheric style, shadowy killing grounds (both below and above ground) contrasted with the glaring light of gunfire, explosions and the splash of bloodshed. The Locust Horde are rendered as the stuff of nightmares: dead eyes, pitted skin and the maws of sharks. Both human and non-human fighters burst off the page with finely-detailed hypertrophic physiques, every sinew starkly defined. There is a claustrophobic feel to many of the battles, shifting to vertigo when the gigantic beasts (such as the ‘corpsers’) make an appearance, so the reader is kept off-balance as the narrative pitches along.
The graphic series is comprised of several interconnected stories centred around individual characters rather than having a grand overarching plot. This includes pre-Emergence (human only) tales of conflict between the COG and UIR. Sometimes the science fiction content runs pretty thin but the action and drama do not let up. Sci-fi always benefits when realistic elements are introduced to the mix, particularly realism of the sombre variety. Gears of War certainly does not shy away from the ugliest consequences of conflict: civilian casualties, environmental contamination, torture, rape, post-traumatic suicide...
It is not all gore and gloom, however, COG scout Alex beats the mucho macho boys at their own game with some ingenious and highly unconventional battle tactics. In their testosterone-drenched world she surprises them with her combat proficiency.
Corporal Jace Stratton finds time for tenderness with the beautiful Thecelia (a woman from a breeding camp) but can it last?
Zak Webber
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