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Gears of War: Anvil Gate Paperback – August 31, 2010
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With the Locust Horde apparently destroyed, Jacinto’s survivors have begun to rebuild human society on the Locust stronghold. Raiding pirate gangs take a toll—but it’s nothing that Marcus Fenix and the Gears can’t handle. Then the nightmare they thought they’d left behind begins to stalk them again. Something far worse, something even the Locust dreaded, has emerged to spread across the planet, and not even this remote island haven is beyond its reach. Gears and Stranded must fight side by side to survive their deadliest enemy yet, falling back on the savage tactics of another bloody siege—Anvil Gate.
- Print length464 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRandom House Worlds
- Publication dateAugust 31, 2010
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
- ISBN-10034549945X
- ISBN-13978-0345499455
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
NONCITIZEN INCIDENT LOG SUMMARY THAW 1 TO BRUME 35, 14 a.e., INCLUSIVE.
Attacks on property: 35 Attacks on civilians: 20 Casualties, civilian: 15 injured, 6 dead. Casualties, COG personnel: 18 injured, no fatalities. Casualties, insurgents: 30 dead. (Injury data unavailable. No wounded detained.)
Vectes Naval Base, Navy of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, New Jacinto: first week of Storm, 15 a.e.
"Welcome to New Jacinto," said Chairman Prescott. "And welcome to the protection of the Coalition of Ordered Governments. May this new year be a new start for us all."
Hoffman had to hand it to Prescott; he could always manage to look as if whatever lie he was telling at the time was the holy truth. The two men stood on the jetty as the Gorasni container ship Paryk disembarked its human cargo, five hundred civilians from an independent republic that had still been officially at war with the Coalition until last month. They were part of the COG now, whether they liked it or not. Hoffman guessed that they didn't.
"They don't look in a party mood, Chairman," Hoffman said.
A statesmanlike half-smile was nailed to Prescott's face, probably more for the benefit of his local audience--a detachment of Gears, a medical team, some civilian representatives--than for the new arrivals.
"I hope it's disorientation and seasickness rather than a lack of gratitude," he said.
Hoffman eyed the procession, looking for potential troublemakers and wondering if any of the refugees spoke the language well enough to see the irony in the COG's title. Governments? There was only one government left, a city-sized administration on a remote island a week's sailing time from Tyrus. That was all that was left of a global civilization of billions after fifteen years of fighting the Locust.
But on a sunny day like this, not a typical Storm day at all, Vectes must have looked pretty good compared with the mainland. No grub had ever set foot here, and it showed. The Gorasni bastards should have been grateful. Safe haven and food in exchange for all that extra fuel they didn't need? It was a good deal.
"Maybe they just hate our guts." Hoffman tried to imagine the mind-set of a pipsqueak nation that ignored the Pendulum Wars cease-fire. That was some serious grudge-nursing. "It was their leader's idea to join us. I'm betting he didn't take a vote on it."
"Let's hope they think of it as a bring-a-bottle party."
The Gorasni certainly weren't arriving empty-handed to drain the COG's limited resources. They were surrendering their imulsion supplies--an operational offshore drilling platform--in exchange for a refuge. In a world burned to a wasteland, fuel and food were the two assets that meant there'd be a tomorrow. Hoffman wasn't crazy about the Indies and he was damned sure they weren't crazy about him, but these were desperate times.
Can't be too choosy about our neighbors. At least they're not Stranded. They're not killing us--yet.
A security detail of Gears lined the jetty, channeling the refugees to the reception team at an old storehouse that was built into the fortresslike walls. Hoffman glanced at the faces around him and wondered if any war could ever make you forget the one that preceded it. But the Vectes locals had never even seen a Locust. Their monsters were still the Indies, the old human enemy from an eighty-year war--the people landing on this jetty.
"Bastards." An elderly man from the Pelruan town council wore a chestful of Pendulum War medals on his threadbare jacket, including the Allfathers' Medal. No, he wasn't about to forget. "Can't forgive any of them. Least of all those who still aren't sorry for what they did."
Hoffman noted the campaign ribbons and chose his words carefully. It was hard to navigate that dividing line between mortal enemies one day and new allies the next. The name that made his bile rise wasn't Gorasnaya, though, so he could look at these Indies with a certain distance.
Should I? I know what they did. I know what the old guy means. But they weren't the only ones. We all did things we weren't proud of.
"They're Indies with plenty of fuel," Hoffman said at last, conscious of Prescott eavesdropping. The man could look engrossed in something but that slight tilt of the head said he was taking in everything within earshot. "Nobody's asking you to forgive. Just take their imulsion as war reparation."
The old man stared at Hoffman as if he was an ignorant kid rather than a fellow vet.
"My comrades died in a Gorasni forced labor camp." He tugged at his lapel so Hoffman could see a timeworn regimental pin with the trident badge of the Duke of Tollen's Regiment. "The Indies can shove their fuel up their ass."
"Mind my asking why you've come today?"
"Just wanted to see how they looked without a rifle in their hands," said the old man. He was probably in his seventies, maybe only ten or fifteen years older than Hoffman, but the border with old age always moved a few years ahead with each birthday. "Everyone needs to look their monsters in the eye. Right?"
And all monsters needed to acknowledge their guilt before forgiveness could begin. Gorasnaya hadn't even come close. Maybe that would never have been enough anyway.
"Right," said Hoffman.
The veteran turned his back on the stream of newcomers filing along the quay and hobbled away. The Gorasni weren't going to get a welcome parade from the townsfolk in the north of the island, that was for sure.
Prescott took one step back and bent his knees slightly to whisper to Hoffman. "Doesn't bode well, Victor."
"What did you expect?"
"It was a whole war ago. It's history now."
"Not here." While most of the world fried, Vectes had waited without much to distract it. The island had been cut off from the rest of the COG when the Hammer of Dawn was deployed, although whether it thought itself lucky now was another matter. "It's still yesterday for some of them."
"And you?"
"I never served on the eastern front," Hoffman said. He had his bad memories like any other Gear, but they had nothing to do with Gorasnaya. "I don't imagine some Indies have fond recollections of us, either."
Prescott inhaled slowly, eyes still on the procession of Gorasni. "I won't allow human society to rebuild ghettos, but let's be prudent. Keep the refugees apart from the rest of the civilians until we're absolutely sure that everyone's used to the idea. Like the rehabilitated."
"Is that what we're calling them now?" Hoffman had now had a bellyful of euphemisms. "Let me strike the word Stranded from my operational vocabulary, then. I thought we were keeping the rehabilitated ones separate for opsec reasons so they didn't tip off their unrehabilitated buddies about our patrols."
If Hoffman's irritable lack of deference irked Prescott, the man didn't let it show. In fact, the slimeball smirked. "Who says a certain caution about the Gorasni refugees isn't for operational security too?"
Refugees was an ironic term. Everyone on Vectes--except the native islanders--had fled from Old Jacinto only months earlier. Lines were drawn fast in this new post-Locust world. Hoffman glanced up the jetty to watch three Pelruan councilmen talking in a tight knot, one of them far too young to have served in the Pendulum Wars anyway. So were a lot of the Gorasni. That didn't mean they hadn't inherited opinions from those who weren't.
Nobody's ever seen more than a few months of peace. Any of us. How long does it take people to forget? Or do we never manage to?
"Trescu's going to keep his people in line, and so will we," Hoffman said at last. He didn't like the look of a couple of the men disembarking, in particular the way their jackets hung as if draped over something bulky underneath. Gorasnaya might have been relaxed about arming civvies, but the COG wasn't. They'd have to deal with that, diplomatically or not. "It's all about keeping folks fed and busy."
"The voice of experience."
And you know where I acquired it, don't you, asshole? "Nothing's more trouble than hungry, bored people."
"Where is Trescu?"
"With Michaelson, working out tanker rosters."
"Good." Prescott lost interest in the refugees right on cue. He checked his watch and took a couple of steps up the jetty in the direction of his office. "I want a permanent detachment of Gears on that rig. Can't be too careful."
"Already in hand, Chairman. I'm putting Fenix and Santiago on it. They're heading out shortly to do a security assessment."
"Wouldn't they be better tasked rooting out the Stranded? We can destroy a Locust army, but suddenly we can't eradicate a few hundred half-starved vagrants."
"I know who my best problem-solvers are, Chairman." And I'm the frigging chief of staff here. I decide how I deploy my men. Hoffman ignored the sly criticism. "That imulsion platform is going to be a bigger problem than pest control."
Prescott gave him a brief frown but didn't ask for an explanation. It didn't take a genius to work it out anyway. Gorasnaya couldn't protect that damn rig--or maintain it--without having to crawl to the COG for help. It was going to tie up COG resources. But the COG needed the imulsion to keep the fleet running, build a city, and drag this damn place out of the last century.
Prescott gave Hoffman his best statesman's public relations smile--no display of teeth, just a curl of the lips. "I have absolute faith in you, Colonel. We would never have survived this far without your leadership. I look forward to the report."
Product details
- Publisher : Random House Worlds; Reprint edition (August 31, 2010)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 464 pages
- ISBN-10 : 034549945X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0345499455
- Item Weight : 14.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #387,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,087 in TV, Movie & Game Tie-In Fiction
- #4,495 in War Fiction (Books)
- #9,688 in Science Fiction Adventures
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About the author
Karen Traviss is the author of a dozen New York Times bestsellers, and her critically-acclaimed Wess’har books have been finalists five times for the Campbell and Philip K. Dick awards. She also writes thrillers, comics, and games with military and political themes. A former defence correspondent, TV journalist, and spin doctor (okay, nobody's perfect) she lives in Wiltshire, England. She expects to be remembered for her devotion to brewing sake and fermenting anything that stands still long enough to be stuffed in a jar.
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This book was similar to Jacinto's remnant with an emphasis on survival but also had a lot more political intrigue as we see that what remains of the COG are fractured into four places: the citizens of Pelruan who are against the Independents and the Stranded, the remnants of Jacinto who are still battle shocked that they will follow Prescott wherever he goes, the Independants who have joined the COG our of necessity and have their own problems with the Stranded while keeping their own army in tact, and finally the Stranded who have taken amnesty but aren't exactly friendly neighbors.
Tensions run high in this book where "The ends justify the means" becomes a philosophy but is still brought in to question, when are you going too far?
Baird takes a front row seat in this novel, him being one of the primary characters. It's interesting how Traviss portrays him. In the game Baird is an ass. In the book he is still an ass but a likable one as we get to see just who he is. HIs loyalty to Marcus and more importantly his friendship with Cole. Out of all of Delta Squad, Baird is most ideally suited for this post war rebuilding era because of his skill as an engineer, finally he feels like he matters. It's interesting to look at his character from that angle.
Dom is still shattered over Maria but is beginning to mend, what is clear though is he is now attached to Marcus even more since Marcus is "all he has left". In Dom we see a broken man, in so many pieces that it may not be possible to put them all together.
Bernie is still around but her character is more of a companion this time around, being there to help Hoffman and the others sort out their messes. She is still fun (and has a dog!) while still dealing with her new reputation that has happened because of the events surrounding Jacinto's Remnant.
Hoffman also gets more development this time around as we finally read about the elusive Anvil Gate, the "defining moment in his career" as we have read previously. I didn't find the flashbacks this time around nearly as compelling as they were in Aspho Fields but they were still interesting and the present time more than made up for the flashbacks.
The interesting part of the flashbacks to Anvil Gate was finally getting into Adam Fenix's head. As any Gears fan will know Adam is alive in the final game so it is great to see the roots of his character being planted now.
That is what I love about Traviss' novels. The author really knows how to set up little clues along the way, little details that end up mattering a lot later on in the novel. We see the roots of the HAmmer of Dawn in Adam's mind in this novel, we see the first possible hint at the Locust with Elaine, we see the first fractures of the COG here in the novel beginning with old grudges from the Pendulum Wars.
We also finally get to see the Lambent again, being absent in Jacinto's Remnant, we get a clear glimpse at how dangerous this new enemy is and how what little peace we had after Gears 2 is now gone as well.
Like I said, this book is setting the stage for the final chapters in the Gears series, bread crumbs along the way to our final destination. It is an entertaining and interesting read as well as a necessity for any Gears fan
Great job Karen Traviss!
The Bad: Not much action, Delta Squad takes a back seat, the ending has no meaning, no significant plot twists
The siege on Anvil Gate has always been a mystery to Gears of War fans. Mainly because the Pendulum Wars are never talked about in the games. The Pendulum Wars was a 70 year war between the Coalition of Ordered Governments and the indies or independent nations. They didn't want to be ruled under the COG so they fought for it. The book jumps between just before the events of Gears of War 3 and a few decades prior as Colonel Hoffman during the siege of Anvil Gate. The recent events are the continuing survival of humanity, the search for more Immulsion, and the discovery of polyps and Lambent stalks (seen in Gears 3).
I have to say that Anvil Gate doesn't really go anywhere. It's more descriptive narrative than anything else. There's not as much dialog as other Gears books and that's a shame. The book doesn't really focus on Delta Squad as much but mainly Hoffman and Baird. All the events seen in Gears 3 are told here in this book which is great insight. The constant shaky line between the COG and Gorasnaya (the COG's main enemy during the Pendulum Wars) is interesting to see as well as how they deal with the indies wreaking havoc and making things harder for everyone. I honestly can just say that Anvil Gate really shows you how hard it is to survive in the Gears universe. Not something the games can really portray. Sure it looks hard to survive, but the day to day stuff isn't really talked about.
There really aren't any new characters if you have been reading all the Gears books, which is fine by me. The relationship between Hoffman and Mataki as well as the occasional quips of Dom thinking about Maria are interesting. We also get to see more about Marcus' childhood and how Anya Stroud's mother, Helena, and Marcus' dad, Adam, served together. It kind of brings all the little strands together and ties the knots. All the little questions that you get from playing the games are answered here in a nice cohesive tale.
I just wish there was some more action and some more shocking twists. The story just kind of ends and is really just a tale that puts all the pieces together for you, nothing spectacular or complex, but non-Gears fans won't appreciate the novel at all. If you really love the Gears universe and want more insight on the Pendulum Wars (besides Aspho Fields) then give this a gander.
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SLIGHT SPOILER!
The second storyline (each book has both a present-day and historical story) partly concerns Colonel Victor Hoffman (the other part concerns Marcus' father, Adam Fenix). Hoffman famously held the fort city of Anvil Gate (original Kashkuri name Anvegad, meaning 'keyhole' as it was the key to keeping other nations out of Kashkur) during a long and deeply unpleasant siege during which the other side resorted to some seriously underhanded tactics to try and take the city. So Hoffman resorted to some underhanded tactics of his own, and here's where the full thing gets told, giving us a much better insight into Hoffman's nature and personality than any of the games had time to, since in them he was quite a secondary character who only seemed to exist to bark orders until game 3, where if you read between the lines you do learn a thing or two.
All in all, a wonderful way to put further flesh (and a bit of muscle) onto the bones of the Gearsverse. Congratulations to Karen Traviss for some truly excellent writing.