Quantum Break Zero State Review April 5, 2016

Editor’s Note:  A review copy of the book has been provided to this website by its publisher.

I haven’t had to write a book report in years.  Honestly, I was never a fan of writing them to begin with, but I’m such a huge fan of the work of Remedy Games, that when I was given the opportunity to review the novel Quantum Break Zero State, I jumped at it.

  
For those of you who don’t know, Quantum Break: Zero State is a new novel by Cam Rogers that is being published by Tor Books.  It is a non-canonical novelized version of the original game’s story, but it isn’t an exact adaption of the game.  In short, the book can best be described as taking place in an alternate universe to the game’s timeline in the way it presents the reader a POSSIBLE version of the events of Quantum Break.  That means that while many of the game’s events are included in the book, some of the events of the book are not featured in the game, or may play out differently in the book than they did in the game.  Since I haven’t played the Quantum Break game yet, I can’t comment on how differently the two are, but since the game’s story can branch out depending on the player’s decisions, it is highly likely that your game experience will differ from what transpires in the book.  Personally, I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with that, and I have to give big props to the book’s author for taking such a complex branching story and making it into a comprehensive linear narrative.

The book begins with a foreword by Remedy’s lead writer, the original face of Max Payne himself, Sam Lake.  I was not expecting it, and thought it was a nice way to set the tone for book.  I’ve been a die-hard fan of Sam Lake’s work since I played the first Max Payne on the PC back in Summer 2001, and it was great to see Sam give the book’s author a send off before the narrative kicked in properly.

As I began reading I found the story itself to be quite a page turner.  Without trying to spoil anything, I can assure you the exciting events that took place just in the book’s first chapter (which you can read here) immediately grabbed my attention and held onto it tightly as the plot moved along.  It wasn’t long before it became clear that author Cam Rogers did his research while writing this book.  I’ll let the short video below tell you why.

As you can tell, that tidbit impressed me.

The experience reading this book was certainly a new one for me, because I’ve never read a video game book before I played the game it was based on.  To all of you who might be afraid the book will spoil the game for them I have my own thoughts about the experience I would like to share.  While I haven’t played the Quantum Break game as of the time I’m writing this review, I can say with some candor that reading Quantum Break: Zero State has only made me want to play the game even more.  Instead of spoiling the game’s events, I feel like the book has enhanced my knowledge of the game’s world and character motivations, putting me in the perfect place to begin playing when I finally start streaming the game later today.  Since the game has a fluid branching storyline, I know for a fact that I can make different decisions in the game than the decisions certain characters made in the book, essentially providing a new experience.  I feel like I’m going into this game fully prepared for everything that is going to be thrown at me, and since this is a complex story about time travel, I’m going to appreciate all the help I can get.

If you’re a fan of Quantum Break or you like to read great action stories I can’t recommend this book enough.  Whether you’ve played the game or not, you’re going to find something unique to enjoy in this book.  Starting Today, you can find Quantum Break: Zero State at various book retailers in Hardcover and Paperback format.  If you prefer a digital version, the book should be available for purchase at select online marketplaces including the Kindle store.