Altman does not want to be praised.
Dead Space Martyr is the prequel novel to the first Dead Space game, it explains Michael Altman and the start of Unitology. As the game series went on the lore created by this novel was abandoned however some of it still rings true. The biggest change cited seems to be the inclusion of benevolent ghosts in the novel whereas the ghosts in the game end up just being evil. You can see this conflict with the writers in both Dead Space 1 and Dead Space 2 in regards to Nicole. In the novel the ghosts seems to be sent as a warning against the marker but they also cause some to end there own life. While playing through the series you can really see that the Dead Space writers were flying by the seat of there pants when it came to the lore.
There are other little inconsistencies in the novel such as Necromorphs not turning to goo after the marker is turned off and holopads being used even though they weren’t invented yet. All these little changes to the lore did not take away from my enjoyment of this novel. This is such a good look into the world of Dead Space. It shows Altman, a character we see and hear about everywhere but never truly know, as a reluctant prophet/martyr. His warning twisted to become a gospel.
Because this is a prequal previous knowledge of the world of Dead Space is not needed. I would definitely recommend this book to any Dead Space fan or even just a fan of horror books in general. Host of the Book Club Podcast Elise reads the first half of the novel on our Youtube Channel if you want a little taste for yourself. For some reason these Dead Space books got rereleased this year so they are back at a reasonable price. One could speculate that another Dead Space is on the horizon or maybe EA is trying to gauge interest. A Dead Space 4 was pitched somewhat recently by the original creators and got rejected so who knows what’s in store for the future of Dead Space. At least we now have easier access to the books.
For full discussion check out the VGBCs Youtube or Spotify. For what we are currently reading check out GoodReads. If you wanna join in the conversion we can talk chapter to chapter on Fable .
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