Starcraft II: Flashpoint

What an excellent book for Starcraft fans! For fans of Christie's character driven stories in the Blizzard universes, this is an absolute MUST HAVE! It's got a bit of everything in it: tons of action, adventure, great dialogue, mystery, suspense and heart touching romance! The story transitions well from the immediate aftermath of Wings of Liberty to set the stage properly for the upcoming Heart of the Swarm expansion set. Many characters, both major and minor, have their motivations and personalities shown in spotlight to create a much more personal journey than has been explored in the previous games. Of course the main characters you would expect make appearances: Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan, Matt Horner, Valerian and Arcturus Mengsk. More importantly, many of the series minor characters are also explored, including Mira Han, Rory Swann, Egon Stettman, and previously unknown members of Raynor's Raiders. The character driven plot gives a much greater sense of a "universe" than Wings of Liberty could on its own, giving the games setting more depth in hindsight. In my opinion, though, the highlight of the book was not its wonderful, character driven plot to set up Heart of the Swarm, but the tantalizing looks that it gave to the past, concerning the relationship of Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan. The book goes into detail about just what Jim thought upon meeting Kerrigan for the first time (the famous "You pig!" and "Yeah but you were thinkin' it" line), their first date, Jim's deepening feelings for Sarah as she expresses her true emotions and motives. While I have mentioned many of the character driven elements of the book, that is not to say that it isn't still set in the Starcraft universe! There are still fantastic action scenes in the book: plenty of gunfighting, battles in outer space, chase scenes and the like! The difficulty is that I caught myself having to re-read many of these scenes because the spoken dialogue between the main characters are just too captivating! Readers, I know it's difficult when the story is just so ridiculously engrossing, but slow down and take your time to read through the actions scenes as well! They really help to set the scene for just how much trouble Jim, Sarah and crew are in than the dialogue alone can convey! To round out my review, I would like to add that I have touched very lightly on the plot elements, and I neglected to mention some of the more important things at all because I do not want to spoil the book for you. I have not mentioned the most tender moment of the franchise so far, the suspense involving the reveal of Raynor's true allies and enemies, or the sinister plot underlying the franchise expanded upon ever so slightly in these pages. I have been a fan of literature since I was young, and a great fan of Christie Golden's work for Blizzard since I discovered her. This book, in my opinion, will rival her novel about Arthas Menethil as the masterstroke of her career so far. Going into the novel I had many idolized ideas about who the characters and their feelings towards each other. I was pleasantly surprised, at the end of my reading, to find that my ideas about the characters were not only correct, but enhanced by the backstory presented to us. To me, the mark of a great book is one which can not only present a beautiful overall scene, but also colors in the small details to create a full picture. In this book, the Starcraft universe is our canvas, and the complex characters fill in all of the wonderful details.

Christie presents an excellent, action-packed story. The details about Jim and Sarah's past help you understand their relationship. Valerian Mengsk plays an important role in the book, and I thought his character was developed very well. You even get a closer look at Mira Han and her mercenary gang. The action keeps coming in this book, and you certainly won't be bored. In summary, the author provides an exciting story that really adds to the Starcraft Universe. Great plot, excellent character development, good writing (I've heard some of the other books had some poor writing, I have no complaints for Flashpoint). Please write a book that transitions from Heart of the Swarm to Legacy of the Void Christie!

Let me start by saying this is the first book I've read, both by Golden and within Starcraft lore. It really does a good job bridging the gap between Wings and Heart, and also fills in some gaps in the original games' plots by refreshingly beefing up the relationship between Raynor and Kerrigan, the former Queen of Blades. There are spoilers here if you haven't played the first part of the Starcraft II trilogy, but why would you read a book set in the time line if you weren't at least partially up to speed? The characters seem legit, the situations are well written, and the tension is real. There are surprises, twists, and some solid questions asked. Having not played Heart of the Swarm yet I can say I am both amped to give it a go and interested in seeing how the cliff hangers are handled. If you like Starcraft and want more, this is as good a place to look as any.

I love the Starcraft universe, so I have read most of the books that are associated with Starcraft lore. This book is a great bridge between Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty to the upcoming Starcraft 2 Heart of the Swarm. It helps give a closure to WoL and an understanding to the story of HotS. It is written well, sticks to the story line from both old and new Starcraft lore, and has some great moments in action, story line, and relationships between the characters. It is a great read for all Starcraft fans.

Flashpoint takes place between SC2: WoL and HoTS, be warned it does contain major spoilers if you havent finished WoL. -----Spoilers--------- Sarah Kerrigan is no longer the Queen of Blades, Jim Raynor has succesfully brought back the Ghost we all know and love from the first game but all is not well. While looking mostly human, Sarah definitely has some residual Zerg DNA left in her and has been left in a very vulnerable and weakened state. Jim has to decide what's best for her but who can he trust, hounded by all Arcturus Mengsk's fleet he is running out of options and out of time. The book is a quick, fun read and we get to revisit some of the supporting cast members from the WoL. Valerian Mengsk, Dr. Narud, Mira Han, Matt Horner and the crew of The Hyperion all show up again to help or hender the reformed Queen of Blades.

The story's fairly entertaining, and contains some good flashback stuff about Raynor/Kerrigan's pre-infested relationship, as well as what happened between WoL and HotS. But the writing itself is not great. Worth a read.

This was an incredible book, as Christie Golden always delivers. It is a MUST read for all Starcraft fans. I was actually disappointed in the game because it didn't seem to follow this. This book is suppose to happen in between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm, but if you played HotS, they don't seem to make this book part of the lore. Shame on you Blizzard! Incredible story. It is the book I have been waiting for ever since Starcraft 1. Christie Golden writes amazing stories, and this one does not disappoint.

This goes between the first SC2 game and the next... or that's what it says. As the second game isn't out yet, then I can't be sure yet. It's a good story that expands the happy ending from the game. It tells you that not all the good guys where that good and that even if Raynor seemed like he had no doubts at the ending cutscene, he actually regrets doing what he had to do. It's a nice exploration on the motivations of the characters of a very epic game. Nothing too fancy. But it's a good book. If you're a SC2 player that actually cares for the story then this is a recommended read.

i bought it a few days before heart of the swarm came out and really liked it. it closes the gap between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm really well.

This book was very slow moving and obviously written by a woman as a bit of a romance. A lot less action then Heaven's Devils and too much conversation about the relationship between Kerrigan and Raynor. I really didn't feel like this one catered to the hardcore fans of the game

It was delivered in excellent condition. I bought it for a gift.

Excelente para los amantes de la saga

Flashpoint continues where the Wings of Liberty campaign left off, Raynor carrying the partly humanized Sarah Kerrigan out of a cave on Char. Initially I wanted to read this before Heart of the Swarm. What this book turned out to be was a part of the story no less amazing than what we get in the actual games. The characters feel real and you can almost watch them grow as the plot advances. The dialogue is well written and the action sequences paint out events before your eyes vivid enough that you can almost see them happen. Christie has a unique writing style, and as an aspiring writer my self, there were plenty of things I would have put to different wording my self, only the book wouldn't have turned out as well as it did. All in all, this book blew me away and I'm now more than ever looking forward for the next SC2 games, but also the countless other StarCraft books I've missed out on so far.