Pixels to paper - 10 videogame novels reviewed

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda

'"You've got Company, Sam," Lambert says. "Looks like a motorcycle, or maybe a snowmobile, and a car. Came out of nowhere."
"Yeah, I see 'em."
I quickly move through the brush to the edge of the gate and lie flat in the snow. Most of the time my uniform is black but since it's custom-made for a Russian or Ukrainian winter, this model is completely white and thus blends in well with the natural surroundings. In a moment I'll unzip it, peel it off, and reveal the darker uniform for when I need to lose myself in the shadows.
The hum of the electrified fence suddenly ceases. They've turned it off from the inside and the gate begins to open automatically.'
(CourtesyAmazon.com)

What is it?
A Sam Fisher-starring, first-person adventure in the world of Splinter Cell. Sam's out to take out The Shop, a vicious arms dealing ring, and discover who's assassinated the scientist creator of a new kind of submarine.

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Who wrote it?
David Michaels, who's penned four Splinter Cell novels and one EndWar adventure for Ubisoft. Actually, no - Michaels is really just a pseudonym forRaymond Benson, who's written several Bond novels. Benson wrote the first two Fisher books (of which this is the second) but pulled out, and now an unnamed writer is responsible for the series. Oooh, mysterious.

Fanboy factor?
Gettinginside Sam Fisher's head isn't exactly a big draw, since we're sure people play Splinter Cell for the sneaky-sneaky-stabby-stabby gameplay, not the character development. Fortunately, there's lots of spy-lite creepy-killy action. Huzzah!

Is it any good?
The first-person narrative isn't great, as you need a very strong central character acting as the narrator to pull it off. Still, it does mean the countless action sequences flow at a readable pace, even if Sam's internal monologues/history/geography lessons seem a mite contrived.

Further reading
The shadowy David Michaels has four Splinter Cell novels - Benson's first,simply titled Splinter Cell, and the anonymous sequels,Checkmate andFallout.