Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy
'"Yo, Chris!"
Chris turned away from the soda machine and saw Forest Speyer striding down the empty hall toward him, a wide grin on his tanned, boyish face. Forest was actually a few years older than Chris, but looked like a rebellious teenager - long hair, studded jean jacked, a tattoo of a skull smoking a cigarette on his left shoulder. He was also an excellent mechanic, and one of the best shots Chris had ever seen in action.
"Hey, Forest. What's up?" Chris scooped up a can of club soda from the machine's dispenser and glanced at his watch. He still had a couple of minutes before the meeting.'
(CourtesyAmazon.com)
What is it?
A novel adaptation of the first Resident Evil game, from the first zombie attacks in Raccoon City to Jill and Chris' frantic escape from the Tyrant in the laboratory bowels of Spencer Mansion.
Who wrote it?
S.D. Perry, whose other novels include Aliens, Predator and Star Trek tie-ins. Trivia fact: Perry wrote the novelisation of the movie Timecop.
Fanboy factor?
High. Perry has a set of already well-rounded and much loved characters to play with, and never once shies away from the good stuff - the gory, bloody zombie attacks. The book even opens with a gruesome description of two children who've been eaten alive by everyone's favourite monsters.
Is it any good?
Good enough for a Resi nut to wallow in the simple action, though Perry's dialogue is awfully bland. But the regular nasty (and unflinchingly well-described) moments of zombie terror go some way toaverting criticism from thebasic writing often on show.
Further reading
There'sa whole series of novelsby Perry surrounding the games, both adapting them and filling in the gaps. Real fans, though, should try tracking down the first ever Resi novel,Biohazard: The Beginning. If you can read Japanese, that is.
