Bioshock: Rapture by John Shirley Review

[forestgather50]

Bioshock Rapture is the prequel for the very successful video game series Bioshock. In Bioshock Rapture we learn of what actually happened and what pieces were in place to set the entire world of Rapture and so many lives that depended on it into a downward facing spiral of death and destruction.

Bioshock Rapture is a story about a Russian immigrant turned billionaire's dream of having a perfect system. A system in which creativity is not restrained, a system in which science is not restrained by "humane" societies, and where the truly hardworking are supposed to benefit in the end but this is very far from the truth.

We start out by being introduced to a billionaire named Andrew Ryan. He has just heard of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing s of world War 1 and is so disgusted that he issues a demand to his subordinate that it is the right time to start the "project". Up till now the reader has no idea what this project is unless you have played the video games (which I highly recommend you do). But if you have not the book still does a very good job of describing and telling the reader all about this world's lore. Without giving away the secret and spoilers lets just say if you have not played any of the games and this is your first time into the world of Bioshock then you will be certainly surprised.

What happens next is quite interesting and the reader gets to learn a lot about Andrew Ryan's thoughts and ideals. We learn about his background and how he escaped the Bolshevik revolution of Russia and how he completely believes that the only people in the world who succeed are the ones who play with the cards that they are dealt with so to speak.

Without giving any spoilers the reader can expect to be very enthralled and sometimes even appalled by Andrew's belief system and what he will do in order for it to be kept in place.

The author does a great job in d=really describing the world to almost make a movie in your head and for the reader to truly feel and see what is happening and the story actually makes you feel and care for the characters in the book.

But this book is not without some shortcomings. Some chapters in the book seem very drawn out and almost seem like the author is stalling for time. Other times he passes of encounters with other characters like something we would not see in everyday life. But these shortcomings are vastly undermined by so many things that the book does right.

In conclusion if you are a fan of the Bioshock series or are just a sci-fi fan and are looking for something new that this is definitely the thing you need and should add to your summer reading list.