by S.D. Perry
Adapted from the video game Resident Evil 2 by CAPCOM.
Published by Pocket Books in May 1999.
Republished by Titan Books in September 2012.
. . .
"He'd make it or he wouldn't; either way, he didn't think he'd be surprised. "
. . .
Review by William D. Tucker.
1998 . . .
Once upon a time in Eagleland, U.S.A. . . .
In the mountainous Midwest . . .
In Raccoon City . . .
Infectious zombies, devil dogs, and long-tongued head eating leapfrog whatsits-terrible demons!-have gone on a wild killing spree decimating the cops, the government, the voters, and no one beyond the Arklay County line seems to have a clue what's going on or who's to blame. Is it an occult force? An xtro invasion? A secret experiment gone awry?
Into the devastated city come a rookie cop, a college student, and an industrial spy each with his or her own goal. The rookie cop is looking to start his career in law enforcement. The college student seeks her missing brother. The industrial spy is after a sinister lab-created 'treasure.' Each must face down external monstrosities as well as internal conflicts if they are to survive the night.
This is an adaptation of the popular Playstation One game Resident Evil 2, the Godfather Part 2-esque sequel to the survival horror flag-planter Resident Evil. RE2 was bigger, bolder, and more beautiful than its predecessor. It carried forward the dual protagonist structure; the panic-inducing tank controls that encourage you to tread lightly when monsters that are faster than you are about; the limited quantities of ammo that compel you to choose your battles wisely and place your shots carefully; limited healing items; and, crucially, limited ink ribbons-which means limited saves. The game mechanics are calibrated to keep you on edge with each step as you cross each threshold . . . what's gonna kill me next? Am I gonna get stuck in a bum save with life threatening wounds, no bullets, and nothing but a combat knife to fend off the undead hordes?
Now, we're not talking about the game. We're talking about the novelization. A video game novelization. How does it adapt the gaming experience into prose fiction? Why read the book when you can just play the video game? Isn't reading supposed to be boring? If all these video game movies suck, wouldn’t a boring-ass book version suck at chrome-removal levels?
Depends on who you ask. If you're asking me, well, here are my answers . . .
Author S.D. Perry's (not so) secret weapon is the internal monologue. She adapts the dual protagonist structure into a multi-protagonist structure. I don't want to give you an exact number, but you have three mains . . . and then you get some other perspectives-a few more than what you get in the game. Perry cycles through a variety of subjective points of view on the ghastly disaster that has befallen Raccoon City. Everyone's got their reasons for being in a monster hot zone, and that is where the strength of this novelization lies. In the original video game, you get absorbed in maneuvering carefully through treacherous, confusing environments, and that raw experiential tension defines the player characters. In the novelization, we see how different characters bring different agendas and different kinds of expertise to the bewildering succession of horrors whether they be human or monstrous in nature. Or both.
Some characters are very earnest in wanting to help other people survive and escape. Others have selfish agendas. One especially sick fuck is a murderous monster hiding behind a facade of respectability.
Perry's novelization also evokes different styles of horror: Gothic obsessions; being stalked by an invincible killing machine; mutational body horror; oversized critters . . . yes, there's some zombie stuff, but not quite as much as I would've liked, but that's a minor lapse.
The tricky thing here is that this novelization is technically the third book in a four book sequence. So, maybe Perry didn't want to overdo the zombies after the first two volumes? Aside from this, City of the Dead mostly stands on its own, although there's no reason not to read all of the Perry authored Resident Evil novelizations, which consists of seven books overall. But if you were to only read one . . . then this is the one to read.
I like the multi-POV structure. I like the way Perry sticks very close to the characters and settings, but ruthlessly streamlines the goofy-ass lock and key puzzles that gatekeep the different sections of the game. I really like Perry's rhythm for how she writes the setpiece clashes between humans and monsters. Perry's words go faster when danger's afoot, the violence is crunchy and grisly, and the characters are believably freaked the fuck out.
And it isn't so much that Perry's trying to make the source material more realistic, so much as she's embracing the B-movie craziness of the monsters, the plot twists, and the atmosphere, whilst filling up the characters with engaging emotions and varied levels of understanding about the horror that's engulfed Raccoon City.
It ain't Proust. It's not Shakespeare. It's not even Dostoyevsky. It is media tie-in product. But it's also a lot of fun for what it is. Proceed with caution. Use as directed.
