A Game Inspired Book: Bioshock: Rapture
Video games are no stranger to media diversity; influencing the movies, TV, books and even art.
Admittedly sometimes this goes tragically wrong, but every now and again you find a diamond in the rough; namely Bioshock: Rapture. John Shirley did a wonderful job capturing the feel and intensity of Rapture and really added to the story of the Bioshock Series.
Bioshock: Rapture is a prequel to the video games so I wouldn’t suggest reading this prior to playing as it would spoil the ending, especially of the first game. Now I assume most everyone has played the game but even those with no intention of playing Bioshock would still enjoy the read, for its solid story and misguided politics. Having played and loved the games, I was expecting a lot from this book and felt it delivered.
Heavy in POV from the many characters results in the story’s timeline being a little choppy. I felt this style, which could be off putting to some readers, added to the isolated feel the game had. Even knowing how the story ultimately ends, the book still held me tight wanting to learn more about who had the control in Rapture and how this grand designed failed. Shirley provided a quality background for Ryan, Fontaine, and Tenebaum, that held true to spirit of Bioshock tying in nicely to how they were portrayed in the game.
Shirley masterfully filled gaps and provided solid connection to the bits of information provided by the audio diaries, recorded by Rapture’s citizens and discovered throughout game play.
The recordings document the events leading to Rapture’s demise, and it is obvious Shirley used those diaries to show a complete picture of the events that took place. As a Bioshock fan, Shirley made me love the game all over again, and have a new appreciation for the efforts of Irrational Games for telling a truly epic story.
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