Death Stranding, Vol. 1

The Official Novelization

By: Hitori Nojima

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The first volume of the official novelization of the best-selling and award-winning video game Death Stranding, created by legendary game creator Hideo Kojima

Mysterious explosions have rocked the planet, setting off a series of supernatural phenomena known as the Death Stranding. Spectral creatures that devour the living have pushed humanity to the brink of extinction, causing countries to fall and survivors to scatter and live in pockets of isolation.

Sam Porter Bridges, the legendary porter with the ability to return from the world of the dead, has been entrusted with a critical mission by the President of the United Cities of America. He must journey across this ravaged landscape crawling with otherworldly threats to reconnect cities and people and rebuild America one step at a time.

©2019 Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. Created and developed by KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

good elaboration

not for people trying to experience the game, but I great novelization of the story. if you skipped all the vids and emails In the game, this is basically what you missed.

Awesome

I loved the game and the story. Nothing against Bronson Pinchot, but this particular book would have been better if read by the actor that portrayed the protagonist in the game: Norman Reedus.

Cutscenes the Novel

This book follows the same story progression of the game, with very little in-between about the struggles of the travel. it gives background thoughts you otherwise don't hear in the game, such as how people are feeling about a current situation, that their facial animations couldn't convey. I recommend this book if you loved the game.

if you like the game you will like the book

very similar to the game. plot is pretty consistent and you will get some greater insight here and there on certain characters. the vocabulary and character sections are welcome additions to setting the story. the reader does a good job, I don't have too strong an opinion on him but I feel he did fine. a great choice for fans of the game!

Great as the game

The story of the game with the walking bits removed. So it trims the fat

Great Story!

it's a lot of fun to hear about all the missions you do in the game 100% in order, I love it! as I was listening I could enjoy it as if I was playing the game all over again! definitely recommend listening or at least reading the book yourself! the narrator wasn't engaging enough for me to keep listening, it was very bland and didn't hold my attention very well. what kept me going is that I love the story in general and again definitely recommend the book to anybody that enjoys the strange apocalyptic world and the characters in the story. the random changes in the characters are completely understandable and some reactions made it easier to relate and understand why some characters acted the way they did having more detail in the books!

Not my cup of tea

Voice actor did a wonderful job and is who kept me engaged.

The book may have a predecessor or prequel that I am unaware of; however the author asks a lot from their audience to jump to and accept.

A initial chapter or description about the state of the world and/or jobs would have made me feel more engaged with their story.

I want more

I am reading this story because I am a lore junkie for Death Stranding and this game, and it certainly delivers in terms of giving me perspectives of characters beyond that of Sam. There are definitely moments where you get experiences of NPCs which are not in the game, and I really loved this.

But that said, there are lots of characters/preppers/knots which are not included in this story. And as a result I felt like this story was just incomplete.

Death Stranding is an epic narrative, and to that end I think it would have been reasonable to flesh this out 2 or even 3 times its current length. There is a deliberate tedium to the game which is totally avoided here as this is a pretty breezy read. I was just hoping for this to better emphasize the size and scope of the journey.

It's honestly like those moments in Death Stranding where you bring a new prepper on the Chiral Network, and it shows you the larger map of the United States. You find yourself saying "Wow, already this far along."

Decent

Narrator is good and story is unique. Those that gripe about it being pro-life beed to GET a life. Stop seeing political agendas under every rock. This is fiction, for goodness sakes.😆

Fantastic book!

With Death Stranding being my favorite game, I was thrilled to find a novelization! And I was even more ecstatic when I realized it was voiced by one of my favorite narrators and was done extremely well and faithful to the game. I definitely recommend 10/10