(Titan Books US 9781789095760, $16, 304pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, Feb 23, 2021)
Videogame tie-in, the first volume of the official novelization. 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. Translated by Carley Radford.
Published 22 Feb, 2021
Death Stranding was one of my favourite PC games of last year. I spent many a happy hour delivering parcels across the post-apocalyptic hills and mountains of the United States of Icelandic America, and several more chronicling the road trip adventures of the game s main characters in my ten-part BB Boys photo diary. It s a game I have a deep affection for, despite its bonkers plot about nuclear-explosion ghosts, ageing rainfall, and otherworldly jar babies - because why not, goddamnit? - and one that s firmly lodged itself into my brain ever since I saw the final (final final) credits roll at the end of last year. When I heard Titan Books were publishing an official novelisation of the game, I just had to check it out. So I did. Two whole books of it, and lemme tell ya, it s a real kettle of fish.