BioShock: Rapture

I went into this one with an open mind. I'm not usually one to read books about videogames I've played. However, I had enjoyed the books from Mass Effect enough to give this one a fair shot. Reviews on this book were mixed, with people unhappy at one star and people completely thrilled with five. I give it 3, personally. It was a fun read, but nothing you wouldn't get from playing the games. This book's major draw was, of course, the already existing audience of people who loved the games. However, the games liked to give you bits of the world in audio clips scattered around the game, out of time and context. Sure, you could sit there and order them a bit, but ultimately it's not something most people will sit down and dissect. We all knew how it would end: the first Bioshock game and the events therein. The books major duty was to show a direct timeline of how exactly things came about and what order those were in. Let's just put it this way: eccentric billionaires are not the best judge of character. If they ever invite you to a nearly anarchist society with all their other eccentric friends, I would definitely advise you against it. However, there's nothing really shocking about this book if you played the videogames. Sure, you get a little bit more background about the characters that left those audio clips behind for you while you played, but none of the characters were particularly remarkable aside from Bill McDonough. (view spoiler)[RIP man. You were the best of these assholes. (hide spoiler)] If you like books about sci-fi utopian societies devolving into chaos, you will enjoy this book. Otherwise, I think I'd just invite you to play the games.