For those of you who missed it, I posted a short review recently of Raymond Benson's adaptation of Metal Gear Solid. Within an hour of posting that particular review I had purchased its sequel Sons Of Liberty. Following my positive overall experience of the original book, my expectations were high for the second. I'm sorry to report that those expectations have not been met.

As good an author as Raymond Benson is (being nominated as Ian Flemming's successor in writing the James Bond novels is not an everyday occurance) his main failing in this novel is to adequately describe the big shell complex. Despite the map included on the opening page, the many bridges & struts are barely described beyond the letters that designate them.

This greatly detracts from the familiar memories of Raiden retracing his steps around the big shell as his mission priorities alter with the changing circumstances caused by Solidus Snake & Deadcell. This struggle to adequately describe the surroundings makes certain scenes such as the Harrier boss battle almost impossible to visualize without first-hand experience of the game.

The scenes that I found so wonderful in the original book are now absent; no new scenes are included, and too much of the narrative is taken up by Raiden's internal speculation of events.

Perhaps I am being harsh in my evaluation, yet by itself Sons of Liberty is a poor adaptation, considering the length and scope of what the game itself covers in comparison to Benson's literary work. Of the two novels written, this is easily the poorer effort.