Book Review: Uncharted – The Fourth Labyrinth

Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth is a new book based on characters from the Uncharted games by Naughty Dog. Having played the games I was immediately familiar with the characters and jumped straight into the action as Drake is pulled into yet another adventure full of adventure and intrigue.

When Drake is called by his long-time friend Sully and asked to travel New York to help him in an situation he has found himself in Drake finds himself pulled into an adventure that spans Egypt, Greece and China. In the search of treasures connected to not only Midas, Labyrinths and the legendary Minotaur but also Drake and Sully are being followed by shady businessmen, assassins hell bent on stopping them, and the daughter Sully’s friend whose death pulled them into the mystery in the first place. Full of twists and turns and full of adventure Drake must not only discover the truth of the mighty Minotaur but also survive to tell the tale.

The first thing you realise when reading this book is that the author Christopher Golden has managed to capture the characters of Drake and Sully perfectly and put them onto paper. You immediately feel at home with them as they travel through jungles, Egyptian tombs and other archaeological settings as they enter the race to discover the truth. Reading the story I almost wished that this was turned into a game. The use of ancient mythology from different parts of the world and the way they are brought together into one story really add interest, especially to people who like these types of adventures.

I do feel though that people who are not aware of the games storylines may take more time to get to know the characters. It feels as if you are pushed straight into the action from the very page, and I do have to question will people not familiar with Drake understand who he is. Saying this though when you look at movies such as Indiana jones which you feel this story and the games are based on you are pushed straight into the action and it takes longer to learn about the man himself. In this book it works in a similar way. This is pulp fiction where you don’t need to know much about the characters themselves, you just want to get into the action.

I found this book enjoyable especially as a fan of the Uncharted games. Yes it may take a reader who has not played them before a while to get used to the characters but for those who are aware of the games and the type of story they will feel at home. The author twists various myths and legends to create an interesting story as a base for the action and the intrigue and mystery surrounding the race to discover the truth works to strengthen what is an interesting believable concept to base the story on. Adding a classical monster such as the Minotaur into the equation and looking at the mystery of the creature itself is an interesting thing to do and the conclusions that are found on if the creature really existed are quite interesting.

I’d hope that people will give this book a chance even if they have not played the game, its fun and in my opinion as stated would probably make a good Uncharted game. Who knows maybe the next game in the series could be based on this? We shall see.

Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth is out now from Titan Books.