Devil May Cry novel
I just finished reading. I waited over half a year to lay my hands on the Devil May Cry novel. And I can say it was worth all the waiting. I enjoyed it in 100%.
For those who haven't read it. Tony Redgrave is a mercenary, but he doesn't take on whatever job that is offered. Thanks to his unusual strength he is considered to be the best, and thus gets most of the offers. However he's position changes when Gilver appears in Bobby's Cellar. And from that day nothing looks the same. From the first page it becomes fully clear that Tony Redgrave is Dante. The same way one can guess that Gilver is actually Vergil. But about that I will tell later.
When I started reading I hoped for some good action. And I'm not disappointed. For me, the action is amazing. The general atmosphere of the novel suits the one created by CAPCOM. We have here Tony/Dante with haughty one-liners, as always. Along with his unhealthy appetite for strawberry sundaes (wonder where anime makers found that idea...) and booze. Another advantage of the novel is big font (yeah, I like big fonts, I'm not ashamed) and manga-style drawings. I can't say they're of the greatest quality, but their atmosphere is something that lacks the second novel (which I haven't read yet).
If I was to focus on the plot. The general idea is not bad however the plotholes are hard not to notice. But as long as the action is going well, all I can do is laugh about some parts' stupidity and go on reading. There are really poor fragments like the sudden change from Tony to Dante, when you think God, this is the same man? Tony wasn't such an idiot... But despite all of that I couldn't help enjoying this novel.
My favorite scenes:
There definitely were some. Just as drinking battle at Bobby's Cellar. Tony vs. Gilver. So easy to predict the result, however, I really thought that Gilver would hang on a bit longer, and definitely not pass out. LOL. Poor him, and his later hangover XD. And even earlier, the fight with Denvers. Oh God, he was such a moron XD. But, yay! Our Dante (ekhm... Tony) is indestructible! what cannot be said about his coat. And then I definitely enjoyed the final Dante vs. Gilver fight, possibly even more the Tony vs. Gilver one, when Gilver first showed up at Bobby's Cellar. That was amazing! I can also say that the scene where Goldstein died and when she handed Tony his custom-made guns was one of my favorites, beautiful.
Annoying parts:
I'm sure there were more. I decided not to list the plotholes coming from the fact that this DMC novel was published before DMC3 game. Therefore the author couldn't have known the full plot of DMC3, that for example in DMC3 Dante already have Ebony&Ivory, while in DMC novel they're being made. And the novel takes place just before DMC1 game. There are also some issues concerning Vergil/Gilver.
Overall, I can say it wasn't that bad. And personally for me, it was quite good novel. I absolutely loved the Tony/Gilver relationship. The general attitude of Tony. The fighting style of Dante. His oversized sword, yay! And... favorite red coat being damaged again. However, we don't know anything about where Dante lives (he doesn't have his own shop yet) and what he does except drinking, eating strawberry sundaes (no mention of pizza!) and being a mercenary. I liked it anyway :D
Congratulations for everyone who managed to read this far x)
For those who haven't read it. Tony Redgrave is a mercenary, but he doesn't take on whatever job that is offered. Thanks to his unusual strength he is considered to be the best, and thus gets most of the offers. However he's position changes when Gilver appears in Bobby's Cellar. And from that day nothing looks the same. From the first page it becomes fully clear that Tony Redgrave is Dante. The same way one can guess that Gilver is actually Vergil. But about that I will tell later.
When I started reading I hoped for some good action. And I'm not disappointed. For me, the action is amazing. The general atmosphere of the novel suits the one created by CAPCOM. We have here Tony/Dante with haughty one-liners, as always. Along with his unhealthy appetite for strawberry sundaes (wonder where anime makers found that idea...) and booze. Another advantage of the novel is big font (yeah, I like big fonts, I'm not ashamed) and manga-style drawings. I can't say they're of the greatest quality, but their atmosphere is something that lacks the second novel (which I haven't read yet).
If I was to focus on the plot. The general idea is not bad however the plotholes are hard not to notice. But as long as the action is going well, all I can do is laugh about some parts' stupidity and go on reading. There are really poor fragments like the sudden change from Tony to Dante, when you think God, this is the same man? Tony wasn't such an idiot... But despite all of that I couldn't help enjoying this novel.
My favorite scenes:
There definitely were some. Just as drinking battle at Bobby's Cellar. Tony vs. Gilver. So easy to predict the result, however, I really thought that Gilver would hang on a bit longer, and definitely not pass out. LOL. Poor him, and his later hangover XD. And even earlier, the fight with Denvers. Oh God, he was such a moron XD. But, yay! Our Dante (ekhm... Tony) is indestructible! what cannot be said about his coat. And then I definitely enjoyed the final Dante vs. Gilver fight, possibly even more the Tony vs. Gilver one, when Gilver first showed up at Bobby's Cellar. That was amazing! I can also say that the scene where Goldstein died and when she handed Tony his custom-made guns was one of my favorites, beautiful.
Annoying parts:
- overusing of mercenary word, it appeared pretty much on ever page at least once for the first half
- uncanny appeared four times within the 50 pages maybe, geez, aren't there any synonyms to this word?
- Tony this, Tony that the name appeared definitely to often
- even when Goldstein was dying Dante kept calling her "old lady", gah, that was really annoying; the same as later "That's the old lady's!" line. Dumbness.
- "I'm gonna find you demons and send you straight back to hell! Me! Devil hunter Dante!" - no comments. LMAO
- Dante sees exactly the same face as his own under Gilver's bandages and have no idea who the hell the other may be, even though earlier he noticed that Gilver isn't human nor demon. And then he notices the same amulet he has with Vergil written on the item and only then he suddenly realizes that he has a brother! A twin brother! LOL
- How the hell did Gilver managed to tuck that huge armor of Nelo Angelo under a simple suit? And in additions to that, the armor is of steel, then why it didn't make any sound when he was walking (in the suit)?
- Dante can't move his hands because he was shot on the arms so that his muscles were ripped apart and seconds after that he does some weird headstand, his limp hands fall to the ground holding the guns. And then he manages to pull the trigger countless times, God-know-how aim directly at Gilver and kill him that way. With hands on the floor, huh? Come on! Even demon's body can't recover that fast.
I'm sure there were more. I decided not to list the plotholes coming from the fact that this DMC novel was published before DMC3 game. Therefore the author couldn't have known the full plot of DMC3, that for example in DMC3 Dante already have Ebony&Ivory, while in DMC novel they're being made. And the novel takes place just before DMC1 game. There are also some issues concerning Vergil/Gilver.
Overall, I can say it wasn't that bad. And personally for me, it was quite good novel. I absolutely loved the Tony/Gilver relationship. The general attitude of Tony. The fighting style of Dante. His oversized sword, yay! And... favorite red coat being damaged again. However, we don't know anything about where Dante lives (he doesn't have his own shop yet) and what he does except drinking, eating strawberry sundaes (no mention of pizza!) and being a mercenary. I liked it anyway :D
Congratulations for everyone who managed to read this far x)