Borderlands: Debt or Alive – Book Review

I love reading. Turning off all external stimuli and relying only on the written word and my own imagination to imagine what is happening in the safety of my own head feels like real relaxation. When I can combine this activity with my love of video games, it really is a blast.

And you wouldn’t guess it, there’s a new book from Titan Books based on the Tales of the Borderlands games called Borderlands: Debt or Alive.

The first thing that attracted me was, of course, the name Borderlands, but then I realized that this particular tome was also written by Anthony Burch, the writer of my favorite game in the entire series, Borderlands 2. With that kind of pedigree on board, what could go wrong?

The story of the book begins at the end of Stories from the borderlandswhere Fiona, Sasha and Rhys have just opened the Traveller’s Vault. It’s always difficult to know how much detail to go into in a book review – too much would obviously give the story away, but I would encourage you to read the rest of the book!

Anyway, in broad strokes, Fiona and Sasha get their hands on a Typhon DeLeon Vaultlander doll worth an obscene amount of money. Of course, they now have to sell said doll to a “nerd with deep pockets” and so they head to Eden-5, where a whole lot of billionaires live. Just as they’re about to complete the sale, a certain Mechromancer comes through the wall and tries to kill their buyer. What’s going to happen next? Well, I won’t go into that too much, but suffice it to say that there are more than a few crosses, double crosses, and I believe at least one triple cross!

The writing style on display here is really very good, from the language used to the precise wording that you just know a Vault Hunter would use. There is a real sense of urgency to the story, an almost physical need to get to the next part of the narrative and see how it all turns out. The Mechromancer is of course Gaige, along with her trusty murder robot Deathtrap, fresh from Borderlands 2. But we get to see a different side of her here, and learn more about Fiona and Sasha too. Rhys? Well, not so much, as he’s a minor character this time around. Getting an insight into the motivations and inner thought processes of the three main characters is something a book can always do better than a video game, and for that reason I certainly hope Mr. Burch can be persuaded to write a few more.

One thing older readers like me will appreciate about Borderlands: Debt or Alive is that at certain points in the narrative it becomes a “choose your own adventure” book. Remember those? Yes, there are breaks and you have a few options to follow – will you bribe or threaten someone, for example? Well, thankfully all the choices lead to the same place (and yes, I’ve read them all) and so the danger isn’t as high as it was in Ian Livingstone’s day. It’s still a fun change of pace, though.

There are also a number of amusing footnotes scattered throughout, in the style of Sir Terry Pratchett, that add some extra context to what’s going on. Borderlands: Debt or Alive is playful throughout, which often seems at odds with the extreme violence and general chaos that reigns, but that’s what captures the spirit of the Borderlands games – and brilliantly so. The same black humor, the same use of violence as a means of self-expression, the same banter between characters; it’s all brilliant Borderlands, and I enjoyed every page.

I guess the moral of the story is that if you want a book representation of one of your favorite game franchises (like Borderlands for me), the best thing to do is get the guy who wrote the best games to doodle it for you. In this case, it worked brilliantly, and Borderlands: Debt or Alive should be on the reading list of every decent fan of the franchise. Of course, since this is a standalone story, it also works very well as an introduction to the Characters from the Borderlands games. And honestly, I’d like more background on any game universe.

A big thank you goes out to Titan Books for sending us a copy of Borderlands: Debt of Alive for review. Grab a copy at Titan Books directly. £9.99 is a bargain.

And if you prefer pretty pictures, you should check out Titans stunning art from Borderlands 3.