Resident Evil: Underworld is the fourth book in the series written by S.D. Perry. This is the second original story, which is very cool that Capcom allowed this to happen. It is a pretty good story, even if it doesn’t tie into anything outside of the novels.
There are a few new characters in this novel, as well as the unique creations from Perry. The characters from the second game are used here, as well as the surviving characters from Caliban Cove. It is explained that Chris, Barry, and Jill are off in Europe.
Trent is given a little character development in this book. He’s the character who really needed it because he rarely appears in the other novels. I really like the idea behind his character, so learning more about him was great.
With only two more books in this series, I’m doubting that I’ll get the answers to most of my questions. There is a line of Japanese books, which I’m not sure if they were translated. Anyway, let’s get into this novel and see what it has to offer.
Plot
The story picks up with our heroes in a van and on the run from Umbrella. They’re heading for an airport, and it seems that their plan has gone sideways. In this story, our main characters are Leon, Claire, David, John, and Rebecca.
They make it to the plane and find out that they have an unwanted and mysterious guest. Trent, the person whom Perry created to pull all the strings, is on the plane, and he’s redirecting them to Utah. There is some debate on whether they’re going to go, but since it is the plot of the book, they end up going. Trent gives them some information to get in, and what he wants them to find.
Our heroes make it to the facility and get to the entrance. They get separated because Reston notices them on one of the monitors. Leon and John make it inside before the elevator is shut down by Reston.
Reston gets more and more paranoid as the book goes on. At the beginning, he manages to come up with a plan and call for help. This is how Henry Cole enters our story.
John and Leon round up the employees, who don’t seem to care about what is going on. They meet up with Henry, who leads them to the test area. Reston convinces him to help by promising Henry a lot of money, then he traps Henry in the testing area for their bio weapons, along with John and Leon.
While all this is happening, David, Claire, and Rebecca deal with the reinforcements that Reston called in. This happens pretty quick. We’re then told that our heroes have ninety minutes to finish their mission.
After Leon and John clear the testing areas, they break into the lab and release a Tyrant. We get a few POVs from the Tyrant, which is pretty cool. Rebecca, Claire, and David make it into the facility, and Rebecca gets kidnapped by Reston.
Our five heroes make it out of the facility. The Tyrant rampages through the facility, the workers escape instead of helping Reston, and Rebecca manages to get the book they were after. There is a little more to this, but I want to keep it brief.
The story wraps up with an Epilogue from Trent. We learn a little more about him, which is always fun. He’s a fun and mysterious character. He comes across as if he would fit right into the Resident Evil world.
Perry’s Original Stories
Caliban Cove and Underworld were the two original stories written by Perry. I enjoyed both stories, and they felt like they could’ve been turned into video games. Introducing new characters is handled well, and I think she had a great handle on the series tropes.
If there is one weak spot with the books, it is the puzzles that were created for the stories. They weren’t all that interesting, and seemed to be solved quickly. The “countdowns” were there, since they appear in every Resident Evil game as far as I know. They just don’t seem to matter much.
The villains in the books are great! I like Dr. Griffith more because of how cartoonishly evil he is. Reston was a little lame, but he did remind me of other executives that I’ve known. If I had the choice, I would want a game based on Caliban Cove. It wouldn’t have to be a Resident Evil game.
Rebecca is the character who is helped out the most in these stories. While she isn’t a main character in Underworld, she does steal the book that they were after. She gets a lot of character development, which is nice, even if it isn’t continued outside of these books.
I would’ve loved to see more books from Perry. If there were plans for another original story, or at the very least a conclusion, we’ll never know. There is a handful of interviews with Perry, if you’re interested (Link). I didn’t find anything else.
Likes and Dislikes
I have way more likes than dislikes when it comes to this book. There are a few things that I don’t like about this book. All of them are style choices rather than actual problems with the book.
I like how oblivious Reston is in this book. He seems dumbfounded that all of his employees hate him and don’t want to risk their lives to save him. I’ve never had a boss that bad, but I’ve definitely had a boss who didn’t realize that he wasn’t liked by anyone.
Henry Cole was an interesting addition, even though I had a good idea of what was going to happen to him. He’s an original character, and since he isn’t in any of the games going forward, you kind of knew that he wasn’t going to last long. It’s like when a character is introduced in an action or horror movie by having them talk about missing their children, or that they’re about to retire.
Reston’s end was a little unsatisfying. There isn’t too much else that Perry could do, and I had a good idea of what was going to happen. What I would’ve wanted was a self-destruct ending where he blows up alongside the monster he was watching over.
The way this story was told was fun. I liked how the team was separated and how it switched between them. The trap wasn’t exactly what I wanted from this, but it did make sense.
While I did enjoy the story overall, there were a few things that I was disappointed with. A lot of it has to do with my knowing how this is going to end, or that it is just going to stop. Let’s wrap this up.
Wrap Up
If you liked this post, check out my other posts about the Resident Evil books. Caliban Cove and City of the Dead.