Resident Evil: Extinction by Keith R.A. DeCandido is the novelization of the movie by the same name, both based on the Resident Evil video game franchise. DeCandido is well known for his novelizations of many media intellectual properties including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Command & Conquer, and Star Trek to name a few. Extinction marks the third volume in the movie series that DeCandido has written. Extinction follows popular characters Jill, Alice, and Carlos along with a new hero, Claire Redfield. The group of heroes make an attempt to reach the perceived safety of Alaska all the while fighting off the zombie menace, ruthless survivors, and of course the Umbrella Corporation.

Extinction takes a new path in the Resident Evil world: beyond Raccoon City. The T-Virus has been spread across the globe and the world is in a state of apocalypse. Survivors are scattered in tiny pockets, each one trying to fight off the zombies created by the Umbrella Corp. This is quite a departure from the first two novelizations that take place mostly in or under Raccoon City. At the time of the story, thought it is not stated exactly when it takes place, it has been years since the massive outbreak that eventually spread across the map. Food, ammunition, and just about everything else have become extremely scarce fueling feuds and infighting among the survivors. Some of the most dangerous things in the world are no longer the zombies. Extinction has a definite post apocalyptic feel to it and somewhat reminds me of Mad Max meets Land of the Dead mix with a little Painkiller Jane for good measure.

DeCandido continues with the solid characters from the first two films. Extinction doesn’t expand too much on character development. Since this is the third book in the movie series, the lack of development of some of the core characters isn’t as big a deal as it might have been if this was a stand alone novel. Not to be worried, if you haven’t read the other books or don’t know much about the Resident Evil franchise, you should still find the characters pretty well defined. Sure, there are plenty of the clichéd character archetypes present but they are well done and don’t come off as cheesy. The obvious star character is Alice the superhuman badass, but Jill is also an interesting character who fills the “loner” role. The only issue I see with any of the characters is the dialect used for the African American characters is all the same (despite the fact that they are not all form the same area) and over the top to the point of nausea, at times.

DeCandido’s style isn’t one that is likely to wow you , but it is surprisingly clean, quick, and easy reading. This book read especially quick given the writing style and the hardcover print size. The action scenes are well done and are laced from one end of the novel to the other , always keeping me alert and into the book. I was also impressed with DeCandido’s effort in writing a novel more akin to other zombie fiction currently available. He managed to make zombies and a setting that would do Romero himself proud. If there is anything to complain about I’d have to say that Extinction lacks the spine chilling and thrilling twists that would make it a truly great story.

As a hardcore zombie fan I can recommend this book to those with a love for zombies where I could not recommend the other Resident Evil novels. As a fan of post apocalyptic fiction I can recommend this book to those who enjoy dying worlds. Extinction is not a great novel, but the end to end action and stand alone nature of the story makes this fun and entertaining read no matter how much exposure you have to Resident Evil and its T-Virus. ( )