Command and Conquer 3

Welcome back to another episode of Nostalgia! We continue off from last month's segment in which we examine EA's effort at attempting to enter the IP novel market for their various franchises, specifically Command And Conquer and the Tiberium Wars novel.

Table of Contents

• Page 1 - Introduction
• Page 2 - Main Protagonists and Cameo Characters
• Page 3 - Plot
• Page 4 - Writing Style
• Page 5 - Content Analysis
• Page 6 - Conclusion

Just an early heads up, this will be a pretty long article! Also, I would like to add that I actually do have a copy of the novel, having bought it in 2007 when it came out. Thus any praise or criticism (more of the latter) that I dish out to this novel is done in the spirit of a true C&C fan and not some casual reader.

Introduction

Whereas previously we took a macro overview of EA's novelisation policy and its results, today's piece will take an in-depth look towards the novel's plot, characters, Keith DeCandido's style of writing as well as the various trivia and the community's reception towards the novel.

The lack of a set writing style or "vibe" when it comes to a C&C novel could have partially influenced EA's choice to hire DeCandido, a writer who might not be praised for a standout backlog within the sci-fi writing circle but who has worked on a sufficient amount of IPs and has his own personal writing style to be entrusted the responsibility to pen the first C&C novel. This could also have been a reason why EA allowed DeCandido to have some leeway in the creative direction and canon within the novel, subject to their discretion.



From the above picture we can see that DeCandido worked hand in hand with David Silverman, Product Manager and Global Marketing Lead for the Command & Conquer franchise between 2007-2009, as well as directly with the developers themselves to gain a picture of the Tiberium Universe against which he could set his novel.

Thus our assumption will be that any expansion on to the existing Tiberian Universe lore is made so with the blessing of the EALA development team and the respective lore-heads; every new invention that Decandido includes in this novel would not be something he made on his own accord and without vetting.