God of War (2018) Novel

God of War - The Official Novelization is a novel adaptation based on the critically acclaimed 2018 game of the same name. It was written by J.M. Barlog and published on August 28, 2018.

Summary

His vengeance against the Gods of Olympus years behind him, Kratos now lives as a man in the realm of Norse gods and monsters. It is in this harsh, unforgiving world that he must fight to survive... and teach his son to do the same. This startling reimagining of God of War deconstructs the core elements that defined the series-- satisfying combat; breathtaking scale; and a powerful narrative--and fuses them anew.

Differences from the game

Chapter 1

• The novel begins after Kratos and Atreus cremated Faye's body.
• After Atreus misses his shot while hunting a deer and Kratos angrily reprimands him, some of the latter's dialogue has been changed/replaced; When Atreus tries to take back his bow and Kratos prevents him from doing so, the latter sternly reminds his son that he missed his mark and that they are supposed to be hunting the deer and not chasing them before further reminding him that they now must run it down and finish the job.

• As Atreus tries to focus on shooting down the deer and not let his emotions cloud his mind, Kratos will become impatient and urges Atreus by saying "Take the shot, boy. Now!"

• In the novel, Kratos and Atreus' encounter with Dauði Kaupmaðr took place in a different manner, unlike in the game; After the duo successfully hunted down the deer, the Death Merchant, having smelled the blood of the now-dead animal, appears after slamming his hand over a nearby bridge in an attempt to grab their carcass and then eat it. Instead of stabbing the troll's hand and then get swatted away in the game, Atreus, in the book, will ask his father on what the creature is and Kratos will reveal it as a woodland troll before commanding his son to stay behind him. As Kratos starts to back Atreus away to safety, Dauði Kaupmaðr will then attack by slamming his hand into Kratos' chest, sending the Spartan and Atreus into a hollow in the trees.

Chapter 2

• Dauði Kaupmaðr, in the novel, is shown to have additional dialogue than in the game, with his first word being "Kjöt", which Atreus thinks he meant "meat". Unlike in the book, the Death Merchant's first dialogue in the game is "þú tilherya ekki hér!" ("You don't belong here!" in Icelandic).

• The fate of the carcass is different in the novel, in which Kratos accidentally froze it with the Leviathan Axe, as he intended to strike the Death Merchant. The troll was left startled when the carcass instantly became frozen, causing him to drop it, which then shattered upon making contact with the ground.

• In God of War (2018), Atreus never deciphered the Troll's language but in the novel he does.
• The manner of Dauði Kaupmaðr's death is completely different in the book as Kratos cleaved the troll's head with his axe instead of snapping the troll's neck.

• While Atreus was in shock after Kratos tells him that he is not ready, some additional dialogue were added in the novel in which Atreus said, "I found the deer. I shot the deer."

Chapter 3

• Kratos and Atreus didn't return from the hunt empty-handed in the novel, unlike in the game, as they came home with badger, which Atreus hates.

• As they were returning home, Atreus spots Odin's two ravens Huginn & Muninn, who are completely absent from the entire game and won't appear until God of War Ragnarök.

• Laufey is revealed to have a pet gyrfalcon called Jöphie, who is believed by Atreus to have left. When the latter tried to make her to come to him, Jöphie ignores him as she only goes to Laufey and not anyone else.

• The events that occur in Kratos' Cabin is extremely different in comparison to what occur in the game; Kratos and Atreus had charred badger for supper, after Atreus burned the meat by accident, as he got distracted. That night, as the two slept, Kratos had a nightmare.

• The Stranger arrived on his dragon the next day instead of the same day that Kratos and Atreus had hunted the deer.

Chapter 4

• Some of the Stranger's dialogue upon meeting Kratos has been slightly changed, with an example being Yet you hide out like a frightened rabbit in these woods...you pathetic coward., with the original being "And yet you hide out here in the woods-like a coward.".

• This also goes with Kratos when he first encounters, as his warnings were changed. Example are "You do not wish this fight, whoever you are," and "Leave my home now,".

• The battle between Kratos and the Stranger occurred in a similar manner to that from the game, however, some parts of the fight were changed while more of their dialogue were changed, extended, switched, or omitted up until Kratos snaps the Stranger's neck.

Chapter 6

• Kratos and Atreus first encountered Draugr after they had begun their journey to Midgard's mountain rather than during their hunt for deer at the beginning.

• Kratos first knew of the Stranger's true identity as Baldur quite early in the novel.

Chapter 7

• The cannibalistic Reavers ambushed the duo at night rather than in the day, unlike in the game.
• In addition, they are instead referred to as 'bandits'.

Chapter 8

• Kratos and Atreus' encounter with Brok is nearly to how it occurs in God of War (2018), though some dialogue when they exchange words were changed a little while others were added.

• Brok offered them food and snacks to bring while on their journey.

Chapter 10

• Kratos and Atreus never encountered Brenna Dauði as they hunt for boar, as the fire troll was omitted from the book all together.

Chapter 11

• The Witch-in-the-woods's reaction to seeing her boar friend Hildisvíni being wounded by one of Atreus' reaction and her learning of the duo's reason is somewhat different than in the game; rather than being calm most of the time, she appears to overreact and becomes really angry to the point where she screamed when Atreus reveals that he and his father did it out of target practice.

• The Witch's dialogue is slightly different when she revealed to Kratos that she knows him as well as warn him of the intolerance of the Norse Gods who ruled the nine realms.

Chapter 13

• Prior to leaving the Witch's hut, she, like Brok, gave the duo food to bring while on the journey.
• When the duo came across the statue of Thor, Kratos never revealed his knowledge of knowing Thor's status as the God of Thunder.

• When Atreus deciphered the message on the half-submerged statue of Týr, he questioned if its from the gods or if they want him and his father to be unarmed in the lake.

Chapter 14

• Jörmungandr's voice is mentioned to have a deep harmonic tone and is rolled out like a combination of clicking and singing with two simultaneous lower and high pitches.

• Kratos asks Atreus on how much he knows about Jörmungandr and the boy would tell his father that the World Serpent is so big he is able to warp himself around the world and bite his own tail. With this, the novel version of Jörmungandr is fully connected with his traditional mythology counterpart while the game version only spans Midgard's waters and the Lake of Nine, rather than the entire world itself.

• Týr's Temple is said to be covered in barnacles, though in the game much of the structure isn't, save for a few areas.

• Kratos and Atreus encountering Brok a second time is much shorter than in the game; the duo never entered the dwarf's new shop right after reencountering him and Kratos was never introduced to the mystic gateway.

• When Kratos gets angry at Atreus for saying that Laufey is more to him, he instantly hears the latter's voice reminding him that Atreus is just a boy and that he should remember that.

• Sindri's appearance is slightly changed in the novel with him having no hair and having a muscular build.

Chapter 15

• Sindri revealed his name during his first encounter with Kratos and Atreus and he expressed his dislike of being only addressed as 'dwarf'.

• After Sindri remarked to Kratos that he would be displeased if he did something Laufey, Kratos would assume that the dwarf wants to take the Leviathan Axe by force, though Sindri insisted that he surrender it without a fight, causing Kratos to threaten him with the axe, which made Sindri cower in fear until Atreus reveals to him that Laufey left it to his father before her death, which caused a disapproving Kratos to glare at him.

• When Atreus surprisingly spoke the dwarves' native language with Sindri, Kratos will ask on what it means and the two would translate it as "The man that walks his own road walks alone".

• Sindri never mentioned the usage of the echoing screams of twenty frost trolls in the creation of the Leviathan Axe unlike in the game.

Chapter 16

• In the novel adaption, the Ogre that attacked Kratos and Atreus is addressed as a Forað.
• Much like with Dauði Kaupmaðr, Kratos asks Atreus to translate the ogre's words and the boy responds by saying its meaning: "You smell like a god", though he isn't sure if that is what the ogre is saying and began thinking on what a god smells like.

• Like Dauði Kaupmaðr, the Ogre was finished off in a similar manner: having his face cleaved by Kratos' axe.
• The event that happened next never happened in he game; After Kratos slew the ogre, a dozen Hel-Walkers appeared, forcing the duo to retreat. After escaping through the doors to the mountain, Kratos slammed the doors shut before the Hel-Walkers could even get to them.