Line #53 Literature/ResidentEvil


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/resident_evil___caliban_cove.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:310: Rebecca Chambers, ScienceHero!]]
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4	The ''Resident Evil'' novels are a series of books by SD Perry which chronicled the events of the games from the original ''Resident Evil'' to '"Code Veronica''. By and large, the series was a fairly faithful adaptation of the series but emphasized action over horror.
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6	* ''The Umbrella Conspiracy'', a novelization of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1''.
7	* ''Caliban Cove'', an original novel set after the first game starring Rebecca Chambers.
8	* ''City of the Dead'', a novelization of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''.
9	* ''Underworld'', another original novel set after ''Resident Evil 2''.
10	* ''Nemesis'', a novelization of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis''.
11	* ''Code: Veronica'', a novelization of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica''.
12	* ''Zero Hour'', a novelization of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilZero''.
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14	The novels added a number of CanonForeigner characters as well as AllThereInTheManual explanations for events. As such, they eventually drifted from the canon of the games and were cancelled as a series. The books remain very popular with many ''Resident Evil'' fans, though and are still in print.
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16	----
17	!!These books contain the following tropes:
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19	* AbortedArc: The books were quite popular, to the point that they were even translated to Japanese a few years after they were first published in English, but were stopped after ''[=RE0=]'' was adapted. Notably, SD Perry can only speculate for the reasons of this as she would have happily continued them indefinitely.
20	* AdaptationalHeroism: Downplayed with Annette Birkin. She's portrayed as a caring and good mother despite being her MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate status. She genuinely believes her daughter is safe during the events of the Racoon City outbreak and is horrified to discover she's not. That said, the more sympathetic moments she gets in her interactions with Claire from the game are absent in the book, and her behavior towards Leon grows more unstable over time.
21	** To a lesser extent with the Umbrella Corporation as the Board of Directors doesn't have any of the SocialDarwinist beliefs they developed in canon. Instead, the Umbrella Corporation really is OnlyInItForTheMoney. [[MotiveDecay At least at first]]. It just so happens they really are incredibly bad at keeping a handle on their creations.
22	* AdaptationalVillainy: H.U.N.K and the USS didn't cause the Racoon City outbreak in the original story.
23	* AdaptationExpansion: Downplayed, but the first novel expands a bit on Jill Valentine's past as to how she became a police officer and member of S.T.A.R.S., after her father (who was a thief and taught her how to use lockpicks) ended up in jail, and how the mission has a dash of ItsPersonal because among the victims were a pair of young girls she befriended shortly after she joined the force.
24	* AffablyEvil: Trent is either this or CreepyGood depending on what you think his agenda is.
25	* AllThereInTheManual: SD Perry attempts to explain away a number of contradictions in the games as well as who is hiring who but this, unfortunately, helped contribute to its CanonDiscontinuity as a few of those were answered in future games.
26	** Trent was the employer of Ada Wong in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2.''
27	** Jill Valentine was, of all things, [[MsFanservice getting some nice underwear]] for her evacuation from Racoon City when the place became a miniature zombie apocalypse. The S.T.A.R.S. men, notably, had evacuated by this time.
28	** There's even an extended sequence where Jill goes into great detail about why she can only pick certain locks and why she can't simply kick open the ones she can't; The locking mechanism is so unique and special that she has no clue how to get it open without a key, and then when she considers kicking it open she finds that the door and the frame are so heavily reinforced that she has no hope in hell of breaking it. She then considers shooting out the lock but fears that the bullet may ricochet and hurt her ([[ShownTheirWork an actual concern in real life]]). Barry on the other hand has no problem booting open one of these reinforced doors when he saves Jill from [[MemeticMutation becoming a Jill Sandwich]] because, as a scene in an earlier chapter of him casually carrying a duffel bag that weighed well over 100 pounds implied, he's just ''that'' strong.
29	* AmbiguouslyEvil: Trent is established as this being as he's an ally of our heroes but also [[spoiler: an Umbrella Corporation Board member who wants {{Revenge}} on the company for stealing the T-virus from his parents. In effect, he's a predecessor and human variation of Lisa Trevor crossed with Wesker.]]
30	* AscendedExtra: Rebecca Chambers went from being a minor character in ''Resident Evil'' to the star of her own book as well as a major supporting protagonist.
31	* BettyAndVeronica: Leon suffers a case of this with his conflicting desires towards Claire (The Betty) and Ada (The Veronica). Jill Valentine has a similar but lesser case toward Chris (The Betty) and Carlos Olivera (The Veronica).
32	* BigBad: The books have the villains of the games with some original baddies thrown in.
33	** Albert Wesker, of course, is the villain of ''The Umbrella Conspiracy.''
34	** Jay Reston is the SmugSnake CorruptCorporateExecutive who runs 'The Planet' as well as being the BigBad of ''Underworld.''
35	** Alfred and Alexia Ashford are the villains of ''Code: Veronica''
36	* CanonForeigner: Most specifically the AmbiguouslyEvil ManipulativeBastard Trent who is secretly responsible for a large number of the events like hiring Ada Wong to steal the ''G-virus in VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' to sending our heroes to destroy the Umbrella research facility in ''Underworld.'' For awhile, he was a CanonImmigrant according to WordOfGod but he never made any appearance in a game and has since joined CanonDiscontinuity.
37	* ClassyCatBurglar: Jill Valentine was one of these before she decided to join the S.T.A.R.S. It explains her "Master of Unlocking" skill, at least. It was also, notably, a family profession.
38	* ContinuitySnarl: Inevitable with SD Perry attempting to explain away series issues and the changes brought about by Capcom.
39	** Racoon City is a small Midwestern town of about 10,000 people as opposed to the miniature Metropolis it became in the games with over 100,000 people. [[{{Understatement}} Only]] about 7,500 people died in the disaster with it being destroyed primarily by an out-of-control fire. Unlike in the canon setting, Umbrella was also able to cover the cause of the disaster up and blame S.T.A.R.S.
40	** Ada Wong was employed by Trent to get the G-Virus in the books adaptation of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', which while not impossible, is unlikely given we've since discovered she's been working for Wesker as well as Simons during this time period. Also, the fact he's a non-canon character. To a minor extent, Ada also solves a number of puzzles in the adaptation which Claire and Leon did.
41	** It was HUNK and the Umbrella Security Service which resulted in the Racoon City outbreak when they destroyed many samples of the T-Virus while slaughtering their way through William Birkin's lab. This is in contrast to the rats becoming infected with the T-Virus and spreading it through the waterways after Birkin mutated himself with the G-Virus and murdered the U.S.S., breaking several vials of the T-Virus in the process.
42	** S.T.A.R.S. is no longer Racoon City's version of S.W.A.T. but a national organization which exists a bit like the real-life Academy Group as an organization that advises as well as assists local law enforcement with difficult cases. It's also a much older organization, with the original New York branch of S.T.A.R.S. having been founded in 1967, whereas the Japanese manual of the first game established that S.T.A.R.S. was founded in 1996 (just two years before the events of the game). It is also a private organization heavily compromised/paid for by Umbrella and has some similarity to the BSAA.
43	* CozyCatastrophe: Racoon City's destruction was far less of a world-changing disaster in this world even if it was a shocking and horrifying event. The casualties were less than a tenth of what they were in canon and didn't require a nuclear weapon to sterilize the area. As such, Umbrella was able to blame WesternTerrorists, [[{{Misblamed}} i.e. our heroes]].
44	* ElaborateUndergroundBase: In addition to the Spencer Mansion of ''The Umbrella Conspiracy'', there is also the Planet in ''Underworld''. The Planet is a massive zoo and research facility built by Umbrella in the middle of the Utah Desert. Needless to say, it doesn't last any longer than the others.
45	* EpicFail: Jay Reston unleashes all of the Planet's B.O.Ws onto Claire Redfield, Leon Kennedy, Rebecca Chambers, and an original character up to their level. He also tries to use a U.S.S. team against them. None of these work because every one of them have dealt with this sort of thing ''en masse'' and by themselves before, let alone as a group. [[spoiler: It ends with them releasing a T-virus/Tyrant based on a T-Rex that destroys the Planet and kills Reston.]]
46	* GreaterScopeVillain: Inverted as we discover the Umbrella Corporation's bioweapons division is called "White Umbrella" with "Red Umbrella" being their legitimate pharmaceutical firm division. White Umbrella is responsible for all of the evil and nefariousness the company is up to with the Red Umbrella part being more or less completely ignorant of the other side's misdeeds.
47	* HopeSpot:
48	** At the beginning of ''Caliban Cove'', the surviving Raccoon S.T.A.R.S. have reported their findings from the Spencer mission to S.T.A.R.S. HQ. Their hope is that the senior leadership will take it seriously and bring them in for the expected investigation into Umbrella's bio-weapons research and development. Then they quickly find out Umbrella didn't just compromise Wesker; their corporate tendrils have already penetrated much of the organization. There is no investigation, their own people have branded them as liars, and the Raccoon S.T.A.R.S. are now on their own with no backup, no resources, and no protection from inevitable Umbrella retaliation.
49	** At the end of ''City of the Dead'', the renegade S.T.A.R.S. and their allies hope the destruction of Raccoon is the beginning of the end of their nightmare. After all, the Spencer Mansion was easy to cover up, but Umbrella can't exactly hide the destruction of a major American city. Then, as ''Underworld'' begins, Umbrella has not only managed to cover up their role and come out of it looking like heroes, but they've also successfully framed the ex-S.T.A.R.S. for Raccoon's destruction.
50	* IHaveYourWife: Wesker gleefully taunts Barry Burton about this fact in order to control him during the events of the first game/novel. [[spoiler: It's also a lie. Becomes a case of IdiotBall since he admits it's a lie in front of Barry at the end.[[note]]Although Wesker didn't know that; he was [[EvilGloating gloating to Jill]] without realising Barry had doubled back from the errand Wesker sent him on[[/note]]]]
51	* KarmaHoudini: The Umbrella Corporation in the novels manages to get away with destroying Racoon City in the books, though if the series had continued it would have presumably been dealt with the same way by Resident Evil 4, and manages to maintain its financial power. Played with as they also suffer the loss of two additional laboratories and have TheMole with Trent.
52	* LampshadeHanging: SD Perry doesn't hesitate to do this a lot throughout the books. The main characters are often bewildered by Umbrella's use of puzzle locks and why Chief Iron's police station looks like a museum. One particularly funny bit occurs in ''Underworld'' when Leon points out how biological weapons can't be so profitable as to justify Umbrella's billions of dollars in research expenditures. [[MisterExposition Trent]] says its become more about power and control for White Umbrella than money.
53	* LaResistance: Chris, Jill, Barry, Claire, and Leon all become the basis for one against Umbrella following Racooon City's destruction.
54	* LighterAndSofter: Zig-zagged. The books portray a BlackAndWhiteMorality conflict between the survivors and the Umbrella Corporation with the former acting as LaResistance against their TheEmpire. Our heroes are often frightened but never really terrified by the events they encounter and usually triumph in big ways that emphasizes their competence. However, Umbrella is much larger and more powerful in the books than the games and survives the events of Racoon City intact.
55	* ManipulativeBastard: Umbrella's problems are almost all due to Trent playing puppet master behind the scenes. He's basically organizing their fall the same way Wesker did in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles''.
56	* MisterExposition: One of the roles which Trent plays as he adds a great deal of backstory regarding Umbrella's interior workings and plans.
57	* {{Novelization}}: What the majority of the books are, with slight alterations.
58	* PragmaticAdaptation: ''The Umbrella Conspiracy'' amalgamates both Chris and Jill's scenarios from the original game, meaning that Chris, Jill, Barry, and Rebecca all make it out of the mansion as established by canon. Notably, Chris, Jill, Barry, and Wesker all make it to the mansion's main hallway after being chased by zombie dogs (and Chris manages to hold onto his gun) and it's only when Chris goes to investigate the first zombie that the group gets split up.
59	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Not content with the established game characterizations, Perry opts to provide detail on Irons being a rapist and suggest Nicholai and Wesker are to make them truly vile.
60	* ShipTease: SD Perry has no problem engaging in this common fanboy past time with some of the more popular ships.
61	** Claire and Leon have their only hook-up in this series as the two become extremely close following the events of Racoon City's destruction. This relationship causes {{Angst}} as Claire likes both Steve and Leon & Leon likes Ada.
62	** Jill and Carlos become extremely close during the events of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' but she has an interest in Chris.
63	* StealthHiBye: Trent is capable of these, much to the annoyance of the heroes.
64	* SteelEarDrums: Averted, as Jill is basically deafened for a brief time after the explosion that starts the adventure in Nemesis.
65	* SmugSnake: Jay Reston is the lowest member of White Umbrella's board and is aware of it but still believes he's vital to Umbrella's interests. In truth, Umbrella considers him a placeholder due to the death of a more valuable and talented operative. Nevertheless, he is put in charge of the Planet.
66	* TokenGoodTeammate: Carlos Oliveira is completely unaware the U.B.C.S. is a bunch of raving psychopaths, save for Mikhail and a few other grunts.
67	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Umbrella is considered beyond reproach even after the events of Racoon City. This is due to making Chief Irons and the S.T.A.R.S into TheScapegoat.
68	* WriterInducedFanon: The series is responsible for the Tyrant from Resident Evil 2 becoming known as Mr. X.
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Context Literature / ResidentEvil