Red vs. Blue: The Ultimate Fan Guide

Red vs. Blue started back in 2003. In the Dark Ages before YouTube made uploading easy and viral videos spawned overnight. So when they started Red vs. Blue they had to create their own servers and went viral the old-fashioned way, by word-of-mouth. Television shows and series in general seem to follow a pattern. The show will start out with complex and varied characters. If the show goes on long enough those characters devolve into one-note characters whose entire personalities are defined by one quirk.Red vs. Blue defied this trend by starting out with goofy characters that could easily have stayed stuck in their one-trait ruts. Rooster Teeth evolved their characters and story lines to create a complex and rich universe.They went from four guys in a room (bow chicka bow wow) to holding their own conventions (RTX) and expanding their body of work to include another hit show, RWBY. Red vs. Blue also holds the honor of being the longest running American Sci-Fi series.Another thing I find interesting is that Halo and Red vs. Blue co-exist peacefully together. There have been no lawsuits over Rooster Teeth using Halo's property. In fact, there are some Red vs. Blue easter eggs hidden in some of the Halo games.You're not here to hear me ramble about Red vs. Blue the series (which I could happily do all day), you're here to read a review of the Red vs. Blue Fan Guide.I could have wished for a bit more in-depth bios on the characters. especially the Freelancers. However, the Freelancers are somewhat of a mystery and I don't think that writers Burnie Burns (creator of Red vs. Blue) and Eddy Rivas wanted to take that away from the Freelancers.The rest of it is great. I love the asides from Delta, sometimes humorous and sometimes actual info on how they created particular scenes. Now knowing how they do some of them it impresses me that much more that they were able to do a new Red vs. Blue episode every week. I can also see why the weekly Red vs. Blue episodes are on the short side. I would recommend watching them as an entire season, the flow is much more smooth.The character chart is hilarious and so are the character focused tidbits at the back. Such as Simmons' text based video game: The Maroon Hero and Tucker's debriefing after the events at the dig site.The notes from the Chorus rebels are interesting and a little sad. I would have liked a segment from the Federation side as well, though. I also wouldn't have minded a bit more on Felix and Locus but since they were writing the book while doing season 13 I can see why they would want to keep them more of a mystery.The timeline is actually quite helpful since Red vs. Blue can be a little 'loopy' in their chronology.For fans of Red vs. Blue it's certainly worth a look. I would recommend getting the physical book. Not only is it a nice-looking book but it might be easier to read. I read it on the Kindle and I had to hold it side-ways to read it, which was a bit uncomfortable. The lettering is rather small on the e-book, even with the 'tap to-enlarge feature.

I found the Red vs. Blue: Ultimate Fan Guide to be a very entertaining book, great for fans who want to reflect and gain some new perspective on the series and what goes into its development. It has some great moments, but it also has its weak points. I should preface that overall, I really liked the book, but I'm going to talk about the issues. Many of those issues were found in some of the additional information that was included. The writer(s) wrote certain things for humor's sake without thinking of how well it would work on screen or maintain series continuity.***SPOILERS***For example, Agent Delaware was stationed at the same base Alpha was located at the beginning of season 6. The book stated that she died after setting off a grenade near a wall, resulting in the big hole seen on the map. It's a fun little tidbit, but I can't take this seriously. A freelancer doesn't just pull a Caboose and throw a grenade against a wall. Freelancers are freelancers for a reason, they're the best of the best. This demonstrated the opposite.Same thing for Agent Alabama. He died from his own recklessness by driving a mongoose off a cliff at Rat's Nest. A freelancer doesn't make those kinds of mistakes. If that were shown on screen, if a freelancer were to be driving on a mongoose and they flat out drove it off a cliff to their death, would you take that seriously. I wouldn't be satisfied. There was a side note that said that every year, the Reds and Blues stationed at Rat's Nest paid homage to Alabama by launching a mongoose on fire off the cliff. Really? Every year? According to the timeline, they made, the Red vs Bue war only lasted for about 2 years. Alabama would've had to have died during the first year and with the war ending at the end of the following year, they would only be able to perform that ritual once, not enough to warrant it being an annual event. The nature Alabama's death was likely inspired by the line from the song 'On Your Knees,' which describes the downfall of many freelancers. For Alabama, the line goes "Alabama, crash and burn..." So even though it's cool to reference the song, the extra information doesn't line up with what the audience was informed of in terms of the ability of a freelancer.Other backstories I really liked: Washington's introduction to Project Freelancer, Leonard Church meeting Allison, Tucker's debriefing after his time in the desert. These were all really cool. The writers just needed to think about how this would look on screen and how well it would've worked first. Overall I'd give the book a 4/5. Go buy it if you love Red vs. Blue. Just know that if you're very picky about the lore, you may find yourself raising an eyebrow every now and then.

Whether you've been a loyal follower of the Reds and Blues since the early days of Blood Gulch or you've only recently discovered the franchise, you're sure to enjoy this guidebook. Yes, most of the information about everyone's favorite hilariously incompetent space marines can be found at online wikis for free, but that's not the point. The point is that this book presents all of that (let's face it, often convoluted and confusing) information in a well-written, well-organized, and highly entertaining manner, while offering enough brand new material to keep readers from feeling ripped off.One giant warning: INSIDE THERE BE SPOILERS. I mean, this should be obvious from the "guidebook" title, I suppose, but from the very first pages, major series plot twists are revealed and discussed in depth without much fanfare, so if you haven't finished watching all 13 seasons of this amazing show yet, you might want to hold off on purchasing/opening this book, just to avoid ruining all the great surprises that are still in store for you.If I have one small complaint, it is that the book focuses heavily on the Freelancer and Chorus portions of the series while treating the Blood Gulch years as little more than background information. Don't get me wrong; I love the direction and scope the storyline took in the later seasons, but I would have appreciated more content devoted especially to the series' quirky, meandering beginnings.All in all, though, this book is a must have for any true RvB fan. Makes a great gift for the holidays!

I’m a huge fan of Rooster Teeth, but a bigger fan of Red Vs Blue, as it was that series that introduced me to the company as a whole. I’ve been following the characters since I was 10 or 11.I’m such a big fan of the series, and seeing that recently 2/5 founding fathers of the Company, Joel Heyman and Brunie Burns just left the company, having this book in my possession feels like I’ll always have a piece of those two fantastic individuals with me. Overall, overwhelmingly great product.10/10

good

Arrived quickly and intact. Was a gift for my son and he has rewatched every disc so many times it's a wonder they haven't worn out lol.

Awesome book about a great series.Gives the details about everything on the popular web series Red vs. Blue.

arrived quickly and undamaged.