"Mass Effect: Revelation" Book Discussion Thread

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Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn has gotten a couple of mentions on the CAGcast, and I happened to be at the bookstore this weekend and picked it up.

I finished it earlier this evening and through I'd poll other CAGs and see what their thoughts were.

Here's a link to the book at Amazon.

A couple of chapters are free here: http://masseffect.bioware.com/galacticcodex/revelation.html
Interview with the author here: http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=561575&forum=104

Please use the spoiler button as necessary.
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To get things started, I'll mention a few of my thoughts:

-Well paced, if a bit formulaic
-The book sets up areas of gray in characters' actions that have been alluded to in the game
-Interesting use of technology, and though a bit derivative, it really does seem to be an interesting, compelling world

The book got 4 of 5 stars at amazon and I would say it's worth 3.5-4 of 5. Don't read this book if you're looking for closure to the storyline--this is purely about laying the groundwork for the game to jump off from.

It's interesting how much you know about how the story will unfold after reading the book and looking at a couple of the trailers Bioware has put out:

Full listing of official gameplay footage/trailers: http://masseffect.bioware.com/gallery/index.html
E3 Trailer: http://files.bioware.com/masseffect/videos/masseffect_e32007_dcut_1280x720.wmv

I'm definately on the 'hype-wagon!'

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Read the book? What do you think?

 

[Surferflames]

I read through the few chapters on Bioware's website and enjoyed them. A bit tech heavy, but thats par for the course for scifi books these days. Waiting for the library to get it before I dive in though.

 

[Kaijufan]

I plan on buying the Mass Effect book the next time I order something from Amazon.

 

[CheapyD]

I finished it today. I don't think its fine literature, but I was definitely entertained during the short time it took me to read through the book.

I think it does a good job of giving you a little background on Mass Effect universe and a great job of getting you hyped for the game!

 

[splintercell]

I picked the book up back when it came out, and frankly I had a mixed feeling about it. On one hand, it's a useful background setup for the game. After reading the book, the trailers for the game make a lot more sense, and when I play the game, I'll feel a lot more comfortable.

At the same time, I have to compare it to the Halo tie-in books, and it just comes up short. I felt there was a lot of exposition - and yet at the end, I didn't feel like much had actually happened in terms of just plain old events taking place, or even character development. And the latter is just because the majority of the characters will very likely not be even mentioned in the game, so they were a total throwaway. Sure, they put down the groundwork for what will come, but there seemed to be no reason to really care about them.

I guess my gripes could be caused by the fact that the book really made me want to get to the "real" story - and play the game. Like Cheapy said, it does get you hyped up (while leaving you wanting a lot more). By the same token though, I doubt I would read it ever again, or even after playing the game itself, since I'm sure the game plot will go over the parts of the book that really matter, so you probably won't miss much if you skip it.

It's really about in the same light summer reading category for me as, say, the Transformers movie prequel book, so about 3-3.5/5 for me.

 

[aok123]

i own the book.... it lays the ground work and gives you alot of info about the mass effect universe it also introduces the main villian of the game * POSSIBLE SPOILER*------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------the main villian of the game is a rogue spectre ( basicly undercover law enforcement) by the name of Saren.