Scan barcode
monbro's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
dillonbrantley's review against another edition
3.0
As a standalone story, it is relatively mediocre (3/5), but is elevated in conjunction with the story of Dragon Age Origins. It adds a significant depth and dimensionality to Loghain's character that I wish I had the context of before completing that game. Without it, the character was rather boring and villainous, but with the context presented in this prequel, his actions in the game make more sense and are more nuanced
ivannam1991's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wrynes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thebestmark's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
While The Stolen Throne sidesteps some of the more embarrassing qualities of the video game tie-in novel - to its credit, it feels like its own story and not an act of narrative backfilling for another project - it is still an incredibly thin read. Characters speak with the stately flavorlessness of The Lord of the Rings dialogue but with the queasy, half-smirking, 'so THAT happened' style of superhero comic book quippery. Plot points often feel like they occur only to further demonstrate the series' density of lore.
Gaider does commit some Writing Crimes, as in one early sequence, where a primary character thinks to himself, 'wow, this other primary character sure is a charismatic speaker,' without actually demonstrating, through dialogue, that the protagonist is a charismatic speaker within the same or any immediately subsequent scenes. And then there's the prose, which is embodied by sentences like this one: "His horse nickered irritably, and he patted its head absently. Then he looked at Rowan and nodded curtly." Not to be all 'tut-tut, don't use so many adverbs!' about it, but passages like this create the sense that The Stolen Throne is, somehow, not actually a book, but instead a piece of marketing for a video game, even though it is definitely a real book that only happens to be a piece of marketing for a vide game. Ahem.
Gaider does commit some Writing Crimes, as in one early sequence, where a primary character thinks to himself, 'wow, this other primary character sure is a charismatic speaker,' without actually demonstrating, through dialogue, that the protagonist is a charismatic speaker within the same or any immediately subsequent scenes. And then there's the prose, which is embodied by sentences like this one: "His horse nickered irritably, and he patted its head absently. Then he looked at Rowan and nodded curtly." Not to be all 'tut-tut, don't use so many adverbs!' about it, but passages like this create the sense that The Stolen Throne is, somehow, not actually a book, but instead a piece of marketing for a video game, even though it is definitely a real book that only happens to be a piece of marketing for a vide game. Ahem.
sirloyne's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ethias's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it. Made me have feelings about characters that I didn’t in any capacity expect to have.
miranir's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rileyreviews's review against another edition
3.0
~slight spoilers(?)~
I still hate Loghain - no, scratch that, I hate him way more then before - and I feel sad for Marric. Marric is a stupid but he did not deserve this. Also Rowan deserved better writing for her character, she was severely underwritten and her ending is just as tragic but without the pathos that it deserved. All in all, it was a decent prequel to the series, and im interested to see where they take the next books, but I'm not looking forward to reading more about suckky boi Loghain the treacherous leech.
I still hate Loghain - no, scratch that, I hate him way more then before - and I feel sad for Marric. Marric is a stupid but he did not deserve this. Also Rowan deserved better writing for her character, she was severely underwritten and her ending is just as tragic but without the pathos that it deserved. All in all, it was a decent prequel to the series, and im interested to see where they take the next books, but I'm not looking forward to reading more about suckky boi Loghain the treacherous leech.