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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.
justkaylareads's review against another edition
4.0
Excitedly re-entering the DA universe! Doing my homework this go-around with the books, graphic novels, etc etc
goldenluck's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
All prequels have the same problem: we already know the ending. Aside from the love triangle, this was pretty much what I expected based on the games, short stories, and comics I've already read from this universe.
Not to say this wasn't an enjoyable read! David Gaider knows what he's doing, especially when it comes to the world of Thedas. It was a simple adventure story, and that's all it needed to be. A comforting return to Thedas, and a new perspective on an impressive villain.
Not to say this wasn't an enjoyable read! David Gaider knows what he's doing, especially when it comes to the world of Thedas. It was a simple adventure story, and that's all it needed to be. A comforting return to Thedas, and a new perspective on an impressive villain.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
July 2019: This book is definitely a four star read. It's a great prequel to the franchise and does a wonderful job setting up the world. I'd recommend it to fans of the games. I can't wait to actually read the sequel this time around.
Feb 2015: I think I'm giving this four stars instead of three because I love Dragon Age. This book is a prequel to the first Dragon Age game and the reason I picked it up. I feel like my hopes for it were too high, but I enjoyed it as it was a fairly quick for me once I sat down to read it.
Feb 2015: I think I'm giving this four stars instead of three because I love Dragon Age. This book is a prequel to the first Dragon Age game and the reason I picked it up. I feel like my hopes for it were too high, but I enjoyed it as it was a fairly quick for me once I sat down to read it.
emilysummer_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Dragon age content always gets a 5 from me. I just love those little guys.