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mnetvnkerk's review against another edition
3.0
Short and mildly amusing.
You'll appreciate it if you're a Dragon Age fan, but don't go in expecting DAO level writing.
What it is: A fun short story with a nostalgic dip back into Kirkwall and its inhabitants through the eyes of a beloved character.
What it is not: Shakespear.
You'll appreciate it if you're a Dragon Age fan, but don't go in expecting DAO level writing.
What it is: A fun short story with a nostalgic dip back into Kirkwall and its inhabitants through the eyes of a beloved character.
What it is not: Shakespear.
beardedmug's review against another edition
4.0
For such a short work, this was amazing. In so many ways, it felt like you were being told a story, as opposed to just reading it. It's so easy to imagine Varric's voice during it.
It's not terribly deep, and a little overly silly, but that mostly makes it more fun!
It's not terribly deep, and a little overly silly, but that mostly makes it more fun!
crowandnightingale's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this more than I did. It was ok just kinda...boring. 😞 Maybe I’m more like Cassandra and would prefer Swords & Shields. 😛
kaboomcju's review against another edition
4.0
If you're a Dragon Age fan, read this. Other than containing all "chapters" from DA:I, this is just amusing finding all the cameos of other DA characters "Varric" added to the book. Definitely fun to return to Kirkwall.
darcerenity's review against another edition
4.0
Resolution was a bit rushed and unclear, but etire book was a delightful fanservice joy ride from beginning to end. A wonderful little amuse-bouche of a story in besutifulformat with the hardcover and illustrations.
storiesofmagic's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
cherithe's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun little reminder of Kirkwall, of Dragon Age II from a new angle. The story is short but I was pleasantly surprised to find it illustrated every few pages. You could hear Varric's voice in the writing and I had a good time picking out who was who and matching them to their game counterparts. I don't think they're planning to do more of these, but if they did, I'd definitely check them out.
chillvamp's review against another edition
5.0
I already knew I was going to love this book, because I love Varric and his pulpy metaphors and the tidbits in the game are SO MUCH FUN, but I still surprised myself a little when I tore through it in about 3 hours. Granted, it's not very long, and I think the lack of chapters labelled as such made it hard to find a good stopping point, but then again it was so enjoyable I didn't really want to stop.
It's not the most complicated or surprising plot, which I don't mean in a bad way: the plot does what it has to do and even when you can sort of tell what the outcome might be it's still such a delight to experience it page by page, with the cameos by canon characters adapted into Varric's story as variations of themselves and the fun, witty turns of phrase along the way.
My only complaint is that (as far as I've found) this doesn't have an audiobook narrated by Brian Bloom yet. Reading the excerpt he narrated for the promotional video at the same time as I listened to said narration made it even better, if possible! Oh, and I need Ser Tethras to publish Swords and Shields in our universe so I hope Mary Kirby approaches him about that!
It's not the most complicated or surprising plot, which I don't mean in a bad way: the plot does what it has to do and even when you can sort of tell what the outcome might be it's still such a delight to experience it page by page, with the cameos by canon characters adapted into Varric's story as variations of themselves and the fun, witty turns of phrase along the way.
My only complaint is that (as far as I've found) this doesn't have an audiobook narrated by Brian Bloom yet. Reading the excerpt he narrated for the promotional video at the same time as I listened to said narration made it even better, if possible! Oh, and I need Ser Tethras to publish Swords and Shields in our universe so I hope Mary Kirby approaches him about that!