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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
informative
relaxing
fast-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
adventurous
dark
tense
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
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Okay, okay, I know that this is a novel based on a video game, but damn was it good! I love the character development, (which the games are also well known for) and the pacing was amazing! It was a four hundred page book that felt like a whirlwind! I thought I was done with the whole Mage versus Templar conflict, but Gaider has definitely rekindled the fire.
medium-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:
Complicated
SPOILERS GALORE
Pros:
-we find out more about Cole's origin, which was the whole point of my purchase! Still leaves some things to mystery, which enriches the choices the Inquisitor must make in Cole's personal quests
-I now know who TF Rhys and Evangeline are
-Shale is ON. POINT.
-We see how Wynne and Leliana (and by extension, Divine Justinia) are involved in the mage rebellion. From my experience in DAI, I had no idea how active they were in its creation.
-the tension between the mages and templars are brought into intense focus from the inside of the Circle, a perspective I haven't seen in such rich detail (even from DA2); it really made me think about the necessity of the Circles, even though I'm usually pro-freedom
Cons:
-much of the time, the characters were either one dimensional or acted out of character
-a lot of the small, intimate moments were swept over in favor of the big picture, which made the story move quickly but made a lot of the interactions between characters shallow or glossed over; Gaider is all about the big picture
-Cole doesn't feel like the same spirit from DAI. This may be due to his later discovery of his powers, but his signature way of speaking and seeing past the surface is absent in this book. I miss it.
-I expected more from Evangeline. After all the moral and physical struggles she confronted in this book while exemplifying the ideal of the Templar Order, in the end it feels like she faded into becoming the 'token girlfriend' in order to highlight the hero's triumph. Kinda like Trinity from the Matrix. I'm gonna have to think more about this. I hope we hear from her again.
All in all, I liked exploring more of Thedas. I will definitely be reading more of these books until DA4 comes out.
Pros:
-we find out more about Cole's origin, which was the whole point of my purchase! Still leaves some things to mystery, which enriches the choices the Inquisitor must make in Cole's personal quests
-I now know who TF Rhys and Evangeline are
-Shale is ON. POINT.
-We see how Wynne and Leliana (and by extension, Divine Justinia) are involved in the mage rebellion. From my experience in DAI, I had no idea how active they were in its creation.
-the tension between the mages and templars are brought into intense focus from the inside of the Circle, a perspective I haven't seen in such rich detail (even from DA2); it really made me think about the necessity of the Circles, even though I'm usually pro-freedom
Cons:
-much of the time, the characters were either one dimensional or acted out of character
-a lot of the small, intimate moments were swept over in favor of the big picture, which made the story move quickly but made a lot of the interactions between characters shallow or glossed over; Gaider is all about the big picture
-Cole doesn't feel like the same spirit from DAI. This may be due to his later discovery of his powers, but his signature way of speaking and seeing past the surface is absent in this book. I miss it.
-I expected more from Evangeline. After all the moral and physical struggles she confronted in this book while exemplifying the ideal of the Templar Order, in the end it feels like she faded into becoming the 'token girlfriend' in order to highlight the hero's triumph. Kinda like Trinity from the Matrix. I'm gonna have to think more about this. I hope we hear from her again.
All in all, I liked exploring more of Thedas. I will definitely be reading more of these books until DA4 comes out.
adventurous
medium-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
An improvement from the two previous instalments, though it does still suffer from the boring prose. The plot meanders at the beginning and towards the end, but the climax features some exciting plot twists and intrigue.
And of course, it would not be a Dragon Age novel without a heterosexual romance that largely appears out of nowhere at the very end.
And of course, it would not be a Dragon Age novel without a heterosexual romance that largely appears out of nowhere at the very end.
Reading Asunder felt like a breath of fresh air after The Stolen Throne and The Calling. No Grey Wardens, no Deep Roads... Well, we do end up in the Fade again and we get another dream sequence that somehow had different rules and logic than in the previous books or the games... But what can I say, it's the fucking Fade.
It was interesting and exciting to read because the templar-mage conflict IS the most important conflict in Thedas, and we get a look inside what happened before shit hit the fan during the conclave in Inquisition. In Inquisition, you're placed at the end of a long domino-effect, and Asunder fills in the gaps of exactly what events changed Thedas forever (Even I felt a little disoriented realizing there was no Circle anymore.) Things that are barely mentioned in DA3 (Cole's storyline, Pharamond's research about the Rite which actually led to the series of conclaves) now have an intricate past and I am so looking forward to playing through DAI again and being even more immersed in the universe.
So the concept is awesome, we have Wynne and her witty son and we get an exclusive insight into the concequences of Anders' attack, but...it was so hard to read. It was hard to get through the middle of the book because Gaider's writing is so extremely normal. Nothing about the writing fascinated me with beautiful prose, something the fantasy genre is perfect for. It's a literal grocery list of what the characters did each day. Story wise, a huge chunk of the book is a long quest with no clear goal other than Wynne needing to save a friend, her true purpose only being revealed during the last 100 pages. Nothing exciting happens (Except a fake-fade-archdemon fight which made no sense) and the stakes are so very low. It's very reminiscent of The Calling in the sense that that was also a big quest, except the stakes there were extremely high even with the little information we were given. There, we had Julian and Nicholas and Utha and Kell, characters I came to care for so so much because they were complex and had dynamics between them that were heart-warming and shattering at once.
The last 100 pages really pulled through at not only redeeming the story but also a lot of its characters. It's like everyone suddenly gained common sense at page 300. Except Rhys. He somehow got worse. While I loved him at the start for being opinionated and suave, he turned into a confused old man really quick.
As for romance... yuck. Templar-mage relations sure happen, but what the hell was that. There was NOTHING romantic between Evangeline and Rhys, yet he kept calling her ''honest'' and ''noble'' while having shown neither of those traits until much later. I think this is Gaider's perception of a straight man? Sees a woman he finds pretty and that's enough. To the point where he starts making shit up about values she doesn't display.
Evangeline was insufferable until the moment she tells Rhys she'll destroy his phylactery. She's an idealist, truly believing the templars exist to protect the mages, I'll give her that. I think it's just my anti-templar sentiment speaking. I was so reluctant to like her, but she redeemed herself at the end.
Adrian, ''the other woman'' was a cool character at first, a hot-headed rebel with clear motivations and a no-nonsense attitude towards Chantry oppression. Somehow at the end, her motivations just boiled down to her still being in love with Rhys and being desperate to keep them together? The whole jealous ex thing is not a good look, especially not on a seemingly complex character like Adrian.
As I mentioned earlier, the book's last 100 pages were SO. COOL. The reveal about Lambert's past, Fiona showing up and leading the mages toward rebellion, another murder mystery, Cole's reveal at the very end.. Wow.. THIS is why I love Dragon Age.
End score: SHALE CARRIED THIS BOOK ON HER BACK. Good thing she's made of stone because she would be in pain were she not.
It was interesting and exciting to read because the templar-mage conflict IS the most important conflict in Thedas, and we get a look inside what happened before shit hit the fan during the conclave in Inquisition. In Inquisition, you're placed at the end of a long domino-effect, and Asunder fills in the gaps of exactly what events changed Thedas forever (Even I felt a little disoriented realizing there was no Circle anymore.) Things that are barely mentioned in DA3 (Cole's storyline, Pharamond's research about the Rite which actually led to the series of conclaves) now have an intricate past and I am so looking forward to playing through DAI again and being even more immersed in the universe.
So the concept is awesome, we have Wynne and her witty son and we get an exclusive insight into the concequences of Anders' attack, but...it was so hard to read. It was hard to get through the middle of the book because Gaider's writing is so extremely normal. Nothing about the writing fascinated me with beautiful prose, something the fantasy genre is perfect for. It's a literal grocery list of what the characters did each day. Story wise, a huge chunk of the book is a long quest with no clear goal other than Wynne needing to save a friend, her true purpose only being revealed during the last 100 pages. Nothing exciting happens (Except a fake-fade-archdemon fight which made no sense) and the stakes are so very low. It's very reminiscent of The Calling in the sense that that was also a big quest, except the stakes there were extremely high even with the little information we were given. There, we had Julian and Nicholas and Utha and Kell, characters I came to care for so so much because they were complex and had dynamics between them that were heart-warming and shattering at once.
The last 100 pages really pulled through at not only redeeming the story but also a lot of its characters. It's like everyone suddenly gained common sense at page 300. Except Rhys. He somehow got worse. While I loved him at the start for being opinionated and suave, he turned into a confused old man really quick.
As for romance... yuck. Templar-mage relations sure happen, but what the hell was that. There was NOTHING romantic between Evangeline and Rhys, yet he kept calling her ''honest'' and ''noble'' while having shown neither of those traits until much later. I think this is Gaider's perception of a straight man? Sees a woman he finds pretty and that's enough. To the point where he starts making shit up about values she doesn't display.
Evangeline was insufferable until the moment she tells Rhys she'll destroy his phylactery. She's an idealist, truly believing the templars exist to protect the mages, I'll give her that. I think it's just my anti-templar sentiment speaking. I was so reluctant to like her, but she redeemed herself at the end.
Adrian, ''the other woman'' was a cool character at first, a hot-headed rebel with clear motivations and a no-nonsense attitude towards Chantry oppression. Somehow at the end, her motivations just boiled down to her still being in love with Rhys and being desperate to keep them together? The whole jealous ex thing is not a good look, especially not on a seemingly complex character like Adrian.
As I mentioned earlier, the book's last 100 pages were SO. COOL. The reveal about Lambert's past, Fiona showing up and leading the mages toward rebellion, another murder mystery, Cole's reveal at the very end.. Wow.. THIS is why I love Dragon Age.
End score: SHALE CARRIED THIS BOOK ON HER BACK. Good thing she's made of stone because she would be in pain were she not.