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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
It's been a while since I cried reading a book. I wonder what the last one was?
As an avid Dragon Age fan, I expected to like Asunder a little more than I did. I enjoyed the exploration of characters I already love, expansion of lore, and focus on a central conflict from the games that felt a little shunted to the side by the game itself. The familial strife really landed for me, emotionally, and I found the epilogue downright chilling. But the pacing was off, some aspects of the setting and background plots didn't seem to quite match what was established by the games and other media, and it never managed to connect me to the characters I already knew and loved.
It was a perfectly adequate tie-in novel that I did enjoy reading, but if your time and/or funds are limited, this is a skipable entry into the Dragon Age canon.
It was a perfectly adequate tie-in novel that I did enjoy reading, but if your time and/or funds are limited, this is a skipable entry into the Dragon Age canon.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I got into this book okay, but it's weaknesses are...pretty apparent. It serves as a good explanation of the events of Adamant pre-DA:I, so I don't regret reading it, but the characters are a bit weak, the romance weaker, and it engages in a lot of the attempted mage/templar moral equivalency that the worst bits of the series suffers from. That theme ages increasingly poorly with each passing day, especially in 2020.
Lackluster. Flat (and annoying!) characters, saved only by the appearance of some old friends from Origins. I see what Gaider and Bioware are trying to do to set up for Inquisition, but it wasn't really that interesting or intriguing.
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you're still clinging to the hope that your Warden and Darkspawn will show up in Dragon Age: Inquisition, this book should remove that silly hope. Darkspawn did make a brief appearance (though sadly, no random ogres) and the Hero of Ferelden is mentioned a few times, but otherwise, Asunder firmly establishes the Mage/Templar War as the new focus of this age.
Taking place a year after Anders blew up the Kirkwall Chantry, things are not particularly good for mages. Not that they were good before, but now a lot of the Circles have been put on lockdown by the templars, with some already sacrificed to the Right of Annulment. Asunder takes us deep into the heart of the White Spire, the Orlais Circle, and shows us just how poorly treated the mages are, even without a war to fuel the templars -- insight insight that was conspicuously missing from Dragon Age II.
First, we meet Cole, vaguely known as the Ghost of the Spire. He spends most of his time in the Pit, where mages are brought for punishment. He is also, apparently, a murderer, but since no one else can see him, blame for the murders falls on Enchanter Rhys, a spirit medium and the only one who can see Cole. Along with the murders, there is also the inconvenience of a mage's attempted murder of the Divine, the leader of the Chantry. None of this works in Rhys' favour, so it's fortunate for him that Enchanter Wynne of Blight fame requests his accompaniment on a special mission ordained by the Divine herself. Wynne's friend Pharamond, a Tranquil, has been possessed by a demon - something that isn't supposed to be possible since Tranquils are cut off from their magic. Pharamond's research may also imply that the Rite of Tranquility can be reversed, which the templars are none too happy about. Knight-Commander Evangeline is sent along with Wynne, Rhys and another mage, Adrian, to assess the situation and do whatever is necessary to protect the templar's interests.
While the templars continue to be painted in a very poor light as they were in the game, Evangeline serves as a counter. She believes in her duty and in the templars, but she does not follow the orders of the Lord Seeker blindly and, most importantly, respects mages as human beings. With this in mind, the outcome of events is not particularly difficult to predict.
One of the things I've loved about Gaider's writing is his characters. I've even been able to overlook weak plots just because the characters and their interactions were so well done. Yet despite the presence of three beloved characters from Dragon Age: Origins, the characters in Asunder fell flat. There were some amusing moments with Shale's snark and Wynne revealing what she'd really been doing while I was busy in the Deep Roads, but otherwise, this was a rather dull journey. It provided some interesting information that I assume will appear in the future game. We also get a few hints about what the Orlesian Empress Celene is up to, which I assume will be expanded upon in [b:Dragon Age: The Masked Empire|17701390|Dragon Age The Masked Empire|Patrick Weekes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364587492s/17701390.jpg|24746543]. But overall, I don't think I would have lost much by just reading the wiki version.
See more reviews at
The BiblioSanctum
Taking place a year after Anders blew up the Kirkwall Chantry, things are not particularly good for mages. Not that they were good before, but now a lot of the Circles have been put on lockdown by the templars, with some already sacrificed to the Right of Annulment. Asunder takes us deep into the heart of the White Spire, the Orlais Circle, and shows us just how poorly treated the mages are, even without a war to fuel the templars -- insight insight that was conspicuously missing from Dragon Age II.
First, we meet Cole, vaguely known as the Ghost of the Spire. He spends most of his time in the Pit, where mages are brought for punishment. He is also, apparently, a murderer, but since no one else can see him, blame for the murders falls on Enchanter Rhys, a spirit medium and the only one who can see Cole. Along with the murders, there is also the inconvenience of a mage's attempted murder of the Divine, the leader of the Chantry. None of this works in Rhys' favour, so it's fortunate for him that Enchanter Wynne of Blight fame requests his accompaniment on a special mission ordained by the Divine herself. Wynne's friend Pharamond, a Tranquil, has been possessed by a demon - something that isn't supposed to be possible since Tranquils are cut off from their magic. Pharamond's research may also imply that the Rite of Tranquility can be reversed, which the templars are none too happy about. Knight-Commander Evangeline is sent along with Wynne, Rhys and another mage, Adrian, to assess the situation and do whatever is necessary to protect the templar's interests.
While the templars continue to be painted in a very poor light as they were in the game, Evangeline serves as a counter. She believes in her duty and in the templars, but she does not follow the orders of the Lord Seeker blindly and, most importantly, respects mages as human beings. With this in mind, the outcome of events is not particularly difficult to predict.
One of the things I've loved about Gaider's writing is his characters. I've even been able to overlook weak plots just because the characters and their interactions were so well done. Yet despite the presence of three beloved characters from Dragon Age: Origins, the characters in Asunder fell flat. There were some amusing moments with Shale's snark and Wynne revealing what she'd really been doing while I was busy in the Deep Roads, but otherwise, this was a rather dull journey. It provided some interesting information that I assume will appear in the future game. We also get a few hints about what the Orlesian Empress Celene is up to, which I assume will be expanded upon in [b:Dragon Age: The Masked Empire|17701390|Dragon Age The Masked Empire|Patrick Weekes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364587492s/17701390.jpg|24746543]. But overall, I don't think I would have lost much by just reading the wiki version.
See more reviews at
The BiblioSanctum
It's difficult to separate the Dragon Age books from the Dragon Age video games, nor, do I think, the author intends them to be separate. After all, it feels as though they were written as a promotion of the games, obviously to increase sales and make some more publishing money. However, one of the core tenets of the video game series, and most series developed by BioWare, is that the decisions a player makes have impact on the world, so much so that one player's world will look markedly different from another's. Certain characters might die for me that wouldn't for someone else, etc. This makes writing a book about a variable world difficult, even if you're the lead writer for the series. Gaider had an advantage with his previous two works, The Stole Throne and The Calling because they were set even before the first game. Asunder is set after both games, and so has to attempt to tell a story set after the monumental events of two prodigious adventures.
Fortunately, it takes place in a different country, and while it stars characters from the first game, namely Wynne, Shale, and Leliana, Gaider manages to steer clear of anything too obvious from those prior tales. He alludes to "The Warden" at several times, but never calls the hero of the first Dragon Age by name, and he never mentions Hawke, the second game's protagonist, at all (though he does refer to Anders several times, which makes sense given the mage-centric plot of Asunder). Unfortunately, these moments of reference feel forced and artificial because of their lack of personal meaning.
Thankfully they don't spoil the book entirely. The central theme of Asunder revolves around a clash between the Templars, an order of anti-mage knights who keep the power of spell-casters under control, and the mages themselves. We follow the story of Rhys and Evangeline, a mage and a templar, set on opposite sides of a clash but connected by a mutual attraction and moral code of sorts. Also present is a young man named Cole who is invisible to everyone but Rhys, in a sort of grown up imaginary friend capacity.
The story itself sees these characters, along with some heroes from the first game's story, travelling to a blight-infested area to attempt to defeat a demon. It sounds like a pretty standard tale, but the mages and the demons in the Dragon Age world are unlike any in fantasy, and watching the dynamic of their relationships unfold is interesting.
Unfortunately, by the end of the novel there are too many loose ends and holes to fill, and I found myself annoyed by the lack of closure involved. I can understand leaving some things in the air because in many ways this book feels like a primer for the third game, and indeed a game set in Orlais with a backdrop of mage warfare seems like a great setting, if perhaps not as grave as a darkspawn infested Blight. However, given the origins of the world's lore, and the importance of magic users within it, it might be the best setting possible for what could be the final act in the Dragon Age trilogy.
For fans of the series of games and books, Asunder is actually a pretty good read, and will fuel your desire to go back and replay the prior games (I'm already debating it, despite the slew of new games I have on my plate).
Fortunately, it takes place in a different country, and while it stars characters from the first game, namely Wynne, Shale, and Leliana, Gaider manages to steer clear of anything too obvious from those prior tales. He alludes to "The Warden" at several times, but never calls the hero of the first Dragon Age by name, and he never mentions Hawke, the second game's protagonist, at all (though he does refer to Anders several times, which makes sense given the mage-centric plot of Asunder). Unfortunately, these moments of reference feel forced and artificial because of their lack of personal meaning.
Thankfully they don't spoil the book entirely. The central theme of Asunder revolves around a clash between the Templars, an order of anti-mage knights who keep the power of spell-casters under control, and the mages themselves. We follow the story of Rhys and Evangeline, a mage and a templar, set on opposite sides of a clash but connected by a mutual attraction and moral code of sorts. Also present is a young man named Cole who is invisible to everyone but Rhys, in a sort of grown up imaginary friend capacity.
The story itself sees these characters, along with some heroes from the first game's story, travelling to a blight-infested area to attempt to defeat a demon. It sounds like a pretty standard tale, but the mages and the demons in the Dragon Age world are unlike any in fantasy, and watching the dynamic of their relationships unfold is interesting.
Unfortunately, by the end of the novel there are too many loose ends and holes to fill, and I found myself annoyed by the lack of closure involved. I can understand leaving some things in the air because in many ways this book feels like a primer for the third game, and indeed a game set in Orlais with a backdrop of mage warfare seems like a great setting, if perhaps not as grave as a darkspawn infested Blight. However, given the origins of the world's lore, and the importance of magic users within it, it might be the best setting possible for what could be the final act in the Dragon Age trilogy.
For fans of the series of games and books, Asunder is actually a pretty good read, and will fuel your desire to go back and replay the prior games (I'm already debating it, despite the slew of new games I have on my plate).
This was the first DA novel I actually really enjoyed reading. The writing is nothing special, but the story was intriguing enough. The Stolen Throne was good, but we already knew Maric would be king so it wasn't too exciting. It was nice reading about Duncan and Fiona in The Calling but other than that it was so dry & seriously why does everyone sleep with each other in the deep roads?
Asunder takes place after DA2 but before Cassandra interrogates Varric, so it was unknown territory. Everything in it was new and interesting to read about. Reading about how the White Spire worked and the different mage factions was really cool.
Rhys kinded reminded me too much of Alistair? Which really annoyed me since, Maric in the Stolen Throne is also sooo much like Alistair- but that can be excused since he is Alistair's father (i guess...). It just makes me wonder if Gaider can write a character who isn't charming, handsome and witty. hmm.
However, Ser Evangeline is the greatest templar in existence, Cole is a darling who broke my heart and won't be forgotten andWYNNE IS BACK!!! ALONG WITH SHALE! And Leliana makes an appearance too?! All my girls in once place!
Honestly Wynne being in this made the novel for me, even though you know...she dies :( I felt her sacrifice was very like her though. The relationship between Rhys & Wynne was lovely and bittersweet, I'm so glad we got to know her son at last. Rhys' relationship with Evangeline was also really cute, i didn't think I'd like a mage/templar romance but these two stole my heart.
The mystery of who/what Cole was great and wow what a character. I'm so excited to meet him in the next game. Also wow, the Circle is now separate from the chantry.
The book really sets up the Mage vs Templar rebellion that I'm sure will be really important in Inquisition and I can't wait to see Cole as a companion and really hope we see Rhys & Evangeline in the game!
Asunder takes place after DA2 but before Cassandra interrogates Varric, so it was unknown territory. Everything in it was new and interesting to read about. Reading about how the White Spire worked and the different mage factions was really cool.
Rhys kinded reminded me too much of Alistair? Which really annoyed me since, Maric in the Stolen Throne is also sooo much like Alistair- but that can be excused since he is Alistair's father (i guess...). It just makes me wonder if Gaider can write a character who isn't charming, handsome and witty. hmm.
However, Ser Evangeline is the greatest templar in existence, Cole is a darling who broke my heart and won't be forgotten and
Honestly Wynne being in this made the novel for me, even though you know...she dies :( I felt her sacrifice was very like her though. The relationship between Rhys & Wynne was lovely and bittersweet, I'm so glad we got to know her son at last. Rhys' relationship with Evangeline was also really cute, i didn't think I'd like a mage/templar romance but these two stole my heart.
The mystery of who/what Cole was great and wow what a character. I'm so excited to meet him in the next game. Also wow, the Circle is now separate from the chantry.
The book really sets up the Mage vs Templar rebellion that I'm sure will be really important in Inquisition and I can't wait to see Cole as a companion and really hope we see Rhys & Evangeline in the game!