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137 reviews for:

Ascension

Drew Karpyshyn

3.53 AVERAGE

adventurous fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Not as good as the first book in the series but still a good read after the build up in the start of the book.

Unlike the first Mass Effect book, this book is probably best read with some knowledge of the series. Having just read the first book might suffice, but to fully enjoy it, it would be best to have at least played the first Mass Effect game as its events are mentioned several times. Kahlee Sanders returns from the first book, now working in the Alliance Ascension program for biotic children. Unknown to her, the pro-human group Cerberus has infiltrated the program and is using it for their own purposes. Which supposedly is the advancement of humanity. But Cerberus tends to be on the extreme side of the ends justifying the means. The focus on Cerberus is a nice set-up for Mass Effect 2 where the player begins working for the shady organization. The events of this book are even mentioned when talking to Quarians in Mass Effect 2, so that's a nice bit of continuity. I also enjoyed the look at life on the Quarian Flotilla, which gets visited only briefly in the course of the games. Overall a great book and especially fun when connected with the games.

Like the first, it was kind of blandly written. But I eat up ME like Mario eats mushrooms. Waaaait a minute...

It was a pleasant read but ultimately a bit pointless.
gray_ghost's profile picture

gray_ghost's review


I'm embarrassed to have read a book based on a video game, but Ascension is a worthwhile expansion to a compelling and fascinating universe.
medium-paced
adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated