41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book, ignore the game tie-in, March 21, 2009
Wow. What a surprise.
This is a prequel novel to the upcoming video game Dragon Age: Origins, by Bioware. I was reading it more to `get in the mood' for the game than anything, and I had very low expectations, to be honest. And I was blown away.
I'm giving it 4 stars, and that is judging it against all fantasy, not against "pre-generated world" fantasy (novels based on games, movies, tv series, etc). Within that sub-genre it's a 5 star book, easily.
As the story begins, a cruel usurper sits on the throne of Ferelden, and the Rebel Queen has been betrayed and murdered. The only member left of the royal family is young Maric, a charming but slightly inept princeling, now on the run for his life. He soon teams up with a young commoner named Loghain, and the two set off to reunite with the rebel army, and begin the daunting challenge of trying to push the usurper from his ill-gained throne.
There's a bit of game-ness to the book here and there as character classes are mentioned, but it isn't very intrusive and if you didn't know it was a game-prequel novel, you might not even notice it.
The story has everything you could ask for in a fantasy. A noble, seemingly impossible quest, great battles, characters who feel very real, and who interact in ways that also feel very human. A smattering of magic and strange creatures. Joy and pain, victory and defeat. All written with genuine emotion.
A nice change of pace is the way elves are handled, and particularly elves, who are definitely second class citizens in this world, scraping by working as servants and living in squalid quarters of most cities.
All in all, a very, very enjoyable read, and a very 'self-contained' novel. You aren't left with a cliff-hanger ending that is going to require you to play the game or read another novel. You can download a sample chapter from http://dragonage.bioware.com/noveltst.ht...
I hope the author, David Gaider, focuses on more novel writing, and less game writing. I'd love to read more from him!
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It satisfied my expectations., April 30, 2009
I've been a fan of Bioware for a while, and have been interestedly watching the slow progress of Dragon Age since it was first announced. Naturally, I was intrigued by the news that a prequel would be coming out in book form. (Luckily its release date was not postponed... Silly EA.) I didn't expect high art; I just hoped for an interesting story and a glimpse at the world I'll encounter when I play the game. Thankfully it was, for the most part, an interesting story. It kept me reading, anyway. And the glimpse of the world was, while not enrapturing, not revolting either, so I am content to continue anticipating the game's release as before.
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17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
What happens when you jam an epic into a single volume, April 28, 2009
There are moments and even decent stretches of Dragon Age where David Gaider's talent as a writer comes out. There are even a few scenes that might send shivers down your spine. But in the end the book is seriously flawed for reasons that can be all traced to a single source: this is an epic story jammed into a single 400 page book.
The result is that we are treated to long narrations meant to summarize the passage of significant time. Long narrations that take the place of real character development, which leads to character actions and decisions that are not set up by the story. I don't want to spoil things too much, but I think all you need to know is that the epic battle, the one that decides the whole story, is only related to the reader in a brief reference after the fact.
Mr. Gaider has skill, but hopefully next time (and another Dragon Age book has already been announced) he delivers a story that fits the scope of a single volume.
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