Customer Reviews

Mass Effect: Revelation

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I was interested in reading this novel since I planned on getting the game(whenever it finally gets released) as I'm sure most people are who are reading this review.It's good reading as far as getting a feel for the setting of the game and the universe it describes..Obviously,the main storyline is going to lead into the game but it's really pretty generic sc-fi when it comes right down to it...Lots of standard sci-fi cliches abound..The author knows his stuff but it reads a lot like a cheap Star Trek novel from the 90's with bare bones descriptions and thin characters.The only exception is Saren,who I assume is going to be the main antagonist in the game..He is an interesting character who you want to learn more about but really never do.Also,I would have liked a little more background on the alien races of the Citadel and their history...One weak point is that the aliens never seem like they are ALIENS.They are written the same as the human characters and you never get any hint of alien viewpoints, cultures or history in their dialog.Overall this is a good read to get prepared for the game,but it may not be something that's going to stick with you if you are a serious sci-fi reader.Also be aware that this novel ends on a cliffhanger and from what I've heard from the author there will be a sequel at some point.

Let me start by saying that I rarely read free reading books, ever. I had been following some of the development of the Mass Effect game online, and became very interested in the fiction and background of the main story, and the universe that was created around it (and I don't even own an Xbox 360!). After reading an article that Mass Effect Revelation book was about to be released, I decided I would give it a chance.

Although it was a short read (over the course of a weekend), this book not only delivers a great storyline and lead-in to a what looks to be an amazing Xbox 360 game, but reveals a whole history of the Human race joining the ranks of other space-faring species in a not-so-distant future (about 150 years). Future technologies are well detailed, interesting and fun to read about, and are slid into the story at just the right time - this occurring throughout the entire course of the book. Not to mention the witty references made to our own world's current state of affairs.

If you are looking for a quick, but great read, you have found it here. The background of this universe is wonderfully detailed, and Karpyshyn's writing style (not to intentionally sound cliché) kept me turning page after page. I really hope we could get some sort of follow-up novel from Karpyshyn, as it would be a horrible waste to not continue the wonderful depth, scope and insight of the Mass Effect universe. Any other story about the shadowy, deadly efficient, and not always lawful Spectre special unit would prove to be another great novel. As best described online, the Mass Effect universe and story is truly like Jack Bauer in space...this absolutely includes Revelations.

A great book, a great read - I highly recommend picking this one up!

The year is 2165 and it has been around 20 years since mankind has been an interstellar travelling species. They were not able to achieve this on their own. In 2148, an ancient alien research lab was found under the surface of Mars. It's mysterious makers, an alien race called the Protheans, vanished 50,000 years ago without a trace except for their technology they left behind. Not long after that, "mass relays" are found, a series of warp gates which allow spaceships to pass through and cover vast distances across the universe almost instantaneously. Humanity begins to spread out across space, using Prothean terraforming tecnology to make planets habitable. But they find they are not alone out there as other alien races have also stumbled across the Prothean technology over the centuries and have carved out their own territories unbeknownst to Earth. After a short war with one of these alien races, the Turian Empire, we find out that the main alien species in the universe are led by a United Nations-like "Citadel Council" that tries to keep the peace between all the different factions. Humans are the littlest and youngest kid on the block so we'll have to struggle for some sort of edge when it comes to our interests, forming "The Systems Alliance" to represent all humanity both politically and militarily. It is within this tense atmosphere that a secret Alliance military research facility is attacked and destroyed on the outlying border of human controlled space. David Anderson, an Alliance war hero, is sent to investigate the facility and also to track down the only known survivor of the attack, Kahlee Sanders. The Alliance wants to find out if she was the traitor that let the attackers get through the almost impregnable defenses of the base. Other parties would like to talk to her as well about what kind of research was going on at the facility. Some would even like kill her!

If you're reading this review, you probably already know that this novel is actually a prequel or lead-in to the upcoming Xbox 360 videogame Mass Effect which is made by Bioware, the creators of the superb Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur's Gate series. Even though it is set in a videogame universe, the writer Drew Karpyshyn does a good job in writing efficently and without bringing in a lot of clutter. It got me even more interested in the upcoming videogame than I was before, and I'm kinda excited to see which characters will appear in it. For what it is, Revelation succeeds very well. I was not expecting the work to be written very well and was pleasantly surprised. This is pretty much Star Wars Pulp fiction where all the aliens are basically anthropomorphized humans. The author explains this by stating that maybe all intelligent species were evolved by the Protheans a la 2001:A Space Odyssey so we have more in common that not. If you want to be entertained and get a leg-up on the Mass Effect world, give this book a try.

I'm not quite sure who this book was being marketed to. On the one hand, you have the people who haven't played the game, and those who have on the other. But the novel never really pans out to completely cater to either one, which leaves it in a limbo of sorts that makes it just plain unsatisfying.

As a general rule, I give all novels until page 100 to hook me. If it hasn't done that by then (in any form), it isn't worth the time, for me at least. I gave this book till page 150 (which is half the novel) and the antagonist is just now being introduced.

Now, I played the game twice over, and this doesn't do it justice. For those who decided not to read the codex in-game, this novel is more of an interactive way of learning about the universe and races of Mass Effect. But for those who haven't played the game, the descriptions and characterizations don't do the lore justice. Everything including the Citadel, which was probably the most awe-inspiring locations in the game, manages to come off as boring. Nothing is ever described well, and little aspects of the technological advancements manage to claim pages of detail to themselves. After a while, it starts to read like a text book, like "Mass Effect 101", with too much description that has no bearing on the plot, and isn't all that fascinating to begin with.

I have faith in the writer, Drew Karpyshyn, and this novel definitely seems like it was the product of a harsh deadline (what with him being the lead writer of the actual game. How he managed to write this in between is beyond me). I had also picked up the first book in his Darth Bane series at the same time, and it hooked me on page 1. "Mass Effect: Revelation" has done nothing to impress me in the way that the game it's based on did, and offered nothing particularly new to the main storyline that wasn't already covered.

Pick it up if you're a hardcore fan of the series, but to everyone else there's hardly a reason spend the money.

Since I have to wait almost a year to play Mass Effect 3, and have played through Mass Effect 1 and 2 two times each, I decided to give this novel a try. This novel does an excellent job of highlighting the backgrounds of two of the most notable characters in the ME series--the ruggedly noble Captain David Anderson and (particularly for me) the shrewd, brutally efficient Saren. Given the critical choices you must make in ME 1 and how these two pivotal characters affect those choices, I found the read to be utterly engrossing and thought provoking.

ME:Revelation begins as a history of the events leading up to ME 1 for PC and X360. The story begins with an Alliance base on a distant world being victimized by a devestating surpise attack. The death of all but two of the Alliance personnel, combined with the theft of information regarding illegal and highly dangerous research at the base, combines to create a situation which threatens to destabilize galactic peace. Captain Anderson, working on behalf of the Alliance, must find a way to minimize the fallout. His task is greatly complicated by the fact that he must face a notorious Krogan Battlemaster and form an uneasy alliance with the malicously charismatic Saren.

These are some the questions this novel helped me to answer from the first ME: Why did Saren choose to make contact with a Reaper in the first place? By contacting the Reaper, was he attempting to destroy a potentially devestating threat, or was he pursuing something far more sinister? Could Saren's apparent cruelty and lack of respect for organic life be explained as a means of serving the greater good, or is he just a psychopath on a powertrip? What are the exact details surrounding Saren's involvement in having Captain Anderson rejected as a possible Specter? Is Saren, ultimately, a redeemable character?

Saren is an incredibly fascinating character whose charisma really carried the book for me. The discussion of who he ultimately was through both enlightening internal thoughts and revealing dialogue with other characters, particulary Captain Anderson, made me want to play ME 1 for a third time just to know about how the geniuses at Bioware constructed such a memorable villain (or anti-hero depending on how you look at him).

While players of the ME video games will likely feel right at home reading about Salarians, Asari, Batarians, Quarians, Geth, Krogans, Turians, Volus, and Keepers, I am not sure readers unfamiliar with the ME universe will feel quite so comfortable. Having mental images from the video games of all these different species was very helpful to me when reading the novel.

Though Captain Anderson is discussed in greater detail and an in-depth look at the politics of the Citadel Council will provide some readers with quite a moral dilemma at the end of ME 1, Saren is what ultimately (for me) made the novel memorable. Highly recommended for hardcore Mass Effect fans.

As a fan of the Mass Effect video game I had somewhat high expectations going into this book. Afterall, Karpyshyn is known for his work in a couple Star Wars books and he did write the story and lore for the Mass Effect video game, which is quite good in my opinion. Unfortunately this book is a little bit of a let-down for me.

Revelation is a prequel to the video game that surrounds Anderson and later on Saren. Anderson is tasked with aiding a distress call from an alliance base. As it turns out there is more going on with this base then what first meets the eye (go figure!). Corruption and illegal activity end up being the sorce of the bases destruction and it seems as though a traitor has made it out alive. It is Andersons job to find the traitor before anything happens to them. There are some twists and turns that await, of course Saren, a Spectre who is above the law comes into the picture about halfway in.

The idea behind this book isn't too bad, though it does seem cliched. If you have played the video game then you will likely know exactly how this story pans out (it is summarized in the game, afterall). Cliches don't really bother me, what put me off a bit is the writing style. The game seems more adult-themed while the book seems geared towards the younger crowd. There were a number of times where my eyes rolled while reading. Some of the writing is just - lacking. I guess the book just never really gripped me and the character development seemed a bit forced and shallow. It's not a terrible book. There are a few interesting bits such as the very destructive mission Anderson and Saren were both involved in (which is touched on in the game).

In the end it was interesting enough to keep me reading through to the end. Had I not played the game first I would have probably found this book less interesting. If you have played Mass Effect then this is a worthy read. If you have never played the game but plan on doing so then this is still a worthy read, just keep in mind that the game is quite a bit more engaging (don't let this book keep you from playing the excellent game!). If you haven't played the game and never plan on doing so then I would skip this book.

I give this book 3 stars if you love the Mass Effect universe, 2 stars if you don't plan on playing Mass Effect and were just planning on checking this book out.

A more than decent read with several interesting elements flushed out throughout, but really this book only serves to set up some of the characters and back story to the video game Mass Effect. When viewed in that light, it does exactly that, and does it well. The universe is incredibly detailed and well thought out, and it is a treat to see more of that universe. However, as a stand alone novel, the author is crippled by the book's supplementary status, and it pales. The characters are interesting though don't have any real growth, and the end of the book (which foreshadows the beginning of the game) has no real satisfying climax. All in all, a must read for Mass Effect fans, but not much else.

Okay I will admit, I played and beat the game before I read this book. I know that's not what it's intended for but the damage is done. In some ways I'm kind of glad that I did because it gave me a much better understanding of the imagery. This book is pretty well written in that regard, but having the image in your head of what it actually looks like adds so much more weight to it! Normally I wouldn't go for that kind of thing, but this is a video game based novel, so I prefer seeing the created world. Also I should point out that Shepherd isn't in here at all, remember the game develops that character FOR you, because it is you. Just in case someone wanted to know for whatever reason... I thought it was obvious.

If you've played the game then everyone will know what I mean when I say that this is really the story of Anderson and Saren. I think the author left out the development of Anderson's character quite a bit because you get to see him and interact with him a lot more in the video game, so the author didn't feel the need to be overly redundant, probably realizing most readers will play the game first anyway. Overall this book is a pretty quick read and I didn't find it overly technical in its explanations, rather it focuses a lot more on the adventure and intrigue. It does go into detail about some of the specific weapon systems, but it's by far not a majority of the book. I don't think it's any secret that this game's world is pretty obviously influenced by the world of Star Trek, and I would dare say it's more like "The Next Generation" with its political intrigue between species etc. Maybe a touch of Deep Space Nine with the story based around a space station, but that could easily be Babylon 5 influence as well. There is a heavy layer of warlike concepts in here, but that usually comes with any Science Fiction world so I really couldn't pin down an example very well for that.

I'll be honest; I wasn't truly engaged in this book till around page one hundred. This is when the story really came together. Unfortunately it was slightly predictable the way the characters met, but frankly, I loved it. I read that part with sheer anticipation and then when my wishes were granted I actually smiled. It's not often I actually enjoy this in writing, but Drew Karpyshyn did it beautiful in my opinion. From that point on I was absolutely hooked and couldn't put the book down.

I have to give Mass Effect praise for creating one of the best bad guy characters I've come across. He has this ruthless duality where he rationalizes all of his actions down to the smallest detail and really blurs good and evil concepts. I know this kind of character may have been done before, but the way it's culminated in Saren is just perfect and I really identified with him in a very odd way. I really don't want to go into anymore detail and ruin his character for everyone, but he is brilliantly methodical in his actions and that's something that really makes him interesting to read about.

Mass Effect deserves further praise for really tying in a novel correctly! It was a breath of fresh air for me after I had just finished reading the Star Trek: The Next Generation book debacle. The lead writer on the Mass Effect video game also wrote this book, so all the characters are presented correctly. Saren clearly being the most interesting one. It's pretty clear to me that the author is purposefully leaving the series very wide open, maybe to spawn more writers to write in this world, kind of like we have with Diablo and the other Blizzard releases or Halo. Mass Effect gives us a very specific time and it's a very small piece of a larger universe, so maybe another author will be commissioned to write the story of the Protheans for example. I get the feeling this author is specifically leaving that detail out to give us a more in depth tale much later. Again, if you enjoyed this video game you definitely have to read this book, especially since you'll want to know much more about Saren and Anderson by the time you finish the game!

An engaging and action packed prequel, it provides a fun read, setting up a lot of interesting plot points for the game that follows (hopefully soon.)

Definately pick it up if you're interested in Mass Effect.

I dont ever write reviews but i had to let everyone know how great this book is, now im afraid the game will not live up to the book. But even if you know nothing about the game the book is a standalone story, hopefully with many more to follow.