Pentapod reviewed Dragon Age by Patrick Weekes
Review of 'Dragon Age' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Hard to rate this book objectively. If you know and love the Dragon Age universe and are interested in more of Empress Celene's back story then you'll probably rate this highly; but if you're completely unfamiliar with the franchise it'll still be an okay read but you will miss a lot of the meaning in the book and probably find parts confusing. So give or take a star depending on your background.
As someone who IS familiar with the franchise and many of the characters mentioned, I enjoyed it a lot. It's primarily the story of the relationship between Celene and Briala, and also does a lot to give Celene's cousin Gaspard a more complex and occasionally sympathetic portrayal than he gets in the games. There is also more about the relationship of the alienage elves and the Dalish elves, with touches of Fen'harel thrown in also.
The first part …
Hard to rate this book objectively. If you know and love the Dragon Age universe and are interested in more of Empress Celene's back story then you'll probably rate this highly; but if you're completely unfamiliar with the franchise it'll still be an okay read but you will miss a lot of the meaning in the book and probably find parts confusing. So give or take a star depending on your background.
As someone who IS familiar with the franchise and many of the characters mentioned, I enjoyed it a lot. It's primarily the story of the relationship between Celene and Briala, and also does a lot to give Celene's cousin Gaspard a more complex and occasionally sympathetic portrayal than he gets in the games. There is also more about the relationship of the alienage elves and the Dalish elves, with touches of Fen'harel thrown in also.
The first part of the book is mainly about Orlais political machinations and the precarious situation Empress Celene is in as she tries to gain freedoms for the elf underclass, and outwit her ambitious cousin Gaspard; all this seen mainly through Briala's eyes as she acts as spy and occasional assassin. About half way through an attempted coup by Gaspard brings more action and outright battle to the plot as Celene and her supporters attempt to evade capture and find a way to regain control of the empire.
Aside from the fact the story sheds more light on some of the lore and personalities of Dragon Age, I also enjoyed the way all the characters are nuanced. There's no black and white here, the reader can see "good" characters making mistakes and bad decisions, and "evil" characters showing strength of character and outwitting their opponents. This made them all seem more believable and the reader is really forced to think about who's right and who's wrong amidst shades of grey all around.
