Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages! Welcome back to the Assassin's Den!
Recently, I've gotten my hands on the last two DLC for Mass Effect 3, and because of this, I've really gotten in to Mass Effect again. I've once again started the series from the start, from the first novel to all three games and the DLC (Except for Pinnacle Station in ME1, but I'll get into why later.) , up to the point where I get to ME3 and the Citadel DLC.
Right now though, I'm starting with the first novel, Mass Effect: Revelation, written by Drew Karpyshyn. Published on May 1, 2007, it was released 7 month s and 19 days before the first game in the series was released in North America. It gives background information on three characters who become extremely important characters in the games. Taking place in 2165, it takes place 18 years before the events of the first game, (though the timeline gets generalized in the game as "around 20 years") we are introduced to three characters that become important to the background of the game series, as well as the social, political, economic and technological that we need to understand what is going on. We meet Saren Arterius, the antagonist of the first game, on one of his first missions as a Spectre (as well as an explanation of what a Spectre is), an investigation into an arms deal, which blossoms into so much more. We meet David Anderson, future Captain and Admiral of the Alliance, on a mission that players of the first game will feel very familiar; a distress call that blossoms into so much more. And we meet Kahlee Sanders, then Lieutenant, who is a scientist for the Alliance and is studying Artificial Intelligence, gets swept into events that are beyond her control, all because she disappeared from the base the day before that was attacked that Lt Anderson's ship was investigating.
All three characters weave together throughout the novel, and all three stories come to a head at the end of the novel. Players of the game will recognize what is happening at the end; this is the mission that shows why Anderson and Saren don't like each other.
Now, this is a very good read, but that's not unexpected from a novel written by Drew Karpyshyn. But it does have inconsistencies with later material. But I'll give this novel some slack, since the game was finalizing when this novel was released; some of the visual descriptions don't match what is shown later (batarians come to mind), as does some of the technology, but I'm going to give the novel that was written before the finer details on the game were finalized some leeway. And for all we know, it was written and finalized LONG before some of the game's details written, so I'm going to give this novel some slack.
This novel isn't necessary for your enjoyment of the games, but if you like the games, and want to see what happened between Anderson and Saren, and what lead Saren to the Reapers in the first place, check this out. You can get a physical copy for three bucks on amazon (plus delivery charges), six if you want it on kindle.
I'm going to re-tackle Mass Effect 1 again, but I'll try to do it as less of a fanboy than I was years ago. I mean, now, I know where the series is headed, and the politics within the company. I'm no longer excited about what is going to come, because all three games and all the DLC for them have been released.
I'm not going to review the comics either, because I don't own them. I'll mention them when they are relevant to what's coming, but I can't review what I don't own.
Anyway, look forward to my re-review of Mass Effect 1, and happy reading!
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