Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn
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Book Reviews of Mass Effect: Revelation
Book Review: Book one set before the game. Fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
In the year 2148 Earth learned that humanity was not alone when they stumbled across a long abandoned alien bunker on Mars. The items found within the bunker gave humanity major leaps in many technologies and catapulted human society forward hundreds of years, allowing them to conquer the solar system. Then they found a massive piece of dormant technology call a "mass relay" which allowed ships to be instantly transported thousands of light-years away. The first human through the mass relay was Commander Jon Grissom. His bravery made him a legendary hero, whether he liked it or not. (And he did not.) Within a single year of finding the Mars bunker, the entire world united together for the first time and formed the Systems Alliance Military. The Alliance is to defend Earth against non-Terran threats. The First Contact War began when an Alliance patrol accidently trespassed on Turian Empire territory. Luckily, it was short. Humanity became the newest member of a vast interstellar, pan-species society under a governing body called the Citadel Council.
The SSV Hastings receives a distress call from the Sidon Research Facility. Staff Lieutenant David Edward Anderson heads the ground team into the top secret military research station and finds the remains of a massacre. No one knows who attacked the post or why. However, one of the Alliance's top computer and systems technicians, First Lieutenant Kahlee Sanders, had left Sidon without permission only a few hours before the attack. Sanders immediately becomes the prime suspect and it is Anderson's top priority to locate her. Once Anderson learns her father is Retired Rear Admiral Jon Grissom, Anderson races to the planet Elysium in hopes of finding Sanders with her father.
Kahlee Sanders has evidence that Sidon is conducting illegal experiments. The project head, Dr. Shu Qian, is the galaxy's foremost expert on artificial intelligence research. Due to past issues, it is illegal for anyone to conduct AI research. Dr. Qian had not only been breaking that law, but went much further. Sanders leaves Sidon with the evidence, planning to turn him in. She is sitting in a bar when news of the Sidon attack breaks. With all the possible implications going through her mind, Sanders goes to the only man she can trust to actually listen to her side of events, her dad.
Soon Anderson is the only hope of survival Sanders has. Someone has hired a Krogan Battle Master to find Sanders. Anderson cannot trust anyone, not even Spectre Saren who has been assigned to partner with him. (A Spectre is an elite agent of the Citadel's covert Special Tactics and Recon branch. They answer ONLY to the Council and are allowed to act above and outside the law to get their mission done.) But more is going on than any of them could possibly know.
***** I recently purchased the PC version of the game MASS EFFECT. I have played through several times now. Anderson and Saren are large characters in the game. This story is set before the game's time frame. You do not have to play the game or know anything at all when you begin reading this book. It is totally separate. I only mention it because if you are a Gamer, then you may want to pick up a copy of the game to play. The plot/mission in this book are even discussed between characters in the game. By playing the game AND reading the books, you feel as though YOU are an intricate part of the whole thing. It is an awesome feeling!
If you only prefer to read and not play the game, do not worry about possibly feeling lost. As I said, you do not have to know a single thing about anything at all. The author does a fantastic job weaving a web of realistic sci-fi drama that will have you, not glued, but cemented to your seat. The characters are well developed and explained in such a way that you will not feel as though you are being lectured to. The story never slows down in the middle, as most tend to. Be sure to have plenty of alone time before beginning this title. *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
Book Review: Excelent book for an excelent game.
Summary: 5 Stars
Some prequels feel like they are a struggle to be written exactly because it has to tie in with something already set. This usually make books (or movies) seem they lack that freedom of creation. They can easily feel mechanic. But not this book. This is a very good book. And it never feels trapped among the limitations. It is very well written, and flows easily.
Some people complained about not being "sci-fi enough". I don't agree. I think there are two kinds of sci-fi stories. One that tries to tell stories completely detached from our normal lives, trying to create new ways of seeing and judging things, like "alien points of view"; and sci-fi that uses aliens as metaphors: they are just a way for saying something that would be strange in a "human" setting, but are always about our own struggles. And this is the style of the book in question, in my opinion.
That said, I can't agree with the statement that it's not sci-fi. Science Fiction is not a hermetic setting. On the contrary. It's usually a way to deal with our problems without naming names. But there is no absolute definition about it. Nobody can claim that this book is not sci-fi just because it's not the kind of sci-fi they like.
In all, it's a great book. Very well written, and fast paced. It serves its purpose: be fun, and a nice distraction. Much better than the second one, Ascension.
Book Review: Drew Karpyshyn Is AWESOME
Summary: 5 Stars
After playing KOTOR and reading the Darth Bane novel I was very excited to see that Drew Karpyshyn was attached to the new XBOX360 game. I was a little bit worried when I first bought this book since I was such a fan of his other works I didn't want to be let down. My fear was that this was really just going to be a setup for the game and not really something that could stand on its own.
I have to say that Drew has really done it again. He has a talent for being able to write science fiction in such a way that the technical/science stuff doesn't interfere with the story. It's easy to read yet it still has an involved and engaging story.
When it comes down to it that's really the core of any type of entertainment whether it be a novel, a video game, or even a movie. It's all about the story for me and Drew really delivers with this one as he has in the past. I'm really looking forward to possibly reading the next book and playing the game when it comes out in April... erm... I mean June... oh wait... September???
I would highly reccomend this book to any sci-fi fan out there.
Book Review: Great book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a good read for anyone who likes sci-fi novels and is a fan of the Mass Effect video game. the story is simple and provides a lot of back-story (a lot of times more than needed) to the characters and provides an explanation to how humanity became intertwined with the galactic community. At times it is redundant if you have played the game and payed attention to the story there. A must read if you also like the Halo novels
Halo, Books 1-3 (The Flood; First Strike; The Fall of Reach)
Ghosts of Onyx (Halo)
Halo: Contact Harvest
The Cole Protocol (Halo)
Book Review: Max Effect
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is excellent. It really had the "MAX" effect to me. I like Star Wars universe but this book kept my attention. I had it open nearly every spare moment I had. I have never read through a book like this so fast. Drew Karpashyn knows how to build characters and shape a story. He used Sci Fi to incorporate Racism, Politics, Criminal Investigation/Activities, Love, Family Ties, Action. I actually spent more time reading this book than playing the xbox 360 game==>Excellent Book<== Hope he'll do more from the Mass Effect storyline. Mass Effect: Revelation,Mass Effect,Mass Effect: Revelation