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ok now that i’ve read the dragon age novels i shall rate them and give my opinions. no you can’t stop me.
also linked will be my reading threads for more. immediate thoughts and feelings.
also linked will be my reading threads for more. immediate thoughts and feelings.
dragon age: the stolen throne https://twitter.com/dykethorin/status/1321997527810412545
overall it was very good. maybe not the Best Written Novel ever, but like. It was good, I was incredibly attached to the characters, and it was very good at establishing the lore, the characters, and the region of thedas we see in DAO
it occasionally skips large periods of time, which is unavoidable tbh— and i wouldn’t want to have to power through it— and i think is eased by the fact the time is ADDRESSED, just not written, and important character stuff is noted. it’s hard to explain but ultimately is fine
would i recommend: YES, to dragon age fans. it was fun, it gave important context, and it has strong and loveable (if not perhaps flawed) characters.
dragon age: the calling https://twitter.com/dykethorin/status/1322270333265534977
this one was also pretty good, and avoided the “skipping thru large periods of time” problem. it also had strong characters, and expanded upon the grey wardens and their roles; it contextualized both origins and— especially— awakening
i’m a bit biased in it because i ADORE fiona— and duncan, and maric; and i genuinely REALLY LIKED other characters— so any flaws are. kinda made up in my mind because of that.
some parts were kind of... dry. you maybe need to drag through them, but not like. to an unbearable degree. but there are also a lot of action-packed moments AS WELL AS character moments (the later of which i ESPECIALLY enjoyed)
ultimately it did a good job of establishing the characters. sometimes the messages felt a bit heavy-handed, but like, loveably so.
would i recommend: again, YES, to dragon age fans, and especially fans of the Grey Wardens. has lovable and complex characters. DEFINITELY look up trigger warnings before reading tho (that honestly goes for ALL the books discussed)
also ultimately with stolen throne and the calling: if you’re not already a fan, but want to get into the games, both of these books are good to establish chars & lore, but ultimately not necessary. you’ll be fine without them lmao.
dragon age: the masked empire https://twitter.com/dykethorin/status/1323199973614325760
((from here on out, i’m assuming you’re a dragon age fan. these books... will not make a lot of sense w/out at least some familiarity, or are very much changed by that familiarity.))
hoooh boy. i’m biased in already having had Strong Opinions about characters and events in this before going in.
if i. REALLY try to be objective, it’s not bad. a lot of the issues are larger narrative issues with the franchise of a whole. it’s not badly written.
it certainly has lovable characters. maybe more than i’ll give it, with my PERSONAL biases
Briala and Felassan are what made it bearable for me, personally, and are genuinely well-written imo. Briala goes has a good bit of depth and development; felassan less so, but largely because he’s meant to be a bit of an oddball and enigma. i really loved them both tho.
what’s important about the masked empire is the context it gives to events in DAI (esp Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts)*, as well to characters (esp Gaspard, his politics, and his ideals— both good and. real bad)
would i recommend: eh. If you want Felassan and Briala content, and think you can power through, yes. if you want the context for in game, sure (though you can also just read a plot summary). there are genuinely good moments. there’s a lot that’s frustrating to me, personally tho
(but again. that is with My Views on the franchise as a whole— it may differ for people whose views differ lmao)
*I will say, in game, the events are NOT explained well, and I personally feel they did Briala dirty.
dragon age: asunder https://twitter.com/dykethorin/status/1322624568339521536
(i read this before TME, and you also absolutely could as well, but in terms of timeline TME comes first, and some things might make a bit more sense)
again we fall into the fact that i have my own, very strong, opinions on matters discussed. and the narrative of this book sometimes, uhm. agitates them. and again, a lot of the issues are also bigger narrative issues in the franchise i have.
the main character Rhys... his views kind of. flip flop a bit? to a very confusing and—to me— annoying degree. the narrative as a whole follows that— so sometimes i really fw it, sometimes i really hate it.
for the story as a whole... i ultimately like it a bit more than TME. It has really loveable characters, both new and recurring— adrian, cole, shale, fiona— though they are. sidelined in favor of characters i like less, both new and recurring— rhys, evangeline, wynne
i will say, with the characters i don’t like... there are moments i do like them, and some (esp evangeline) grow. it’s more that, ultimately, they annoy me— though by the end i do like evangeline a whole lot more than before, and can vaguely tolerate her.
^ that is very much tied to her standing against the templar order lmfao
but okay. on the whole there’s good— if not for some, inconsistent— characters. maybe not for all characters. but at least for some.
what’s important about it is the information about Tranquility— and it’s ability to be reversed— as well as how the mage rebellion came about (basically: not [just] bc chantry went boom; was actually more the templars— or, really, Seekers who started it).
cole is also introduced! most of the info with him is translated well into dai (unlike the other two issues, imo), but it still ultimately gives depth to cole and his actions
would i recommend it: if you really want to, sure. you can get by with reading the plot summary, too, but if you want to read it... sure. it’s certainly more bearable than TME, imo.
dragon age: the last flight https://twitter.com/dykethorin/status/1323493587661680643
again, we kind of, uhm. run into the problem of skipping around in time. but i’ll elaborate on that in a hot sec.
what you need to know: it’s a dual timeline thing. we start in 9:41 Dragon with Valya— a elven mage Grey-Warden recruit— who finds the journal of Isseya— an elven mage Warden from the fourth blight, and sister to the hero Garahel.
from there, we flip between 9:41-9:42 Dragon (Valya’s POV) and 5:12-5:24 Exalted (Isseya’s POV), with more considerable skips in the latter
the story, in all, touches on some of the main events of the Fourth Blight, and— more integral to the story— why the Griffons went “extinct”.
overall, there are very strong characters— it’s hard to get SUPER connected to many; it’s limited to Isseya and Valya’s point of views. But they’re both pretty cool (ESP Isseya), and we get to know many cool characters through them.
would i recommend: yes, to dragon age fans who really want that sweet sweet lore. It’s well-written, if not a little depressing (ending, though, with hope!!!); I really liked many of the characters, even if they were only there briefly.
dragon age: tevinter nights https://twitter.com/dykethorin/status/1324399898620407808
this one is harder to rate as a whole, because it’s a collection of short stories. there are some i loved, some i liked, some i was neutral to, and some i didn’t like so much (that’s in more detail in my reading thread; spoiler warning within it, tho)
overall, there are really good characters! a lot of callbacks to in-game minor characters (and major chats, w cassandra and dorian cameos!), multiplayer characters, and comic characters; though for the later two, you don’t need to be familiar with them for the stories to work
also a lot of new characters! many were very loveable. I would wager at least one char will be in DA4, likely as a companion (tho i’m sure some will be there in smaller roles too)
(oh, also, solas is there baybee)
(oh, also, solas is there baybee)
a lot of the stories are. spooky af lol. a lot of them i... look. i don’t like the evanuris reveal (like... REALLY don’t like it), but within that plot line, a lot of these stories were REALLY GOOD and REALLY COOL, and touched and elaborated on that
would i recommend: yes! again, not all of the stories were equally good imo, but i thought the book as a whole is very good! The settings, groups, and characters— both new and not-so-new— were on the whole really cool! And i’m sure it will, on the whole, b v important to DA4.
i’m sure like. no one here will care about this thread (and that’s fine lmfao genuinely) but i can and will shout into the void so. here’s this. yee haw.
