I don’t normally read novels based on video games. With the exception of The Infernal City, I can’t think of one that I’ve been interested in. But, I started playing the Mass Effect games at the end of summer and I am hopelessly addicted to them now. The universe, the characters, and the story have completely engrossed me. When I found out that the author of this book was also the primary storywriter for the game, I decided to give it a shot.

Summary
Years before the events of Mass Effect, when Captain David Anderson is a lieutenant in the Alliance, a human science installation on the planet Sidon is attacked by unknown forces. There is a sole survivor, who is a suspect because of her actions, and Lieutenant Anderson is dispatched to investigate. He soon crosses paths with a special agent from the non-human galactic government (the Citadel) named Saren Arterius, who doesn’t like humans. Together they discover a crime lord financing the work of a mad scientist who has found a mysterious artifact at the edges of explored space.

OVERALL: 3.4
I recognize that the primary readers of this book are going to be Mass Effect players, but I think Drew Karpyshyn did an admirable job creating a fun and interesting adventure in the video game’s universe. There are frequent breaks in the story to go over some history or piece of description (which can make sections of the book feel like a tour guide), but it’s all done pretty well. And at barely 80,000 words or so, it’s the perfect length for an escapist adventure.

I’ve commented to others that what makes Mass Effect so great isn’t anything particularly original about the setting; it’s actually a very generic science fiction setting that takes bits and pieces from other properties and stories from the past and puts them together into a single vision. What makes Mass Effect so good is that it provides this generic “what people expect from science fiction” with great quality, and then proceeds to populate it with interesting characters and interesting stories. This book does a good job accomplishing this same feat.

Having read this, I am definitely interested in Mr. Karpyshyn’s other, non-Mass Effect stories as well.

RATINGS BY CATEGORY
Characters: 3
The characters in this book are solid. David Anderson is convincing at a morally upright soldier dedicated to the military, and it’s easy to make the connection with the older version of the character in the video game. Kahlee Sanders is probably the most interesting character, though I also like a Krogan mercenary named Skarr.

Saren Arterius is always interesting when he’s “on screen”, but I don’t buy his motivation for hatred towards humans. He is a turian supremacist, but that doesn’t explain why he would ever volunteer for Spectre duty. I would suspect there is more in his youth, including an honest desire to make the galaxy a better place.

Pace: 4
This novel is barely over 80,000 words, and no time is wasted switching between scenes, viewpoint characters, and keeping things moving. It’s a good, fast, adventure story.

Story: 4
I am probably biased to the story simply because I love the Mass Effect universe. I love the technology, I love the aliens, I love the history, and I love the dynamics between humans, aliens, and different organizations. It makes sense that the quiet scenes of Anderson’s life on Citadel space station had me glued to the page.

This story has all the trappings of military science fiction, but turns into an interesting adventure story involving some varied characters. There is action, some espionage, a dash of tragedy and a larger dash of romance, and a little something for everyone.

Dialogue: 3
The dialogue in this book is solid. The author doesn’t try to use crazy accents or tricks to get his ideas across, and having played the video games it was easy to assign voices to everyone. The exception was Saren, whose voice I had forgotten. He is always interesting in this book though.

Style/Technical: 3
Karpyshyn’s writing is very clear, and lacking another way of putting it, “by the book”. The only thing he does (that is very common today) is the introduction of numerous viewpoint characters, many of whom do not survive for very long. This works though, since a character like Saren is best experienced from an observer as well as “in his own eyes”.

Generally, descriptions and background are only provided when needed, but because the book needs to stand on its own feet, the story is paused at times to bring readers up to speed, and other times the book almost feels like a tour guide of the game. It works though, as long as the reader is willing to bear with it. He never takes too long to dig back into the story.