Mass Effect Novelization Review: Ascension

I’ve finally finished the second Mass Effect Novel. And while I do like the stories told in the video games, and the video game stories are written by the same author, I can say that I’m not the hugest fan of this book.

I finished the book in just a couple of weeks of casual reading, so the book held my interest enough to be a decent book.

I think one of the weird things about the novels (first two) that I’ve read thus far, is their scope. The video game is about these huge events and revealing these very exciting mysteries. The books are there to sort of set up the video games, so they don’t reveal too much.

Ascension ties the Collectors in to the story as a tie in to Mass Effect 2. The mystery is built at the most rudimentary level here in preparation for the video game. I realize that the novels should have some tie ins, but I wish the books took more of an opportunity to explore more of their own story.

I actually did find myself enjoying the Quarian characters a bit. The traitorous Golo and the young and hopeful Lemm.

I would really have appreciated descriptions of the aliens when they first appeared. If someone hasn’t played the game yet, or if they just want to read the stories, they will be lost in this. The Star Wars novelizations often have the same issues with using aliens.

In the end, I’m glad I read the book. I probably won’t read further Mass Effect fiction unless I read that the story of books take a totally different arc.