Mass Effect: Revelation - Drew Karpyshyn > Reviews (2)

Background

Revelation is a science fiction novel set in the Mass Effect universe, which was brought to prominence in the video game series of the same name. The novel is a prequel to the first game (Mass Effect.)

In the Mass Effect universe humans have discovered ancient alien technology on Mars, advancing them greatly and eventually leading them to discovering other intelligent life in the universe. Knowing that they are now not alone all humans unite under a political and military leadership, know as the Human Systems Alliance.

Premise

Without wanting to give anything away, the book follows an Alliance soldier called Lieutenant David Anderson as he tries to investigate who was behind an attack on a secretive Alliance research facility.

Part of his investigation involves him trying to find a scientist called Kahlee Sanders who mysteriously went AWOL from the facility the day before it was attacked making her one of the main suspects. Anderson however is not the only one looking for the scientist as Saren, a Spectre (A member of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance arm of the galactic council, akin to a secret service operative who can act outside of the law) is also trying to find her to get answers for his own investigation and he doesn’t mind using torture to get the answers he wants.

Opinion

Having previously played the video game to which this book serves as a prequel, this novel provided excellent further insight into the back story of the universe and built on the personalities of two of the main characters. It also provides a good background into how the relationship between Anderson and Saren developed.

Reading the book in its own right however, without having the means to continue the story with the video game may leave the reader feeling as though they have been sold short. This is because the book basically serves to build up the events that occur in the game, with the main set pieces of the storyline contained within the game itself. The second novel in the series is set after the storyline of the first game, so it would appear that without playing the games, readers of the novel will be missing large parts of narrative.

The pacing of the book can also be a little fast in places, with some parts seemingly skimmed over quickly to advance the storyline without going into enough depth. This can sometimes leave you having to re-read a page or two to fully take in what just happened.

The chapters are pretty short, but this is usually how I prefer books as it means I can read a quick chapter in short breaks, but still have the option to spend an entire night reading through the book if the need arises (and it did with this book.)

Overall

Taking all of these things into account, I would highly recommend this book to fans of the Mass Effect universe and those who have plans to purchase the game after reading the book. If however video games are not your cup of tea, I would find it hard to recommend as you will be missing out on a large part of the story the book builds up.

I picked this up from Amazon for £4.80 and it was worth every penny, earning it a place in my bookshelf.