Reviews

Retribution by Drew Karpyshyn

Only show reviews with written explanations

valholla's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Having read all three Mass Effect novels written by Drew Karpyshyn, I have to say they are very much three of a kind. Same style of writing, same ideas about the plot in all three. Each book seeks to flesh out the Mass Effect universe without directly touching on the main plot of the games. This is really a double edged sword. On the one hand, getting too deeply into the main plot wouldn’t make fans happy as there is such a variety of paths and choices to take the player character that inevitably such a story would earn the ire of the majority of fans. On the other hand, that means we’re left with a rather tangential story – one that isn’t nearly as meaty or fascinating as the main Mass Effect plot we know and love, but slides in at ‘vaguely interesting’. To be fair to Karpyshyn, since he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t, I feel he can’t be blamed for the novels being less gripping in comparison to the Mass Effect games.

Lacking that gripping main plot is rather detrimental to these novels, but that point aside there’s a mix of good and bad points about them. For me, the next biggest bad point after the tangential plot is the writing – the style of it, the language used and so on. It’s competent, which is a good thing, but that’s all it is. When I look for five star quality writing, I expect writing to have a bit more flair and creativity to it, a bit more expressiveness and imagination. The writing here is merely functional. This is why I didn’t post any quote updates as I read through the book; there were no lines that made me stop and think “wow, I love the way the author has put that, I just have to share this”. So that would be my biggest criticism outside of the tangential nature of the story. Those two fairly substantial points against the novels, they do have good points in their favour. The writing is competent, meaning it’s never clunky or awkward, and the storytelling is neatly tied up in a way that makes sense and doesn’t suffer from any plotholes. The pacing in particular is pitched perfectly – these books are very easy to read and devour in a mere few hours, and it’s an enjoyable ride to do so. I would recommend them as fun, easy reads for anyone who’s curious about learning a little bit more of the in game universe; just be aware they’re not as substantial and compelling as the actual games themselves.

7 out of 10

tintil's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Super Masse Effect Buch

Super Buch zu Masse Effect Serie, kann ich nur empfehlen.

Endlich mal Anderson in Action, als Soldat nicht als Diplomat.

rolyatkcinmai's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

The best of this series of four, Retribution ties up what probably should have been left at a trilogy. There are important story bits here for the game trilogy, as well.

space_pirate's review

Go to review page

adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

dillonbrantley's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

It's fairly well written and does a better job of characterizing Kai Leng than the games ever did, but it left something to be desired in the plot department. Furthermore, I enjoy Mass Effect for the politics and pressures existing between alien species and humans. This book had very little of that, and what was there was simply one-dimensional. Certainly not a bad read for a Mass Effect fan, but a slight disappointment after the previous book.

arachnid's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

2.75

amyeewing's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and was very glad that it involved Grayson as he was may favorite character from the previous novel. I already played Mass Effect 3 so I had some idea of what to expect from this novel and was not disappointed. It wasn't the most amazing writing ever, but it was very enjoyable and easy to follow. A big improvement over the last two novels was the combat/action writing. It was much more fluid and enjoyable rather than reading like a dictation of combat from the game. I would strongly recommend reading the second book before this one in order to really get to know and appreciate the characters, but you can read the first one later as it has little bearing on this novel.