Reviews

Mass Effect: Ascension by Drew Karpyshyn

djmcewen's review against another edition

4.0

Good points and bad points. I think of this Mass Effect books I've read to date, this one stands the most on its own. I feel like it wraps up the story it started rather than simply serving as a segue into the next game.

The part I find weird is that it's just an in-universe game with no real connection to game events. It does explain an early reference in Mass Effect 2 but I actually played the game well enough without knowing the details.

Overall, it does fill in minor information for the next to two games but I'm not sure that would appeal to non-gamers.

yaboizesty's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

jzoolander's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Questionable depiction of autism/neurodevelopmental disorder

berenikeasteria's review against another edition

4.0

A lot of what I wrote in my review for Mass Effect: Revelation could easily apply here too. Though this book spans a different era of time – between the first and second games, this time – the style of writing is very similar. Fast paced, easy to read, definitely a page turner that I tore through very quickly. Enjoyable and entertaining, although it wasn’t exactly scintillating stuff. And on the scale of Drew Karpyshyn’s works, it’s one of the better ones, though not his best. To be perfectly honest I’m struggling for things to say in this review because I found the experience so similar to reading Revelation. The only major difference is that Revelation only fleshed out what I already knew would happen/was happening to me as I read it whilst playing the first game. This time I took a pause in between games to read Ascension, and it definitely filled the gap, so to speak. It wasn’t difficult to get insight into some of the troubles looming ahead for my Shepard in the second game. I can already hear Shepard’s groans at the stupidity-induced messes that will need cleaning up. In any case – not a great book, perhaps, but an enjoyable one.

7 out of 10

rolyatkcinmai's review

3.0

I'm continuing to re-read the Mass Effect books. Ascension is still a good novel, much like the first one, but it signals a shift toward telling a specific story separated from the games. For me personally, this is less intriguing. The first novel sets up a major plot point for Mass Effect 1, while Ascension is a small story that is only even mentioned in one line of dialogue in Mass Effect 2. It's still a fun ride, but it's not exactly what I want.

daltonwb25's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

steftolbert's review

adventurous medium-paced

3.25

Really only for fans of the game. Doesn’t stand up super well if you take that aspect away. 

space_pirate's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

sabrina_rawr's review against another edition

Very slow and not engaging

dillonbrantley's review

3.0

A vast improvement over the first novel in both its presentation and plot. While not perfect, Ascension brings depth and intrigue into the interspecies politics that are at the heart of the Mass Effect universe.