A review by inamerata
Retribution by Drew Karpyshyn

2.5

Retribution is the weakest of the original trilogy and much closer to generic dude-writing-scifi than previous novels. However, it’s still more enjoyable than I expected when I started this series. 

On the plus side, the world is still fun and the new lore is interesting. It was cool, if gruesome, to see indoctrination from the perspective of someone being actively husked. Honestly, the fact Grayson held onto his humanity for as long as he did was impressive. Poor guy. 

Kai Leng also felt like a competent threat. I’ve always trounced him in Mass Effect 3, only to be forced to lose, so it was nice to see him as an actually dangerous opponent for Anderson. 

Unfortunately, the writing was just weaker. It felt like Karpyshyn didn’t have the usual time/focus here, which is understandable given this was leading up to ME3, but here we are. The pacing is uneven, race is still handled awkwardly, and women are just not full people. The narrative brings up the sex appeal of pretty much every woman, and Kahlee in particular spends most of the book regulated to caregiver/love interest/plot device. 

Overall, the main draw is that Karpyshyn knows and cares about Mass Effect, and so this fun to read as a long-time fan between replaying the games, even if its flaws make it harder to recommend. 
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