Mass Effect: Revelation

It's unfortunate that this novel isn't more widely known about, as it is the prequel – the OFFICIAL prequel – to the Mass Effect game series. And it's good.

It's written by one of the actual game story writers, Drew Karpyshyn, so there's no continuity issues and it all gels together with the game universe nicely. Some of the characters featured exist in the games, and their stories have been interwoven rather cleverly with some new pro/an-tagonists.

And yes, he stands up perfectly well on his own as a “proper” author, the writing style being easy to digest, and suitable to both quick pick-up/put-down and extended marathon bookworm sessions.

Perhaps my only hesitation overall, he does seem to relish, slightly too much, opportunities to describe gunfire-mangled limbs and the process of torture sessions – sometimes these extend to many paragraphs, and you start to get the impression that he enjoys this imagery just a tad more than would be considered healthy. This isn't stuff you encounter in the games for obvious reasons, so maybe this is an insight into what the series may have been like without censorship boards to appease…

But there you go. Like the games? Give this a whirl.

Mass Effect Revelation is a novel for those seeking more from the beautiful Mass Effect Universe, which is quite normal! Each chapter is presented with mesmeric story telling evoking a sense of continuity to read til the very end. Despite the storyline of Revelation being fairly straight forward with little to no plot twists, the way the story is told also the heart pumping action would undoubtedly keep you entertained.

Since it is the official prequel to the critically acclaimed video game; Mass Effect. The targeted audience is for those who just can't get enough of Mass Effect. I'd imagine it'll be fairly difficult for those who haven't played Mass Effect to enjoy the novel because of the complexity of the Mass Effect society. Unless you have an extremely vivid imagination then maybe. If you really enjoyed Mass Effect, it's definitely worth spending a few nights reading this enthralling prequel.

Revelation reveals Captain Anderson's history prior to Mass Effect and how he failed his assignment in becoming the first human spectre, more background of the arrival of humanity into the future society as well as the cause of Saren's despise towards humanity. Revelation provides a broader understanding of Bioware's cri­tically acclaimed Mass Effect game!