Publisher: Del Rey
Author: Drew Karpyshyn
Release Date: 7/29/2008
MSRP: $7.99
Pages: 342
Recommended Audience: Young Adult
Don’t get me started; books based on video games are a lot better than movies and are a great way to tide you over until a sequel is released, and Ascension is no different. While the Mass Effect game stars Sheperd (or your character), Ascension creates new likable characters like Kahlee Anderson, Paul and Gillian Grayson, Hendel, and other characters.
The book is about a girl named Gillian who is part of the Ascension Project, which is a study on biotics in humans. Paul is part of a black ops group called Cerberus, and he takes Gillian into the lawless Terminus Systems to protect Gillian from being experimented on. Kahlee Sanders and Hendel follow to take her back, thinking Paul is trying to kill his own daughter. Without giving major plot twists away, Paul is fighting drug addiction, Kahlee uses sex as a stress reliever, and Hendel is an overprotective chief of security.
The book really sticks to the Mass Effect lore, with all the alien races present, and really uses a lot of Mass Effect terminology. I found that Drew was able to describe locales really well, so if you have played the Mass Effect game, you can get an idea of what these places might look like. While the book changes between two different people, the book just flows and has smooth transitions. If you have played Mass Effect, the book isn’t confusing at all, and you really feel like you’re back in the game.
The length of the book is perfect, running about 350 pages, so you can finish it within a week. Each chapter gives you a great dose of excitement, and I feel each chapter really closes well, so it makes it one of those “just one more chapter” type books, and I love those. When you put the book down, you’ll be thinking about what’s happening next, since the suspense in the book is astounding. What makes the book stand out is the fact that you can get inside these characters’ heads and really see what’s messing them up and making them do these things. If you loved Mass Effect, get this book, but it’s really only for fans of the game.
I'm in North America, I'm just not super familiar with the series.