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Mass Effect Novels #2
Mass Effect: Ascension
Our galaxy, at a time set far in our future ...
Every 50,000 years, a race of machines returns to harvest the galaxy's organic life forms. In the first MASS EFFECT game, it is the year 2183, and the machines are about to return once again.
This book will be a bridging novel set between the first and second MASS EFFECT games.
Every 50,000 years, a race of machines returns to harvest the galaxy's organic life forms. In the first MASS EFFECT game, it is the year 2183, and the machines are about to return once again.
This book will be a bridging novel set between the first and second MASS EFFECT games.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 29, 2008
261 people are currently reading
3846 people want to read
About the author
Drew Karpyshyn
38 books2,072 followersDrew Karpyshyn is a Canadian author and game designer. After working at a credit union for some time, he eventually became a game developer. He joined BioWare towards the end of the Baldur's Gate series, and wrote the tie-in novel for Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. He stayed with BioWare, where he worked on Neverwinter Nights, and became the Senior Writer on the critically acclaimed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
This Star Wars connection gave him the opportunity to write Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, his first hardcover. Karpyshyn still works for BioWare where he is the lead writer for the Mass Effect series.
This Star Wars connection gave him the opportunity to write Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, his first hardcover. Karpyshyn still works for BioWare where he is the lead writer for the Mass Effect series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 396 reviews
May 16, 2016
If you have ever wondered about how Quarians take a shower in or in spite of their enviro-suits, this is the book for you.
Mass Effect: Ascension plays around two months after the ending events of the first game and gives interesting insights into Quarian history, the Migrant fleet and Quarian social culture.
First and foremost, it tells the story of Paul Grayson, a Cerberus member, and his biotic and autistic daughter Gillian though.
Gillian receives training at the Ascension Project because Cerberus believes that unlocking new and amazing biotic potential could be crucial to the survival of the human race and that Gillian could be the saviour of humanity.
This leads Cerberus to conduct illegal experiments on Gillian, and when Kahlee Sanders finds out, she tries to save Gillian.
The story didn't really catch my attention until I was at around 60% in the book.
Hats off to Karpyshyn though, because even though there are many different ways in which the first game can end, he manages to leave things vague enough for them all to fit.
Some of the characters are really well written. Days after finishing this, I still feel conflicted about Grayson, for example.
On one hand, I want to slap and shake him and scream at him for what he let Cerberus do to Gillian, and on the other hand I feel bad for him, can understand why he believes what he believes and can see that he does care for his daughter:
Grayson knew he had no choice in the matter, but it was still hard to let her go. For ten years she had been an integral part of his life.
He missed seeing her in the mornings and tucking her in at night. He missed the rare moments when she broke through the invisible walls that separated her from the outside world and showed him genuine love and affection. But, like any parent, he had to put his child’s welfare above his own. The program was good for Gillian. The scientists at the Academy were pushing the boundaries of biotic research.
Then there are appearances of the Illusive Man, one of the most interesting, charismatic and morally gray individuals in the whole Mass Effect universe and surely deserving of his own story.
I would absolutely love to read a story or spinoff just about the Illusive Man and get some insights into how his mind works.
And who could ever forget him since that scene...
Kahlee Sanders is less interesting here than in Mass Effect: Revelation. She sure cares about Gillian, but I couldn't really connect to her.
One thing that is really fantastic about this book are the locations.
Take Omega for instance, which in all its wickedness, gloominess, with its criminals and social outcasts is maybe my favorite place in the games.
The aliens couldn’t even agree on a single name for the station. Each speaker called it something different in his or her native tongue. The unpronounceable asari name loosely translated as “heart of evil,” the turians referred to it as “world without law,” the salarians called it “place of secrets,” and the krogans knew it as “land of opportunity.” For the sake of convenience, the automated translator Pel wore strapped to his belt translated all these terms into the human word “Omega”— the absolute end of all things.
Collectors and Reapers are still widely regarded as "myths" here, and I loved to read all the theories and feel the horror evolving around them.
All in all, I liked this book a little less than Mass Effect: Revelation just for how long it took me to care about the story, but I still recommend it to Mass Effect players and especially fans of Quarians.
This was a buddy read with Sorina at Buddies Books and Baubles.
Mass Effect: Ascension plays around two months after the ending events of the first game and gives interesting insights into Quarian history, the Migrant fleet and Quarian social culture.
First and foremost, it tells the story of Paul Grayson, a Cerberus member, and his biotic and autistic daughter Gillian though.
Gillian receives training at the Ascension Project because Cerberus believes that unlocking new and amazing biotic potential could be crucial to the survival of the human race and that Gillian could be the saviour of humanity.
This leads Cerberus to conduct illegal experiments on Gillian, and when Kahlee Sanders finds out, she tries to save Gillian.
The story didn't really catch my attention until I was at around 60% in the book.
Hats off to Karpyshyn though, because even though there are many different ways in which the first game can end, he manages to leave things vague enough for them all to fit.
Some of the characters are really well written. Days after finishing this, I still feel conflicted about Grayson, for example.
On one hand, I want to slap and shake him and scream at him for what he let Cerberus do to Gillian, and on the other hand I feel bad for him, can understand why he believes what he believes and can see that he does care for his daughter:
Grayson knew he had no choice in the matter, but it was still hard to let her go. For ten years she had been an integral part of his life.
He missed seeing her in the mornings and tucking her in at night. He missed the rare moments when she broke through the invisible walls that separated her from the outside world and showed him genuine love and affection. But, like any parent, he had to put his child’s welfare above his own. The program was good for Gillian. The scientists at the Academy were pushing the boundaries of biotic research.
Then there are appearances of the Illusive Man, one of the most interesting, charismatic and morally gray individuals in the whole Mass Effect universe and surely deserving of his own story.
I would absolutely love to read a story or spinoff just about the Illusive Man and get some insights into how his mind works.
And who could ever forget him since that scene...
Kahlee Sanders is less interesting here than in Mass Effect: Revelation. She sure cares about Gillian, but I couldn't really connect to her.
One thing that is really fantastic about this book are the locations.
Take Omega for instance, which in all its wickedness, gloominess, with its criminals and social outcasts is maybe my favorite place in the games.
The aliens couldn’t even agree on a single name for the station. Each speaker called it something different in his or her native tongue. The unpronounceable asari name loosely translated as “heart of evil,” the turians referred to it as “world without law,” the salarians called it “place of secrets,” and the krogans knew it as “land of opportunity.” For the sake of convenience, the automated translator Pel wore strapped to his belt translated all these terms into the human word “Omega”— the absolute end of all things.
Collectors and Reapers are still widely regarded as "myths" here, and I loved to read all the theories and feel the horror evolving around them.
All in all, I liked this book a little less than Mass Effect: Revelation just for how long it took me to care about the story, but I still recommend it to Mass Effect players and especially fans of Quarians.
This was a buddy read with Sorina at Buddies Books and Baubles.
March 27, 2022
I am a sucker for a tv/film/video game tie-in. One of my great loves discovered in lockdown is the Mass Effect video game series, and this novel set before the 2nd game is a great addition to the lore. It fleshes out the character of Kahlee Sanders ( who I previously just thought of as Anderson’s ex) and begins by showcasing her work at Grissom Academy.
July 16, 2012
I was pleasantly surprised with “Mass Effect: Revelation”, and planned on reading the rest of the novels. In fact, I hoped to read through them all before Mass Effect 3 was released. Unfortunately, the fourth novel, “Deception”, picked up some very bad reviews (I realize it’s from a different author), and I put further Mass Effect reading on hold until a week or so ago.
OVERALL: 3.6 out of 5
“Mass Effect: Ascension” is a great science fiction adventure complete with good guys who have hearts of gold, bad guys who are lower than snakes, a couple of others who think they’re doing the right thing, a daring one-man rescue against impossible odds, and finally a well described and very professional covert strike in hostile territory (albeit, pulled off by the bad guys). At the center of all of this is a twelve-year old girl who draws all the principal characters together. She isn’t the type of “poor little girl” that readers are going to get misty-eyed about (maybe if I had an autistic child at Gillian’s level), but she definitely plays the role she needs to play.
So, again Mr. Karpyshyn delivers the goods. I understand he recently retired from BioWare (and video games in general) to focus on his novelist career. I look forward to some original worlds and ideas from him.
CHARACTERS: 3 out of 5
Kahlee Sanders was more interesting in the first book than this one. She is mostly the conscience of the other characters (who keeps making the wrong decisions and conclusions, based on a belief in the inherent goodness of people), though she gets to see some action too. She definitely has a stronger “mother instinct” in this one, particularly toward Gillian, but also to Hendel and, to lesser extent, Lemm.
Hendel Mitra is a fun, rough and tough guy I think most male readers can enjoy. This man’s force of will is more-or-less epic, and he plays the real father-figure to Gillian.
Gillian is silent, but not necessarily boring. She becomes more likeable once she gets aboard the Migrant Fleet and meets Quarians.
Paul Grayson is a drug addict, but clearly cares about his daughter. He is also a Cerberus agent of some skill and experience, probably among their best at thinking on his feet.
Pel, Paul’s “old buddy” is no Lando. This sadistic terrorist is like an evil Shaft. Evil Space Shaft.
Lemm’Shal nar Tesleya is probably my favorite character in the book. He’s Quarian, young but experienced, and is the closest thing this book ever comes to having a cowboy.
PACE: 4 out of 5
Mr. Karpyshyn seems to have a lot of talent in keeping his story moving forward, even when it has to hit the pause button a dozen times in a single chapter to explain the setting’s background or science to readers who may not be familiar with the games. Things move fast, and the book isn’t too long. The ending is a bit abrupt though.
STORY: 4 out of 5
Being familiar with the games, comics, and first book, I was real curious where this book was going. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do at all with Commander Shepard’s story (though important events between the Quarians and Cerberus that occur in this book are mentioned in Mass Effect 2), whereas the first book tied directly into the first game.
What we have here is a totally different story about people living, dying, trying to do the right thing, and others trying to make easy money against the backdrop of everything else that is going on. “Ascension” isn’t so much about the Reapers, but provides a better look at Cerberus, how it operates, and the Illusive Man in particular (who is mostly a presence in the story, rather than appearing and doing a lot of talking).
This is basically an espionage adventure set in the Mass Effect universe, with a few adults taking interest in a young girl who may (or may not) be particularly special at all.
DIALOGUE: 3 out of 5
The dialogue in this book is good. Characters never preach (except when they’re supposed to), Gillian as a twelve-year old autistic with amazing powers is written well, and everyone fits their roles perfectly. I would have liked a slightly harder, ground-glass edge to Pel though; not necessarily using street lingo, but just something harder in his verbal communications. He comes across too much like a typical middle manager when he should be an afro-wearing Cowboy Bebop bad dude. Yet I know a couple of guys who do remind me of him…
STYLE/TECHNICAL: 4 out of 5
Writing is clear and easy to understand, and the action scenes feel like action scenes (something I am realizing few authors can actually pull off). Technologies and concepts even I wasn’t immediately familiar with were explained quickly and without slowing the story down too much.
The viewpoint shifts between quite a few characters (starting out with only a couple though), but it’s usually at the chapter breaks and it’s never too hard to tell who’s eyes you’re looking through.
OVERALL: 3.6 out of 5
“Mass Effect: Ascension” is a great science fiction adventure complete with good guys who have hearts of gold, bad guys who are lower than snakes, a couple of others who think they’re doing the right thing, a daring one-man rescue against impossible odds, and finally a well described and very professional covert strike in hostile territory (albeit, pulled off by the bad guys). At the center of all of this is a twelve-year old girl who draws all the principal characters together. She isn’t the type of “poor little girl” that readers are going to get misty-eyed about (maybe if I had an autistic child at Gillian’s level), but she definitely plays the role she needs to play.
So, again Mr. Karpyshyn delivers the goods. I understand he recently retired from BioWare (and video games in general) to focus on his novelist career. I look forward to some original worlds and ideas from him.
CHARACTERS: 3 out of 5
Kahlee Sanders was more interesting in the first book than this one. She is mostly the conscience of the other characters (who keeps making the wrong decisions and conclusions, based on a belief in the inherent goodness of people), though she gets to see some action too. She definitely has a stronger “mother instinct” in this one, particularly toward Gillian, but also to Hendel and, to lesser extent, Lemm.
Hendel Mitra is a fun, rough and tough guy I think most male readers can enjoy. This man’s force of will is more-or-less epic, and he plays the real father-figure to Gillian.
Gillian is silent, but not necessarily boring. She becomes more likeable once she gets aboard the Migrant Fleet and meets Quarians.
Paul Grayson is a drug addict, but clearly cares about his daughter. He is also a Cerberus agent of some skill and experience, probably among their best at thinking on his feet.
Pel, Paul’s “old buddy” is no Lando. This sadistic terrorist is like an evil Shaft. Evil Space Shaft.
Lemm’Shal nar Tesleya is probably my favorite character in the book. He’s Quarian, young but experienced, and is the closest thing this book ever comes to having a cowboy.
PACE: 4 out of 5
Mr. Karpyshyn seems to have a lot of talent in keeping his story moving forward, even when it has to hit the pause button a dozen times in a single chapter to explain the setting’s background or science to readers who may not be familiar with the games. Things move fast, and the book isn’t too long. The ending is a bit abrupt though.
STORY: 4 out of 5
Being familiar with the games, comics, and first book, I was real curious where this book was going. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do at all with Commander Shepard’s story (though important events between the Quarians and Cerberus that occur in this book are mentioned in Mass Effect 2), whereas the first book tied directly into the first game.
What we have here is a totally different story about people living, dying, trying to do the right thing, and others trying to make easy money against the backdrop of everything else that is going on. “Ascension” isn’t so much about the Reapers, but provides a better look at Cerberus, how it operates, and the Illusive Man in particular (who is mostly a presence in the story, rather than appearing and doing a lot of talking).
This is basically an espionage adventure set in the Mass Effect universe, with a few adults taking interest in a young girl who may (or may not) be particularly special at all.
DIALOGUE: 3 out of 5
The dialogue in this book is good. Characters never preach (except when they’re supposed to), Gillian as a twelve-year old autistic with amazing powers is written well, and everyone fits their roles perfectly. I would have liked a slightly harder, ground-glass edge to Pel though; not necessarily using street lingo, but just something harder in his verbal communications. He comes across too much like a typical middle manager when he should be an afro-wearing Cowboy Bebop bad dude. Yet I know a couple of guys who do remind me of him…
STYLE/TECHNICAL: 4 out of 5
Writing is clear and easy to understand, and the action scenes feel like action scenes (something I am realizing few authors can actually pull off). Technologies and concepts even I wasn’t immediately familiar with were explained quickly and without slowing the story down too much.
The viewpoint shifts between quite a few characters (starting out with only a couple though), but it’s usually at the chapter breaks and it’s never too hard to tell who’s eyes you’re looking through.
September 12, 2012
So, I made a mistake. I’ll be the first to admit it.
I completely forgot to check out the second Mass Effect novel before I played the second game. I have a feeling it seriously hampered my ability to enjoy it.
Ascension is sort of an odd book. It doesn’t really pick up the main Mass Effect storyline where Revelation left off, but then again, that’s what the game was for. But it also doesn’t pick up where the first game left off.
It does return us to the world of Kahlee Sanders, mild manner scientist with a propensity for kicking shell. Captain Anderson, or freshly minted Spectre Anderson as he was known back in those days, made a heroic effort to keep Saren from blowing up poor little Kahlee in Revelation. In Ascension she has done what any good non-com chasing dollar signs does. She has left the Alliance in favor of private contracting. For you non-military or corporate people out there, this means she still works for the Alliance but gets paid a lot more. She works on a top-secret training facility for the large number of biotic humans that have gain their abilities as a result of “suspicious” industrial accidents which have Cerberus’s name written all over them in secret ink you can only read when you do something with lemon juice. I forget what exactly.
So we come to the crux of the story. Ascension’s sole purpose as a product on the market is to give us a first hand taste of Cerberus. After all, you spend the entire second game working for them so it wouldn’t hurt to learn more about this company. If you recall, the only run in with Cerberus you have prior to Ascension, or ME2 if like me you couldn’t be buggered with a book first, was when Shepherd cleared out a secret base that was doing illegal research. Not off to a good start in the P.R. department.
Well, apparently that’s not entirely true. According to the Mass Effect wiki Cerberus was behind the Rachni experiments and the Thorian Creeper. I don’t remember that at all. Now I feel like a bad fan. Excuse me while I spend the next two days re-beating both games and reading both books…Oh. Wait. No I don’t have time to do that before this hits the press!
Anyway, Cerberus is generally perceived as some sort of galactic Black Panthers or Weather Underground type organization in their misguided attempts at forwarding the status of humanity on the galactic scale. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for humanity. I just don’t think we need to aggravate all of galactic civilization just so we play emperor of the Milky Way. We can make it there with a little diplomacy and a lot of well-timed galaxy saving. Of course we will aggravate some people that way, but the Turians are just mad that we beat them to the punch so forget them.
Ascension really does nothing to improve Cerberus’s perception, although at times I think it’s trying. The book is told from two perspectives, Kahlee’s and Paul Grayson’s. Grayson is a Cerberus operative who is given a daughter to adopt as his own from the Illusive Man himself. As you might have guessed, the daughter is a powerful biotic and a survivor of one of the aforementioned accidents, specifically the one on Yondoa. She also has high-functioning autism which may or may not be related to the accident and the drugs Cerberus is pumping through her to make her a ueber biotic.
The plot itself is not the gripping epic Revelation was. There is room for some sweet epic action but the books wings have been clipped by a serious continuity restrain.
The restraint is quite simple. One of the key elements of the games, something Bioware has been beating us over the head with constantly, is choices. Choices that have consequences. QED, the book can’t be influence by the game too much without trampling all over your meticulously built universe and ruining all of your good guy, bad guy, gray guy choices. Very few plots outside of a CYOA sequel have the kind of constrains put on it that Ascension does. I have to admit author Drew Karpyshyn does find a way to make a go of it by rightly focusing on character development and tossing in a few plot lines that contrast Cerberus and the Alliance. He just doesn’t do it well enough to garner my interest.
The dialogue in both novels seems a little flat and the writing is pulp fictiony, but I easily forgave him that in Revelation because he was introducing me to an amazing universe with incredible technologies describe in perfect detail. And really, I don’t expect my paperback sci-fi novels to read like Faulkner. As I said, the point of Ascension is to give us a first hand look at Cerberus and also to dabble a bit in Quarian politics. Something humans have no business doing in my opinion. Just as Enosh Shepherd. He didn’t have word one to say to the dignitaries aboard that beautiful flotilla ship in ME2.
But I digress. What were we talking about? Oh right. Karpyshyn’s writing just doesn’t pull off the introspective in a way that draws me into the story line. I did care for Grayson’s daughter Gillian, but at the end of the day none of the characters were included in ME2 and the whole book feels like something I saw out the window of the SR-2 on my way to rescuing a cargo ship full of babies from a Geth Collector alliance bent on using the babies to blow up a planet full of puppies. You know, important stuff.
When I met Captain Anderson in the first game I felt like I was in a secret club because I already knew so much about this hero of humanity. I wouldn’t want to meet red sand addict Paul Grayson and Kahlee needs to be in the third book Retribution, which comes out next month. Some of the Quarians would be fun to meet, but that doesn’t seem likely either for reasons I won’t go into now.
I am of course looking forward to Retribution and I fully intend to read it before ME3. Ok, before the end of August. Look, when a guy starts a collection of paperbacks he likes to see it through, alright? It’s funny, I’m not particularly chomping at the bit to find out what happens to Kahlee. I didn’t even remember who she was at the beginning of Ascension. I guess I just want to spend more time in the Mass Effect universe. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to live in a world full of space ships and aliens?
I completely forgot to check out the second Mass Effect novel before I played the second game. I have a feeling it seriously hampered my ability to enjoy it.
Ascension is sort of an odd book. It doesn’t really pick up the main Mass Effect storyline where Revelation left off, but then again, that’s what the game was for. But it also doesn’t pick up where the first game left off.
It does return us to the world of Kahlee Sanders, mild manner scientist with a propensity for kicking shell. Captain Anderson, or freshly minted Spectre Anderson as he was known back in those days, made a heroic effort to keep Saren from blowing up poor little Kahlee in Revelation. In Ascension she has done what any good non-com chasing dollar signs does. She has left the Alliance in favor of private contracting. For you non-military or corporate people out there, this means she still works for the Alliance but gets paid a lot more. She works on a top-secret training facility for the large number of biotic humans that have gain their abilities as a result of “suspicious” industrial accidents which have Cerberus’s name written all over them in secret ink you can only read when you do something with lemon juice. I forget what exactly.
So we come to the crux of the story. Ascension’s sole purpose as a product on the market is to give us a first hand taste of Cerberus. After all, you spend the entire second game working for them so it wouldn’t hurt to learn more about this company. If you recall, the only run in with Cerberus you have prior to Ascension, or ME2 if like me you couldn’t be buggered with a book first, was when Shepherd cleared out a secret base that was doing illegal research. Not off to a good start in the P.R. department.
Well, apparently that’s not entirely true. According to the Mass Effect wiki Cerberus was behind the Rachni experiments and the Thorian Creeper. I don’t remember that at all. Now I feel like a bad fan. Excuse me while I spend the next two days re-beating both games and reading both books…Oh. Wait. No I don’t have time to do that before this hits the press!
Anyway, Cerberus is generally perceived as some sort of galactic Black Panthers or Weather Underground type organization in their misguided attempts at forwarding the status of humanity on the galactic scale. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for humanity. I just don’t think we need to aggravate all of galactic civilization just so we play emperor of the Milky Way. We can make it there with a little diplomacy and a lot of well-timed galaxy saving. Of course we will aggravate some people that way, but the Turians are just mad that we beat them to the punch so forget them.
Ascension really does nothing to improve Cerberus’s perception, although at times I think it’s trying. The book is told from two perspectives, Kahlee’s and Paul Grayson’s. Grayson is a Cerberus operative who is given a daughter to adopt as his own from the Illusive Man himself. As you might have guessed, the daughter is a powerful biotic and a survivor of one of the aforementioned accidents, specifically the one on Yondoa. She also has high-functioning autism which may or may not be related to the accident and the drugs Cerberus is pumping through her to make her a ueber biotic.
The plot itself is not the gripping epic Revelation was. There is room for some sweet epic action but the books wings have been clipped by a serious continuity restrain.
The restraint is quite simple. One of the key elements of the games, something Bioware has been beating us over the head with constantly, is choices. Choices that have consequences. QED, the book can’t be influence by the game too much without trampling all over your meticulously built universe and ruining all of your good guy, bad guy, gray guy choices. Very few plots outside of a CYOA sequel have the kind of constrains put on it that Ascension does. I have to admit author Drew Karpyshyn does find a way to make a go of it by rightly focusing on character development and tossing in a few plot lines that contrast Cerberus and the Alliance. He just doesn’t do it well enough to garner my interest.
The dialogue in both novels seems a little flat and the writing is pulp fictiony, but I easily forgave him that in Revelation because he was introducing me to an amazing universe with incredible technologies describe in perfect detail. And really, I don’t expect my paperback sci-fi novels to read like Faulkner. As I said, the point of Ascension is to give us a first hand look at Cerberus and also to dabble a bit in Quarian politics. Something humans have no business doing in my opinion. Just as Enosh Shepherd. He didn’t have word one to say to the dignitaries aboard that beautiful flotilla ship in ME2.
But I digress. What were we talking about? Oh right. Karpyshyn’s writing just doesn’t pull off the introspective in a way that draws me into the story line. I did care for Grayson’s daughter Gillian, but at the end of the day none of the characters were included in ME2 and the whole book feels like something I saw out the window of the SR-2 on my way to rescuing a cargo ship full of babies from a Geth Collector alliance bent on using the babies to blow up a planet full of puppies. You know, important stuff.
When I met Captain Anderson in the first game I felt like I was in a secret club because I already knew so much about this hero of humanity. I wouldn’t want to meet red sand addict Paul Grayson and Kahlee needs to be in the third book Retribution, which comes out next month. Some of the Quarians would be fun to meet, but that doesn’t seem likely either for reasons I won’t go into now.
I am of course looking forward to Retribution and I fully intend to read it before ME3. Ok, before the end of August. Look, when a guy starts a collection of paperbacks he likes to see it through, alright? It’s funny, I’m not particularly chomping at the bit to find out what happens to Kahlee. I didn’t even remember who she was at the beginning of Ascension. I guess I just want to spend more time in the Mass Effect universe. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to live in a world full of space ships and aliens?
May 25, 2021
Mass Effect: Ascension reads more like extended source material for the Mass Effect Universe than Revelations did. This wasn't a problem for me, as that's the entire reason I'm reading the series, but it did mean that Ascension wasn't as good a book in its own right as its predecessor.
From a narrative standpoint, I don't have much to fault. Ascension was fast-paced, with enough character depth for them to be relatable, and a decently diverse cast. It delved into lore that was barely present in ME1, and is constantly referenced in ME2, so it was really great to have that part of the story fleshed out.
But for some reason, Ascension just didn't grab me. I enjoyed it because it was Mass Effect, and not because it was good. It's a book for the fans, not for the average sci-fi reader. It's tailored to a specific audience, and with that in mind, I guess it does what's on the tin. I really enjoyed delving into the culture of the Migrant Fleet, and learning more about the Quarians, but this felt solidly like a side adventure, and not a fully fleshed out story that could stand on its own.
From a narrative standpoint, I don't have much to fault. Ascension was fast-paced, with enough character depth for them to be relatable, and a decently diverse cast. It delved into lore that was barely present in ME1, and is constantly referenced in ME2, so it was really great to have that part of the story fleshed out.
But for some reason, Ascension just didn't grab me. I enjoyed it because it was Mass Effect, and not because it was good. It's a book for the fans, not for the average sci-fi reader. It's tailored to a specific audience, and with that in mind, I guess it does what's on the tin. I really enjoyed delving into the culture of the Migrant Fleet, and learning more about the Quarians, but this felt solidly like a side adventure, and not a fully fleshed out story that could stand on its own.
July 10, 2021
Boy the Illusive Man is an asshole.
Quick read, fast plot, almost too disconnected from what else would have been going on in the galaxy in between ME1 and ME2.
I sure like Kahlee bit I wish there were more women in both books so far.
Quick read, fast plot, almost too disconnected from what else would have been going on in the galaxy in between ME1 and ME2.
I sure like Kahlee bit I wish there were more women in both books so far.
May 30, 2024
2.5 stars.
April 5, 2025
3.5 /5☆
Only for mass effect people, and I'd even say it's better read upon replay not a first playthrough
Only for mass effect people, and I'd even say it's better read upon replay not a first playthrough
March 2, 2019
Taking place shortly after the events in the first Mass Effect game, Ascention picks up on Kaylee Sanders, a character first introduced in "Revalations" which was the prequel novel to the franchise. Kaylee has since been working on the Ascension project, an Alliance run program designed to train gifted children to tap into their biotic potential.
What Saunders doesn't know is that Cerberus has a vested interest in one of the students and when things go awry and Cerberus decides to separate that student from Ascension, all hell breaks loose as Cerberus agents are revealed within the Ascension program. In order to escape they enlist the help of a Quarian on pilgrimage...
First and foremost, this book was a fun and fast read. I started it in late February and finished it very quickly, which is consistent with my reading pattern for Revelations. However, the problem I had with this book was that it felt very light on the plot which was a very direct A to B to C to D structure that came to a very sudden and somewhat abrupt ending.
This is a very pulpy light and yes, fun read, that ties into the Mass Effect game Trilogy. If you're looking for a deep and twisty plot...this is not a book for you. But, if you're looking to be entertained with tie in to a fantastic game franchise, I strongly recommend the title.
What Saunders doesn't know is that Cerberus has a vested interest in one of the students and when things go awry and Cerberus decides to separate that student from Ascension, all hell breaks loose as Cerberus agents are revealed within the Ascension program. In order to escape they enlist the help of a Quarian on pilgrimage...
First and foremost, this book was a fun and fast read. I started it in late February and finished it very quickly, which is consistent with my reading pattern for Revelations. However, the problem I had with this book was that it felt very light on the plot which was a very direct A to B to C to D structure that came to a very sudden and somewhat abrupt ending.
This is a very pulpy light and yes, fun read, that ties into the Mass Effect game Trilogy. If you're looking for a deep and twisty plot...this is not a book for you. But, if you're looking to be entertained with tie in to a fantastic game franchise, I strongly recommend the title.
March 5, 2012
Timeline note: Ascension is set almost immediately after the events of the first Mass Effect, and before the opening scene in Mass Effect 2.
Picking up the character of Kahlee Sanders from the first Mass Effect novel, Ascension is a Cerberus-heavy story that doesn't seem to have much of an effect on the overall Mass Effect universe. It can still be a very interesting story. Karpyshyn is a good enough writer, and he knows the setting. Maybe a little too much. There are parts of the book that read more like codex entries in the game than the inner thoughts of a character in a novel. He's actually improved this tendency from the last book, which could be even wordier. The story seems to take a long time to set up, and wraps up a little quickly and neatly.
But it still has some good action in there. I also really liked getting to see what quarians live like, even more than in ME2. Probably the most valuable thing the book has to offer, in my opinion, is that additional insight into quarian life in the flotilla. For Mass Effect fans, I would say it's a must-read. But it wouldn't appeal to anyone who isn't a big fan. More than that, I'd say that somebody who isn't familiar with the ME setting would be totally lost.
Picking up the character of Kahlee Sanders from the first Mass Effect novel, Ascension is a Cerberus-heavy story that doesn't seem to have much of an effect on the overall Mass Effect universe. It can still be a very interesting story. Karpyshyn is a good enough writer, and he knows the setting. Maybe a little too much. There are parts of the book that read more like codex entries in the game than the inner thoughts of a character in a novel. He's actually improved this tendency from the last book, which could be even wordier. The story seems to take a long time to set up, and wraps up a little quickly and neatly.
But it still has some good action in there. I also really liked getting to see what quarians live like, even more than in ME2. Probably the most valuable thing the book has to offer, in my opinion, is that additional insight into quarian life in the flotilla. For Mass Effect fans, I would say it's a must-read. But it wouldn't appeal to anyone who isn't a big fan. More than that, I'd say that somebody who isn't familiar with the ME setting would be totally lost.
September 13, 2015
One thing I admire about Drew Karpyshyn and his books is his ability to make you sympathize with even the biggest jackwads. This is the guy who also wrote the Star Wars: Darth Bane books, and actually managed to make me cheer for that evil Sith Lord.
Same kinda deal here with the character of Paul Grayson -- a Cerberus agent, drug addict, and ruthless killer who follows the shady Illusive Man and follows all his crooked demands without question, including running dangerous experiments on his own daughter. So why the hell did I find myself rooting for him?
I liked this book; there is essentially no filler in these Mass Effect novels, just action and more action, the story constantly driving itself forward. Typical of a video game tie-in, but I find it much better written than many.
Same kinda deal here with the character of Paul Grayson -- a Cerberus agent, drug addict, and ruthless killer who follows the shady Illusive Man and follows all his crooked demands without question, including running dangerous experiments on his own daughter. So why the hell did I find myself rooting for him?
I liked this book; there is essentially no filler in these Mass Effect novels, just action and more action, the story constantly driving itself forward. Typical of a video game tie-in, but I find it much better written than many.
November 25, 2014
The following review has been copied from http://behnamriahi.tumblr.com
Mass Effect: Ascension, written by Drew Karpyshyn and published by Del Rey, is a third-person, science-fiction novel set in the Mass Effect universe and told primarily from the point-of-view of Kahlee Sanders, a woman in her early 40s acting as councilor at a joint military-civilian school known as Grissom Academy. Grissom Academy is a satellite orbiting a human colony on the outreaches of space—though they generally teach all gifted, young students, their primary focus is on the Ascension Project—a program to train young psychokineticists, otherwise known as “biotics,” how to use their powers. However, in a galaxy comprised of multiple races of aliens, one secret society known commonly as Cerberus, a pro-human mafia, is performing secret experiments within the Ascension Project on a girl named Gillian Grayson—that is until Gillian’s powers go beyond what Cerberus or Grissom Academy could have ever anticipated. As Cerberus swoops in to steal their pet project, it’s up to Kahlee Sanders and Grissom’s chief-of-security, Hendel, to protect Gillian from their experimental abuse.
(Kahlee Sanders, from Mass Effect 3. Damn, girl.)
There’s an awful lot of science-fiction out there—but not all of it is terrestrial in nature. The space opera, which is by definition a soap opera set in space, can be split down the middle—stories set in a universe or galaxy where there is, in fact, an Earth and stories set in an astral scope without Earth. The former is Star Trek, the latter is Star Wars. I’ve always been drawn to the former—the potential of Earthlings realized in the far, interstellar reaches. Obviously, Mass Effect has become very influential for me in that capacity—but it isn’t the first influence I can think of and certainly not the most influential. Because I never got into Star Trek, only barely built an interest in Doctor Who, and found Farscape far too melodramatic, one of the earliest interests for me was a film and subsequent television show called Stargate. Colonel Jack O’Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson find a portal buried in Gaza that takes them across the far reaches of the universe, where they discover humans—furthermore, they also discover that gods, which ancient earthlings worshiped, were, in fact, aliens. Expanded upon in the television series (which ran way too long, really), they’re joined up by Captain Samantha Carter and an alien royal guard named Teal’C. It’s in their adventures through the stargate that they protect Earth as these once gods try to make their way back through, while O’Neill and company try their best to rehabilitate those abandoned in the far reaches of the universes by those gods.
(Colonel Jack O’Neill, as originally portrayed by Kurt Russell. They cut the smoking from the TV show—and people wonder why science-fiction is so goddamn inaccessible to general audiences.)
However, this is the only piece of the Mass Effect universe that I’ve been exposed to where ancient aliens play, legitimately, no role in the overall narrative. Instead, it focuses on a surprisingly different theme: race. I’m not entirely certain if the author intended to or accomplished this by accident, but this futuristic novel conveys a very strong analogy for race relations in modern America. There are two sides to the story told here: Kahlee and Paul, Gillian’s adoptive father. Kahlee has mixed feelings about race resulting from her run-in in Mass Effect: Revelation, where she and Captain Anderson were forced to cooperate with anti-human spec-ops soldier named Saren, from a race of scaly, feline people known as the turians. Paul, on the other hand, is a Cerberus operative and has a preconceived notion that all non-human races are scum and ultimately fighting to handicap humanity. So as these characters are grasping for Gillian, they run into a number of different races—particularly the quarians, a humanoid people that live hidden behind environmental suits as a result of spending nomadic lives on ships in space after their home world was aggressively taken over by an artificial intelligence that they, themselves, created. Because the quarian people are in constant transit as a flotilla of ships, the rest of the universe doesn’t like them much either—usually because it slows logistics and the quarians expect hospitality in spite of their unwelcome presence. By juxtaposing the galaxy’s fastest growing race, humans, to the most-intolerable minority, Karpyshyn really hits home to our own racial struggles—the perceptions of white on black violence and vice-versa, for instance, that erupt across the country with efforts to enforce understanding of equality. As the story progresses, Paul becomes more xenophobic and Kahlee is forced to get over her prejudices in order to protect Gillian. It’s like Gran Torino, but replace the racist old cowboy with a beautiful, 40-year-old blonde and that sweet, fucking car with, well, a psychic little girl, I guess. So it’s nothing like Gran Torino.
Plenty of great stories are written without ancient aliens though—hell, plenty are written without any aliens at all, although Firefly does have its token psychic girl. While colonization is under government supervision in Mass Effect, the galaxy in Firefly was built by private corporations mining the far reaches of the galaxy for resources. That’s not to say that the government isn’t there—they’re just assholes, trying to keep the man from earning his wages. After a galactic war for freedom from that government, the losing, anti-government side (known as the Brown Coats) are scattered across the galaxy without a colony to call home. One such Brown Coat, Malcolm Reynolds, finds himself in a position similar to Kahlee Sanders. Though he has his own ship and a lucrative smuggling business, unlike Kahlee’s easy councilor retirement plan, a young, psychic girl worms her way into his life—then she becomes the smuggled cargo. Evading the law to protect River, his new psychic friend, and trying to earn a buck, Mal and his crew set voyage across the stars for one season—but it’s one of the best damn seasons of American television, transcending modern sci-fi by introducing wild west elements into a Blade Runner aesthetic. But it plays up the brutal truths of space-travel, like ghost ships and faulty engineering. It’s because of the intertwining of ultimately unrelated elements that makes Firefly so transcendent—why it has a cult-following that still demands a 2nd season. It was so goddamn good, they even made a movie about it.
(There’s a possibility this screencap is from Castle or Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog too.)
And speaking of influencing other works, Mass Effect: Ascension had a much greater impact on the series than Mass Effect: Revelation. Mass Effect 2 came out in 2010 and Mass Effect: Ascension dropped in 2008—but while reading it, I could have sworn it was the other way around. After all, Ascension is the first appearance of The Illusive Man—a character that would go on to become your boss in Mass Effect 2 and the narrative equivalent of a final boss in Mass Effect 3. Hell, he’s almost the central antagonist of the series—and he was introduced in what way, you say? A novel? Preposterous! But it is so—in addition to that, Karpyshyn also invents Grissom Academy, which Kahlee still works at by the time you get around to Mass Effect 3. That’s not enough, you say? The events on the quarian ships are recollected over in Mass Effect 2 and Grayson herself is mentioned in Mass Effect 3—but they don’t spoil anything for you. Add in the introduction of Omega, the seediest satellite in the galaxy, and you can damn near say that this book had more influence on Mass Effect 2 than the first Mass Effect game. Cerberus is a fucking side mission in the original Mass Effect title after all, but this book fleshes them out so much that they’re exceedingly more relevant by the 2nd game. The only thing I have to ask is why don’t more people know about these books if they like those games so goddamn much? Seriously, this is literature preempting video games and influencing the shit out of them, and not in that darkly gross Dante’s Inferno kind of way—great book, but one awful fucking game. At the very least, it shows that to some game designers the quality of the writing sets the standard for game-play and design—not always the other way around. Maybe there’s hope for video games after all.
Of course, since modern role-playing game take most of their influence from Japanese games, we can’t forget the artful Japanese television series that set the gold standard for space operas set within our galaxy. The space opera that influenced me the most is Cowboy Bebop. In building faster-than-light-travel relays, the moon was accidentally destroyed—as a result, Earth is a surrounded by orbital rings that evoke occasional meteor showers on the planet. So every planet and moon in the solar system has been terra-formed and inhabited as a result of humanity’s growing population and irritation with the natural disasters of the home planet. Only there is no over-arching government. Hell, there’s barely even a police force—each moon or planet is governed by their own, individual political powers—and whenever there are outstanding criminals, they call upon one kind of man for help: a cowboy. These space-faring bounty hunters fly their own, personalized fighter crafts and dock at long-travel, boat-style cruisers that glide through space in FTL relays or, when gas is low, on momentum. They’re not famous, they’re not praised—hell, they’re usually just pissed on, but they’re the only ones fighting the good fight. One particular ship, the Cowboy Bebop, keeps an interesting cast of characters: Jet Black, an ex-cop with too many battle scars to count. Faye Valentine, a girl with no real name, frozen in time at the onset of Earth’s civilian space travel. Radical Edward, an adept hacker from Earth and a child prodigy. Ein, a dog with mysterious information coursing through his brain that no one will ever be able to access, except for Ein himself. And Spike Spiegel, ex-mafia with a past that can’t help but catch up with him. The adventures of these five characters, once again summed up in one season and a film, tell some of the best animated stories at 25 minutes an episode to have ever aired. Each episode is pretty stand-alone, but they all play with different forms, unlike most Japanese animated series which tend to be serial in nature. For instance, in one episode you’ll watch Jet face his past in a detective noir story. In another episode, Spike faces off against his old gang in a mobster shoot-out. There’s a horror episode where an amorphous alien lurks out from a forgotten refrigerator. And there’s even an episode where most of the characters take hallucinogens while Radical Edward faces off against an homage of western and blaxploitation parodies. If you have a bias against anime, overcome it—Cowboy Bebop is so comical and heart-wrenching, you’re only doing yourself a disservice by passing it up. And if you love anime more than anything and think Cowboy Bebop is only okay but you really like Ouran High Host Club because everyone is so kawaii deshou hajimemashite kore wa meishi desu doozo yoroshiku, go read a fucking book for Christ’s sake. And before you ask, I really do speak Japanese.
(Three. Two. One. Let’s jam.)
Speaking of books, I think it’s time we weigh in on the lousy points of Mass Effect: Ascension—once again, it’s too hinged on the Mass Effect series. If you haven’t played the games, you’re at a loss—especially because of the huge gap between the first and the second book, when the first game takes place. Though Karpyshyn improves upon his first novel in this series by giving better detail to scene and character, the story itself requires an understanding of what happened during the events of the game, even more than what happened from the previous novel. On the bright side, you don’t necessarily need to read Mass Effect: Revelation to enjoy this book, but you still need at least some knowledge of what the Mass Effect galaxy is like in order to understand the setting and the political strife surrounding the characters. Furthermore, this novel has a shitty way of ending on a cliff-hanger. While the main story is resolved, the book ends on a note that suggests, “Buy the next book as soon as it comes out to find out what happens to these characters next!” So while this novel is rife with brilliant adaptive analogy and how it became influential to future video games, it still falls below par because it’s ingrained into this preexisting, pre-developed universe and, thus, irrelevant as a stand-alone piece.
Mass Effect: Ascension, written by Drew Karpyshyn and published by Del Rey, is a third-person, science-fiction novel set in the Mass Effect universe and told primarily from the point-of-view of Kahlee Sanders, a woman in her early 40s acting as councilor at a joint military-civilian school known as Grissom Academy. Grissom Academy is a satellite orbiting a human colony on the outreaches of space—though they generally teach all gifted, young students, their primary focus is on the Ascension Project—a program to train young psychokineticists, otherwise known as “biotics,” how to use their powers. However, in a galaxy comprised of multiple races of aliens, one secret society known commonly as Cerberus, a pro-human mafia, is performing secret experiments within the Ascension Project on a girl named Gillian Grayson—that is until Gillian’s powers go beyond what Cerberus or Grissom Academy could have ever anticipated. As Cerberus swoops in to steal their pet project, it’s up to Kahlee Sanders and Grissom’s chief-of-security, Hendel, to protect Gillian from their experimental abuse.
(Kahlee Sanders, from Mass Effect 3. Damn, girl.)
There’s an awful lot of science-fiction out there—but not all of it is terrestrial in nature. The space opera, which is by definition a soap opera set in space, can be split down the middle—stories set in a universe or galaxy where there is, in fact, an Earth and stories set in an astral scope without Earth. The former is Star Trek, the latter is Star Wars. I’ve always been drawn to the former—the potential of Earthlings realized in the far, interstellar reaches. Obviously, Mass Effect has become very influential for me in that capacity—but it isn’t the first influence I can think of and certainly not the most influential. Because I never got into Star Trek, only barely built an interest in Doctor Who, and found Farscape far too melodramatic, one of the earliest interests for me was a film and subsequent television show called Stargate. Colonel Jack O’Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson find a portal buried in Gaza that takes them across the far reaches of the universe, where they discover humans—furthermore, they also discover that gods, which ancient earthlings worshiped, were, in fact, aliens. Expanded upon in the television series (which ran way too long, really), they’re joined up by Captain Samantha Carter and an alien royal guard named Teal’C. It’s in their adventures through the stargate that they protect Earth as these once gods try to make their way back through, while O’Neill and company try their best to rehabilitate those abandoned in the far reaches of the universes by those gods.
(Colonel Jack O’Neill, as originally portrayed by Kurt Russell. They cut the smoking from the TV show—and people wonder why science-fiction is so goddamn inaccessible to general audiences.)
However, this is the only piece of the Mass Effect universe that I’ve been exposed to where ancient aliens play, legitimately, no role in the overall narrative. Instead, it focuses on a surprisingly different theme: race. I’m not entirely certain if the author intended to or accomplished this by accident, but this futuristic novel conveys a very strong analogy for race relations in modern America. There are two sides to the story told here: Kahlee and Paul, Gillian’s adoptive father. Kahlee has mixed feelings about race resulting from her run-in in Mass Effect: Revelation, where she and Captain Anderson were forced to cooperate with anti-human spec-ops soldier named Saren, from a race of scaly, feline people known as the turians. Paul, on the other hand, is a Cerberus operative and has a preconceived notion that all non-human races are scum and ultimately fighting to handicap humanity. So as these characters are grasping for Gillian, they run into a number of different races—particularly the quarians, a humanoid people that live hidden behind environmental suits as a result of spending nomadic lives on ships in space after their home world was aggressively taken over by an artificial intelligence that they, themselves, created. Because the quarian people are in constant transit as a flotilla of ships, the rest of the universe doesn’t like them much either—usually because it slows logistics and the quarians expect hospitality in spite of their unwelcome presence. By juxtaposing the galaxy’s fastest growing race, humans, to the most-intolerable minority, Karpyshyn really hits home to our own racial struggles—the perceptions of white on black violence and vice-versa, for instance, that erupt across the country with efforts to enforce understanding of equality. As the story progresses, Paul becomes more xenophobic and Kahlee is forced to get over her prejudices in order to protect Gillian. It’s like Gran Torino, but replace the racist old cowboy with a beautiful, 40-year-old blonde and that sweet, fucking car with, well, a psychic little girl, I guess. So it’s nothing like Gran Torino.
Plenty of great stories are written without ancient aliens though—hell, plenty are written without any aliens at all, although Firefly does have its token psychic girl. While colonization is under government supervision in Mass Effect, the galaxy in Firefly was built by private corporations mining the far reaches of the galaxy for resources. That’s not to say that the government isn’t there—they’re just assholes, trying to keep the man from earning his wages. After a galactic war for freedom from that government, the losing, anti-government side (known as the Brown Coats) are scattered across the galaxy without a colony to call home. One such Brown Coat, Malcolm Reynolds, finds himself in a position similar to Kahlee Sanders. Though he has his own ship and a lucrative smuggling business, unlike Kahlee’s easy councilor retirement plan, a young, psychic girl worms her way into his life—then she becomes the smuggled cargo. Evading the law to protect River, his new psychic friend, and trying to earn a buck, Mal and his crew set voyage across the stars for one season—but it’s one of the best damn seasons of American television, transcending modern sci-fi by introducing wild west elements into a Blade Runner aesthetic. But it plays up the brutal truths of space-travel, like ghost ships and faulty engineering. It’s because of the intertwining of ultimately unrelated elements that makes Firefly so transcendent—why it has a cult-following that still demands a 2nd season. It was so goddamn good, they even made a movie about it.
(There’s a possibility this screencap is from Castle or Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog too.)
And speaking of influencing other works, Mass Effect: Ascension had a much greater impact on the series than Mass Effect: Revelation. Mass Effect 2 came out in 2010 and Mass Effect: Ascension dropped in 2008—but while reading it, I could have sworn it was the other way around. After all, Ascension is the first appearance of The Illusive Man—a character that would go on to become your boss in Mass Effect 2 and the narrative equivalent of a final boss in Mass Effect 3. Hell, he’s almost the central antagonist of the series—and he was introduced in what way, you say? A novel? Preposterous! But it is so—in addition to that, Karpyshyn also invents Grissom Academy, which Kahlee still works at by the time you get around to Mass Effect 3. That’s not enough, you say? The events on the quarian ships are recollected over in Mass Effect 2 and Grayson herself is mentioned in Mass Effect 3—but they don’t spoil anything for you. Add in the introduction of Omega, the seediest satellite in the galaxy, and you can damn near say that this book had more influence on Mass Effect 2 than the first Mass Effect game. Cerberus is a fucking side mission in the original Mass Effect title after all, but this book fleshes them out so much that they’re exceedingly more relevant by the 2nd game. The only thing I have to ask is why don’t more people know about these books if they like those games so goddamn much? Seriously, this is literature preempting video games and influencing the shit out of them, and not in that darkly gross Dante’s Inferno kind of way—great book, but one awful fucking game. At the very least, it shows that to some game designers the quality of the writing sets the standard for game-play and design—not always the other way around. Maybe there’s hope for video games after all.
Of course, since modern role-playing game take most of their influence from Japanese games, we can’t forget the artful Japanese television series that set the gold standard for space operas set within our galaxy. The space opera that influenced me the most is Cowboy Bebop. In building faster-than-light-travel relays, the moon was accidentally destroyed—as a result, Earth is a surrounded by orbital rings that evoke occasional meteor showers on the planet. So every planet and moon in the solar system has been terra-formed and inhabited as a result of humanity’s growing population and irritation with the natural disasters of the home planet. Only there is no over-arching government. Hell, there’s barely even a police force—each moon or planet is governed by their own, individual political powers—and whenever there are outstanding criminals, they call upon one kind of man for help: a cowboy. These space-faring bounty hunters fly their own, personalized fighter crafts and dock at long-travel, boat-style cruisers that glide through space in FTL relays or, when gas is low, on momentum. They’re not famous, they’re not praised—hell, they’re usually just pissed on, but they’re the only ones fighting the good fight. One particular ship, the Cowboy Bebop, keeps an interesting cast of characters: Jet Black, an ex-cop with too many battle scars to count. Faye Valentine, a girl with no real name, frozen in time at the onset of Earth’s civilian space travel. Radical Edward, an adept hacker from Earth and a child prodigy. Ein, a dog with mysterious information coursing through his brain that no one will ever be able to access, except for Ein himself. And Spike Spiegel, ex-mafia with a past that can’t help but catch up with him. The adventures of these five characters, once again summed up in one season and a film, tell some of the best animated stories at 25 minutes an episode to have ever aired. Each episode is pretty stand-alone, but they all play with different forms, unlike most Japanese animated series which tend to be serial in nature. For instance, in one episode you’ll watch Jet face his past in a detective noir story. In another episode, Spike faces off against his old gang in a mobster shoot-out. There’s a horror episode where an amorphous alien lurks out from a forgotten refrigerator. And there’s even an episode where most of the characters take hallucinogens while Radical Edward faces off against an homage of western and blaxploitation parodies. If you have a bias against anime, overcome it—Cowboy Bebop is so comical and heart-wrenching, you’re only doing yourself a disservice by passing it up. And if you love anime more than anything and think Cowboy Bebop is only okay but you really like Ouran High Host Club because everyone is so kawaii deshou hajimemashite kore wa meishi desu doozo yoroshiku, go read a fucking book for Christ’s sake. And before you ask, I really do speak Japanese.
(Three. Two. One. Let’s jam.)
Speaking of books, I think it’s time we weigh in on the lousy points of Mass Effect: Ascension—once again, it’s too hinged on the Mass Effect series. If you haven’t played the games, you’re at a loss—especially because of the huge gap between the first and the second book, when the first game takes place. Though Karpyshyn improves upon his first novel in this series by giving better detail to scene and character, the story itself requires an understanding of what happened during the events of the game, even more than what happened from the previous novel. On the bright side, you don’t necessarily need to read Mass Effect: Revelation to enjoy this book, but you still need at least some knowledge of what the Mass Effect galaxy is like in order to understand the setting and the political strife surrounding the characters. Furthermore, this novel has a shitty way of ending on a cliff-hanger. While the main story is resolved, the book ends on a note that suggests, “Buy the next book as soon as it comes out to find out what happens to these characters next!” So while this novel is rife with brilliant adaptive analogy and how it became influential to future video games, it still falls below par because it’s ingrained into this preexisting, pre-developed universe and, thus, irrelevant as a stand-alone piece.
August 29, 2021
A huge improvement on the first Mass Effect novel. The plotting is much tighter and the character development is a little deeper.
February 2, 2015
To be honest, I never felt myself called to Mass Effect series until after I played Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2 because I assume Mass Effect was another male-centric FPS/RPG game like Halo or Deus Ex. It was definitely targeted to that demographic audience (curiously enough the Shepard's gender was vague even inside their official canon such as its comic series, the movie and their book series) but I began to take notice of the game after watching video game tropes from FemFreq and a Mass Effect/Dragon Age discussion during a NaNoWriMo write-in. I realize that you can play as Female Shepard and that changed everything. As a female gamer, I have no problem playing male roles (especially hot ones) but I always dig custom female MCs.
One of the thing that struck me the most was the emphasis on the storytelling. I realized that the game was never about the combat systems but its about the story. Reading the book series somehow expanded the Mass Effect universe in more ways than through Shepard. There were some details that was lost in between the adaptation and the original concept and Drew Karpyshyn managed to blend his vision well in his words. In Revelation, the author was careful enough to introduce Mass Effect world to the readers but in Ascension, it took place within the months after the Battle of Citadel , and the author assume the readers were well acquainted with Mass Effect 1 and it allow himself some freedom to express his world in a way that was less info-dumping.
Kahlee Sanders was now a director of the Ascension Project, a program that helps gifted biotic children harness their extraordinary powers. Unlike BAat program, the Ascension was more a special school program than a heavily militaristic experiment that both Kaidan and Hendel suffered as teenagers.
The novel was a reintroduction of the pro-human group Cerberus in ME verse including the first appearance of The Illusive Man, the man behind Cerberus. Although Cerberus involvement with Ascension program was explained in ME2, the Cerberus plot revolved around a Cerberus operative, Paul Grayson who were given a child to raise. But when the child began to develop some biotic abilities, she was sent to the Ascension program where she could be safely monitored and being taught on how to use her abilities. But she had autism which prevents her from interacting with other children and eventually this leads her inability to perform at biotics classes which worried both Kahlee and Hendel. But when a cafetaria incident caused her abilities to manifest and break loose, it became more apparent that something was going on.
The novel added more substance to some of the things that were missed. Biotics were better explained inside the story than in gaming narrative. We learn more about how biotic children developed, the process of implants and monitoring. And we get to know how biotic abilities actually work, and what actually happened if you use stuff like Throw, Lift, Slam and Singularity which was taken for granted in the game.
There were more details about the Quarian's culture, life and the Migrant Fleet which wasn't explained through Tali or the conversations Shepard had with other Quarians. But much like the rest of the series, the author had a tendency to kill off character we start to like. Which was okay, considering....
But overall, reading this book made me happy and somewhat sad now that I become attached to Kahlee and considering what happened in ME3. Its interesting to see the parallel between Kahlee and FemShepard. Even her father was a representation of what Shepard could become.. interesting.
One of the thing that struck me the most was the emphasis on the storytelling. I realized that the game was never about the combat systems but its about the story. Reading the book series somehow expanded the Mass Effect universe in more ways than through Shepard. There were some details that was lost in between the adaptation and the original concept and Drew Karpyshyn managed to blend his vision well in his words. In Revelation, the author was careful enough to introduce Mass Effect world to the readers but in Ascension, it took place within the months after the Battle of Citadel , and the author assume the readers were well acquainted with Mass Effect 1 and it allow himself some freedom to express his world in a way that was less info-dumping.
Kahlee Sanders was now a director of the Ascension Project, a program that helps gifted biotic children harness their extraordinary powers. Unlike BAat program, the Ascension was more a special school program than a heavily militaristic experiment that both Kaidan and Hendel suffered as teenagers.
The novel was a reintroduction of the pro-human group Cerberus in ME verse including the first appearance of The Illusive Man, the man behind Cerberus. Although Cerberus involvement with Ascension program was explained in ME2, the Cerberus plot revolved around a Cerberus operative, Paul Grayson who were given a child to raise. But when the child began to develop some biotic abilities, she was sent to the Ascension program where she could be safely monitored and being taught on how to use her abilities. But she had autism which prevents her from interacting with other children and eventually this leads her inability to perform at biotics classes which worried both Kahlee and Hendel. But when a cafetaria incident caused her abilities to manifest and break loose, it became more apparent that something was going on.
The novel added more substance to some of the things that were missed. Biotics were better explained inside the story than in gaming narrative. We learn more about how biotic children developed, the process of implants and monitoring. And we get to know how biotic abilities actually work, and what actually happened if you use stuff like Throw, Lift, Slam and Singularity which was taken for granted in the game.
There were more details about the Quarian's culture, life and the Migrant Fleet which wasn't explained through Tali or the conversations Shepard had with other Quarians. But much like the rest of the series, the author had a tendency to kill off character we start to like. Which was okay, considering....
But overall, reading this book made me happy and somewhat sad now that I become attached to Kahlee and considering what happened in ME3. Its interesting to see the parallel between Kahlee and FemShepard. Even her father was a representation of what Shepard could become.. interesting.
May 19, 2016
Buddy read with Layla at Buddies Books and Baubles!
Perhaps, objectively look at it, it's not really a four star book, but given that it's based on a video game and given that I liked it as much as I liked the first book, four stars it is!!!
As always, I found interesting all the background info that we got in the book, especially the bits on Omega, which is my favourite location in Mass Effect, second only to the Citadel. I mean check this out, it just feel like a place that is set in space:
And what the heck, I'll throw in a picture of the Citadel just for fun!
Getting a deeper look into the Quarians was also interesting. In fact, I wished we could have spend more time with Lemm and the other Quarians. Lemm turned out to be my favourite, even from limited time he was on the page. I thought Gillian, the powerful biotic girl, was great as a character, if only we'd have gotten a more in dept look at her. Especially at the end when really starts to come into her own person. I loved how morally ambiguous her father Grayson was and how you were left still conflicted about him at the end. Did he truly love his daughter? Did he have a right to? Did his love for her excuse his behaviour with Cerberus? Great questions to think on. Kahlee Sanders was ok, can't say I ever found her super interesting to begin with though.
If you liked the game I think you will still enjoy the book.
January 1, 2010
Where the first book was a servicable read this felt like a short story that never truly found it's footing. I constantly asked my self "why should I care about these characters?" Kahlee from Revelations makes a return in an improbable turn that feels more like a device to link this story to it's predecessor. The Illusive Man a major player in the upcomming Mass Effect 2 game is expanded upon and the nature of Cerebus the shadowy villianious organization hinted at and glanced over in the first game is explained and put in to context of the universe.
As I said, this book never truly feels like it gets started. Reading more like a piece of extended source material for the game I think the ideas were sound and not entirely without merit it just comes across as amaturish. If you are going to play the second game and enjoyed the first it doesn't hurt to read it but it's not worth going out of your way to buy this clunker of a story.
As I said, this book never truly feels like it gets started. Reading more like a piece of extended source material for the game I think the ideas were sound and not entirely without merit it just comes across as amaturish. If you are going to play the second game and enjoyed the first it doesn't hurt to read it but it's not worth going out of your way to buy this clunker of a story.
February 18, 2011
This second novel in the series maintains a lot of the action of the first. However, it has less political/diplomatic intrigue, and has a much more personal edge. This is because the plot heavily centres around a young autistic girl in the Alliance's Ascension programme, and on the challenges being faced by those who care for her.
The Illusive Man features a number of times, but always at arm's length, much like in the second game in the series. The story also involves the quarians significantly. Without wanting to give too much away, it gives readers a really interesting insight into the culture of the migrant fleet.
As with the first novel in the series, the writing style is quite basic. In fact, there are a number of problems in places, such as odd spelling mistakes. Nonetheless, the story is well told and exciting, and the characters develop nicely as the plot advances.
I very much enjoyed it, and have eagerly started the third novel. :)
The Illusive Man features a number of times, but always at arm's length, much like in the second game in the series. The story also involves the quarians significantly. Without wanting to give too much away, it gives readers a really interesting insight into the culture of the migrant fleet.
As with the first novel in the series, the writing style is quite basic. In fact, there are a number of problems in places, such as odd spelling mistakes. Nonetheless, the story is well told and exciting, and the characters develop nicely as the plot advances.
I very much enjoyed it, and have eagerly started the third novel. :)
December 22, 2015
Ho-hum. 2.8 stars in total, but Goodreads doesn't allow for accurate ratings. Meh.
I've played only the first Mass Effect game, but I found there were more sci-fi elements than in this book. For a world being set hundreds of years in the future, it reads very contemporary.
Language is solid but not special. Author Drew likes his adjectives and dialogue tags. Characters and their voices are also pretty average.
All in all, a fun, solid read with nothing special going for it, apart for illuminating some parts of the Mass Effect franchise. If you love the IP, go check it out. If not, there's nothing worthwhile here.
I've played only the first Mass Effect game, but I found there were more sci-fi elements than in this book. For a world being set hundreds of years in the future, it reads very contemporary.
Language is solid but not special. Author Drew likes his adjectives and dialogue tags. Characters and their voices are also pretty average.
All in all, a fun, solid read with nothing special going for it, apart for illuminating some parts of the Mass Effect franchise. If you love the IP, go check it out. If not, there's nothing worthwhile here.
May 30, 2021
File this one away under stories that did not need to be told.
I need to make a "books that don't justify their own existence" shelf here on Goodreads.
The book was very, very meh. There's really nothing wrong with it other than it being pretty boring. It just doesn't have any reason to exist.
Also, the audiobook narrator's pronunciation of Kahlee as Collie is extremely annoying. She's not a freaking dog! It's pronounced Kay-lee dude. Kay-lee. I know three separate people who spell it that way. It's freaking KAY-LEE!!!
I need to make a "books that don't justify their own existence" shelf here on Goodreads.
The book was very, very meh. There's really nothing wrong with it other than it being pretty boring. It just doesn't have any reason to exist.
Also, the audiobook narrator's pronunciation of Kahlee as Collie is extremely annoying. She's not a freaking dog! It's pronounced Kay-lee dude. Kay-lee. I know three separate people who spell it that way. It's freaking KAY-LEE!!!
May 16, 2018
I reviewed this on the grounds of being a spinoff story to the central arc, which essentially it is. Karpyshyn has the luxury of crafting a story that isn't linked to choices made by the gamer so this story flows and provides some backstory to characters in the core storyline. The book can be consumed as a standalone but to be honest, not knowing the game will hurt your background knowledge.
This novel is action packed and would take about the same time to play as reading so it's nice to sit back and let the Mass Effect world play out from the lounge. I didn't connect with the first book but it still had some interesting depth for us fans. I've had this book from the library on and off for the last two years, just the amount of books I have at one time ensures a hectic schedule. This year I've decided to clean up a lot of the game books that I have had sitting around and this happens to be right up the top of my list.
Karpyshyn was in the early moments of his career with this book so the polish of the storytelling is slightly rough but never boring. Mass Effect is one of the best and creative franchises that sadly slipped into mediocre due to a poorly managed new game. This book is a prime example of the lush characters and settings, the Quarian backstory is heartbreaking.
I wanted this book to continue but like the Star Wars: Old Republic books, this serves as folder for the game, not a self sustaining and closing storyline. The game is main source and while this spinoff opens and closes, you are left with the beginning of the next chapter which happens to be within the 20 hour video game. One of the best aspects of this game is the villains generally have great motivations, The Illustrious Man is a complex and intimidating person who controls every page he is in, much like he does in the game. You just want more of him, the complexity and depth he commands is one of the best parts of Mass Effect 2, he is the wild card, much like the Joker is the DC world. I can rant all day about this book but I won't, it's just an enjoyable filler to the bigger world. If you are a fan of the series, this book will be for you.
This novel is action packed and would take about the same time to play as reading so it's nice to sit back and let the Mass Effect world play out from the lounge. I didn't connect with the first book but it still had some interesting depth for us fans. I've had this book from the library on and off for the last two years, just the amount of books I have at one time ensures a hectic schedule. This year I've decided to clean up a lot of the game books that I have had sitting around and this happens to be right up the top of my list.
Karpyshyn was in the early moments of his career with this book so the polish of the storytelling is slightly rough but never boring. Mass Effect is one of the best and creative franchises that sadly slipped into mediocre due to a poorly managed new game. This book is a prime example of the lush characters and settings, the Quarian backstory is heartbreaking.
I wanted this book to continue but like the Star Wars: Old Republic books, this serves as folder for the game, not a self sustaining and closing storyline. The game is main source and while this spinoff opens and closes, you are left with the beginning of the next chapter which happens to be within the 20 hour video game. One of the best aspects of this game is the villains generally have great motivations, The Illustrious Man is a complex and intimidating person who controls every page he is in, much like he does in the game. You just want more of him, the complexity and depth he commands is one of the best parts of Mass Effect 2, he is the wild card, much like the Joker is the DC world. I can rant all day about this book but I won't, it's just an enjoyable filler to the bigger world. If you are a fan of the series, this book will be for you.
December 10, 2025
Tandis que Kahlee Sanders a rejoint le programme Ascension de l'Alliance sur les biotiques, elle ignore que ce dernier est infiltré par l'organisation terroriste pro-humaine Cerberus.
Un roman dont l'appréciation dépendra une fois encore de votre connaissance et amour de la saga Mass Effect.
Si objectivement c'est un 3/5, le roman était divertissant mais loin d'être un chef d'oeuvre en terme d'intrigue ou de style, je l'ai en réalité bien plus apprécié à titre personnel puisque Mass Effect reste encore aujourd'hui pour moi ma référence du space opera.
Là où le tome précédent était un prologue au premier jeu vidéo, nous nous situons ici entre Mass Effect et Mass Effect 2. L'occasion pour les fans de découvrir plus en profondeur la flotte quarienne ou bien encore l'emblématique Homme Trouble et son organisation Cerberus. On y aborde également les Récolteurs, antagoniste central du second opus vidéoludique qui a marqué son époque !
Si vous êtes fans de l'univers, foncez. Si vous n'êtes pas fans de l'univers... bon sang, allez découvrir la saga !
Un roman dont l'appréciation dépendra une fois encore de votre connaissance et amour de la saga Mass Effect.
Si objectivement c'est un 3/5, le roman était divertissant mais loin d'être un chef d'oeuvre en terme d'intrigue ou de style, je l'ai en réalité bien plus apprécié à titre personnel puisque Mass Effect reste encore aujourd'hui pour moi ma référence du space opera.
Là où le tome précédent était un prologue au premier jeu vidéo, nous nous situons ici entre Mass Effect et Mass Effect 2. L'occasion pour les fans de découvrir plus en profondeur la flotte quarienne ou bien encore l'emblématique Homme Trouble et son organisation Cerberus. On y aborde également les Récolteurs, antagoniste central du second opus vidéoludique qui a marqué son époque !
Si vous êtes fans de l'univers, foncez. Si vous n'êtes pas fans de l'univers... bon sang, allez découvrir la saga !
September 14, 2021
If you played Mass Effect 1 and enjoyed the setting of that game, you'll enjoy this. This is the second Mass Effect novel. It's better than the first one. The two main characters, Kahlee Sanders and Paul Grayson, are both interesting and intriguing. Grayson is a Cerberus operative and a "red sand" (a sci-fi narcotic) addict. He is torn between his love for his daughter and his loyalty to Cerberus's nationalistic (species-istic?) cause. Kahlee Sanders is a returning character from the first Mass Effect novel, *Revelation.* She's a fun, well-rounded hero who is both down-to-earth and heroicially virtuous in her motives (a difficult balancing act of characterization). You learn a lot about the Quarian Migrant Fleet in this novel. The Illusive Man, Omega Station, biotics, and other Mass Effect 2 tropes show up; however, there is a paucity of Krogans, Asari, and Salarians. I wish all the races were more represented. I love the Mass Effect games, so I loved this second novel set in that universe. It is my favorite novel adaptation so far.
May 5, 2023
Another great entry in the Mass Effect universe, set in between ME1 and ME2. A lot of tie-in-novels feels like unimportant side-missions or filler stories, but so far both ME books have felt like it adds som real weight to the universe, expanding it in a good way.
This one focuses on humans quest to study and develop biotics, while also giving an interesting insight into Quarians and their society. I actually think Quarians are one of the the most interesting alien species I know of in sci-fi. It also gives a few glimpses of The Illusive Man, a major character in the ME2 game.
Pacing is good, characters interesting and I enjoy Karpyshyns writing style as it flows really well.
I am looking forward to replaying Mass Effect 2 (One of my absolute favorite games of all time, but its been quite some time since i played it last) before heading into the 3rd and final book by Karpyshyn.
This one focuses on humans quest to study and develop biotics, while also giving an interesting insight into Quarians and their society. I actually think Quarians are one of the the most interesting alien species I know of in sci-fi. It also gives a few glimpses of The Illusive Man, a major character in the ME2 game.
Pacing is good, characters interesting and I enjoy Karpyshyns writing style as it flows really well.
I am looking forward to replaying Mass Effect 2 (One of my absolute favorite games of all time, but its been quite some time since i played it last) before heading into the 3rd and final book by Karpyshyn.
December 29, 2024
Tämäpäs olikin yllättävän hyvä! Mass Effect -romaanisarjan toinen osa sijoittuu ykköspelin tapahtumien jälkeiseen aikaan. Kirjassa muun muassa seikkaillaan Grissom Academyssä ja tutustutaan biotic-koulutukseen sekä opitaan lisää quarianien tavoista, kulttuurista ja yhteiskunnasta. Mukana on myös Illusive Man Cerberus-joukkoineen. Tässä riitti jännitystä ja mielenkiintoisia hahmoja, ja on aina mukava saada uutta tietoa ME-maailmasta.
(Tässä myös lopulta selitetään se, miten eri avaruusolentolajit ymmärtävät toisiaan vaikka asuisivat aivan toisella puolella galaksia. Minua aina vähän ärsytti peleissä se, että kaikki puhuvat iloisesti englantia eikä kieliasiaa kommentoida mitenkään.)
(Tässä myös lopulta selitetään se, miten eri avaruusolentolajit ymmärtävät toisiaan vaikka asuisivat aivan toisella puolella galaksia. Minua aina vähän ärsytti peleissä se, että kaikki puhuvat iloisesti englantia eikä kieliasiaa kommentoida mitenkään.)
May 20, 2023
I think this one didn't have quite the same tight, overarching plot as the first did, but it was still a pretty solid tie-in for my favorite game series.
I enjoyed seeing more of the Quarians especially, and the climax was pretty fun, though I wish the whole rigging of the bombs at the very end had a bit more to it to make it exciting. Still, a quick, entertaining read.
I enjoyed seeing more of the Quarians especially, and the climax was pretty fun, though I wish the whole rigging of the bombs at the very end had a bit more to it to make it exciting. Still, a quick, entertaining read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2025
Really liked this one, especially the character of Lem. Too bad they never put him in any of the games. The best part for me was how much it focused on the Quarians. I’ve always loved them as a species. Would honestly read a whole book just on Quarian history and lore… but yeah, that’ll probably never happen
January 31, 2025
Revs up slow with a solid finish. It’s not going to make a best ever list, but it was great to relax to. Cool universe Mass Effect has going. Well thought out, balanced, and with a massive warning about tampering with things you don’t understand. I’m looking at you sentient AI.
September 16, 2022
Nice book for fans of the franchise. The author was the lead writer for the game series so readers can expect well-written science fiction novel with high degree of faithfulness to the lore.
August 21, 2023
Great read for anyone who loves Mass Effect universe. Gives more perspective into Anderson and Saren's character, a great prequel to the trilogy.
September 28, 2024
Decent read. My favorite part was everything dealing with the Quarians and the Migrant Fleet.
3.5 Stars
3.5 Stars
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