It’s normal to see books set within the universes of fantasy and sci-fi franchises to expand upon their lore. Similar to theStar WarsandHalonovels,The Elder Scrollshave released a number of novels set on the planet of Nirn, and theDragon Agenovels have been well-received among BioWare fans. InThe Witcher’s case, the beloved gaming series is actually based on a series of books that are sometimes regarded as some of the best that the fantasy genre has to offer.
BioWare’s other flagship series,Mass Effect, has also had a number of novels released under its name. However, unlike theDragon Agebooks, theMass Effectnovels have released to mixed reception, depending on the book in question. Still, the space opera series has accrued many hard-core fans looking for more of the universe’s lore, whether it be the many planets that Commander Shepard can travel to or the alien races that live on their surfaces. For those looking for more content, some of theMass Effectbooks might be worth giving a go.
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The Mass Effect (Book) Trilogy and Andromeda Series
At the time of writing, a total of seven novels set in theMass Effectuniverse have been released. Four of these novels revolve around the events of the original trilogy with Commander Shepard while the following three regard the events ofMass Effect: Andromeda. The first book,Mass Effect: Revelation, acts as a prequel to the trilogy, even releasing months before the first game. It followsCaptain Anderson and Sareninvestigating a human research station. The book provides much of the background material for the games, such as lore on the Citadel.
Then,Mass Effect: Ascensiontakes place betweenMass Effect 1and2, following a biotic prodigy who’s being pursued byCerberus. Similarly,Mass Effect: Retributionfills the gap betweenMass Effect 2and3by following Cerberus’s investigation of Reaper technology.Mass Effect: Deceptiontakes place not long after that.
Overall, readers of theMass Effectnovels agree that the only ones “worth” reading are the first three:Revelation, Ascension,andRetribution. This is largely because they were all written by the same person, Drew Karpyshyn, a BioWare writer who worked onMass Effect 1and2.He’s also well-known for his work onStar Wars: KOTORand theStar WarsnovelDarth Bane: Path of Destruction, which is highly regarded by fans of George Lucas’s epic franchise. However, Karpyshyn would leave BioWare in 2012, return in 2015, then depart once again in 2018, the reason why he only wrote the first threeMass Effectbooks. He would later go on to say that BioWare’s culture had changed over the years, resulting in a declining quality of its games, an opinion held by many gamers. However, when he joined an internal studio at Wizards of the Coast, he expressed that the “magic in the air” reminded him of the early days at BioWare.
The fourthMass Effectnovel,Deception, was written by a different author, and fans swear up and down that it’s not worth the time. Readers found many discrepancies and continuity errors within the book and catalogued it in a massive Google Doc, resulting in BioWare issuing a public apology for the publication.
As for theMass Effect: Andromedabook series, which includes the titlesNexus Uprising,Initiation, andAnnihalation, they were met with mixed reception. Some critics were bewildered that the game’s writing was as lukewarm compared to the first novel, while others felt that the books were weak, albeit not terrible likeDeception. Still, they managed to expand upon the events that occurred inAndromedawithout needing prior knowledge of the world. Though it may add context for long-time fans, critics say they may not be the best for newcomers to theMass Effectfranchise.
Mass Effect: Legendary Editionis out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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