A good book I read back in 2010 is being re-released March 14, 2014. My review appeared previously at http://sporadicbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/08/book-review-ghosts-of-ascalon.html
Ghosts of Ascalon is based on the popular and successful MMORPG Guild Wars 2. It's set before the story-line of the game. It doesn't include any of the main characters from the game, so you don't have to know anything at all about the game to enjoy the story. Though having some familiarity with the two Guild Wars games will make the settings even more fun.
Ghosts of Ascalon is a fun fantasy novel with an epic quest into enemy territory to retrieve an artifact that could lead to peace among two of the warring races.
Guild Wars 2 itself is great fun! I suggest you go buy it, in addition to all three Guild Wars 2 novels!
(Disclosure: my wife works for the company that makes Guild Wars 2. But I didn't get this book free, nor did I get my copy of the game free.)
Showing posts with label Guild Wars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guild Wars. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Book Review: Edge of Destiny
Guild Wars: Edge of Destiny
is the second book in the Guild Wars 2 series to tease us fans and leave us anticipating the release of the Guild Wars 2 MMORPG. If you're not anticipating that game, worry not, it's still a great book for any fan of fantasy worlds. It actually takes place before the first book in the series, but as the stories feature different characters that's okay. And getting to read about this particular group makes it even more special.
It's a great book that introduces us to Destiny's Edge and sets up the world of Guild Wars 2 for those us anticipating that release. The main characters form Destiny's Edge, a group of heroes comprised of all the major races of Tyria: a human, a charr, a norn and her dire wolfe, a sylvari, and two asura and their golems (which are kind of like magical mecha). We see how Destiny's Edge forms, how they become famous, and we see what breaks them up.
The book is a series of missions, each leading to a boss fight, with a massive end-game battle on two fronts - and while I use game-play terms to describe it there, it's not at all "just a game book". The reasons for each battle make sense, it's not just a raid to get loot. The characters aren't, for the most part, doing it just to become well-known. They're fighting because they want to save their world from the Elder Dragons. Becoming famous, earning your freedom, and showing up your brother in front of the queen is just a bonus.
There are some laugh-out-loud moments, some things that leave players of the game thinking (what class is Logan? Is Caithe an assasin? Mesmers? Yay!) The relationships that form between the characters are moving and fun to watch, and seeing them fall apart is truly heart-breaking.
Fans of Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 must read this. Fans of fantasy in-general should find this a welcome addition to their reading list.
(This is one of those books I bought myself because I absolutely had to read it.)
is the second book in the Guild Wars 2 series to tease us fans and leave us anticipating the release of the Guild Wars 2 MMORPG. If you're not anticipating that game, worry not, it's still a great book for any fan of fantasy worlds. It actually takes place before the first book in the series, but as the stories feature different characters that's okay. And getting to read about this particular group makes it even more special. It's a great book that introduces us to Destiny's Edge and sets up the world of Guild Wars 2 for those us anticipating that release. The main characters form Destiny's Edge, a group of heroes comprised of all the major races of Tyria: a human, a charr, a norn and her dire wolfe, a sylvari, and two asura and their golems (which are kind of like magical mecha). We see how Destiny's Edge forms, how they become famous, and we see what breaks them up.
The book is a series of missions, each leading to a boss fight, with a massive end-game battle on two fronts - and while I use game-play terms to describe it there, it's not at all "just a game book". The reasons for each battle make sense, it's not just a raid to get loot. The characters aren't, for the most part, doing it just to become well-known. They're fighting because they want to save their world from the Elder Dragons. Becoming famous, earning your freedom, and showing up your brother in front of the queen is just a bonus.
There are some laugh-out-loud moments, some things that leave players of the game thinking (what class is Logan? Is Caithe an assasin? Mesmers? Yay!) The relationships that form between the characters are moving and fun to watch, and seeing them fall apart is truly heart-breaking.
Fans of Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 must read this. Fans of fantasy in-general should find this a welcome addition to their reading list.
(This is one of those books I bought myself because I absolutely had to read it.)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Book Review: Ghosts of Ascalon
Guild Wars 2: Ghosts of Ascalon
by Matt Forbeck and Jeff Grubb was sadly not provided to me for review by anyone. But that's okay! Even if you've never played Guild Wars, or never plan to, go buy this novel.
Ghosts of Ascalon, the very first novel set in the Guild Wars multi-player game universe, takes place more than 200 years after the original Guild Wars storyline, and shortly before the storyline of the much anticipated forthcoming Guild Wars 2 MMORPG.
Dougal Keane lives a threadbare existence selling his services as a guide and trap springer. After a brutal treasure hunt, an old friend springs him from jail demanding his services as a guide back to the one place he never wants to return: Ascalon City. The site of the infamous last battle between King Adelbern and the invading race known as charr. Keane was the only survivor of his last trip there. His mission this time will be to retrieve a sacred charr relic in an effort to foster a truce between the humans of Kryta and the charr.
If you're not familiar with the Guild wars story, this novel is still a fun adventure and easy to follow. If you are familiar with the Guild Wars games though, Ghosts of Ascalon is an exciting romp through some familiar territory and some new places from the upcoming game. We meet new characters of all the major races, and old friends are mentioned anecdotally. We learn the history of the world of Kryta since we last visited it: the rise of the elder dragons and their devastation of the world, the queen of Kryta and her relationship with the rest of the world, the birth of the sylvari race and some of their traits, and the struggling relationship between the major races: human, norn, sylvari, charr, and asura.
Ghosts of Ascalon is the first of at least two Guild Wars 2 novels, the next due out in December. A previously announced third is under discussion, and a recent interview says if the novels do well, there could be more. Hence my plea to you to go buy this novel now, and any future Guild Wars novels!
Sometimes publishers or authors will send me their books free so I can review them. I bought Ghosts of Ascalon with my own cashy money. But if Simon and Schuster wants to send me future Guild Wars novels for review, I'd be more than happy to read them!
by Matt Forbeck and Jeff Grubb was sadly not provided to me for review by anyone. But that's okay! Even if you've never played Guild Wars, or never plan to, go buy this novel.Ghosts of Ascalon, the very first novel set in the Guild Wars multi-player game universe, takes place more than 200 years after the original Guild Wars storyline, and shortly before the storyline of the much anticipated forthcoming Guild Wars 2 MMORPG.
Dougal Keane lives a threadbare existence selling his services as a guide and trap springer. After a brutal treasure hunt, an old friend springs him from jail demanding his services as a guide back to the one place he never wants to return: Ascalon City. The site of the infamous last battle between King Adelbern and the invading race known as charr. Keane was the only survivor of his last trip there. His mission this time will be to retrieve a sacred charr relic in an effort to foster a truce between the humans of Kryta and the charr.
If you're not familiar with the Guild wars story, this novel is still a fun adventure and easy to follow. If you are familiar with the Guild Wars games though, Ghosts of Ascalon is an exciting romp through some familiar territory and some new places from the upcoming game. We meet new characters of all the major races, and old friends are mentioned anecdotally. We learn the history of the world of Kryta since we last visited it: the rise of the elder dragons and their devastation of the world, the queen of Kryta and her relationship with the rest of the world, the birth of the sylvari race and some of their traits, and the struggling relationship between the major races: human, norn, sylvari, charr, and asura.
Ghosts of Ascalon is the first of at least two Guild Wars 2 novels, the next due out in December. A previously announced third is under discussion, and a recent interview says if the novels do well, there could be more. Hence my plea to you to go buy this novel now, and any future Guild Wars novels!
Sometimes publishers or authors will send me their books free so I can review them. I bought Ghosts of Ascalon with my own cashy money. But if Simon and Schuster wants to send me future Guild Wars novels for review, I'd be more than happy to read them!
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