BioWare's newest game Dragon Age: Inquisition will expand the universe of their epic series in profound ways. This comprehensive book of lore features exclusive art and information, exploring every corner of this dark fantasy masterpiece! Newcomers will appreciate how this volume covers everything they need to know about the world and characters of these smash-hit games! Dedicated fans will revel in the abundance of never-before-revealed secrets, the perfect companion to Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 1! From heroes to villains, to songs and food, and everything in between, this book puts the breath and depth of this inimitable fantasy at your fingertips.

(if you don't already know, I can't explain it to ya.  lol)

 

At first blush, there's a lot to like here. Lots of info on the Chant of Light and Andraste's life. The section on the Hero of Ferelden mostly focuses upon Companions, including Duncan, and is predictably generic and vague regarding the character. Odd, given that the 'official' narrative is that of a female Dalish Elf who made the Ultimate Sacrifice and put Alastair on the throne.

 

The artwork has an Anime-like cartoonish quality to it that I'm not very fond of. It's off-putting after the serious, somber frescoes we've come to know and love.

 

And can't they ever get this shit right? In the section about Sten there's a kind of abbreviated passage referring to when he lost his sword, but they don't know if he died in the fight. Next paragraph speaks to the rumors of his becoming the new Arishok. WTF, y'all? Stop all the bullshit and fucking waffling and write an official narrative, will ya?

I'm a sucker for art books and it took all my will not to tell Labyrinth Books to shut up and take my money when I stopped at their row upon row of shelves at Fan Expo last weekend. My bank account wouldn't have been happy, so I wisely opted to get only this, since it was far more than an art book dedicated to a game series that I love.

The World of Thedas is just that. Think of it as a wiki on beautiful, beautiful crack. There definitely is artwork included. Every page is covered in it. But I'm all about the lore and there is no shortage of that here, from Andraste to Zazikel and everything in between.

Favourite characters do appear, with a brief comment on their relevance to a particular entry (eg Isabela is placed within the Rivain section), but the focus is on the world itself. Countries, timelines, politics, religion, and of course, magic.

As a big fan of the Dragon Age series, this is a must have for me. It will keep me content while I patiently wait for Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Patiently....

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The BiblioSanctum

This is one of those books that's long overdue, given the success of the franchise. World of Thedas Vol 1 doesn't expand all that much on the Dragon Age universe and falls short in key areas.

Chapters include: Legend, Map of Thedas, Races, Nations, Magic, Religion, The Fade, The Blight, Bestiary and Glossary. It reads like an RPG sourcebook; granted it's derived from an RPG so that's hard to avoid, but I felt like I should have some dice handy while I was going through it. The layout is gorgeous- some stunning artwork from familiar names like Joy Ang, Fran Gaulin, Jae-Keum, Steve Klit, Caspar Konefal and Nick Thornborrow. Simply beautiful.

There's cameos from some old friends- Varric, Leliana, Morrigan, Anders, and even Flemeth and Corypheus. Brother Genitivi acts as the resident scholar, often supplying commentary on the entries as well.

Much of the information presented is not new, simply fleshed out. And that's where the problems come in: while there are some interesting nuggets and pearls, too many times you'll see either a contradiction to the established canon or something so lacking you wonder why they even bothered with it. And others just leave you scratching your head.

Here's a few examples:

Endrin Aeducan is stated to be mourning the loss of his eldest and youngest sons (it's supposed to be his eldest and middle child). Seems small but it's a huge error if you know the franchise... and how'd they miss it?

Noble ranks in Ferelden- the place we're all most familiar with- are also off, listing an arl as the equivalent of a mayor. Really? Isn't an arl supposed to be an earl or something? Heck, the Bioware chatrooms have better and more detailed info than this 'official' release.

New details about Wardens and the Calling are also confusing: the book states that they must first serve alongside dwarven troops for a year before going off on their own. Since when? And what's the point of it if they're not going to even last that long anyway? Also no new information about the Joining Ritual or how it was discovered.

The chapter on Religion is where it really drops the ball in my opinion. The section on the Old Gods is sketchy- no surprise there- but something about them would've been appreciated. Were they vessels for powerful extra-planar beings or just dragons with powers and abilities far beyond those of other flying serpents? The Elven Gods get a little better treatment- they're supposedly all trapped in the Black City. How? Why?

Humanity is the newest race on Thedas; apparently they all came from somewhere else... But as they make up nearly all of the Maker's worshipers, what was he doing all that time, let alone before Andraste showed up? Who were his followers?

Kossith (Qunari) are said to have migrated to Ferelden in ages past, giving rise to ogre darkspawn. But then why hasn't anyone ever seen any ogres before the Fifth Blight?

World of Thedas is nice enough to have; you get lots of data conveniently packaged for your enjoyment. But there's precious little new information provided in it so it's a toss up as to whether it's worth your while or not.

I have two passions, video games and books. I love it when I can indulge in both!!