Review:
Mass Effect: Revelation

This trail left behind leads him on a mission to find the suspect and determine who caused the massacre, but with bounty hunters on his trail, the involvement of a Citadel Spectre - the lawless agents of the Council - things start to become difficult. The Spectre involved, Saren, is not just any Spectre but a Turian and also one who lost his brother during the First Contact War. As the investigation heats up and more is uncovered, the Alliance pushes the Citadel Council to make Saren and Anderson team up, while they expect Saren to review Anderson as a potential candidate as the first Human Spectre.

The final mission is not a success and Lt. Anderson is completely disregarded as a candidate for the Spectres, meanwhile Saren has made a discovery that he thinks will make him the most respected and powerful man in the galaxy, if he can harness the power of his discovery.

The best thing about this book is how well it has integrated itself into the visual Mass Effect universe that is displayed in the games. The description of worlds, races and factions can be directly seen in game the same way they are displayed here in the book. What's even more interesting is that the book has picked up perfectly on the mannerisms of the characters that traverse through the book into the game such as David Anderson and Saren. It gives you background on why Saren hates humanity and constantly emphasises his hatred through his speech and shows you how the man becomes the monster - yet hinting at the evil that always lurked within him.

This book is a great read for people who are already a fan of the Mass Effect series - in fact, it is a good read even for people who do not know much about the games. Drew Karpyshyn gets the balance just right between insight into each personal story and also maintaining in the overlying story that the book explores. This book has been out for nearly 3 years now and you can buy it for as cheap as £4 - with a third book expected this year or the next, it's worth catching up on all that you can.

[You can follow my review of the second book, Mass Effect: Ascension which will appear on Alltern8 at the end of May]