Patrick Weekes

Books based on videogames are not the most respected pieces of literature. And while most in this genre are deserving of scorn, Patrick Weekes brings a refreshing breath of air to the fantasy genre with Dragon Age: The Masked Empire. I devoured this book. Not only is it an interesting addition to the Dragon Age IP, it's a good read, with well-rounded characters and environments, and a plot bursting with intrigue, war, romance, and magic.

Empress Celene's perch on the throne is vulnerable, show more despite her proficiency in politics. She has maintained control of the Orlesian empire with the subtle help of her servant and lover, the elf Brianne, but Orlais is plagued by racism and classism and their enemies are happy to exploit both to weaken Celene's reign. An elven uprising is the catalyst for full rebellion and Celene and Brianne are forced to make deals that they may regret in the future.

I loved Celene and Brianne's relationship. A canon same-sex relationship? Written respectfully? Involving two smart, resourceful, and occasionally devious women? Yes, excellent. I also liked the way Weekes wrote the magic system. Translating the in-game mechanics to prose couldn't have been easy, but he makes it work. The spies, machinations, and conspiracies were also fascinating - Weekes did a great job weaving the complex plots together.

I recommend this to anyone who's played games and would like to learn more about the world of Thedas. Even if you aren't familiar to DA, it's an enjoyable read and I encourage you to give it a try. show less

In order for Loch to prevent a war she has to steal a book. A book she recently gave away. But that's no problem. The problem is that the meeting to tell her about this book acquisition is actually a trap. It starts with a fight in a sacred temple and a stolen sword and just rolls (and flies) onward from there.

The team is a family now, and they know it. They're used to each other's quirks and can almost always anticipate each other's next move. I can't, but they can.

This is a great show more follow-up to The Palace Job. The action is non-stop and the twists come fast. There were some wonderful serious moments, some that were dealt with during this book and others that laid the foundation for future stories. show less

The Paladin Caper was a well-executed finale to an excellent fantasy series. Rogues of the Republic provided a comfortable romp thanks to the familiar fantasy setting and tropes with fantastic characters and banter. I most appreciated the tongue-in-cheek critique of our society nicely couched in the fantasy setting and engaging character growth with clever twists one would want from heist-based plotlines.

And the third one's the charm.

I loved this. I thought I loved the second novel, but this one pulls me by my heart strings just as much as it pulled my absolute gushing love of plot and twist. It turned out to be much less of a heist novel than the previous two, but that's okay because what we've got instead is a truly evolving team up against a truly, magnificently difficult enemy.

The best part is how all of it ties so very tightly to the previous two novels. From the spoiler spoiler show more spoiler in the first novel, to the spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler in the second novel, to how each and every one of those wonderful bits and pieces wove together to make spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler, when even a fantastic Now/Then sidebar that illustrates exactly how the spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler worked out, and even then, I still can't figure out if Loch's plan worked because she's just that good or that she's relying on only a hella-huge pool of luck and goodwill.

I could give you a breakdown of all those spoiler bits, but I'm not. It's not fair to any of you sitting on the fence about picking up these novels, because YOU really NEED to READ them. You'll know exactly what I mean and be just as fucking delighted as I was.

The writing is damn fine. Everything is super crystal. The action scenes are absolutely fantastic, quick, colorful, and always in the service to the story. Even the character development twists flow like water, both contrary and obvious in retrospect.

And while I'm on about that: Having a love/death priestess on the team IS really and truly a GOOD REASON why there's so many damn hookups happening all over the place. It was never overboard, but it was definitely delightful and so damn necessary to the plot. My heart jumped into my throat, damn it. There were way too many serious reversals for our loveable heroes, even ones that I couldn't quite stomach. (I couldn't stomach one just because I loved his character too much.) Still, keep reading, because I'll tell you now that it is a cry-worthy ending.

Saying that this novel is satisfying just isn't cutting it. It's more of a fist-pumping gushfest of an ending that remains, even now, so bittersweet that I think I want to go lay down and cry.

Thanks, Netgalley! show less