Dragon Age - The Masked Empire

If there is something that takes a lot of time and that we don't do nearly as often as we should is read.
We usually have enough TV shows in our DVR to last a lifetime so who has the time to read anymore? I always fancied myself as a reader but it generally only stretched to comics or history books. Fictional work never really appealed to me, feeling very much like a movie I had trouble picturing in my head. I picked up "Dragon Age: The Masked Empire" by chance. I was in a Barnes & Noble, looking for the DAI guide when I stumbled upon it. As soon as I saw the writer's name, Patrick Weekes, I knew I had to buy it. After all, everything in the DA universe is fantastic and I knew Patrick was a writer on the game so how could I not love his writing?

I was very much right. From the get go, this book takes you to a familiar place, Orlais, and guides you into brand new and unexplored corners of the empire. Straight away, it makes you feel at home but takes you on an adventure. The book was published before DAI was released but I read it after I played the game. I am not too sure what the best timing is but either way, I believe any respectable DA fan should read it.

Should you read DA The Masked Empire before playing DAI, you will get acquainted with Empress "asking a mange to describe magic is like asking you to describe a sunset to a blind dwarf" is hilarious.

Celene, Orlais and the rules of the deadly game nobles play behind their masks in this fabulous empire. Although the setting might be new and the characters unfamiliar, the personalities, the wit and the lore certainly are. When Andraste is mentioned, the Chantry, Kirkwall, even when Leliana makes an appearance, you know exactly what and who to picture. You do not frown upon the possibility of a tea cup being enchanted to be everlastingly hot. You do not wonder what the difference between an elf in the city and a Dalish is. And you know why the sentence

Reading this thrilling story before playing the game is definitely recommended as it fills the gap between the events in Kirkwall and the ones in DAI. For example. without reading The Masked Empire, you wouldn't know why Celene's throne was in peril and why she acted as she did when the Eleven rebellion happened. You get a truly insightful look at the Orlesian politics but also at what it is like to be an Empress and make very difficult choices for your nation. Going into the game, it is then much easier to choose a side and make a decision on who to put on the throne of Orlais. Not
Gaspard if you ask me!! What really strikes me in this fantasy book is how it rings so true and real. The Elven rebellion, the prejudices, the insider's look at a leader who tries to do the right thing, all these are very reminiscent of what happens or happened in every country at some point in time. I simultaneously felt sad for an freedom deprived Elf and for a human merchant stuck in the cross fire, for a wealthy Empress and for a loyal servant. The different point of views served as a reminder that in every human conflict, the villains and the heroes are always interchangeable.

That's how this book very much departed from the games where the evil is recognizable and absolute. A darkspawn or a demon are, after all, evil to the core. I don't think you will find such a villain in this story.

Reading Patrick Weekes' take on Orlais after playing the game, I found myself regretting some of the choices I had made. I wish I had helped Briala more and I certainly wish I could have punched Gaspard in the face right there in the garden of the Winter Palace when he introduced himself. But the best thing about reading this book after playing the game is that I was back in Orlais after having the time to explore it for a bit. When the author described the palace, I knew exactly where I was and how it looked. I knew Briala's pretty face and Celene's demeanor. I was so glad to be able to get to
know these characters better after being introduced to them in DAI. I felt like all my questions were answered and more. Now when I will give Celene her locket back, I will know exactly what it means.