Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne Kindle Edition

From my goodreads review: I thoroughly enjoyed this one! While this book doesn't really explain Loghain's actions in Dragon Age: Origins to me, it does give a really nice history of much of Ferelden that's really fascinating, along with a nice brothers in arms-type story. Now I can't wait to go back into Origins with this fuller picture of the history. When I first played Origins, the lore was always a bit overwhelming, but this book really helped solidify it and make me invested in it.Of course, for anyone getting into Dragon Age I would recommend playing Origins first. It lets you appreciate the nuances and visualize the environments a lot easier in this novel. Though, then again, the events in Origins may be a lot more shocking if you read this and The Calling first...

There are parts of this book that make you know it's a video game tie-in - mostly in the form of clichés. Not only does it seem odd anyone in a pseudo medieval society would talk like that, I don't really recall anyone in the games talking like that. HOWEVER! That is pretty much the only bad thing about this book. David Gaider writes with a poise that has the potential to be on par with some of the greatest fantasy writers - it's easy to see why DA:O has such a great story. Unfortunately, that potential doesn't come into full fruition, due presumably to the time restraints I figure Gaider had to contend with in the composition of this novel. Nevertheless, what he is able to craft is a fun romp through Thedas, expanding on bits of lore, and giving much needed backdrop into Ferelden's perilous past. There's love, blood, guts, and glory, and some of the best battle scenes I've ever read in any book. Seriously. If there's one thing Gaider has done better than every fantasy author I've ever read (which is admittedly few) it's his accounts of battles and fights. Lastly, none of the characters are particularly "good", these are innocent, selfless hobbits. These are characters that can fall into morally grey territory - they're as corruptible as anyone else. One more "lastly": If I have to knock the book for anything, it's the Prince's odd rise to prominence. Introduced as a relatively spoiled, incompetent child who never had a care in the world and hadn't a shred of dignity to his name other than being "the prince", he finds himself capable of great feats and commanding respect oddly fast. Then, once he supposedly becomes comfortable, he's often plagued by self-doubt which is not reflected in his words or actions. Still, this is a minor gripe compared to the story as a whole.Not only is this the best video game tie-in novel I've ever read, but it's also an epic story. Fans of the games must get this book, and if you're someone looking for a fun adventure but have never played the game, you'll have a fun little (if 400 pages is little) read!

Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne is one of two prequel novels to Bioware's recently released (at the time of writing this review) fantasy role playing game, Dragon Age: Origins. Unlike other novels written in the universe of video games, The Stolen Throne and the 2nd book, "The Calling", are written not by 3rd-party authors but the head of the writing team that penned the story and dialogue of Dragon Age: Origins, David Gaider. This adds an extra level of quality and realism to the universe and the characters within that can sometimes be lost in a 3rd-party authors creative freedom.The Stolen Throne is set ~35 years before the events of the game take place, in a time when the small land of Ferelden is suffering at the hands of a tyrant king. Placed on the thrown by the the Emperor of Orlais, a neighbouring super-power whom invaded and conquered Ferelden 80 years prior, the Usurper rules though fear and oppression, while the true heir, the Rebel Queen and her son are betrayed by those though loyal. While the Queen is killed, her son, Maric, escapes and by chance encounters the young outlaw, Loghain. With Loghain's help, Prince Maric returns to the rebel forces, and to his betrothed, Rowan, a warrioress of great skill. Reluctant as he is, Loghain stays with the rebels, quickly proving himself to be gifted in the ways of combat and tactics, skills that Maric will need if he is to ever reclaim his rightful place as Ferelden's king.An exciting and compelling read, although such a description is often over used in reviews, describes this book perfectly. Not a simple tale of kings, rebels and magic, The Stolen Thone is a powerful story covering love, deception, friendship and the difficulties of being a worthy King. It is a story Gaider brilliantly tells, giving depth and meaning to something that one would only otherwise lean though reading several in-game codex entries. I would strongly recommend anyone who buys Dragon Age: Origins to read both Dragon Age novels. Alternatively, anyone wanting a engaging fantasy novel need not look further than this book, as even without the Dragon Age franchise backing it, The Stolen Throne stand on its own two feet as a top-notch fantasy novel. Quite simply, read this book!

Great book - an excellent tie in to the games that explores the friendship between Maric and Loghain. The hardcover itself looks really cool!

Amazing story before the Dragon Age RPG game era. The character's role was well developed and the author give us an atmosphere that pin us in front of the book.

If you love DA Origins, I highly recommend reading The Stolen Throne. It provides so much context to the game and gives players a better understanding of the characters.

Me ha llegado en menos tiempo de lo esperado y en perfectas condiciones.De momento solo he leído unos pocos capítulos pero es genial poder conocer a Maric y poder ver otra cara de Loghain diferente a lo que vemos de él en Dragon Age Origins.

J'ai acheté tout les Dragon Age en anglais, vu que j'ai fait les jeux en cette langue également et que certains lieux ont changés de nom à la traduction, je risquais de m'y perdre.C'est un livre super bien écrit, à la lecture des plus agréable, un must au fans de la série pour mieux comprendre Origin, le premier opus du jeu.Les non connaisseurs aimeront également, car le tout est poignant et subtilement parsemé d'émotions. C'est un plaisir de suivre chaque personnage.