Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 1 Kindle & comiXology

Edited 5 Jun 2013 to add that there is a World of thedas errata sheet (written by Brother Genitivi, of course) available now on the BioWare blog. I can't put a clickable URL in the review but it is located atblog DOT bioware DOT com /2013/06/05/world-of-thedas-volume-1-an-errataI bought the Collector's Edition through Bioware as well as the regular hardcover from Amazon and both of those get four and a half out of five stars. Five for art and design, four for content and accuracy. The Kindle version gets one star, for reasons enumerated in the last paragraph.For a book that Mike Laidlaw claims is "ruthlessly fact checked" it has a number of obvious errors, and John Green's review already covered many of them.Examples of a few timeline inconsistencies that John didn't cover:-  Dragon Age: The Calling  covers the events of King Maric's return to the Deep Roads in the company of some Orlesian Grey Wardens including Duncan. Someone editing the World of Thedas timeline got very confused and decided that the events at the end of The Calling took place in 9:10 and the ones that make up the bulk of the book took place in 9:14.- The timeline claims that Empress Celene was born in 9:6, but the body of the text says she became Empress at age 16 in 9:20.- Early in the timeline the Avvars split off from the Alamarri in -1815 Ancient and the Chasind split off and move into the Wilds in -1415. In 1:50 Divine they combine forces and Hafter holds them off, becoming the first teyrn in the Ferelden valley. In 5:42 Exalted, the timeline says that Calenhad united Ferelden. In the body of the text, on page 26, there's a description of human tribes that claims that Avvar and Chasind only split off because they resisted the unification of Ferelden under Calenhad.On the plus side, the book is absolutely gorgeous and it is really nice to have all of the information in one place and so well-organized. The lore isn't all brand-new stuff we didn't already know, but some of it is a really interesting look at parts of the world we would never get to see in-game: there's an interesting bit about the sexual mores of different cultures, a bunch of sidebars by various Thedosian personalities, lots of notes and letters, and quite a lot of detailed information. The chapter on Thedosian races and the one on the various nations of Thedas are both excellent and do a great job of giving a more vibrant picture of life in Thedas.The Kindle version is essentially a low-res scan of the books I already paid over $100 for. It doesn't work on my Mac, doesn't work on my actual Kindle device, and doesn't work on my iPhone. It only works on the Kindle app on my iPad. The text is not searchable or selectable, and navigating the book uses the comic book interface of the Kindle app much like Dark Horse's own comic reader. Unlike the Dark Horse reader, I can't view parts of the book in significantly better detail by zooming: you get the full-page and the frame nav, and that's it. Given the choice between it and any other available format, choose the other format.

I purchased the HC version. It's a little short, and not at all comprehensive (there is a second installment). I liked the art; much of the style is similar to Dragon Age 2 and I found it gorgeous to look at - much of it I hadn't seen before. Most interesting sections cover geography and summaries of different countries/races within the world (culture, fashion, etc.); I do wish these sections were a little more blown out... I realize this isn't to everyone's taste, but I found them interesting and to me, they felt tantalizingly underdeveloped. The timeline is also helpful (its nice to see where everything anchors), but appears to contain some errors (based on expanded universe comics, novels). Much of the information in the volume isn't new, and therefore not terribly gripping to a fan of the game series (ugh; bestiary) and generally covers things already laid out in games/novels/comics... I was hoping for more new material in some areas (things to look forward to, things I hadn't heard yet). Unless you are a completist, I might give it a pass (do pick up the 2nd volume though; I thought it was great and contained a lot more info I hadn't seen before).

When I first played Dragon Age: Origins many moons ago, one of the first things I fell in love with was the world and its history. The collector's edition strategy guide contained a brief, but informative lore section, and I ate it up. Codex entries in the game itself were also equally entertaining, especially because there were some instances where people either weren't sure about what was behind certain events, or their words were colored by perspectives and prejudices.The World of Thedas: Volume 1 is one hefty tome of all of this. There are sections about geography, religion, magic, and other key aspects of this vast, violent world, filled to the brim with details and personal accounts. For those who have played Dragon Age II and Inquisition, you will also see many clues about events that will soon come to pass. Personally, my favorite feature is the timeline that runs along the bottom of every page, from the beginnings of the elven calendar through the "present" year of the Dragon Age, punctuated with key moments and events in this long and eventful history.If you can't get enough Dragon Age lore, and you suspect you may know (or want to know) more about the history of Thedas than the real world that we live in, this is definitely the book for you.

"The World of Thedas" is amazing for the superb art in every page and for the incredible wealth of information on the game world of "Dragon Age". If you are a fan of this universe you cannot miss this magnificent book. The book is well written, in a clear, concise way and touches on every major part of lore. We get info on all the races, religions, the blights, the wars and the evolution of the continent of Thedas from the most early age, when Elf's ruled and the humans weren't even around. The book even touches on events from DA2's DLC as its completely up to date, until DA3 comes around. There's no specific focus on any character from the games, although some like Alistair or Hawke are mentioned when discussing specific events. There are some canon mistakes but Bioware has an errata on their website (written by Brother Genitivi himself hahaha) and quite frankly they're nothing really major, considering the work that went into this volume. After all this is a fictional world, with huge history and detail and with the enormous lore the book holds, a few mistakes are forgiven. Unlike  The Art of the Mass Effect Universe  this book is not about the process of building and imagining this universe and designing the game. This is a compendium, an encyclopedia about the lore in beautifully realized pages. Yes, the art really is fantastic, with some truly gorgeous illustrations page after page.This is a majestic book and a delight for someone, like me, who has spent hundreds of hours on both games. But even for a casual fan, "The World of Thedas" is so beautiful and impressive, its worth every cent.Hey Bioware how about something like this for Mass Effect? Come on, do it!!!!! The Art of the Mass Effect Universe

I could not put this book down! as a huge fan of the series (yes, even the 2nd game) this is a must buy even casual players may want to give it go. Thedas is a rich, interesting world and this book is no different. It covers every major faction in detail even the inquisition has some light shed on it. It has a page by page time line of events from earliest recorded chantry history of major events, subtle nods towards our fabled heroes and builds up to what may be the time of Dragon age 3.Now I'm a sucker for character profiles and this book does contain a bestiary complimented by fantastic art of some characters, there isnt any in depth profiles on any companions or characters of import (some are mentioned) which is the only thing that is a negative point although it is volume 1 and the journey is far from over!so if you think you know everything about this world think again!

I think if i started a therapy group for people addicted to dragon age it would get a lot of members, me being the most hopeless case probably. I love the games, DA2 being my least favourite, true escapism and good storytelling. I read every codex entry ( more than once ) and still it's not enough. This book is great, it has some new things i didn't know about and some things i did. The illustrations can be a little stylized but they're very good. I love the map at the start, a little LOTR style and i love knowing how the nations are laid out. There's only one quibble - if you've read the books then Alistair's birth is somewhat confusing. But this is a great DA fan addition. I had toyed with getting it in kindle but i'm so glad i didn't - it's worth taking up some space with this.

I had no expectations buying this. I have been a Dragon Age Fan just by chance! I bought the original game ages ago as I was looking for something new and fell in love with the world of Thedas.This book encompasses all the known world facts about Thedas and the characters, creatures, religions, races, places, past & present history plus many MANY more fascinating facts.Its a book that sometimes I just like to read especially now us DA Fans are waiting for the 4th game to make an appearance. To boot it's also got some incredible concept art which I just Love to look at.If your a DA Fan or you know someone who is - Well worth the buy!!

What a wealth of information this book contains. I read it from cover to cover and learnt something new on nearly every page. It is a must for all Dragon Age fans, giving background info to many of our favorite characters and to events that occurred prior to the Dragon Age era.Here you will find how to address the nobles of Ferelden, where the Deep Roads begin and end, the hierarchy and doctrines of the various religions, complete geography of Thedas, the real truth about the Qunari and much more. As well as all this knowledge, the art is also really impressive. I thoroughly recommend this book, it should be on hand when playing any of the Dragon Age games to help suspension of reality and add to game playing pleasure.I look forward to Volume 2 (and also DA Inquisition). Linda