Mass Effect: Revelation

To paraphrase a friend (who was actually referencing elements of Mass Effect's game plot), Mass Effect: Revelation is a little goofy but ultimately charming.

It's an easy read - about 330 pages of (almost) pulp science fiction. I corral it in that pigeon hole in the most positive sense. Some of the dialog is genuinely funny - there are some great sound-bites. It seems even more like a Hollywood movie script than some of the material I normally peruse.

The book's main selling point was that it was touted as enriching the Mass Effect experience. It delivers in some respects. The novel further justifies humanity's portrayal as the petulant teenager and the Citadel Council's sometime Pontius-Pilate-School-of-Politics attitude. "Infinite" ammo (which never bothered me but was called out by some critics) is explained succinctly (come to think of it, it may also discussed in the game Codex). The batarian race features prominently - they are almost completely absent from the software title.

Where it failed to live up to (my) hopes is in its explanation of Saren's motives. Even after playing the game to completion and reading the book, I still find it difficult to reconcile his (original) goals and actions. Perhaps that's the intent anyway...?

Other issues the book highlights are some of the mild inconsistencies, probably due to technology/design limitations. There simply aren't enough people in the Citadel Wards - the book (and in-game background) describes them as packed. The Normandy is also far too roomy but this can be explained away by its unique nature.

Revelation also contains some spoiler-esque material for one of the chief game plot twists. However it's not that big a deal and the foreshadowing is probably just that much more obvious/enjoyable as a result.

Mass Effect: Ascension, the second book and "sequel" to the game, will allegedly be available in 2008. I think I'll be getting it. :-)