The Stolen Throne (Dragon Age Book 1)

Good for fans of the series. A few brilliant scenes and the rest carried the story along quick/well enough. Recommend

I first came across the Dragon Age franchise in the form of Dragon Age: Origins, the video game on Xbox 360. What immediately struck me was how mature of a storyline the game held, it wasn't for children and it was a realistic tale told in a frontal assault on your mind as you played. So when I was browsing one evening on Amazon I came across the tie-in novels of the franchise, written by David Gaider who was lead writer of the video game. Instinctively I checked the reviews of those who bought the book first, and it struck me most of the buyers were fans of the video game.Going by a few reviews that said the book was very well written, and was perfect for any fan of the game I bought all three novels from Gaider; (1) The Stolen Throne, (2) The Calling and (3) Asunder. The moment it arrived I jumped into the first book, The Stolen Throne. I immediately knew most of the characters from references in the game, and knew that this was a prequel to the game set about twenty years or more before the events of the video game Origins.I was immediately intrigued to learn about events leading up to the video game, and I was thoroughly enthralled from start to finish. In fact I took the book everywhere with me in order to continue to read it, both at work and at home. I couldn't put it down, as locations and lore of the game were explored and expanded on. I have to admit that this series of novels is really for fans of the game, mainly to understand the setting and some of the characters you have to know of them beforehand. Very well written, not too long nor too short. I didn't feel cheated for the price I paid, which I found reasonable on the site and I would recommend this book to fans of the Dragon Age franchise.

"Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne" is an enjoyable fantasy book, both for fans of the videogame and genre fans. The book is a great window into the whole universe Bioware created for its magnificent game and a wonderful adventure. It might be a bit light on plot as the story mostly deals with Maric, the main character, trying to win back the throne of Ferelden his grandfather lost to a foreign invader, the Orlesians, with the help of his future queen and his best friend, Loghain. Loghain is of course a pivotal character in the game, although his appearances are actually brief if you really consider it, so its great to get a chance to see more of him and his personality and how he evolved into the character we meet in the game. The book is divided between huge, well written, exciting battles and a sort of "unspoken" romantic triangle between the main characters. The romance does take up lots of pages and although interesting it can turn a bit tiresome and that is especially problematic towards the end of the book. The ending is as rushed as can be, going as far as skipping the last battle and even the final fight between Maric and the "usurper". All of this is recounted in the last page of the book. No, i'm serious! Yeah...The villains are also badly developed with barely any scenes and even the plot and the three main characters take a turn for the worse by the last pages, taking actions and changing in a way that seems only for plot sake and not true to their nature. Loghain and Maric are very likable characters as is Rowan, the daughter of an Arl promised to Maric to be his future queen. You go on this journey with them and see them battle and bond between them and with you as the reader but suddenly they seem different characters. Suddenly they are not likable at all, especially Maric and just like that the book ends and it leaves you a bit bitter and sad.Lots of important events are narrated in only a paragraph and the story just rushes to the finish line in a hurry. The feeling is that this is only half the book and in the end we have to consider that maybe the author should have spent less time in some of the earlier amorous developments and saved some pages for the epic climax the book is sorely missing.The book is also heavy on the "Tolkien" tropes, as was the game to be honest but I suppose that's also to be expected.For fans of the videogame this is a treat with a trip to the deep roads, the "Legion of the Dead", a visit to Flemeth and of course Loghain. For non fans, this is still a well written, fun adventure although with some serious problems in pacing and closure.I guess Bioware just have a real problem when it comes to endings!!!!

It's not the most epic story I've ever read, there's even some spelling mistakes here and there 😅 but as a huge fan of the dragon age and it's characters I very much enjoy any sort of content that has the wonderful world of thedas involved. If you're a fan of the games, you'll have a nice time reading the stories

Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne is a must read for hardcore Dragon Age videogame fans. It explains some interesting facts about King Maric, Alistair's father, and Loghain who happens to be the great villain in the first of Dragon Age games.What mostly fascinated me was the strong and strategic mind of Loghain. Without him, Maric would not have achieved his throne back. Loghain is my favourite character in this book and I came to understand that he does not tolerate a leader that is feeble and weak and that his duty and loyalty is not for King Maric or King Cailan but for Ferelden only and that is why he committed the actions he did in the game.When I decided to read this book, I wanted to find answers about the origin of Alistair, but here you won't find it. I did, however, got a pleasant surprise to see a lot of him in Maric's personality. How he was a weak and unprepared man to a successful warrior and decisive man in order to reclaim his throne. The same could be seen in Alistair during the game. I won't spoil for anybody.It was a pleasant read and I actually was addicted and could not stop reading. It is a page turner.