Any Dragon Age fans read the novels?

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Anyone who is into Dragon Age read the books, and since I love Dragon Age Origins above all else, are they worth a read? Also what I want to read the most is the earlist novels that came around the time of DA:O and before the second game:

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_The_Stolen_Throne

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_The_Calling

To those that read these 2 do they at all make any references or set up to the second game? Because I feel Dragon Age II has changed up so much that its unrecognizable from the first gmae.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

Anyone who is into Dragon Age read the books, and since I love Dragon Age Origins above all else, are they worth a read? Also what I want to read the most is the earlist novels that came around the time of DA:O and before the second game:

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_The_Stolen_Throne

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Age:_The_Calling

To those that read these 2 do they at all make any references or set up to the second game? Because I feel Dragon Age II has changed up so much that its unrecognizable from the first gmae.

I read the Stolen Throne recently and I really enjoyed it, though I'm fairly certain that if I wasn't obsessed with Dragon Age: Origins I would probably find it average
That one was a prequel to Origins though so it doesn't really affect any of the games, it just gives you some nice background on some Origins characters

 

[Hawki]

There's more novels than those. Dragon Age is a game franhise that I've never played, but I've read the novels and other EU material for (which isn't that rare for me).

Of the two, Stolen Throne is better IMO, in that it feels more self-contained. It's not great literature by any means, and I could spot plot twists coming a mile away (e.g. Katriel), but it's an enjoyable romp. The Calling is more a Dungeons & Dragons-type story though, in that it's basically "here's a party, go into the Deep Roads, kill stuff, have fun." Not bad, but it left far less of a lasting impression.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

The only one I've read is Asunder, because it was the only book that WASN'T a prequel (granted, that has since changed, but...) and if you are as obsessed with Dragon Age as much as you claim, I suggest you pick it up. It sets up a few things in Inquisition, giving you a nice insight into what is happening in the game.
But, the biggest thing is that it tells you the story of one of the characters that ends up joining your party. You also find out what happens to a few characters from Origins as well. While I can't vouch for any of the other books--although I do want to read Last Flight because something I've long suspected is true apparently happens--I will say that Asunder is worth a read. It pretty much sets up Inquisition.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I haven't read them. I guess my biggest concern is the risk that they'll intersect the games' stories in such a way that goes against what happened for me. At that point, it wouldn't really feel like I'm following the Dragon Age universe I've come to fall in love with. I'll just be following someone else's Dragon Age universe.

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

I've read them all. Mostly they contain interesting lore tidbits that add background to the events and characters that appear in the games. If you want to read/play everything sequentially, it would go as follows:
- The Stolen Throne
- The Calling
- Dawn of the Seeker (anime movie)
- Leliana's Song (Origins DLC)
- Dragon Age Origins
- Dragon Age Origins: Awakening
- Dragon Age 2
- Dragon Age 2: Legacy
- Asunder
- The Masked Empire
- The Last Flight
- Dragon Age Inquisition
- Dragon Age Inquisition: Trespasser

The comics are also interesting, but they exist in a particular continuity that won't fit everyone's own story experience. The novels however are written in such a way as to be vague enough on certain details to fit with anyone's personal story. If you're a fan of the franchise and care about the lore, they are absolutely worth a read.

 

[spartandude]

I read the first two and they were fairly good, not amazing but still good. The problem is that, similar to Mass Effect, the writing in this series has gone downhill and therefore I lost interest in the expanded universe. I have however started to properly get into Inquisition however so I may eat those words.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I read the first two and they were fairly good, not amazing but still good. The problem is that, similar to Mass Effect, the writing in this series has gone downhill and therefore I lost interest in the expanded universe. I have however started to properly get into Inquisition however so I may eat those words.

Here is where I differ.

I feel Dragon Age sequals has changed direction and look and tone so much with the sequals that its pretty much unnrecognizable from what was established in Origins.

Mass Effect 2 and 3 imo, though they play differently from 1, all still felt consistant and in line with what the first game established. Like I can play all 3 games and feel like everything is part of the same franchise. Playing all 3 DA games felt like I was playing 3 different games from 3 different franchise.

I blame the fact that Bioware was trying too hard to make thier game too different from other Fantasy stuff, especialy considering RPGs that they were blind to the fact that their own game is unique enough and even then the more darivitive look of DA:O was more interesting the what came later imo.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I've read them all. Mostly they contain interesting lore tidbits that add background to the events and characters that appear in the games. If you want to read/play everything sequentially, it would go as follows:
- The Stolen Throne
- The Calling
- Dawn of the Seeker (anime movie)
- Leliana's Song (Origins DLC)
- Dragon Age Origins
- Dragon Age Origins: Awakening
- Dragon Age 2
- Dragon Age 2: Legacy
- Asunder
- The Masked Empire
- The Last Flight
- Dragon Age Inquisition
- Dragon Age Inquisition: Trespasser

The comics are also interesting, but they exist in a particular continuity that won't fit everyone's own story experience. The novels however are written in such a way as to be vague enough on certain details to fit with anyone's personal story. If you're a fan of the franchise and care about the lore, they are absolutely worth a read.

Than I will just read the first 2 books since I want nothing to do with lore made for Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition.

 

[votemarvel]

Personally I would not read any. The prequels quite drastically change the background of one character and personally I prefer the Origins version of his background, especially since it contains a loyalty mission in Denerim.

The stuff set after Origins is good but there is something to remember. Whereas the Mass Effect spin off media makes the best attempt to leave the story of the games alone so that they can fit into pretty much any play through, with Dragon Age however they follow a set canon of events.

It's weird really as I think the spin-off media for Dragon Age is of a far higher quality than Mass Effect's, yet I like it less because it can't fit with how I'm playing the game.

Bioware have their own plans for the Dragon Age Universe and I think they are now at 'player choice be damned'. I reached that mode of thinking after finding that Leliana had grown her head back in Dragon Age II, after I had previously removed it.

 

[baddude1337]

I have not. In fact I haven't played the games all that much either (Been playing Neverwinter 2 modules like Baldurs Gate Reloaded and Icewind Dale remake as my RPG fix) but I do intend to get around to it eventually.

My girlfriend is a big fan of the series and has played Origins and 2 multiple times (she has my PS3 at the moment). She doesn't have any of the books but does have a big complete comic book thing. The art is really nice and apparently the story is enjoyable, so if comics are your thing I suggest checking them out at least.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I read one or two years ago, before DA2 existed. I really like Marric's story and I also liked seeing how Loghain became involved and was a hero of the nation. It did make replays of DA:O very weird tho, the Loghain in the game is nothing like the one in the books, tho there is evidence as to why that is

As has been said tho, the "franchise" (I hate that term) has derailed. DA:O was cool, a good game. I liked the party based gameplay, strategic combat and story and of course, the Origins were absolutely brilliant. I thought THAT would become the mainstay of the series, future Dragon Age games each would offer multiple origin/prologues which interact with the story at large in unique ways. But no, that fantastic feature was removed in favour of a voiced human-only protagonist no one fucking wanted because it worked in Mass Effect. And now, that style of game is the only one BioWare seem capable of making. DA2 was WoW with Dragon Age references and a conversation wheel. DA:I was...forgettable. Apart from the royal party mission which was magnificent, Inquisition was a boring, mediocre game in every way.

 

[Bocaj2000]

I do not and will not. DA:O is an anomaly of the series and will remain as such. It's the only game of the trilogy worth a damn and I have little faith in any of Bioware's EUs.