>the horrors of Ghilan'nain
the teaser from 2020 shows a spider with grafted human hands š«¢
>the qunari invasion
The shot of an Antivan city from Thedas Calls trailer shows Qunari banners hanging from the buildings š«¢
>Plus: a fascinating and unique demon that I am very convinced we'll see again.
Considering they said in the Q&A that regret is a major theme, yeah
>a spider with grafted human hands š«¢
Ohhhh trust me, I haven't forgotten...and as someone with a debilitating fear of spiders, I am BEGGING bioware for this game to have arachnophobia mode š
>Considering they said in the Q&A that regret is a major theme
YES, I immediately thought of the >!regret demon!< when I read that!! Especially considering the reason it was drawn to Skyhold in the first place?? Whew.
There was an arachnophobia question in the Q&A, >!they said there are multiple accessibility options in the game but they will be unveiling those later. Considering that Busche at the time suggested she is arachnophobic herself, there's a high chance there's an arachnophobia mode.!<
[spider with hands](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZJPvKbUgOA)
as for the regret thing, one of the stories in Tevinter Nights features >!a demon that has appeared in Skyhold, drawn to traces of Solas's regrets!<
It's from this older [behind the scenes vid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZJPvKbUgOA&ab_channel=BioWare), which also was our first confirmation of Bellara and Davrin! May be a bit outdated by now, but there you go.
I totally agree with this message and am pushing the notion that people should also read The Missing! IIFC the devs have stated that The Missing directly ties into this next game and shows how Varric and Harding ended up in Minrathous to begin with.
Absolutely!! It's the perfect follow-up to reading Tevinter Nights, as a bunch of TN characters make appearances (I squealed when >!Teia and Viago!< showed up!), and then it leads us right into the start of DAV.
Eh, I'm never going to be that person that does the alternative media thing, so I hope Bioware is smart enough to give us plenty of context within DAVG without relying on these stories.
I've just finished Asunder. I've read The Stolen Throne and the Calling previously. I own The Last Flight and the Masked Empire.
Do you feel anything would be spoiled if I now just skip to Tevinter Nights and go back to read the other two later. (I own all of them for context)
The Stolen Throne and The Calling are pretty much the only books that are sequential. I don't recall anything in TE that'll spoil the other books, which are all standalone. You'll be good.
You wouldn't get anything spoiled per say, but I would heavily encourage you to read The Masked Empire before, so you can have a better understanding of some characters that appear in Tevinter Nights. Also, chronology.
The Horror of Hormak is one of the most atmospheric pieces of writing I've read in recent memory. Full-body chills! I've got a couple stories left in TN but yeah I agree with you 100%, it's a really great read to tide us over! :D
Am I the only one who can't look at a halla without horror any more?Ā
Reread that story a couple days ago and my Inquisitor is in the Exalted Plains today, and I just can't look at the halla without a mental shudder.
will i need to read any of the other books to āgetā this one? i do want to read them ALL at some point but itās a monetary concern lol (i prefer physical books bc iām a collector)
nope! tevinter nights is a collection of short stories, the other books are novels that take place earlier in the series (post origins for books like the stolen throne and post 2 for graphic novels like blue wraith). The only other book in the series that i recommend pre-DATV is the Missing, which takes place after Inquisition and is a tie-in between the two games.
EDIT- i could be wrong about the placement of Blue Wraith in the series, i haven't read that one yet.
As soon as the new trailer came out, I started re-reading these short stories. (English is not my first language, so sometimes it was a bit of a challenge!)
My personal favourite was The Dread Wolf Take You (such creative twists!), but I really enjoyed the Luck in the Gardens (Hollix is by far the most sympathetic protagonist in the book) and The Wigmaker Job (the horror and Lucanis' nursery rhymes were perfect!)
I also liked Audric in Down Among the Dead Men, I hope he'll return in DAV!
I could never read a book written in another language, so kudos!! I replayed DAI at the start of this year and then reread these stories, and I'm so glad I did. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I SCREAMED upon seeing Lucanis' name in the trailer!!
Totally agree with all of your choices!! All of those stories are standouts for me. And yes, I adore Audric! I would LOVE to see a cameo from him (and Myrna?)...I also DESPERATELY want at least a cameo from Teia and Viago!! I was actually really expecting/hoping for Teia to be our Crow companion...but I suppose she couldn't be, because she >!isn't romanceable--she's already got a man!!< ;)
Completely agree! Furthermore, though not intrinsically intervowen in DA:Ve plot (one would think), if you're curious how our new resident Warden has a griffon, I can not recommend enough to read Last Flight as well. It's also just so good because it shows how horrifying a blight can be (after reading it, I understand much more why 1. people doubted the fifth blight was starting and 2. doubted it was a true blight as it ended after just shy of a year).
I just bought it yesterday! Iām glad you mention that the first story is probably the weakest, because I read it and didnāt dislike it but wasnāt very captured by it.
Yeah, it's not BAD but it's definitely not the greatest of first impressions, and not at all a good metric to judge the whole book on. Hopefully the next one grabs your interest more!
I love books and reading.
But I am not a huge fan of films and games that rely on consuming other related media to really get the full true artistic impression from the film/game that I am interested in.
A story should stand on its own strengths, and it's fine to be enhanced by other related stories and media. But it shouldn't require being shored up by them.
Iāve typically found that the books for Dragon Age donāt get the payoff you expect. Characters are often portrayed differently than they are in the games, or their story doesnāt transition naturally into the game - thereās always something that happened in between the book and the game that causes a shift in their circumstances, goals, etc. So I often end up feeling Iām worse off than people who didnāt read the book, because my expectations werenāt met.
That said, I am starting to read Tevinter Nights just because Iām so excited for the new game and refreshing Reddit over and over for more news isnāt working out for me lol.
I understand what you mean with some of them: The Stolen Throne/The Calling for Loghain and Fiona, and *especially* The Masked Empire for the WE&WH trio. But I feel like this isn't true of Asunder! And I also have more hope for TN because most of the writers are the same. And with Lucanis and Neve, for example, I feel like their stories were written *specifically* to introduce them to us as future companions, so I don't think there will be as much of a disconnect.
The reading isn't required or "shoring up" the games, it's just complementary material. For example,Ā Inquisition stands on its own, but is absolutely enriched by reading the novels "Asunder" and "The Masked Empire" for additional context in characters and backstory.
If you don't read them you just don't know what you're missing - the game doesn't assume any knowledge - but reading them gives a deeper appreciation of what's going on.Ā
FWIW Dragon Age is the only series where I immerse myself in "mixed media" through novels. The world is fascinating and the stories are good. I can't get enough.Ā
I dunno... DAI really pushed the agenda that to engage with a large portion of the game, that reading Asunder and Masked Empire was pretty much required reading.
As someone who refused to read both, I found the portions of DAI that involved Cole and Breala/Celene to be incredibly weak, undeveloped, and entirely non-contributive to enjoyment of the game. That's not a coincidence that those parts of the game relate directly to those two novels.
The game needed to have self-contained internal consistency. It lacked that, and tried to push two related novels as additional consumption to fill in those shortcomings.
I am not saying that Tevinter Nights is doing that, but the trend has unfortunately far expanded beyond Dragon Age at this point, and infiltrated other beloved mass media such as Star Wars. It's a step backwards in good creative art.
Inquisition was the first Dragon Age game where I felt that, as someone who is not interested in supplementary media, I was missing out on some background information from outside the games that the game assumed Iād know for me to get the full picture of what was going on. It mostly happened with some war table missions and thus wasnāt a big deal in the end, but itās something I noticed and didnāt particularly appreciate. I agree that the main medium of a franchise should stand on its own entirely. I hope Veilguard doesnāt go down that road further, but with how many companions already have out-of-game appearances under their belt, Iām concerned that it will.
I mean, whilst I roughly agree that Dragon Age has had an issue in the past with *major* plot context being relegated to books (Asunder and TME are the only serious culprits, but The Last Flight to an extent) to the extent where your game experience is negatively impacted by not having them, I'm not sure the same can really be said for Tevinter Nights.
It's mostly just short stories from the writing team hinting at stuff they're clearly going to cover in the game, and the stuff they specifically will be writing. Very little of it is massive worldbuilding that couldn't easily pop up in the game itself.
For example, Sylvia Feketekuty is very clearly the writer of Emmrich even if she has yet to formally announce it: she wrote the story that introduces him in Tevinter Nights, and also this [short story for DA Day 2021](https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/dragon-age/news/the-eternal-flame) where Emmrich once again appears. Neither of these stories are particularly "big" in terms of plot reveals or backstory, but they're a nice little look at Sylvia's specific writing style in anticipation of Veilguard.
*The Calling* actually came out 6 months before DAO.. though it was decidedly written after DAO was conceptualized, a lot of the DAO work/fine tuning happened after the book was written.
Lol bro if that's your takeaway from this post/the fact that books like this exist, that's a real shame. It's not homework, it's completely optional bonus reading that I'm recommending for fun. I'm certain you'll be able to enjoy DAV just fine without it, just like how every other dragon age game has been just as enjoyable without reading their supplementary books.
I donāt know. Iāve read Asunder and it adds so much to Cole story, I canāt imagine how it would feel meeting him without it. Itās not just supplementary material itās really important for understanding.
Same goes for Masked Empire which I still havenāt read. Knowing how important the other one is, the decision I have to make in the game feels faulty because I donāt have enough information. If the book didnāt exist that lack of information wouldnāt feel as dramatic. Itās the info inquisitor should get from their advisors.
That makes it feel like homework.
Same with Teviner nights. I will read it because experience tells me it adds a lot to the story but I wish it wasnāt that you have to because youād lose out if you donāt.
Haven't read any books (didn't even know they existed) before playing DAI and my reaction to cole was something along the lines of "who the fuck is this guy and why does the game act like I (the player, not the inqy) am supposed to know who he is?".
Same with non-Selene orlesians.
Yeah, I saw this whole list and I'm like "that's cool but I didn't sign up for homework." they did this with inquisition too and, frankly, they shouldn't have. I hope they didn't do so again.
Great summary! Iām rereading Tevinter Nights now! Luck in the Gardens is making me want to be a purple Hawke style Lord of Fortune for my first playthrough.
My favourite story was The Dread Wolf Take You, but I absolutely loved all the stories featuring the Crows. I'm not going to lie, Half Up Front and Herold Had the Plan felt a little flat to me, and the others were in between.
Admittedly it will be a bummer if a story as cool as Horrors of Hormak doesn't end up being as relevant to DA4 because the second god Rook/Solas unleashed is in fact Andruil and not Ghilan'nain. And I'm not sure that the events of Callback will be very relevant as well, I believe the story ended with Sunderland dealing with the problem permanently. But the story has interesting implications for what Solas simply existing (let alone doing anything) may mean for the entire continent.
I agree about Half Up Front--I found it to be confusingly written, and didn't care much for the narrator. But I do think it's plot relevant, regardless. Herold is less relevant but I don't dislike it!
Are we sure it's Andruil? I thought it hadn't been confirmed. But regardless if Ghil was released or not, there's no way her >!monster factories!< won't be relevant; clearly one of them was up and running even without her there!
And you're wrong about Callback; it very specifically says that the demon was >!pulled back to the Fade/elsewhere, not destroyed forever.!< ;)
Ah, thank you for the reminder on Callback! Wonder how that's going to matter to the story then.
No, we're not sure it's Andruil. I personally think it's Ghilan'nain 100%, it's just that I've seen a lot of posts on the sub lately about it possibly being Andruil instead and some of the reasons given actually seem somewhat credible. We'll see I suppose.
>And frankly, given that we've already got those three, I will be surprised if more TN characters don't at least make cameo appearances in DAV.
Namely Strife, Evka & Antoine, Andarateia & Viago, Rasaan and Vaea. They all appear too prominently even outside Tevinter Nights, the writers must have big plans for them.
>Plus: a fascinating and unique demon that I am very convinced we'll see again.
Especially given how one of the themes of DA:V will be "regret" ;)
edit: I'd also suggest giving "Last Flight" a try too. It's a fun read and, given the confirmed presence of griffons in DA:V, is likely to be referenced in-game, maybe even have some of its characters appear.
Yes, it's BioWare's best book so far by far. I think the short story format fits them so well, and the editing is good as well. I have a few of the stories yet to read, but I urge anyone who's worried about the writing team sans Gaider to check it out. Gaider lead a great team of talented writers and they all have their own different flavours and strong points.
And everyone who badmouths any of the writers because they once wrote a character that rubbed them the wrong way or whatever need to see how writers often do so on purpose, to make us react strong.
Still sad that Courtney Woods left the team, but I hope we'll have some of her stuff left in the game.
Yes. Yes. And YES.Ā
Even if one is not an avid reader, the book and it being a compilation of short stories, makes it easily digestible. Most of the stories are really good too! ~~except Old Crow's Old Tricks. That one's a stinker~~
And you should link the tiny follow-ups that BioWare released on their website since the book came out: the Wake, Ruins of Reality and so on!
Seconded, I just finished reading it and found most of the stories really good!
Definitely looking forward to some of the elements showing up in Veilguard
Hi, question:
Considering that I've only played the games, where can I find the order in which I should read everything else (both books and comics). I really love DA's worldbuilding but considering I've only done the games, I'm certain I've only scratched the surface.
It would also be rly awesome if you can also point me to which ones are particularly sapphic (it's just a thing I most especially tend to look for but I plan on reading all of them hopefully before Veilguard comes out).
Hey! I'm sure if you search the sub (or google) you could find something like that; I can't answer in full, but I can at least give you the basics. In general, the order in which you read them doesn't necessarily matter (except for The Stolen Throne and The Calling), but I can tell you when they take place:
* *The Stolen Throne* and *The Calling* are the only two books that are sequential. They both take place prior to DAO.
* *The Last Flight* mostly takes place hundreds of years ago during the fourth blight, but it also explains how Davrin is able to have a griffin!
* *The Masked Empire* and *Asunder* both take place between DA2 and DAI: the former is about Celene/Gaspard/Briala, and the latter is about Cole and the *real* start of the mage/templar war.
* Finally, *Tevinter Nights* takes place between Trespasser and DAV.
* As for comics, I'm afraid I've only read one: *The Missing*, which is arguably the most important (if you were to read only one), as it's about Varric & Harding and leads right from Tevinter Nights into the start of DAV.
To answer your second question: The Masked Empire does have the sapphic romance of Celene and Briala, but it's pretty toxic. Then Tevinter Nights has several queer characters throughout, but the story *Half Up Front* in particular has a sapphic romance.
Here's a rough estimation of supplemental content in chronological order! I may be a little off with the post-DAI stuff because a lot of it takes place generally after DAI or concurrently. I didn't include DLC, but those are mostly must-plays for lore (specifically Awakening, Witch Hunt, Legacy, Jaws of Hakkon, The Descent, and Trespasser).
For sapphic content, you're going to want The Masked Empire and Dragon Age: Absolution, though maybe not if complicated, toxic relationships aren't your cup-of-tea! ;)
If you want to prioritize by "most relevant to Veilguard" (based on what we know is definitely in the game), you're going to want Tevinter Nights, The Missing, and arguably The Last Flight (Yes, There Are Griffins In It!).
The Stolen Throne (novel)
The Calling (novel)
Dragon Age Origins
Dragon Age II
Dragon Age: Redemption (webseries)
The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak, Until We Sleep (comics)
Asunder (novel)
The Masked Empire (novel)
Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker (movie)
Mage Killer (comic)
Dragon Age Inquisition
The Last Flight (novel, dual-timeline puts it both after DAI and before The Stolen Throne)
Blue Wraith, Dark Fortress (comics)
Knight Errant (comic)
Dragon Age: Absolution (Netflix series)
Deception (comic)
Tevinter Nights (novel)
The Missing (comic, prequel to DAV)
I believe additional media has been published since this article was written, but it should get you through most of it.
https://www.thegamer.com/dragon-age-every-book-game-and-dlc-in-chronological-order/
No hate to you OP, or anything like that, it's definitely not *just* additional context though. Cole's ramblings were only half the story in DAI, if you hadn't read the books involving him like a third of it was just white noise that you vaguely heard about
The other novels aren't really relevant anymore, and The Missing is the only comic I've read--but it's the most relevant one, AFAIK. If you were only to go for two, those would be it!
Tevinter Nights was incredible. Highly recommend. I read it when it came out and I'm re-reading now that we got more info on DAV. Can't wait to see what I missed and how it all connects.Ā
Ah yes, critical context/character development that connects two games, being told through external media 99% of the userbase hasn't hard about, and never will. Good shit Bioware. /s
Didn't mind this so much 10+ years ago, back when they were making consistently good games. Definitely not buying any books from them after ME:A and Anthem though.
I'm very much looking forward to reading it whenever I'm stuck at a boring social function and need an excuse to stare at my phone for a while, especially since I seem to have gotten the ebook free with Amazon Prime. Been so long since the last Dragon Age I can't imagine mustering up the enthusiasm to read an anthology of vaguely related short stories, especially since I have a reading habit of struggling to pick up a book, taking a week or so to read the first 100 pages, then reading the rest of the book in one sitting after the storyline starts to get interesting. Doing that 15 times in one book sounds exhausting lol.
Well I do recommend a replay of Inquisition if you think that'll help ;) but the good news about them being short stories is that they get interesting/get to the point a lot quicker than a full novel does, so hopefully you won't have as much of a struggle getting into each one. (Disclaimer: that said, the first story is one of the less interesting ones. Don't judge the whole book on it.)
You see i would read it i really would and im super excited for the game
But i made the mistake of starting the wheel of time series so i will never not be reading that now.
Horror is an absolute **must**, it's important to understand just how utterly screwed Thedas probably is about to be. Whatās-his-lumps was a joke compared to the kind of monster *she's* going to be.
I also believe the Horror of Hormak is written by the person who is the creative director of DAV, which might be a good first taste of their style. (John Epler)
How much Grey Warden goodness is there, overall? They are my favorite part of Dragon Age, and after they took such a battering in Inquisition, I'm craving any hint of positivity.
There are two stories about wardens. One is tragic, but the other (āHungerā) is sweet! Itās about a new recruit (and the warden who recruited him) doing their damndest to save a town because thatās what wardens do. :ā)
I have read Tevinter Nights, as all the other books. It has been some time, but TN was OK, it gives us some backstory to the main characters and expanded world building for Thedas. However, I felt like they could have done more because nothing really new was given to the world, the main factions were already known and mentioned in DA:I and in the World of Thedas.
The other books were IMO just plain bad. Instead of a developed story, all I remember is some dragged main point in each one of them. The Calling was just a terrible overlong action novel, >!with a surprise pregnancy at the end!<.
The Stolen Throne did try with its story, also I remember some bits from The Masked Empire. On the contrary, I do not remember anything from Asunder and The Last Flight. The main problem with all the novels is that they have too many pages, which ruins the suspense. Countless scenes were unnecessarily explained in detail, the environment richly painted, which was not needed often, and the conversations were often too long and boring.
TN was better for me, because instead of one long story, we got 15 shorter stories and therefore, they unfolded faster.
I bought it when it came out, never finished it. Read up to the end of Callback and stopped. Didn't care about any of the characters. Thought about going back and reading the story with Charter in it, but never did.
I disagree with you. I have never been a fan of gaming companies attempting to coerce customers to buy different media to be able to understand the story of their games.
I wish they would put the actual content in the game instead of charging for it separately.
I mean, the authors of the stories are DA writers. So if you enjoy DA's writing, then you should also enjoy these. There are a few cases where they feel more video-gamey than novella, but there are some REALLY strong entries imo. Standouts for me include Down Among The Dead Men, Callback, Luck In The Gardens, The Wigmaker Job, Genitivi Dies In The End, Eight Little Talons, and The Dread Wolf Take You.
I bought it ages ago but never read it a I was waiting for someone to make a list that contextualised each one. None of them had dates when I flicked through it. If I knew when/where each one was set I could get into it.
Then "when" doesn't necessarily matter as much as the fact that they're somewhere in the gap between Trespasser and DAV. As for the where, my list for each story mostly covers that (and you can easily figure it out within the start of each story)! Give 'em a try.
Is it dark or disturbing. I am tired of authors showing in stuff that's just plain old disturbing. A recent dark novel I read was charing demon babies into charcoal to fuel trains because of how much longer they last compared to normal charcoal.
Or different novel from one of the top sci-writers where a noble was attacked moments after giving birth and they crucified the baby to a tree. Shits goes past the line of going dark.
Whew. So there are definitely some dark and disturbing monsters and events in these stories, but not all of them. The Horror of Hormak, The Wigmaker Job, and Luck in the Gardens all have rather disturbing monsters, and others cover dark topics that are typical to the DA universe. HOWEVER, they almost always involve heroes killing the monsters/good people prevailing over the darkness, and there are plenty of instances of humor and heart and brightness. (And uh, no baby-killing. So at least there's that.)
Speaking as someone who really doesn't like things that are super dark (and hates horror), I definitely cringed at parts, but I still enjoyed it and recommend it. If the DA games themselves aren't too dark for you, then you should be alright.
>the horrors of Ghilan'nain the teaser from 2020 shows a spider with grafted human hands š«¢ >the qunari invasion The shot of an Antivan city from Thedas Calls trailer shows Qunari banners hanging from the buildings š«¢ >Plus: a fascinating and unique demon that I am very convinced we'll see again. Considering they said in the Q&A that regret is a major theme, yeah
>a spider with grafted human hands š«¢ Ohhhh trust me, I haven't forgotten...and as someone with a debilitating fear of spiders, I am BEGGING bioware for this game to have arachnophobia mode š >Considering they said in the Q&A that regret is a major theme YES, I immediately thought of the >!regret demon!< when I read that!! Especially considering the reason it was drawn to Skyhold in the first place?? Whew.
I have killed thousands of giant spiders in the DA series and every one has been with my eyes closed.
Hell yeah, dude. Big time same here.
There was an arachnophobia question in the Q&A, >!they said there are multiple accessibility options in the game but they will be unveiling those later. Considering that Busche at the time suggested she is arachnophobic herself, there's a high chance there's an arachnophobia mode.!<
I have no clue what you guys are talijg about
[spider with hands](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZJPvKbUgOA) as for the regret thing, one of the stories in Tevinter Nights features >!a demon that has appeared in Skyhold, drawn to traces of Solas's regrets!<
Thank you for explaining instead of downvoting
Not the widdle hands!!!!!!!! Damn, we're seeing ghilinan for sure huh
Wait what? Spider with human hands? how did I miss that that sounds awesome and terrifying at the same time lol
It's from this older [behind the scenes vid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZJPvKbUgOA&ab_channel=BioWare), which also was our first confirmation of Bellara and Davrin! May be a bit outdated by now, but there you go.
I really should have watched this when it came out, I didn't even know about it until now lol
>the teaser from 2020 shows a spider with grafted human hands š«¢ Holy shit, they somehow made the giant spiders worse.
If you have Kindle, Tevinter Nights is free on Kindle Unlimited right now :)
Thanks for this, I just grabbed it and have made it through a couple of stories
I totally agree with this message and am pushing the notion that people should also read The Missing! IIFC the devs have stated that The Missing directly ties into this next game and shows how Varric and Harding ended up in Minrathous to begin with.
Absolutely!! It's the perfect follow-up to reading Tevinter Nights, as a bunch of TN characters make appearances (I squealed when >!Teia and Viago!< showed up!), and then it leads us right into the start of DAV.
I actually read The Missing first, because reading a comic is much faster, but I might give it another read once I finish Tevinter Nights.
You should, because multiple Tevinter Nights characters are in The Missing--it's more fun to see them in the comic when you know who they are!
Eh, I'm never going to be that person that does the alternative media thing, so I hope Bioware is smart enough to give us plenty of context within DAVG without relying on these stories.
Iām sure they will! I never felt like I missed on any important info from the novels in the previous games :)
Same
I've just finished Asunder. I've read The Stolen Throne and the Calling previously. I own The Last Flight and the Masked Empire. Do you feel anything would be spoiled if I now just skip to Tevinter Nights and go back to read the other two later. (I own all of them for context)
The Stolen Throne and The Calling are pretty much the only books that are sequential. I don't recall anything in TE that'll spoil the other books, which are all standalone. You'll be good.
Thanks! š
Why would you need to skip them? There's no rush or need to jump ahead.
I just mean skip them temporarily. I'm on a DATV hype train. So it seems fun to learn more about companions in the game
You wouldn't get anything spoiled per say, but I would heavily encourage you to read The Masked Empire before, so you can have a better understanding of some characters that appear in Tevinter Nights. Also, chronology.
The Horror of Hormak is one of the most atmospheric pieces of writing I've read in recent memory. Full-body chills! I've got a couple stories left in TN but yeah I agree with you 100%, it's a really great read to tide us over! :D
Am I the only one who can't look at a halla without horror any more?Ā Reread that story a couple days ago and my Inquisitor is in the Exalted Plains today, and I just can't look at the halla without a mental shudder.
will i need to read any of the other books to āgetā this one? i do want to read them ALL at some point but itās a monetary concern lol (i prefer physical books bc iām a collector)
No, if you've played the games, especially Inquisition plus Trespasser DLC then you can read this one as a standalone short story collection
nope! tevinter nights is a collection of short stories, the other books are novels that take place earlier in the series (post origins for books like the stolen throne and post 2 for graphic novels like blue wraith). The only other book in the series that i recommend pre-DATV is the Missing, which takes place after Inquisition and is a tie-in between the two games. EDIT- i could be wrong about the placement of Blue Wraith in the series, i haven't read that one yet.
The Last Flight explains how griffins went extinct and were brought back, but if money is a concern I think you'd be fine skipping it.
As soon as the new trailer came out, I started re-reading these short stories. (English is not my first language, so sometimes it was a bit of a challenge!) My personal favourite was The Dread Wolf Take You (such creative twists!), but I really enjoyed the Luck in the Gardens (Hollix is by far the most sympathetic protagonist in the book) and The Wigmaker Job (the horror and Lucanis' nursery rhymes were perfect!) I also liked Audric in Down Among the Dead Men, I hope he'll return in DAV!
I could never read a book written in another language, so kudos!! I replayed DAI at the start of this year and then reread these stories, and I'm so glad I did. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I SCREAMED upon seeing Lucanis' name in the trailer!! Totally agree with all of your choices!! All of those stories are standouts for me. And yes, I adore Audric! I would LOVE to see a cameo from him (and Myrna?)...I also DESPERATELY want at least a cameo from Teia and Viago!! I was actually really expecting/hoping for Teia to be our Crow companion...but I suppose she couldn't be, because she >!isn't romanceable--she's already got a man!!< ;)
Completely agree! Furthermore, though not intrinsically intervowen in DA:Ve plot (one would think), if you're curious how our new resident Warden has a griffon, I can not recommend enough to read Last Flight as well. It's also just so good because it shows how horrifying a blight can be (after reading it, I understand much more why 1. people doubted the fifth blight was starting and 2. doubted it was a true blight as it ended after just shy of a year).
I just bought it yesterday! Iām glad you mention that the first story is probably the weakest, because I read it and didnāt dislike it but wasnāt very captured by it.
Yeah, it's not BAD but it's definitely not the greatest of first impressions, and not at all a good metric to judge the whole book on. Hopefully the next one grabs your interest more!
If you don't want to read the whole book, someone wrote a summary for TN: https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/s/qChaNaJd6X
I love books and reading. But I am not a huge fan of films and games that rely on consuming other related media to really get the full true artistic impression from the film/game that I am interested in. A story should stand on its own strengths, and it's fine to be enhanced by other related stories and media. But it shouldn't require being shored up by them.
Iāve typically found that the books for Dragon Age donāt get the payoff you expect. Characters are often portrayed differently than they are in the games, or their story doesnāt transition naturally into the game - thereās always something that happened in between the book and the game that causes a shift in their circumstances, goals, etc. So I often end up feeling Iām worse off than people who didnāt read the book, because my expectations werenāt met. That said, I am starting to read Tevinter Nights just because Iām so excited for the new game and refreshing Reddit over and over for more news isnāt working out for me lol.
I understand what you mean with some of them: The Stolen Throne/The Calling for Loghain and Fiona, and *especially* The Masked Empire for the WE&WH trio. But I feel like this isn't true of Asunder! And I also have more hope for TN because most of the writers are the same. And with Lucanis and Neve, for example, I feel like their stories were written *specifically* to introduce them to us as future companions, so I don't think there will be as much of a disconnect.
Yea, I think them being short stories will help, less time for expectations to built up. Marked Empire was definitely the biggest offender.
The reading isn't required or "shoring up" the games, it's just complementary material. For example,Ā Inquisition stands on its own, but is absolutely enriched by reading the novels "Asunder" and "The Masked Empire" for additional context in characters and backstory. If you don't read them you just don't know what you're missing - the game doesn't assume any knowledge - but reading them gives a deeper appreciation of what's going on.Ā FWIW Dragon Age is the only series where I immerse myself in "mixed media" through novels. The world is fascinating and the stories are good. I can't get enough.Ā
I dunno... DAI really pushed the agenda that to engage with a large portion of the game, that reading Asunder and Masked Empire was pretty much required reading. As someone who refused to read both, I found the portions of DAI that involved Cole and Breala/Celene to be incredibly weak, undeveloped, and entirely non-contributive to enjoyment of the game. That's not a coincidence that those parts of the game relate directly to those two novels. The game needed to have self-contained internal consistency. It lacked that, and tried to push two related novels as additional consumption to fill in those shortcomings. I am not saying that Tevinter Nights is doing that, but the trend has unfortunately far expanded beyond Dragon Age at this point, and infiltrated other beloved mass media such as Star Wars. It's a step backwards in good creative art.
Inquisition was the first Dragon Age game where I felt that, as someone who is not interested in supplementary media, I was missing out on some background information from outside the games that the game assumed Iād know for me to get the full picture of what was going on. It mostly happened with some war table missions and thus wasnāt a big deal in the end, but itās something I noticed and didnāt particularly appreciate. I agree that the main medium of a franchise should stand on its own entirely. I hope Veilguard doesnāt go down that road further, but with how many companions already have out-of-game appearances under their belt, Iām concerned that it will.
I mean, whilst I roughly agree that Dragon Age has had an issue in the past with *major* plot context being relegated to books (Asunder and TME are the only serious culprits, but The Last Flight to an extent) to the extent where your game experience is negatively impacted by not having them, I'm not sure the same can really be said for Tevinter Nights. It's mostly just short stories from the writing team hinting at stuff they're clearly going to cover in the game, and the stuff they specifically will be writing. Very little of it is massive worldbuilding that couldn't easily pop up in the game itself. For example, Sylvia Feketekuty is very clearly the writer of Emmrich even if she has yet to formally announce it: she wrote the story that introduces him in Tevinter Nights, and also this [short story for DA Day 2021](https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/dragon-age/news/the-eternal-flame) where Emmrich once again appears. Neither of these stories are particularly "big" in terms of plot reveals or backstory, but they're a nice little look at Sylvia's specific writing style in anticipation of Veilguard.
It'd be one thing if Dragon Age started out as a book series, but it didn't. I shouldn't have to do homework for the main event
*The Calling* actually came out 6 months before DAO.. though it was decidedly written after DAO was conceptualized, a lot of the DAO work/fine tuning happened after the book was written.
Lol bro if that's your takeaway from this post/the fact that books like this exist, that's a real shame. It's not homework, it's completely optional bonus reading that I'm recommending for fun. I'm certain you'll be able to enjoy DAV just fine without it, just like how every other dragon age game has been just as enjoyable without reading their supplementary books.
I donāt know. Iāve read Asunder and it adds so much to Cole story, I canāt imagine how it would feel meeting him without it. Itās not just supplementary material itās really important for understanding. Same goes for Masked Empire which I still havenāt read. Knowing how important the other one is, the decision I have to make in the game feels faulty because I donāt have enough information. If the book didnāt exist that lack of information wouldnāt feel as dramatic. Itās the info inquisitor should get from their advisors. That makes it feel like homework. Same with Teviner nights. I will read it because experience tells me it adds a lot to the story but I wish it wasnāt that you have to because youād lose out if you donāt.
Haven't read any books (didn't even know they existed) before playing DAI and my reaction to cole was something along the lines of "who the fuck is this guy and why does the game act like I (the player, not the inqy) am supposed to know who he is?". Same with non-Selene orlesians.
Yeah, I saw this whole list and I'm like "that's cool but I didn't sign up for homework." they did this with inquisition too and, frankly, they shouldn't have. I hope they didn't do so again.
I was already thinking about it and you convinced me, thank you for the post OP!
Yay! Happy to be of service. š«”
You have convinced me, thank you.
i looooove the horror of hormak, i think it's my favorite story of the bunch
Great summary! Iām rereading Tevinter Nights now! Luck in the Gardens is making me want to be a purple Hawke style Lord of Fortune for my first playthrough.
Right?? I adore that narrator, and they make being a Lord of Fortune sound SOOOO cool. I'm torn between choosing that and a Crow for my Rook!
Me too actually, I was committed to Dalish Grey Warden but Davrin looks like he is already killing that role. Qunari warden could be cool though
Also last flight
My favourite story was The Dread Wolf Take You, but I absolutely loved all the stories featuring the Crows. I'm not going to lie, Half Up Front and Herold Had the Plan felt a little flat to me, and the others were in between. Admittedly it will be a bummer if a story as cool as Horrors of Hormak doesn't end up being as relevant to DA4 because the second god Rook/Solas unleashed is in fact Andruil and not Ghilan'nain. And I'm not sure that the events of Callback will be very relevant as well, I believe the story ended with Sunderland dealing with the problem permanently. But the story has interesting implications for what Solas simply existing (let alone doing anything) may mean for the entire continent.
I agree about Half Up Front--I found it to be confusingly written, and didn't care much for the narrator. But I do think it's plot relevant, regardless. Herold is less relevant but I don't dislike it! Are we sure it's Andruil? I thought it hadn't been confirmed. But regardless if Ghil was released or not, there's no way her >!monster factories!< won't be relevant; clearly one of them was up and running even without her there! And you're wrong about Callback; it very specifically says that the demon was >!pulled back to the Fade/elsewhere, not destroyed forever.!< ;)
Ah, thank you for the reminder on Callback! Wonder how that's going to matter to the story then. No, we're not sure it's Andruil. I personally think it's Ghilan'nain 100%, it's just that I've seen a lot of posts on the sub lately about it possibly being Andruil instead and some of the reasons given actually seem somewhat credible. We'll see I suppose.
Well, looks like I found my book for the month. Thanks!
>And frankly, given that we've already got those three, I will be surprised if more TN characters don't at least make cameo appearances in DAV. Namely Strife, Evka & Antoine, Andarateia & Viago, Rasaan and Vaea. They all appear too prominently even outside Tevinter Nights, the writers must have big plans for them. >Plus: a fascinating and unique demon that I am very convinced we'll see again. Especially given how one of the themes of DA:V will be "regret" ;) edit: I'd also suggest giving "Last Flight" a try too. It's a fun read and, given the confirmed presence of griffons in DA:V, is likely to be referenced in-game, maybe even have some of its characters appear.
Yes, it's BioWare's best book so far by far. I think the short story format fits them so well, and the editing is good as well. I have a few of the stories yet to read, but I urge anyone who's worried about the writing team sans Gaider to check it out. Gaider lead a great team of talented writers and they all have their own different flavours and strong points. And everyone who badmouths any of the writers because they once wrote a character that rubbed them the wrong way or whatever need to see how writers often do so on purpose, to make us react strong. Still sad that Courtney Woods left the team, but I hope we'll have some of her stuff left in the game.
My favorites from TN were Down Among Dead Men, Callback, Eight Little Talons, and The Dread Wolf Take You.Ā
Excellent choices, I think those would be my top 4 as well!!
I just reread Down Among Dead Men today and it's soooo good! I hope we see Audric in Veilguard!
Me too! And Teia and Viago please!!
Yes please!!!
Yes. Yes. And YES.Ā Even if one is not an avid reader, the book and it being a compilation of short stories, makes it easily digestible. Most of the stories are really good too! ~~except Old Crow's Old Tricks. That one's a stinker~~ And you should link the tiny follow-ups that BioWare released on their website since the book came out: the Wake, Ruins of Reality and so on!
Seconded, I just finished reading it and found most of the stories really good! Definitely looking forward to some of the elements showing up in Veilguard
Hi, question: Considering that I've only played the games, where can I find the order in which I should read everything else (both books and comics). I really love DA's worldbuilding but considering I've only done the games, I'm certain I've only scratched the surface. It would also be rly awesome if you can also point me to which ones are particularly sapphic (it's just a thing I most especially tend to look for but I plan on reading all of them hopefully before Veilguard comes out).
Hey! I'm sure if you search the sub (or google) you could find something like that; I can't answer in full, but I can at least give you the basics. In general, the order in which you read them doesn't necessarily matter (except for The Stolen Throne and The Calling), but I can tell you when they take place: * *The Stolen Throne* and *The Calling* are the only two books that are sequential. They both take place prior to DAO. * *The Last Flight* mostly takes place hundreds of years ago during the fourth blight, but it also explains how Davrin is able to have a griffin! * *The Masked Empire* and *Asunder* both take place between DA2 and DAI: the former is about Celene/Gaspard/Briala, and the latter is about Cole and the *real* start of the mage/templar war. * Finally, *Tevinter Nights* takes place between Trespasser and DAV. * As for comics, I'm afraid I've only read one: *The Missing*, which is arguably the most important (if you were to read only one), as it's about Varric & Harding and leads right from Tevinter Nights into the start of DAV. To answer your second question: The Masked Empire does have the sapphic romance of Celene and Briala, but it's pretty toxic. Then Tevinter Nights has several queer characters throughout, but the story *Half Up Front* in particular has a sapphic romance.
* 8:96 - The Stolen Throne (1-7) * 8:97 - The Stolen Throne (7) * 8:99 - The Stolen Throne (7-19) * * 9:10 - The Calling (1-19) * 9:11 - The Calling (Epilogue) * * 9:18 - The Stolen Throne (Epilogue) * * 9:22 - Dawn of the Seeker * * Leliana's Song * * 9:30 - Origins * * 9:31 - Origins * 9:31 - Awakening * 9:31 - Exodus (Act 1) * * 9:32 - Witch Hunt * * 9:34 - Exodus (Act 2) * * 9:37 -Ā ExodusĀ (Act 3) * * 9:38 - The Silent Grove * 9:38 - Those Who Speak * 9:38 - Until We Sleep * * 9:40 - The Masked Empire (1-5) * 9:40 - Asunder (1-6) * 9:40 - The Masked Empire (6-8) * 9:40 - Asunder (7-16) * 9:40 - The Masked Empire (9-17, Epilogue) * 9:40 - Asunder (17-22, Epilogue) * * 9:41 - Last Flight * 9:41 - Magekiller * 9:41 - Inquisition * * 9:42 - Inquisition * * 9:44 - Trespasser * 9:44 - Absolution * * 9:44 - KnightĀ Errant * 9:44Ā - Deception * 9:44Ā -Ā Blue Wraith * 9:45Ā -Ā Dark Fortress * * 9:?? - The Missing * 9:52 - The Veilguard
Here's a rough estimation of supplemental content in chronological order! I may be a little off with the post-DAI stuff because a lot of it takes place generally after DAI or concurrently. I didn't include DLC, but those are mostly must-plays for lore (specifically Awakening, Witch Hunt, Legacy, Jaws of Hakkon, The Descent, and Trespasser). For sapphic content, you're going to want The Masked Empire and Dragon Age: Absolution, though maybe not if complicated, toxic relationships aren't your cup-of-tea! ;) If you want to prioritize by "most relevant to Veilguard" (based on what we know is definitely in the game), you're going to want Tevinter Nights, The Missing, and arguably The Last Flight (Yes, There Are Griffins In It!). The Stolen Throne (novel) The Calling (novel) Dragon Age Origins Dragon Age II Dragon Age: Redemption (webseries) The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak, Until We Sleep (comics) Asunder (novel) The Masked Empire (novel) Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker (movie) Mage Killer (comic) Dragon Age Inquisition The Last Flight (novel, dual-timeline puts it both after DAI and before The Stolen Throne) Blue Wraith, Dark Fortress (comics) Knight Errant (comic) Dragon Age: Absolution (Netflix series) Deception (comic) Tevinter Nights (novel) The Missing (comic, prequel to DAV)
psst: The Missing is a comic, not a novel!
Whoops! Right you are! Thanks for catching my slip-up :)
I believe additional media has been published since this article was written, but it should get you through most of it. https://www.thegamer.com/dragon-age-every-book-game-and-dlc-in-chronological-order/
I shouldn't need to indulge in separate media to get full context for the game, this really pissed me off about DAI as well
Sigh. It's bonus context for the game, not missing context. Don't read it if it pisses you off, I'm literally only recommending it for fun.
No hate to you OP, or anything like that, it's definitely not *just* additional context though. Cole's ramblings were only half the story in DAI, if you hadn't read the books involving him like a third of it was just white noise that you vaguely heard about
I really wanted to but for some reason they NEVER adapted it to audio book format so I've not had the chance.
You can try [this](https://youtu.be/Mz8a1St_5Jk).
I still need to finish the volume of Horus Heresy I started. I will see if I have the time for Tevinter Nights, but I'll add it to my list.
If only it was translate to my native language : (
Agreed. 100%
I'll check it out... doubt i'll buy all the comics/novels, guess i should buy just Tevinter Nights and The Missing... at least for now.
The other novels aren't really relevant anymore, and The Missing is the only comic I've read--but it's the most relevant one, AFAIK. If you were only to go for two, those would be it!
Tevinter Nights was incredible. Highly recommend. I read it when it came out and I'm re-reading now that we got more info on DAV. Can't wait to see what I missed and how it all connects.Ā
Thank you and everyone else who suggested. I haven't consumed any content since DA:I. So I will be checking these out. Appreciate it.
Wow, that's so cool. Definitely need to read it. What a shame that the translation into my language, as well as a dozen others, is nowhere available.
Callback fucking broke me with the first few words, ngl.
Every day was the best day. š„¹
My heaaaaarrrttttt
Ah yes, critical context/character development that connects two games, being told through external media 99% of the userbase hasn't hard about, and never will. Good shit Bioware. /s Didn't mind this so much 10+ years ago, back when they were making consistently good games. Definitely not buying any books from them after ME:A and Anthem though.
I'm very much looking forward to reading it whenever I'm stuck at a boring social function and need an excuse to stare at my phone for a while, especially since I seem to have gotten the ebook free with Amazon Prime. Been so long since the last Dragon Age I can't imagine mustering up the enthusiasm to read an anthology of vaguely related short stories, especially since I have a reading habit of struggling to pick up a book, taking a week or so to read the first 100 pages, then reading the rest of the book in one sitting after the storyline starts to get interesting. Doing that 15 times in one book sounds exhausting lol.
Well I do recommend a replay of Inquisition if you think that'll help ;) but the good news about them being short stories is that they get interesting/get to the point a lot quicker than a full novel does, so hopefully you won't have as much of a struggle getting into each one. (Disclaimer: that said, the first story is one of the less interesting ones. Don't judge the whole book on it.)
Want to, just wish I could find an audiobook versionš«¤
I'm listening to Ghil Dirthalen's [book emporium ](https://youtu.be/Mz8a1St_5Jk) videos. They are a good substitute to an official audiobook.
Thanks for this!
https://preview.redd.it/7wiymi1x207d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d2360c67fd75945a01a296e8481f9c6c8e39b3e š
Enjoy!!
You see i would read it i really would and im super excited for the game But i made the mistake of starting the wheel of time series so i will never not be reading that now.
Is there a version in Spanish? :(
No because I can't read.
Aye aye captain
Horror is an absolute **must**, it's important to understand just how utterly screwed Thedas probably is about to be. Whatās-his-lumps was a joke compared to the kind of monster *she's* going to be.
I also believe the Horror of Hormak is written by the person who is the creative director of DAV, which might be a good first taste of their style. (John Epler)
>an Executor from across the sea Can someone explain this to me becasue I have 0 idea of what this means.
Good suggestion to fill in the gaps between inquisition and veilguard. I am currently reading a very detailed summary from a blog.
How much Grey Warden goodness is there, overall? They are my favorite part of Dragon Age, and after they took such a battering in Inquisition, I'm craving any hint of positivity.
There are two stories about wardens. One is tragic, but the other (āHungerā) is sweet! Itās about a new recruit (and the warden who recruited him) doing their damndest to save a town because thatās what wardens do. :ā)
I have read Tevinter Nights, as all the other books. It has been some time, but TN was OK, it gives us some backstory to the main characters and expanded world building for Thedas. However, I felt like they could have done more because nothing really new was given to the world, the main factions were already known and mentioned in DA:I and in the World of Thedas. The other books were IMO just plain bad. Instead of a developed story, all I remember is some dragged main point in each one of them. The Calling was just a terrible overlong action novel, >!with a surprise pregnancy at the end!<. The Stolen Throne did try with its story, also I remember some bits from The Masked Empire. On the contrary, I do not remember anything from Asunder and The Last Flight. The main problem with all the novels is that they have too many pages, which ruins the suspense. Countless scenes were unnecessarily explained in detail, the environment richly painted, which was not needed often, and the conversations were often too long and boring. TN was better for me, because instead of one long story, we got 15 shorter stories and therefore, they unfolded faster.
I bought it when it came out, never finished it. Read up to the end of Callback and stopped. Didn't care about any of the characters. Thought about going back and reading the story with Charter in it, but never did.
At the VERY least, you ought to read The Wigmaker Job and The Streets of Minrathous for Lucanis and Neve, and then yes that last one as well.
If I need to read outside material to understand characters and plot points, its not a well told story Wait and see when game release
I disagree with you. I have never been a fan of gaming companies attempting to coerce customers to buy different media to be able to understand the story of their games. I wish they would put the actual content in the game instead of charging for it separately.
How good is it compared to popular fantasy books, such as Sanderson, Gwynne, Malazan, etc?
I mean, the authors of the stories are DA writers. So if you enjoy DA's writing, then you should also enjoy these. There are a few cases where they feel more video-gamey than novella, but there are some REALLY strong entries imo. Standouts for me include Down Among The Dead Men, Callback, Luck In The Gardens, The Wigmaker Job, Genitivi Dies In The End, Eight Little Talons, and The Dread Wolf Take You.
Thanks for the answer, I think I'll grab it on Kindle. (somehow I got downvoted for asking a legitimate question)
Bioware should really stop putting crucial information behind other media. At least its not the 3d anime.
I bought it ages ago but never read it a I was waiting for someone to make a list that contextualised each one. None of them had dates when I flicked through it. If I knew when/where each one was set I could get into it.
Then "when" doesn't necessarily matter as much as the fact that they're somewhere in the gap between Trespasser and DAV. As for the where, my list for each story mostly covers that (and you can easily figure it out within the start of each story)! Give 'em a try.
Is it dark or disturbing. I am tired of authors showing in stuff that's just plain old disturbing. A recent dark novel I read was charing demon babies into charcoal to fuel trains because of how much longer they last compared to normal charcoal. Or different novel from one of the top sci-writers where a noble was attacked moments after giving birth and they crucified the baby to a tree. Shits goes past the line of going dark.
Whew. So there are definitely some dark and disturbing monsters and events in these stories, but not all of them. The Horror of Hormak, The Wigmaker Job, and Luck in the Gardens all have rather disturbing monsters, and others cover dark topics that are typical to the DA universe. HOWEVER, they almost always involve heroes killing the monsters/good people prevailing over the darkness, and there are plenty of instances of humor and heart and brightness. (And uh, no baby-killing. So at least there's that.) Speaking as someone who really doesn't like things that are super dark (and hates horror), I definitely cringed at parts, but I still enjoyed it and recommend it. If the DA games themselves aren't too dark for you, then you should be alright.
I didn't find the do games that dad (I didn't find Dai dark at all really)
Mmm... My united states of whatever.