John Cook
January 9, 2008

Mass Effect: Revelation is the prequel to the award winning XBOX 360 video game from Bioware. It was written by Drew Karpyshyn, leader writer for the Mass Effect video game.

In the year 2148, ancient alien technology was discovered on Mars confirming humanity’s suspicion that they were not alone in the universe. One year later, a research team discovered an enormous piece of technology orbiting Pluto. A Mass Relay. This new technology allowed humanity to travel throughout the galaxy, brining them in contact with a host of alien races. The novel takes place in the year 2157, nine years after the discovery of the ruins on Mars and twenty-six years before the events of the video game.

The novel chronicles the Alliance war hero David Anderson and his investigation into the attack on a top-secret military research station. It is up to Lieutenant Anderson to uncover who was behind the attack and for what purpose. To further complicate matters, Kahlee Sanders, a young military scientist disappeared from the base hours before her colleagues were slaughtered.

Drew Karpyshyn does an excellent job of transporting the reader 150 years into the future. He explores issues such as religion and politics and how the sudden revelation that humanity was not alone required a rethinking of how humanity saw itself and it’s relation to the universe.

The novel is fast paced and whips the reader across the galaxy a dizzying speed. Thankfully, Karpyshyn makes an effort to adequately explain the different planets, aliens and their unique customs. The story is told from a human perspective so we are rarely given an alien point of view. But this is a story about humanity and it’s efforts to make an impact on the galactic community.

Towards the end of the novel, several chapters focus on the human ambassador Goyle, humanity’s public face. Through her vantage point, the reader gains access into the inner-workings of galactic politics and how the Citadel Council attempts to maintain law and order on a galactic scale.

This novel is a must read for fans of Mass Effect. It introduces several characters and plot elements that recur in the video game. I recommend reading Mass Effect: Revelation and then playing (or re-playing) Mass Effect on the XBOX 360. You will come away from the experience with a deeper understanding of the characters, their motivations and the universe they inhabit.

I would also recommend this novel to fans of the science fiction genre in general. The Mass Effect franchise would not exist without the classic science fiction novels and movie of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. A universe full of English-speaking aliens is not a new concept, but Mass Effect manages to breathe life and originality into this well used template.

Be forewarned: the novel ends on cliffhanger so if you want the whole story, you are going to have to play the game.