614 réponses à ce sujet

[JeffZero]

I'm all for avoiding vitriol, yeah, and I'm all for suggestions as to how. The Lobby is probably a good idea! Thanks.

[JeffZero]

I've finished The Silent Grove and the first issue of Those Who Speak. Got two more of them and then the three issues of the finale, Until We Sleep, to go.

Gonna do another write-up on this 12-part series when I'm done for those who have had the chance to enjoy them. I'm not much of a comic guy but I've been having fun here.

[Kidd]

I enjoyed the comics for sure. Though I feel there's a few thrown-in fights, as if it was against comic book law to have an issue without violent conflict. Kinda hurts the storytelling at times since it forces the plot to come in the form of huge blurbs á plot dump.

[JeffZero]

Still haven't had a chance to sit down and finish these off yet, but I will soon.

Kidd, yeah, I agree with you. And really that's what pulls me away from most of my (admittedly paltry) attempts at getting into comics in general.

Watchmen is aces though.

[TheLittleBird]

I finished Asunder a mere ten minutes ago, and thought Yay! I get to read Jeff's thoughts on it in full detail.

And here's mine.

 

Spoiler

Wow. Could not agree more. I was nodding the entire time I read you in-depth impression on the book.
My favourite character was Cole, by far, followed by... Evangeline, I think. I just have this thing for Templars. Don't judge me, please. 

 

Strangely enough, this novel really made me see some previous DA-characters in another light: Wynne, for instance, was more amazing than ever, even showing a little of her dark side, though I wonder what that red staff is she apparently got from the Hero of Ferelden. Certainly never saw such a thing happening in Origins, teehee.

But another character, more surprisingly, to me: Shale. I must admit I never liked Shale, and almost never took this statue-but-oh-my-Maker-it's-alive! with me within the first game. Shale always remained at camp, complaining about everything and everyone and I was almost tempted to send Crystal-Shoulders away. But now, I actually like her. Good job, Asunder.

And one last character that Asunder made me think a little differently about: Anders. This happened via both Adrian and Rhys, of course. Wow, how I hate him all the more now for his actions in Kirkwall, though that may have something to do with that ultimately and very indirectly killing Wynne.

 

Compliments to Gaider for describing the rising tension between mages and Templars/Seekers very well, by the way. I thought was, if not the most, one of the strongest parts of the book. Also, I loved all the little nods to Origins, my favourites being during the tavern scene in the first half of the story.

Oh, and by the way, I have a strong feeling we'll be visiting Andoral's Reach in Inquisition. I really want to pay my respects to Wynne, d*mnit.

 

And so, the wait for The Masked Empire begins. I can't wait to see all the chaos in Orlais unfold from the Empress's side of the spectrum. 

 

P.S. Thanks Jeff, for making me put I'm Not Calling You A Liar on repeat again.

[JeffZero]

That was a great read, TLB! Shoot, I'm glad I randomly checked up on my thread tonight. Wasn't planning on doing so until I sat down with the remaining comics this coming weekend. Would have felt even worse about taking a long time to acknowledge your contribution.

I'm going to follow your spoiler-y stuff with a nice little spoiler-y reply next time I'm at a PC. But I'm happy you enjoyed it too! Great picks on favorite characters and moments and new perspectives, IMO!

And yes, keep listening to that dank song, yo!

[TheLittleBird]

Thanks, appreciate you reading it! Ooh, I look forward to reading your thoughts on the comics - even though I have yet to read them myself. Yeah, I know. Derp.

 

Also, are you going to watch Dawn of the Seeker as well? I just did, and would love to know what you think of it! I... must admit did not like it that much.

[JeffZero]

Heh, yay! Yeah, I'm going to wrap up the comics tomorrow afternoon and then count the days until The Masked Empire, basically. (Well that's sort of untrue: I'm moreover counting the days until Game of Thrones is back on TV. But yeah. The week of April 6th will be intense.)

 

I keep hearing that re: Dawn of the Seeker. But I'll give it a whirl. I have pretty low expectations there; I saw the Mass Effect/Funimation project, Paragon Lost, and was thoroughly underwhelmed. Maybe I'll end up liking it more than I anticipate.

[JeffZero]

So I'm glad there isn't a swarm of interest in my thoughts on the comics because my coursework has really picked up steam this past two weekends and I still haven't had a chance to sit down and read the rest! Which is a shame on a personal level because I'm really looking forward to seeing how pirates handle qunari, but alas, gonna have to wait a few more days.

 

Talk about ace timing, though. If this had happened whilst I was mid-DA2 there'd be lots of sad!

 

Just gotta finish in the next nine days. If I'm not caught up in time for "The Masked Empire" I'll be most miffed with my professors.

[TheLittleBird]

Well, I haven't been on this thread in a long time.

 

So, Jeff, what did you think of the comics? And did you read The Masked Empire ?

[JeffZero]

Ha! I almost forgot about all that! Let me get back to you on that tomorrow as time is limited today. I came here to post a link to this topic to someone and to my surprise I discovered a new reply!

 

Yes, I did read it, and it was very good! 

[JeffZero]

"Tomorrow" became a few days later, but I'm here!

 

Spoilers for the comics and The Masked Empire!

 

The comics were pretty good. I'm not much of a comic-reader; it took lots of free time and coffee at a local bookstore to get me through Watchman at several friends' urging, and I really, really liked that story once I finally got heavily invested in it, but I'm just a big, lumbering stranger to the comic-reading scene. It feels odd. Even back when I was checking out some anime for the first time, as a teenager, I had people telling me, "the manga's better, the manga's better. Dude, just read the manga." And I could just never do it. I made it through one manga -- the "real" third arc to Rurouni Kenshin -- and it was difficult, but satisfying.

 

Well I told you all that to tell you this: I paused for a few weeks after the first four issues of the Dragon Age comics. I finally kicked myself down into a seat and got through the rest of them, and I'm glad I did. I like how they're split into perspectives; it really gives the three characters time to shine. Alistair had a really solid arc, as he learned to embrace the crown more, although I confess the alien nature of reading panel-to-panel confused me here and there when he was facing the witch and whatnot. Eventually I got it. Isabela's and Varric's thoughts were treasures to read. Lots of fun intrigue too. It was great seeing Sten, of course. Like Asunder's Wynne and Shale the comics gave me a warm feeling of catching up and witnessing new plot turns in the Origins characters' lives. And seeing where the call of adventure had claimed Varric and Isabela was nifty. The main trio's interactions were a real highlight. 

 

It was also, of course, great to see more of Maric, although man, what a harsh fate. I felt a nice sense of completion when that was resolved.

 

The Masked Empire was great. Patrick Weekes really does shine at dialogue, and I'm delighted that he's aboard the Dragon Age team now. I just hope the new-ish Mass Effect team gets him to write some stuff afterward too. He's always been phenomenal with that series. I was a particularly big fan of Briala as a character and Gaspard as a quote machine. Weekes did a very good job of gradually shifting my opinion of the Empress, all-the-while allowing for those who felt more compelled to agree with her politically to do so as well. That's the mark of greatness with these twisty, turn-y sorts of stories. 

 

By book's end, pieces were in place all across Orlais that have left me intrigued. I trust the writing team to do a solid introduction to all these arcs-in-the-air for the many, many Dragon Age fans who are not as into the franchise as we are (aw, it feels so good saying that about myself, considering it was just this past January I started the games!) and I trust that those fans will be moved by the complexity of the sociopolitical aspects of Inquisition.

 

I can't say I enjoyed The Masked Empire quite as much as Asunder, but that's no sleight by any means. Asunder really impressed me.

[TheLittleBird]

The Masked Empire was great. Patrick Weekes really does shine at dialogue, and I'm delighted that he's aboard the Dragon Age team now. I just hope the new-ish Mass Effect team gets him to write some stuff afterward too. He's always been phenomenal with that series. I was a particularly big fan of Briala as a character and Gaspard as a quote machine. Weekes did a very good job of gradually shifting my opinion of the Empress, all-the-while allowing for those who felt more compelled to agree with her politically to do so as well. That's the mark of greatness with these twisty, turn-y sorts of stories. 

 

By book's end, pieces were in place all across Orlais that have left me intrigued. I trust the writing team to do a solid introduction to all these arcs-in-the-air for the many, many Dragon Age fans who are not as into the franchise as we are (aw, it feels so good saying that about myself, considering it was just this past January I started the games!) and I trust that those fans will be moved by the complexity of the sociopolitical aspects of Inquisition.

 

I can't say I enjoyed The Masked Empire quite as much as Asunder, but that's no sleight by any means. Asunder really impressed me.

 

That's how I feel as well: I mean, I'm one of those that still agree with Celene politically, and while the story certainly allowed for that it became increasingly harder to do so.

The entire third Act of the book was just a rollercoaster of... I don't want to say "perfection", but that's what it comes close to. For me this book beat Asunder , though nothing can ever beat the role of Cole in the latter.

And I love political intrigue, so that may have an influence on my preference. Actually, now that I think about, I loved each of the book's three acts equally. I mean, starting off with Val Royeaux... as I mentioned, I love political intrigue so this was a blast to read. Then Halamshiral... I love seeing conflict like this so again, great to read. And the third act, which I felt moved a bit more into Asunder -territory, was, like I said, amazing. Especially the ending with Gaspard and Celene's... personal, verbal, even allied version of their civil war. Allied version... does that even make sense to you?

 

What I mean is that we saw Gaspard and Celene working together here, but even then their conflict was showing. Especially during those few battles they had together, in which you could feel neither party was fully trusting of the other.

And while this book ended on a great note, I've got so many theories for Inquisition now. My mind can't even begin to comprehend them all.

[Xilizhra]

I want to take an axe to TME's plot for creating YET ANOTHER lesbian relationship that ended in betrayal, in the DA series.

[Ozzy]

I read through Masked Empire in one sitting, haha. 

 

Pretty good! I enjoyed it for the most part. The main characters were pretty well fleshed out although essentially everyone was an asshat. It was a nice quick read although the Dalish section could have done with a bit more substance. 

 

It hyped me up for Inquisition though, so it did what it was supposed to.