Empress Celene of Orlais has ascended to the highest position in Thedas, but even the Empress is not immune to plots and intrigue. Determined to either marry her or make his own move for the throne, Grand Duke Gaspard initially attempts the former, but when his advances are rebuffed, he becomes aggressive. Within the kingdom, there is civil war threatened between the Mages and the Templers and the city elves in Halamshiral rise in open revolt. Determined to assert her regal authority, Celene rides to scupper the revolt, but in doing so she removes herself from many of her men-at-arms, leaving her vulnerable to Gaspard...

Dragon Age: The Masked Empire (376 Pages) is a new novel, set in the Dragon Age world, penned by Patrick Weekes, who normally writes stories for Bioware, including contributions to the Mass Effect series.

Given who the author is, it’s a bet that the book will form part of the accepted history of the Orlesian’s. Many of the location from the game are revisited, including The Palace, the university and Halamshiral. Likewise, the story is woven through with characters from the game.

It’s always restricting when writing a new novel based on an ongoing series in another genre. For a start the original writers are unlikely to let you kill off a major character, so it’s not too hard to work out who is going to survive, although Masked Empire shows you can at least successfully threaten them.

If you’re looking for a tale full of massive battles, you’re likely to be disappointed, the story mostly concentrates on the power struggle between Celene and Gaspard, who is not alone in thinking that she is little more than a weak leader. When combat does take place it is usually of the close quarters type.

Weekes takes few sides detailing each case and in truth, whilst you might start by supporting Celene, the skeletons in her closet and her actions may give you pause. The subplot in the book concerns Briala, Celene’s elven assassin and lover and it is their relationship which does more than anything else to determine the outcome of the story.

Although written with a specific audience in mind, Weekes has turned in a good tale, for all of its limitations, being based on an on-going computer game.

7

Charles Packer