Mass Effect: Retribution

A new kind of politically correct nonsense

In his books Mr. Karpyshyn creates a new kind of PC drivel. Anti-alien racism.
I read to escape nonsense such as trite PC BS.
He tries very hard to make Cerberus out to be bad people but, I am rooting for them the entire time. The "hero" characters spout off about how Cerberus is evil, without ever saying why, or what they do specifically that makes them bad.
The "hero" characters are two dimensional and cliched. They are utterly predictable, and ironically very hateful.
The "bad" guys (Cerberus) conversely are very deep and well thought out characters, with real personalities. The Illusive man is positively awesome. Kai Leng is also a deep and intriguing character.
There is also a very large disconnect from the Cerberus of the video game to the Cerberus of the novellas. In the game Cerberus is simply another organization among thousands in the galaxy with its own enigmatic agenda. The only people in the game that react strongly in a negative manner to Cerberus are humans. Aliens aren't bothered. Cerberus in the games are depicted (correctly) as the only people willing to do anything to help the abducted colonists and stop the reapers. That is noble and by stopping the reapers they are saving aliens as well.
In the novellas We are simply supposed to accept that they are evil because they just are and that's that.
Sorry Drew, Cerberus is awesome and they are the real "good guys".

2 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

What will happen in ME3?

This book is a great holdover until the third game comes out. While Kahlee and Captain Anderson are alright protagonists, there is so much more to Aria, Kai Leng, and of course the Illusive Man. Not that i was hoping the bad guys would win or anything, but this book just makes Shepard more of a bad ass in how he handles his advesaries.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I just finished reading it; has to be the best book I've read up

I just finished reading it; has to be the best book I've read up to now. Without noticing until I finished, I read it in under 48 hours, and never in a rush, I just ceased doing other things to read it.

Whether you have played the game(s) or not is irrelevant, however, having played Mass Effect through Mass Effect 3 helps a lot in giving you tons of context. This story is a side-tale of what happened between Anderson, Sanders and (whether you believe it or not) Kai Leng. There are references to Shepard, but none to the decisions made in the game(s).

I highly recommend it to any Mass Effect fans, it gives you tons of historical context for the game(s).

Highly recommended

I want MORE.There should be more books in this series.

While I am a huge fan of mass effect, i never did read much of t

While I am a huge fan of mass effect, i never did read much of the novels. The most revent entry was my first foray, and i couldnt read it. In the Codex of the game, namely Mass Effect 2, the main storylines and consequences can be discovered and inferred. In ME1, cerberus was a small variant in the game. In ME2 they are a critical role in the games consequence engine, and even more so in Mass Effect 3. I write this because the previous entry, written by CoolBreezeAE is 100% based in his own view of the universe and its lore. Stating that Cerberus is a non entity with no impact and causes no reaction by the alien species in the world of mass effect is an uninformed comment.. Written in 2010, ME2 was indeed out, the Illusive Man was a character and in the very Prologue mission Shephard affiliation with them is met with suspicion and aggression by a character of long standing from ME1. So to assume they are the "good guys" and say this book is "PC BS drivel" is uninformed and false...You should read this book, before completing ME3 as it is the genesis of the Illusive Mans improvement on his failed attempt to turn Shephard to his human dominant goals, with pet reapers to enforce. This story is the beginning of Kai Leng, the "anti Shephard"

Great

This story carries over into mass effect three and is greatly written. Worth the read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

worth the read

entertaining even with the standard 'the bad guys have awesome powers no one else has' scenario. Not a prizze winning story but worth the money.

Quite enjoyable

This book won't change your life or anything, but if you're in need of a quick fix of some prime Mass Effect lore before the third entry comes out later this year, this is the book (assuming you've read the first two novels).

good read

Very enjoyable part of the series. You won't be blown away but if you like the games, and the bioware introduced.to us you will be entertained. also a bit darjer than the other two.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great part of the mass effect book series.

Drew has wrote another great Mass Effect book (this marking the 3rd book.) Dealing not with Shepperd but instead with Anderson and the various characters introduced in the earlier novels and their dealings with Cerberus this book makes a fun read, that helps flesh out the Mass Effect universe and Cerberus more w/o infringing on the game series in any way.

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