Comic Review: Dragon Age: Until We Sleep by David Gaider

Dragon Age Volume 3: Until We Sleep by David Gaider

In the final volume of the trilogy, Dragon Age 's King Alistair Theirin continues the search for his father Maric, accompanied by the pirate queen Isabela and the storytelling dwarf merchant, Varric. They are aided by the Tevinter mage, Maevaris, as they track down the evil Titus who has captured Maric for the dragon's blood that runs within the Theirin veins.

I love this story. I hate this story.

There are so many secrets revealed, ideas introduced and of course the presence of some of my beloved characters from Dragon Age:Origins and Dragon Age II. But even with the combined twelve issues, including Dragon Age: The Silent Grove and Dragon Age Volume 2: Those Who Speak , there was simply not enough room to fit everything in. In other words, despite the excellent artwork, I really wish this had been written as a novel instead.

Gaider does such a fabulous job with character development in his novels but, while the characters here had some powerful moments, I felt that the page limitation of the comic book format didn't allow the writing to go far enough with them. Moreover, the time that was spent with them seemed to cut into the plotting, causing the adventure to skim along like point form notes. I was disappointed with how abruptly certain elements, such as Yavana, the witch of the wilds, and the Qunari, were handled.

I wanted more, dammit!

Yet, I am reasonably content with what I learned from the series and appreciate that the conclusion brought closure to the mystery of Maric's disappearance and his promise to Flemeth. It also gave some interesting insight into Isabela, the character some would write off as merely a sex-crazed thief, and answered a question about Varric and his beloved Bianca thanks to a trip into the glorious Fade.

And even though I'm claiming disappointment with the format, there was still enough here for my imagination to set to work on my headcanon. And damn Gaider and his bittersweet endings. I'll just be quietly sobbing in the corner while I wait for Dragon Age: Inquisition.

3.5 of 5 stars

Dragon Age: Those Who Speak by David Gaider

Dragon Age: Those Who Speak by David Gaider


The Silent Grove re-opened a few issues raised in Dragon Age: Origins and the prequel book, The Stolen Throne, and added a few new ingredients. I was worried that Those Who Speak would fail to deliver an appropriate conclusion to all of that in a mere three issues – and I was right. Fortunately, Those Who Speak is not a conclusion, but rather an interlude where King Alistair and his companions, the pirate queen, Isabela, and the dwarven businessman, Varric Tethras, gain a new old ally and, more importantly, we get a further peek inside Isabela.

From book two onward, this is clearly Isabela’s story. Alistair’s hunt for his daddy and his dragon blood issues can wait. This is about the Pirate Queen that some players of Dragon Age II may have dismissed because of her penchant for sex, violence, sex, sex and abandonment. But in truth, despite being paid to accompany Alistair, she is fiercely loyal to those who earn her trust, even at cost to herself. Her devotion to her crew above all is admirable, as is her seemingly unbreakable spirit.

As much as I like the visuals, I wish David Gaider had taken the time to make this another Dragon Age novel, instead of a series of comics. In his novels, he has more room to expand on these characters and is skilled enough in his descriptions of the places, actions and events that he could have brought far more to the story and characters than we see here.

Final verdict:

3 of 5 stars

Dragon Age: The Calling by David Gaider

The Calling by David Gaider

Story-wise, this wasn't as good as its predecessor, The Stolen Throne, with a somewhat shaky plot pushed a long by the questionable motivations of the characters. Fortunately, it was the characters that made me want to read these books in the first place in order to learn more about them, and Gaider again delivered, with the focus, this time, on Maric and Duncan. He adds a load of depth to both characters, making me love them all the more and feel for them and those that come after.

Maric was already a charming character by the end of The Stolen Throne but events from the end of that book and since served to break him. He is a man depressed and ready to die, with nothing to save him from his darkness. Meanwhile, the stoic Duncan we know from the game used to be a swarthy, cocky and sneaky young thief with a reasonably noble heart and a healthy fear of his Warden Commander, Genevieve, who is leading the mission into the deadly Deep Roads to hunt for her brother. The Calling also relates to Dragon Age: Awakenings, introducing the sentient darkspawn known as The Architect, as well as a few of his companions.

As I said, the plot and motivations of the characters are rather weak. It was frustrating watching characters make decisions that really made no sense, serving no purpose other than to push them to the ultimate goal of finding Genevieve's brother. That done, we end up with the plot twist which, while unsurprising, was also questionable. I concluded that the actual plot really was not the important thing to Gaider. He was more interesting in adding character backstory to alter canon created within the games, most notably with the parentage of Maric's bastard son, Alistair.

Otherwise, I really like Gaider's grasp of battle writing. It probably helps that I've played the game these books spawn from, but I think anyone else would appreciate and be able to visualize the battles and how each character moves and flows within them. Playing the game means you can actually visualize the commands used by the PCs and NPCs in game. And, in spite of the weak story surrounding them, I adore the characters. Gaider writes them all well, making them all very interesting - redeeming the apparently irredeemable, questioning the noble and letting us see their darkness. I love the relationships he develops between them and love the bittersweet and the heartbreaks that he seems to enjoy writing.

2.5 of 5 stars

Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne by David Gaider

The Stolen Throne by David Gaider

I’ve recently finished two playthroughs of Dragon Age: Origins and in both, my Warden permitted the same fate for Loghain Mac Tir. It was the fate deserving of his crime against king and country, but I never could appreciate the reasoning given for his betrayal as there seemed to be so much more to Loghain. Hence my need to read the books that precede the game.

Gaider’s writing encompasses a lot of emotion, even in a character that seems limited to only a few. Barely 50 pages in, I already respected Loghain and even liked him, despite his harsh demeanor. Appreciation for King Maric was to be expected once it was established that he was much like his son, Alistair, in personality. But it was Loghain that I was interested in and the book did not let me down -- though it also means I am heartbroken over Loghain's ultimate fate.

Not that Maric's story as the king seeking to reclaim his stolen throne was over shadowed by Logain's story of the man whom he befriended, or the women whom they loved. Gaider put together an intricate tale of a kingdom torn, complete with well-written battles and action sequences. The characters are all well-fleshed out and their relationships go beyond the predictable romantic geometry. I can't say more without getting into spoilers, but I was really surprised by the route Gaider took with the romances in particular. They were integral to the story and the shaping of the characters and I was surprised and impressed that Gaider did not aim for a typical happy ending for the king and kingdom.

4 of 5 stars