Dragon Age: The World of Thedas

Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 1

I'm a sucker for art books and it took all my will not to tell Labyrinth Books to shut up and take my money when I stopped at their row upon row of shelves at Fan Expo last weekend. My bank account wouldn't have been happy, so I wisely opted to get only this, since it was far more than an art book dedicated to a game series that I love.

The World of Thedas is just what the title says it is. Think of it as a wiki on beautiful, beautiful crack. There definitely is artwork included. Every page is covered in it. But I'm all about the lore and there is no shortage of that here, from Andraste to Zazikel and everything in between, including fashion, politics, landscapes, magic, countries, timelines, religion and more.

Favourite characters do appear, with a brief comment on their relevance to a particular entry (e.g. Isabela is placed within the Rivain section, Morrigan is in the section on apostates), but the focus is on the world itself.

As a big fan of the Dragon Age series, this is a must have for me. It will keep me content while I patiently wait for Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Patiently....

5 of 5 stars

Wendy's Book Haul: Fan Expo 2013 Edition

I'm just back from this year's Fan Expo Canada (see my full report here!) where I picked up a few goodies, including Arena Mode, by Blake Northcott, whom we recently featured in our 10 Authors That Deserve More Buzz. I also got to spend a few minutes with Ms. Northcott and grab an autograph and pic and discuss future plans for the project. She had the covers of the next two books in the planned trilogy on display and they were breathtaking!

Blake Northcott and Wendy B at Fan Expo Canada

I dropped by my old comic book dealer, Labyrinth Books. Note that I use the word "dealer" in the truest drug addiction sense of the word, because the owner was skilled at finding all the right comics and paraphernalia to keep me coming back for more. Now he has a huge collection of art books, including concept art for many of my favourite games, such as Remember Me and Mass Effect. I obeyed my bank account though and only succumbed to Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, because it was not only an art book, but an encyclopedia dedicated to the game's lore. I am happy to immerse myself in the lore as my cautious excitement builds for the third installment of the series, Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Finally, the Chronicles of the Shadow War series wasn't purchased at the convention, but it arrived shortly before it and definitely fits the theme the convention promotes. A mention of Chris Claremont somewhere sparked sudden nostalgia, reminding me of the first book in this series, Shadow Moon, which I read a long time ago during my I Love George Lucas and X-Men era. I decided I needed to finish reading the series.