Todas las sociedades avanzadas de la galaxia se basan en la tecnología de los proteanos, una antigua especie que se extinguió hace cincuenta mil años. En marzo del 2148, tras descubrir una reserva de tecnología proteánica escondida, la raza humana, la especie interestelar más reciente, se extiende hacia las estrellas luchando por conquistar su lugar en la gran comunidad galáctica.

Kind of wish I read this before playing Mass Effect 1. Saren's intentions don't really make sense without this book. ( )

The recent re-release of the Mass Effect games, which I haven't played before, inspired me to read this prequel novel.

In mere decades, humanity has gone from discovering mass effect (allowing FTL travel) to being inducted into the galaxy-spanning Citadel Space. Lieutenant David Anderson, a hero from humanity's first war with aliens, is sent to investigate an incident at a top-secret research facility. His mission turns him into both hunter and prey, as he tries to infiltrate one conspiracy while hiding another.

This book may be derivative, pulpy sci-fi, but I enjoy it. The author, who also wrote the games, is deft at balancing character development, dialogue, action, and lore. The lore is my favorite aspect. I'm excited to start playing the games. ( )

Probably the best thing I got out of the worst relationship of my life was Mass Effect. Honestly. It is the game that brought me back into the gaming world and I have spent way too many hours in front of a TV screen... and way too many hours blogging about the stupid game series. So, obviously, the Mass Effect books seemed like the natural next step to go. I have actually been searching for the first book in the series for about a year now but the few shops offering Mass Effect books have somehow only had the second and third book; and I'm not a fan of buying sequels before buying the first book. But then I found it. And begged my mother to buy it for me. As the sweet woman she is, she did.

It's only been two decades since humans found the mass relay on Charon, Pluto's moon, that allowed them to instantly travel across thousands of light-years to another mass relay in a different area of the galaxy – and it's only been eight years since humanity became a part of the joined union between several different alien species. As the newest addition to the bunch, humans are desperately trying to find their place... and rise in rank within the galatic community. Their fleets are strong and their colonies are growing faster, larger and more successful than any other species' colonies.

During a patrol through an isolated region on the edge of colonised space; Lieutenant Anderson answers an S.O.S from what appears to be a secret research station. They find the whole upper level totally abandoned but few mercs are still lingering the lower level – underneath the main facility. After a heartfelt battle, they find the whole crew is found slaughtered. As they have all been dragged into one room, Anderson and his crew suspects they have been betrayed by one of their own; a suspicion that is confirmed as a bomb goes off – and nearly takes Anderon and his soldiers with it.

Anderson is full of questions about the facility and its research; questions his superiors refuse to answer. But they send him out to find a woman called Kahlee Sanders – a scientist who seemingly escaped the research base only hours before the massacre. But when he does find Sanders, he realises they are both caught up in something much, much bigger and complicated. And he's determined to figure it out.

My summary is probably a bit rubbish but... this is definitely a book for those who have played the games. It serves as a prequel and includes characters from the games – and explores the beginning of one or two things from the games. Therefore, there's quite a lot of intertwining stories and it's hard to link them together in a summary. My dad asked me what the book was about and despite the fact that I was nearing the end, I had a hard time explaining it to him. The book is partly an action-filled story about a couple of people who stumbles on to a conspiracy but it is partly also includes a more background story for a character that is playing a vital part in the first game. They are both important in the book but despite the fact that they are linked together, they are two different branches on one tree.

Perhaps because of that, I loved it. There is nothing like a good ol' action packed sci fi book. It was also great finding out more about the background stories of some minor characters in the games – as 50% of the characters can be found in the games. So, what can I say? If you're a Mass Effect fan who can't get enough of this amazing world, this is definitely an adventure you don't want to miss. There's a lot of sci fi, action and lots of geeky insight about characters you won't get in the books. What's there not to love? ( )

Not the best written book in the world, but the story is good and sets up the game quite well. You don't need to read it to enjoy Mass Effect, but it's fun to recognize characters and know more of their back story than the game has time to get into. ( )