Mass Effect

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Mass Effect: Revelation

Author Drew Karpyshyn
Country Canada
Language English
Series Mass Effect
Genre(s) Science fiction
Publisher Del Rey Books
Publication date May 1, 2007
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 323
ISBN 978-0-345-49816-8
OCLC Number 150381260
Followed by Mass Effect: Ascension

Mass Effect: Revelation is a science fiction novel by author Drew Karpyshyn. First published in 2007 by Del Rey Books, it is the first novel set in the Mass Effect universe. It is the prequel to the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows game Mass Effect, which was developed by BioWare Corp. Karpyshyn is lead writer of the Mass Effect series.

The book serves to fill in much of the background details of the game, such as locations and the internal politics of the Council's races, as well as characters. A considerable amount of the plot revolves around the galaxy's views on Artificial Intelligence, as this appears to be a major plot point in the game. The book tells of a young Alliance lieutenant David Anderson and his efforts to find a survivor of an attack on a top-secret Alliance base, lieutenant Kahlee Sanders. As the book progresses it is revealed the base was attacked purposely by the Blue Suns mercenary group, who were hired by the leading scientist on the base. A Turian spectre, Saren is assigned to help Anderson and find clues as to where the missing scientist is. Eventually they find the scientist, but Saren escapes with the information the scientist was researching to an ancient alien ship which he plans to use for his own evil deeds as portrayed as the main plot in the game Mass Effect.

Story

The story begins in 2157 with Rear Admiral Jon Grissom, who is on his way to Arcturus aboard the SSV New Delhi to congratulate the new graduates of the Alliance's N7 specialist training program. Nine years prior in 2148, scientists discovered a cache of alien technology buried under the surface of Mars. These aliens were known as the Protheans, and it was decided that they had disappeared for unknown reasons 50,000 years ago. Using this technology, humanity discovered faster-than-light travel, or FTL, and expanded throughout the solar system. In 2149, an exploration team near the edge of the solar system discovered that Charon, Pluto's moon, was a mass relay, a dormant piece of ancient Prothean technology covered by sheets of ice. Scientists discovered that the mass relay granted instant travel across thousands of light-years to another mass relay in a different area of the galaxy. Jon Grissom led the team of brave men and women through the mass relay and became a symbol of the Alliance, a global coalition formed after the discovery of the Prothean cache on Mars. Fast forward to 2157, Grissom meets with Second Lieutenant David Edward Anderson, a promising young graduate of the N7 program, and informs him that his true reason for arriving at Arcturus was to find new recruits to battle an unknown alien force that attacked an Alliance post at Shanxi. It was this that started the First Contact War between the Turian Empire and the Alliance. Several battles ensued until the Citadel Council, a multi-species government devoted to preserving galactic peace and stability, intervened and stopped the conflict. Eight years later, humanity was recognized by the Council and granted an embassy.

In 2165, David Anderson answers an S.O.S. while patrolling the Skyllian Verge, an isolated region on the farthest fringes of Alliance space. Inside the facility, Anderson and his crew discover an elevator leading to the lower sections of the facility, which was never taken back up to the surface. In the lower facilities, Anderson and his crew are attacked by several mercenaries, who they manage to defeat. They discover a pile of the dead bodies of scientists, and also find out that there was a traitor on the inside, due to the fact that the mercenaries had the codes to open certain vital security doors during the attack. One remaining mercenary manages to set off a bomb that destroys the entire lower facilities. Anderson and his crew manage to escape.

On Camala, Edan Had'dah, a rich batarian, meets with the Blue Suns, an infamous mercenary group in the Skyllian Verge, who he hired to attack the Sidon base. A krogan Battle Master bounty hunter named Skarr is hired by Edan to assassinate Kahlee in order to cover up his involvement with the attack on the Sidon facility. At this time, Anderson arrives at the Citadel, the center of the Citadel Council, to meet with Ambassador Anita Goyle, the famous elected representative of the Alliance. Ambassador Goyle informs Anderson that the Sidon facility was researching artificial intelligence, technology that was banned by the Council after an incident 300 years ago, where the quarians created an artificial race known as the geth that eventually turned on their creators. Ambassador Goyle reassures Anderson that the studies were being conducted under safe conditions. She sends Anderson to locate Kahlee Sanders, who may have information on who was behind the attack, and who may know the whereabouts of Dr. Shu Quian, the brilliant scientist in charge of the Sidon facility, and who is believed to still be alive.

Anderson is paired up with Saren, who was to evaluate Anderson to see if he could become a Spectre. Anderson finds and kills Skarr in a Had'dah refinery. Meanwhile, Saren kills Dr. Quian and Edan after stealing Dr. Quian's files, and detonates the plant, killing hundreds of innocent civilian workers in the process. He examines the files, and finds out that Dr. Quian was researching a massive Alien ship called Sovereign. He heads to the ship and plans to use it to put humanity in its place.

Notes

* It is mentioned in the game Mass Effect that Saren told the Council that Anderson ruined his plans at the Had'dah facility, and therefore led to the council rejecting Anderson as the first human Spectre.
* The book explains how Saren found Sovereign and how he was enslaved by the Reapers when he tried to learn more of it.
* The book provides an explanation for his disdain of humanity.

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Mass Effect: Ascension

Author Drew Karpyshyn
Country Canada
Language English
Series Mass Effect
Genre(s) Science fiction
Publisher Del Rey Books
Publication date July 29, 2008
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 342
ISBN 978-0-345-49852-6
OCLC Number 181599906
Preceded by Mass Effect: Revelation
Followed by Mass Effect: Retribution

Mass Effect: Ascension is a science fiction novel by author Drew Karpyshyn. It is a sequel to the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows video game Mass Effect, as well as to its prequel novel, Mass Effect: Revelation, also written by Karpyshyn. The novel is set approximately two months after the ending events of the game.[1]

Story

The novel takes place shortly after the attack of the Reaper Sovereign and his allies Saren and the Geth. The Illusive Man, the leader of the rogue, xenophobic organization called Cerberus, watches on as he plots Cerberus' next move. One of his long-serving subordinates, Paul Grayson, is a troubled drug addict who was assigned with raising an infant girl with huge biotic potential, Gillian. The autistic girl is now a member of the Ascension Project, initiative aimed at developing biotic abilities in humans. Grayson, despite having much affection for his adopted daughter, is now reduced to a link man between Cerberus and their man inside Ascension Project, Dr. Jiro. Their mission is to administer Cerberus' biotic-enhancing drugs to Gillian and evaluate their efficacy.

Meanwhile, another Cerberus operative Pel is on a mission in distant system Omega, nominal capital of the rogue Terminus Systems, to acquire the current position and access codes to the Quarian Migrant Fleet and contacts a banished Quarian named Golo. As it turns out, Golo can't provide necessary data but assures Pel he knows how to obtain it. He lures a Quarian scout team into an ambush, and Pel manages to take a prisoner. However, during the ambush, the Quarian is infected with a virus and becomes delirious, making it impossible to interrogate him.

Back at Ascension Project, Gillian, who had been administered a new drug by Jiro, has a biotic outburst after being mocked by another student. She is kept in hospital for observation, which makes it difficult for Jiro to apply another dose of new drug, as instructed by Cerberus. In a desperate move he takes her for a walk to station's Atrium where he injects the medication, which unexpectedly induces a seizure. Meanwhile, Kahlee Sanders of Ascension Project staff and security chief Hendel Mitra, who is also a biotic, have put the pieces together and deduced Jiro was more than he let them know. After running intuitively to the Atrium, Hendel is overpowered by Jiro's stunner, who in turn is subdued by Kahlee.

Grayson is informed by Ascension Project staff that his daughter has survived an assassination attempt from a Cerberus agent. Grayson is ordered to withdraw Gillian from the Ascension Project before Jiro reveals the entire plot. When Kahlee suggests she and Hendel will accompany him, he agrees expecting that Pel, his former partner, will easily get rid of them. However, Pel takes everybody prisoner, including Grayson, explaining that he decided to abandon Cerberus in favor of the promise of wealth. The Collectors, a mysterious alien race that lives outside of known space, have put up a bounty for human biotics and Pel plans to sell Gillian and Hendel to them.

Lemm, a Quarian on his pilgrimage, finds out that a scout ship has disappeared and intends to find it and use the information to end his Pilgrimage. At first he suspects the infamous Golo, but the banished Quarian diverts Lemm's attention to Pel. He provides Lemm with blueprints of Pel's hideout and teaches him basic assault rules, but at the same time he informs Pel when the attack is due to take place. Lemm takes Pel by surprise by attacking a day early, rescuing Hendel, Gillian and Kahlee. Kahlee is very surprised as the Quarian recognizes her. After escaping Pel's warehouse, stealing Grayson's shuttle, and setting course to the Migrant Fleet, Lemm explains to Kahlee that she is regarded as an AI expert due to her collaboration with Dr. Shu Qian - who found Sovereign and led Saren to it - and he would like her to be his pilgrimage gift.

Grayson, who was left behind, manages to escape and kill Pel on the warehouse roof amid his mob's firefight with runaway party. He later finds the captured Quarian who had gone mad and now only mumbles the access codes to the Migrant Fleet. Grayson informs The Illusive Man of Pel's betrayal and he deduces that Kahlee and the others are heading for the Migrant Fleet. The Illusive Man wants to leave Grayson out of mission to reclaim Gillian due to his emotional involvement, but Grayson threatens not to give away the access codes unless he is included.

After reaching the Migrant Fleet, Kahlee gives her opinion on Sovereign's attack on the Citadel and its influence on the Geth. It seems insignificant to her but it's apparently an important factor in deciding whether the Quarians will launch risky exploratory missions. The Admiralty hypothesizes that they may be able to use Reapers to influence the Geth and reclaim their homeworld. Meanwhile, Gillian spends much time with Hendel, Kahlee, and Lemm and in increasingly familiar surroundings of Grayson's shuttle she becomes more open and happy.

Grayson, with two squads of Cerberus commandos and Golo, attacks the Quarian ship. Cerberus soldiers have the upper hand in the firefight but they retreat after Gillian, told by Kahlee to hide on ship's upper levels, runs back to the shuttle looking for some comfort. Grayson, ordered by Golo to stay in the shuttle because of his emotional involvement, is welcomed by Gillian - who always reacted allergically to touch - with a hug. Grayson informs her they are leaving but after she refuses saying she won't leave without her friends, he is forced to use a stunner and puts her to bed. Kahlee, who hadn't found Gillian in upper levels, guesses she went to the shuttle. She confronts Grayson but is knocked down by the returning Golo. Kahlee, continually kicked by Golo, describes how much better Gillian has been feeling after escaping Cerberus' care. Grayson has a change of heart after recalling Gillian hugging him and calling Kahlee, Hendel and Lemm her friends. He talks Golo into starting the engines and kills him.

The attack on the Quarian ship turns out a decisive factor in sending a mission to find habitable worlds or Sovereign-like ships to drive the Geth from the Quarian homeworld. As he is being transported to Alliance territory, Grayson manages to overpower Kahlee and Lemm and escapes. Believing that Grayson won't trouble them anymore, Kahlee and Lemm decide not to pursue him. Kahlee returns to the Ascension Project, while Gillian, Hendel and Lemm board a Quarian exploration ship. Grayson contacts The Illusive Man, concedes he will sooner or later be caught and killed by Cerberus but he trades his silence about Cerberus' other projects for Kahlee's safety. The Illusive Man reluctantly agrees and is left seething at his defeat.

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Mass Effect: Retribution

Author Drew Karpyshyn
Country Canada
Language English
Series Mass Effect
Genre(s) Science fiction
Publisher Del Rey Books
Publication date 27 July 2010[1]
Media type Print (Paperback)
Preceded by Mass Effect: Ascension

Mass Effect: Retribution is an upcoming novel by Canadian science fiction writer Drew Karpyshyn set in the Mass Effect universe.[2]

Plot

Mass Effect: Retribution follows soon after the events of Mass Effect 2 [3]. The Illusive Man, leader of the pro-human paramilitary organization Cerberus, is attempting to learn more about the Reapers, an advanced race of sentinent machines that periodically purges the galaxy of all organic civilizations. Having obtained Reaper technology, the Illusive Man decides to implant a human with it to learn more about the Reapers. Paul Grayson, a major character in Mass Effect: Ascension and former Cerberus operative, is kidnapped to become the Illusive Man's test subject.[2]

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Mass Effect: Redemption

Publisher Dark Horse
Format Limited series
Genre Military science fiction
Publication date January 2010
Number of issues 4
Creative team
Writer(s) Mac Walters,
John Jackson Miller
Artist(s) Dustin Weaver
Penciller(s) Omar Francia
Creator(s) Mac Walters

Mass Effect: Redemption is a four-part comic book mini-series. Set in the Mass Effect universe, Redemption takes place shortly before the events of the video game Mass Effect 2.[1] The first issue was released on January 6, 2010.[2]
Contents

* 1 Publication history
* 2 Plot
* 3 References
* 4 External links

Publication history

Mass Effect: Redemption was revealed on July 21, 2009. It will be a four-issue mini-series based on the Mass Effect video games. The comic will be published by Dark Horse Comics and is written by Mac Walters, who was a lead writer for Mass Effect, with scripting by John Jackson Miller and art by Dustin Weaver, both of whom have previously worked on Star Wars-related comics.[1]
[edit] Plot

The events of Mass Effect: Redemption will tie-in to downloadable content that will be produced for Mass Effect 2. According to Mac Walters, the comic mini-series will be "expanding on characters that we didn't really explore in Mass Effect 1 and also looking at opportunities to expand on them even further in the DLC."[1]

The narrative in Redemption begins with Commander Shepard mysteriously disappearing in the Terminus Systems, out of contact with the SSV Normandy and its crew. With the help of Liara T'Soni, Shepard must fight for survival.[2]

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BioWare will again be teaming up with the fine folks at Dark Horse Comics to bring you another set of Mass Effect comics. Mass Effect and Dark Horse already worked together to create the acclaimed Mass Effect Redemption series featuring the adventures of Liara T'Soni.

This new series will again be published by Dark Horse and written by Mass Effect 2 Lead Writer Mac Walters. It will also return Omar Francia and John Jackson Miller to the series. This time, the covers for the comics will be drawn by former Y the Last Man artist Massimo Carnivale and, importantly to Mass Effect 2 fans, they will provide some infrmation on one of ME2's shadowy figures, The Illusive Man.

You can learn more here: http://comics.ign.com/articles/110/1106020p1.html

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Mass Effect Book 3

Mass Effect: Retribution follows soon after the events of Mass Effect 2. The Illusive Man, leader of the pro-human paramilitary organization Cerberus, is attempting to learn more about the Reapers, an advanced race of sentient machines that periodically purges the galaxy of all organic civilizations. Having obtained Reaper technology, the Illusive Man decides to implant a human with it to learn more about the Reapers. Paul Grayson, a major character in Mass Effect: Ascension and former Cerberus operative, is kidnapped to become the Illusive Man's test subject.

Publication date 27 July 2010