Mass Effect: Initiation released 11-28-17

I am close to reading half the book now.

There is a thread for those who finished the book in Spoiler Section. In case someone isn't aware of it.

bshep it looks like people are using spoiler tags for anything that might ruin the story. I'm only a few chapters in but it feels safe 😄

I love spoilers but I certainly understand those who do not want them.

My book was supposed to be here yesterday and now Amazon says it will be here eventually, someday. I think it got lost in a black hole.

And if they're right?

It made me jump back in, not for a new playthrough just some quest mopping.

All of my saves are 100%, so it would have to be a new PT for me.

I always pick Cora for Scott. No one else feels right to me. I like their chemistry and feel like they're a good match. I also like how we get to know Cora better during a romance arc.

I read the novel as I waited for my car to be serviced. (I waited at home, thankfully.) It is good. The lore is always spot on, and I only caught a minor discrepancy between Nexus Uprising and Initiation. It's not a big deal, but I'll sblock it below. I have always liked Cora, and felt that she had way more character than the shallow BSN analyses generally credit her. This novel really fills out her character, history and experiences well. Likewise for Alec. It is good to get some more time with him.

I really wish this novel could've been read before the game. It would likely have helped some understand and accept why SAM is so central to the MEA story. I have no doubt now that it was by design, and not at all a matter of "getting carried away" with the SAM content. I had mused about a sequel with a protagonist without SAM, despite liking SAM. Now, I feel like that might not be a good idea, and would be highly unlikely regardless.

The news updates and the like between chapters were great. This was a busy time in the ME universe as we know it. The people of 2185 may not have realized the full import of and connections between the various events, but we readers do.

This is what happens when you hire a skilled author to write about a topic she knows well. This is a good book. I was on the fence about which game I'd play next. Now, I absolutely want to jump back into ME. I simply have to decide whether to do a full series PT, or just MEA.

I have just started a new PT for the same reason. 

Before the book, Cora bugged me, but after reading the book, she rocks. I agree, book Cora (which we didn't get to see much of in the game because it wasn't focused on her) would make a good protagonist. 

Hey MarilynRobert noticed you had been absent lately, good to see you back 

Yeah damn RL can be a pain in that way and yeah I just can't stop wanting to play the game. The books definitely make the start of the game so much more rounded if that makes sense and give you a much greater understanding of the current situation when you arrive.

I think I keep playing it obviously because I like it but I think it is also some delusional hope that I am influencing the universe to make a DLC mysteriously arrive 

Do we get toe see an image of said "Hot Felon" look alike? 

I've wanted to show you guys some of my Ryder's but unlike DAI, I'm still having no luck with screenshots. I'll work on it again and see if I can get some pix of NOT on purpose Hot Felon and also my favorite Ryder, who is a red headed, freckled Scott.