Fans Tear New Mass Effect Book to Shreds

[Foxtrotk72]

these guys are idiots i reckon i dont really care if there's plot holes in ME i guess some people want to share there frustration with the world. I haven't read any ME novels so i feel sorry for the author who wrote this he/she tried there best to do it but the fans are bitching seems like it to me, i love Mass Effect i really do even though im mocking the fans but to be honest there just whining to me

 

[kiwi_poo]

That's sad. I was rather looking forward to this one.

 

[BushMonstar]

Wow. I haven't played any of the mass effect games, but this just sounds like it screws it up so bad.

 

[aashell13]

Element 0 isn't something that's physically impossible, it's literally nothing! You can't have nothing as your magical crystals!

Okay, can't quite believe I'm getting into this, but that isn't exactly right. The atomic number refers to an element's number of protons, not the total mass of the nucleus. So Element Zero would just be an atom with no protons (cf neutron stars). It still doesn't make perfect sense, but it's better than, well, nothing

On topic... GOOD GRIEF. I spend an indecent amount of time keeping track of Mass Effect canon in my head (particularly how things would be changed by what happened in my playthrough), and I'm also an amateur author. Something like this just hurts...

so it would be a just a neutron...

that's disappointing. let's interpret 'element zero' metaphorically and say they called it that because it's the foundation of galactic society.

 

[aashell13]

these guys are idiots i reckon i dont really care if there's plot holes in ME i guess some people want to share there frustration with the world. I haven't read any ME novels so i feel sorry for the author who wrote this he/she tried there best to do it but the fans are bitching seems like it to me, i love Mass Effect i really do even though im mocking the fans but to be honest there just whining to me

If he tried his best, he would have made an outline of his major plot points and tech blurbs and checked them against the text of the in-game codices or the wiki; or both, given that the codices exist on the ME wiki verbatim and in their entirety. Internal consistency is hugely important in any story, particularly sci-fi.

No offense intended, but if this really is Mr. Dietz's best effort as an author then I'd humbly suggest he consider a new line of work. Perhaps as a reporter; most of them don't even proofread anymore, let alone fact-check.

 

[Arcadian Legend]

There is always going to be nitpicky errors for anything, but that doesn't mean the big glaring errors should be ignored. Even the folks of the Mass Effect Wiki, which Bioware's writers admitted using as a handy reference tool are refusing to add anything Deception story related. They even wrote an angry yet polite letter.

http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:SpartHawg948/An_Open_Letter_Regarding_Mass_Effect:_Deception


And another link that goes into the errors in little more detail.
http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:JakePT/Handling_Mass_Effect:_Deception%27s_Issues

 

[Something Amyss]

Unlike the previous novels, which were written by Mass Effect's Lead Writer Drew Karpyshyn, Deception is written by William C. Dietz.

The fact that prior novels were written by Karpyshyn was about the only reason I gave them a shot. And they were good.

 

[MetalMagpie]

You have to intentionally ignore the source material when it's staring you in the face.

Or - more probably - just not be at all familiar with it. I can't blame the guy for not wanting to play two video games before starting on a book that he probably wasn't going to be paid a huge amount for anyway. He probably just skimmed a few plot summaries online.

Bit shoddy of Bioware to allow it though, especially if they made an effort with the previous two. Then again, I read the novelisation of the Van Helsing film and that was completely splattered with typos and other errors. So I don't think you can expect much!

 

[Purplecoyote]

And the thing is, as someone who read a 55 page excerpt of the novel, the errors are glaring at times. Some on that list are nitpicky, but others are simple facts. Example:

- Two characters are now 18 when they were 12/13 at the end of ME1, which is said to have taken place two years prior
- One of those characters was also Autistic, now they aren't
- Biotics are now suddenly ranked by power level and can level up if they gain enough experience
- A character who was dead is now alive
- A character who is known as a racist and was introduced to us by talking about how much he hates the Asari now thinks Asari are hot
- Many others (Just look how long that list is!)

Believe me, the list also ignores the simply amateurish writing (Characters getting killed by a sharpened toothbrush, another character stealing cereal to prove how much of a badass he is). It takes actual effort to have this many errors. You have to intentionally ignore the source material when it's staring you in the face.

There's hitting the mark, missing the mark, and shooting yourself in the foot. This book picks the third option.

bwuh? Gillian is no longer autistic? But that was one of her major characteristics , they made a whole point about the fact that she got picked on because she ate her food in parts for goodness sake.

There's not doing the research and then there's just writing with your head in the sand.

 

[Saulkar]

Reading those errors turns out to be quite entertaining givin their face palm worthyness.

 

[Zom-B]

Dietz's novel was the weakest in the Halo series, but at least he didn't majorly muck up the lore (mostly due to the fact the book was based off the first game)

I'm increasingly beginning to wonder how such shoddy books can get by with risk to tarnishing the good name of the franchise. First that horrible Elder Scrolls book, and now Mass Effect looks like it has a bad egg too. Authors should be required to study all the source material before writing a novel based on something else.

I think it's because most of the time these books are shameless marketing tie-ins that aren't really aimed at sophisticated readers. They are targeted at fans to be sure, but are probably intended for teen boys (at least in the case of ME) who haven't really developed an understanding of quality writing and are more interested in guns, spaceships, battles and new adventures in the world of a videogame series.

 

[Leftnt Sharpe]

Let me introduce you to the Leftnt Sharpe Tie-in fiction rating scale, starting from worse to best:

-Author needs to be punched in the face (C.S Goto goes here).
-Tie-in bad (Dietz is about here).
-Tie in average (Karpyshan here).
-Tie-in good (Karen Traviss goes here? Also Sandy Mitchell).
-Dan Abnett (Pretty self-explanatory)

It should be noted that when comparing tie-in books to actual works of literature they should be moved down one category. For example a book that is 'tie-in good' is merely average by normal standards and Dan Abnett would be reduced from 'God Emperor of tie-in fiction mancrush level' to merely good.

Please feel free to rip apart my life's work.

 

[Stormwaltz]

Hey folks. A quick note: "element zero" is a human nickname. It should not be interpreted to mean eezo is a literal element. In the in-game codex, it's referred to with the deliberately vague term "material."

When subjected to an electrical current, the rare material dubbed element zero, or "eezo", emits a dark energy field that raises or lowers the mass of all objects within it. This "mass effect" is used in countless ways, from generating artificial gravity to manufacturing high-strength construction materials. It is most prominently used to enable faster-than-light space travel.

Eezo is generated when solid matter, such as a planet, is affected by the energy of a star going supernova. The material is common in the asteroid debris that orbit neutron stars and pulsars. These are dangerous places to mine, requiring extensive use of robotics, telepresence, and shielding to survive the incredible radiation from the dead star... (snip)

It is "unobtainium" (i.e., made-up BS). But it's most emphatically NOT an element. I helped develop the tech base and wrote all the ME1 codex entries, so I can speak with some authority on that.

It's actually mentioned that most of the Turian fleet was destroyed in the Battle of the Citadel by the Geth...

This is inaccurate. Most of the Citadel Fleet was destroyed at the Battle of the Citadel, but Council peacekeeping forces are stationed throughout the galaxy. Most significantly, none of the 37 turian dreadnoughts were at the Citadel (and they had completed two more by the time of ME2). Canonically, the Council lost 20 turian cruisers - this is stated in the al-Jilani interview from ME2 - and possibly (depending on player choice) the Destiny Ascension.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

Mass Effect has been going downhill after the second game (and I say this as someone who really loves the characterization in the second game) and this comes as no surprise. Bioware used to be the most recent top-tier in videogame storytelling but they have been losing a lot on that ground recently.

People can blame EA for this downhill turn, but responsibility still lies with Bioware.

Dietz can be blamed for this work itself, but if Bioware is intent on maintaining their peace with the fanbase they should do something about it (and also fire Hepler while they can)

-Dan Abnett (Pretty self-explanatory)

It should be noted that when comparing tie-in books to actual works of literature they should be moved down one category. For example a book that is 'tie-in good' is merely average by normal standards and Dan Abnett would be reduced from 'God Emperor of tie-in fiction mancrush level' to merely good.

Please feel free to rip apart my life's work.

I laughed outloud at this. Good show sir! As someone who knows Dan Abnett's work (I loved Horus Rising) I knew exactly what you were about to say.

I only read Dietz's Halo novel long ago (when I was into Halo), it wasn't great (Nylund's work was more in-depth) but it at least conveyed an nice atmosphere for the Haloverse (ie. making it into more of a horror war setting).

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

You know, I can handle and inconsistency or two. I can accept getting something slightly wrong. But in a universe where 50% of the time could be spent READING THE LORE, there is no excuse for this.
It just comes off as lazy that they didn't check it and that he didn't ask.

Reminds me of when Halo: Cryptum came out.....

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

Wow, reading that list is just painful... How could you screw up the important details that badly?

I should point out that in the document they have the errors marked as more significant or less significant, so they obviously do recognise when something's just a nitpick. However when the writer's making glaring continuity errors within the book series itself and in reference to the games it's a bit of a problem.

 

[Hitchmeister]

The real question is, is this just the work of an incredibly lazy hack writer, or did he have a design document from the third game to work from and is Bioware throwing established canon to the four winds in the third game and several of the most grievous errors are going to be repeated there causing an even greater degree of wailing and gnashing of teeth?


I'm getting my popcorn ready.

 

[Hunter.Wolf]

It seems people missed the irony that is the name of the book ... "Deception" .. well played XD

 

[Madman123456]

"Fans Tear New Mass Effect Book to Shreds"
To Shreds you say...

Points to whoever gets the Reference.


This is Valid Critizism, you don't need Hours and Hours in the Gameworld to know that the "Volus" People come from a Planet with a very thick Atmossphere and have to wear pressurized Suits, lest they explode. Says so in the Codex, the entry about the Volus is available when you meet the first Volus. Not exactly something that is mentioned in the Background and totally obscure.

Also relatively obvious in the Game: The Humans apparently have Colonies right next to the Batarians. They wanted to settle there, but the Council said "Nuh-uh! the Humans are going there!". Ok, that may make Sense, since we don't know how many Colonies the Batarians do have and if the Council enforces a Limit for that.
What doesn't make Sense is that the Batarians would fly right past the Human Colonies which they have raided for Slaves several times (and still there are Colonies with about ten People and others with millions...)and decided to go to the Home Planet of the Turians, which probably is the best defended Planet of the Turians, which are a People consisting of militaristic Army Nuts.

The Human Batarian thing is mentioned in the first Game by the Turian Councilor.
The Rest is in the Codex. Every single Turian goes from School directly to the Military while the rate of Volunteers for the Military is about 3% of the Populace, which is the lowest Percentage of all the Races apparently.

This isn't something you can only know when you memorized every Book, Comic and Game.

It's in the Codex, which you can read in both the Games. Which you should read when you're about to write a Novel about it. Do at least *some* Research in your Target Area, otherwise People may call you "lazy".

 

[Arcadian Legend]

"Fans Tear New Mass Effect Book to Shreds"
To Shreds you say...

"And how is she handling it? To shreds you say." Futurama reference FTW.