Mass Effect™ Andromeda: Nexus Uprising

Five Star Review But Be Warned

What made the experience of listening to Mass Effect™ Andromeda: Nexus Uprising the most enjoyable?

The writing and the performance is top notch. The fact that we meet these characters while playing Mass Effect Andromeda adds to it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sloane Kelly.

Have you listened to any of Fryda Wolff’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

It compares well. I think she did the most recent Brett Battles book but am not sure.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, ideally BEFORE playing Mass Effect Andromeda

Any additional comments?

This book gets five stars from me because it's the highest caliber writing and performance. Here the thing it's a prequel for Mass Effect Andromeda the video game. It's the missing backstory to the game that we hear about as we meet the characters in this book but don't get to see play out because it happens in the past.

The warning in my title refers to the fact that at the end of the novel it has the feel of setting up a future series of books. The problem with that is that those books will never be published as the story will continue and conclude in the video game Mass Effect Andromeda and perhaps forthcoming DLC. Worse the all of the main characters here are seen from the point of view of Ryder and have very limited screen time in the video game. As long as you are okay with all that, and I was, you're in for a very good time with this one.

32 of 34 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Unsure

What was most disappointing about Jason M. Hough and K. C. Alexander ’s story?

I have enjoyed most of the previous Mass Effect books (and the games, of course), but this one was pretty disappointing. The plot drags, and the delivery is uninspired, which is surprising given the narrator's talents in the ME: Andromeda game.

Would you be willing to try another one of Fryda Wolff’s performances?

Possibly

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Mass Effect™ Andromeda: Nexus Uprising?

They should have focused on more action, mystery and character interaction. People bickering in a city-planning meeting gets old fast, and half the book is just taken up with how tired everyone is.

Any additional comments?

The characterization is hit or miss. Tann, Addison and Sloan are interesting characters, but they seem to miss the opportunity to really flesh them out. Especially Sloan, who is just a perpetual ball of anger. Surely she has other emotions.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Engaging

Fryda Wolfe has excellent pace and inflection in her voice. This book really fills in some gaps in the game's narrative and makes me care about the characters. I'm genuinely looking forward to diving deeper into this new galaxy.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Good background info for the game

This book makes several unsympathetic characters in the video game much more understandable, and gives you context as to why they act the way they do. Does not deal with any of the main characters of the game, but there are plenty of recognizable characters. The voice acting is good, minus some of the krogan voices but overall the feeling of growing tension is transmitted well to the reader. I definitely look forward to the next 2 entries in this series as they will hopefully focus more on background info for andromeda rather than the nexus.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

if you like mass effect check this out

it's a great story, the characters are very well done. its sets up the game as well.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not Even a Great Narrator Can Save This

Fryda Wolff is an excellent narrator and voice actor. She succeeds in making Sloane and the rest of the characters come alive. You can actually hear the angry weariness in Sloane Kelly's voice, the manic depressive nature of Director Addison and the calculating obliviousness of Director Tann. The narrator does a fantastic job, but at the end of the day, these characters are simply not believable in their jobs or even likable and that kills the book.

The story is depressing. Sloane Kelly is particularly unlikable as a main character and unbelievable as head of security. At least the other department heads have the excuse that their superiors died in an unexpected accident. Sloane Kelly is actually in the job she was supposed to have and handles it by going on a hike to clean up some debris in a hangar leaving her second in command to handle things. Argumentative and short-sighted, it's no wonder Sloane Kelly had disciplinary problems in her past. What is a wonder is that she was chosen as head of security on board a ship/station sent as the vanguard to explore another galaxy.

I will get the next book in this series because I enjoyed Fryda Wolff's narration so much. Here's hoping Mac Walters was smart enough to take direction from N.K. Jemisin. No one writes and creates a story the way she can.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Excellent story, well told. Provided background.

Did a very good job of filling in the backstory of a really great game.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

played the game 1st

if i had known about this book/audiobook before i played Andromeda (played all 3 mass effect also and they even have books/audiobooks ) id probably have listend to it 1st. that said this is a great story to go with the game! if you like video games you'll enjoy this.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

great introduction into Andromeda

amazing prologue to the Andromeda game, great story and amazing job by Fryda Wolff!!! a must read/listen if you're a fan!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Solid Story. Better appreciated after playing game

Would you consider the audio edition of Mass Effect™ Andromeda: Nexus Uprising to be better than the print version?

I prefer the audio book version to the print version for everything. Once I have listened I may purchase the print edition but I will always prefer listening.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Addison surprised me. Playing the game you know she is hard and cold for the most part. She is shown in a different light here that just helps me appreciate her as a character.

What does Fryda Wolff bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I thought she did a fantastic job with this book. She brings all the accents to life and also does a good job of trying to mimic the alien speech. A good narrator can really just bring something to a book that you would not get reading it yourself and Fryda did that.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were a few surprising moments in the book but nothing particularly stood out and moved me. This could be due to me playing the game I kind of knew where some of the characters were going to end up. If you did not play the game you may have felt differently towards some of the events.

Any additional comments?

This was another sale book and I love Mass Effect so why not! Glad I did as it gave me some great insight into not only before the initiative but what happens prior to your arrival at the Nexus in the game. There are definitely 2 different ways of doing this book. I would recommend reading before you play the game. That way you go in not knowing how people make it out and you will probably be a bit more attached to the secondary characters. Then play the game and you see how everyone makes out. However if you read after playing the game it just adds more context to an already interesting universe and story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful