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3.5
Ghosts of Ascalon (Guild Wars, #1)
ByPublisher Description
250 years ago, Ascalon burned . . .
Desperate to defend his land from advancing hordes of bestial charr, King Adelbern summoned the all-powerful Foefire to repel the invaders. But magic can be a double-edged sword—the Foefire burned both charr and human alike. While the charr corpses smoldered, the slain Ascalonians arose again, transformed by their king’s rage into ghostly protectors and charged with guarding the realm . . . forever. The once mighty kingdom became a haunted shadow of its former glory.
Centuries later, the descendants of Ascalon, exiled to the nation of Kryta, are besieged on all sides. To save humankind, Queen Jennah seeks to negotiate a treaty with the hated charr. But one obstacle remains. The charr legions won’t sign the truce until their most prized possession, the Claw of the Khan-Ur,is returned from the ruins of fallen Ascalon.
Now a mismatched band of adventurers, each plagued by ghosts of their own, sets forth into a haunted, war-torn land to retrieve the Claw. Without the artifact, there is no hope for peace between human and charr—but the undead king who rules Ascalon won’t give it up easily, and not everyone wants peace!
Desperate to defend his land from advancing hordes of bestial charr, King Adelbern summoned the all-powerful Foefire to repel the invaders. But magic can be a double-edged sword—the Foefire burned both charr and human alike. While the charr corpses smoldered, the slain Ascalonians arose again, transformed by their king’s rage into ghostly protectors and charged with guarding the realm . . . forever. The once mighty kingdom became a haunted shadow of its former glory.
Centuries later, the descendants of Ascalon, exiled to the nation of Kryta, are besieged on all sides. To save humankind, Queen Jennah seeks to negotiate a treaty with the hated charr. But one obstacle remains. The charr legions won’t sign the truce until their most prized possession, the Claw of the Khan-Ur,is returned from the ruins of fallen Ascalon.
Now a mismatched band of adventurers, each plagued by ghosts of their own, sets forth into a haunted, war-torn land to retrieve the Claw. Without the artifact, there is no hope for peace between human and charr—but the undead king who rules Ascalon won’t give it up easily, and not everyone wants peace!
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesGhosts of Ascalon (Guild Wars, #1) Reviews
3.5
“I don't know how to phrase this and make it sound like the compliment it's intended to be... But reading this felt like I was watching a really good animated movie. Like How To Train Your Dragon but make it Guild Wars.
I think what I mean by that is that for me- although it is not a book intended for kids- I got the feeling I did as a kid watching those types of movies where you feel pulled a way on an adventure with the characters as opposed to being on the outside observing them (which I often find myself doing as an adult). The characters were fun and balanced each other out well (like good MMORPG party's should!).
I don't know how that is done as far writing as a craft goes, but it was done well. This book left me wanting more and missing the characters when I finished. I picked this up because I wanted to find another way to get lost in the GW world and I got that and more! Loved it.”
“I was pleasantly surprised by this!
Let me preface this that I'm a fan of Guild Wars. I played a little of Prophecies when it came out during high school, I dabbled in 2 when it launched in university, and Ive returned multiple times in the past 10 years playing with my partner. We're deep in the thralls of it again right now, which is what got me to pick this up.
Because it is a tie-in it suffers some problems that make it hard to recommend to someone who hasn't played Guild Wars at any point. Though there is no direct connection to the games beyond some cameo appearances of characters from the base campaign of Guild Wars 2, the novel relies a lot on the reader having some base understanding of the world of Tyria, it's history, it's races, and the tangled relationships between the two. Hell, the events that cause the titular Ghost of Ascalon is an event that happens off screen between the two games.
BUT, as someone with a base level of familiarity with Tyria, Ghost of Ascalon is a fast paced, Indiana Jones style fantasy adventure, with a likeable and well characterized cast. Beyond the setting knowledge, the lack of direct links to wider plots make it accessible for casual fan of the series to enjoy.”
“What a pleasant surprise of a novel - with a lived in world, believable characters and a tight, action-packed plot!
Ghosts of Ascalon is the first of the Guild Wars trilogy serving as an introduction to the world of the video game. An unlikely hero, part of a ragtag band of adventurers with their fair share of grievances, sets out to retrieve an ancient artifact from a ghost-infested land deep in enemy territory.
I was in awe of the tightness and cohesiveness of the narrative - not a second is wasted in unnecessary descriptions, dialogues or lore. We are presented with exactly as much information as is needed to grasp the story line and the emotional impact of the relationships between the characters. The book grips you tightly from the first page and never lets go - we are thrust in the action together with our group of adventurers, always on the move, never slowing down, never catching a breath. The plot is engaging, the stakes are high, but this is not a story about saving the world - it might be a simple questing adventure novel, but it executes its’ purpose with finesse. The lore woven throughout doesn’t feel overly info-dumpy and serves to further advance both plot and character development.
Continuing the praise - the characters are all charming representations of the Guild Wars races - together with their alliances, scuffles and peculiarities. You cannot help but root for them and hope for their survival and the success of their quest. Obviously fantasy characters of newly introduced races need to be heightened to understand what characteristics they possess and how they fit into the world. However, there is surprising nuance in character interactions, and the novel handles maturely what it means to go on a deadly quest with strangers without any certainty of survival. Even the spoiler: plot twist in the end felt not out of touch with the particular character’s behaviors throughout.
The writing, while not overwrought, is easy to follow and grasp. There is nothing groundbreaking in tone or story, but there doesn’t really need to be. Overall, this is a lovely fast-paced fantasy adventure novel which serves as a great introduction to the Guild Wars world. I would recommend it to both fans of the games and fans of fantasy as a whole.”BelievableDiverse representationLikeableMemorableMinor characters stand outMultilayeredStrong relationshipsAction-packedClever plottingGripping/excitingSatisfying conclusionSteady pacingWell-structuredAtmosphericBeautifulEtherealExpansiveHarshImmersive world-buildingMagicalMysteriousSetting fits the storyClear but uninspiredEasy to readFunnySimplisticStraightforward
“I must preface by saying that I LOVE GUILD WARS 2; the wide lore and the different characters/races are just amazing. I find myself returning often to the game and was elated that this book (and another 2) was out so I rushed to get them.
The concept: was good, a typical journey to find the treasure with a merry band of misfits. I was not expecting to hate the humans in this book. Especially Riona.
I friggin hated Riona from the moment she was introduced and it's such a trope that the unlikeable character is the villain. She was so goddamn annoying and hoped she would died a horrible death! And Dougal? My gawd, just so unlikeable. The best characters? Ember, Gullik, Kranxx and Killeen. Humans were the worst and Riona was just terribly written and so obvious that she was going to pull the rug underneath the team. But I kept reading because I wanted to see what would happen and I was excited to be a part of their journey but kept praying Riona and Dougal would just drop dead.
I will continue to read the next couple of books. I also gave this a higher rating than I wanted because the other characters and their shenanigans really saved this book.”
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