In my eyes, this book is all about ROWAN GUERRIN, her BROODING LOVE INTEREST and THEIR WEIRD SIDEKICK (Rowan’s betrothed). Alas, this is not how the story was actually framed in the book.

I read The Stolen Throne as a long-time fan of the Dragon Age franchise, but I don’t think I would have liked it very much had I not already felt invested in the setting. Among the other novels this one ranks near the bottom (after Last Flight, The Masked Empire, Asunder, and Tevinter Nights. I haven’t read the Calling yet).

For what it’s worth, my favorite part was the Deep Roads section (a surprise, because I hated the Deep Roads in Origins), and I’m glad we got to learn a bit about the Legion of the Dead. I really came to appreciate Katriel during this section because she was so weary of her uncultured human noble companions not properly appreciating the cultural and historical value of exploring an abandoned thaig.

Despite the overall tone being pretty dark, I had a good laugh at the end when it was revealed that

not only was Mother Ailis narrating this story to little Cailin, but that she had been given explicit instructions to share all the gossip about his parents’ love triangle shenanigans with him.

 

Also if you’re wondering, the Funny tag is there because Loghain hams it up for the proverbial camera just as much in this book as he does in Origins. I’m in the middle of replaying Origins right now and I’m almost tempted to

recruit him as a companion because I did enjoy him as a character here.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but I’m glad I enjoyed it. I’m a big fan of Dragon Age, so it was nice to be able to enjoy more of the franchise’s extra content.

To start, I really liked Maric’s journey across the book. Especially how his relationship with his closest friend, Loghain, played into it. He goes from a whiny and naïve boy to a hardened king, willing to do what’s necessary. It’s not fully framed as good either, even more so when taking his relationship with Loghain into the mix. They’re two friends who clearly love and are devoted to each other, yet still hurt each other.

I also thought the book’s description’s were well done. I had a solid pictures of characters and locations, but also the action and feelings in the moment. The combat is the best example of this. They felt visceral and fast-moving. Keeping that quick pace is something I see books struggle with a lot, so this was nice to see.

I also think the characters were largely compelling. While there was one I couldn’t really get behind, I think most were allowed a lot of depth and complexity. Even characters now handled well had it to an extent. I really felt like that the main cast were a group of young people that were suffering the consequences of growing up in a war.

However, the book has its flaws as well.

The most obvious issue was how women were written. Despite a level of complexity all characters had, the women felt a little flat. While Rowen had moments of a lot of depth, overall she and the other leading woman were largely objects. They became items for Maric and Loghain to fight and have conflict over, instead of being fully people. It was disappointing.

I also think the book’s pacing was off. I felt like some important moments were glossed over, meanwhile other moments were dragged out. This was even more obvious at the end of the book. The climax felt off and dissatisfying. While the epilogue was solid, I ended the book feeling like I’d been denied something.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. I had fun reading it, but I’d hesitate to recommend it to anyone that isn’t already a fan of Dragon Age.