Fantasy

The Masked Empire

The Masked Empire

  • Downloads：3663
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-16 09:55:38
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Patrick Weekes
  • ISBN：0857686488
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Empress Celene of Orlais rose to the throne of the most powerful nation in Thedas through wisdom， wit， and ruthless manipulation。 Now， the empire she has guided into an age of enlightenment is threatened from within by imminent war between the templars and the mages， even as rebellion stirs among the downtrodden elves To save Orlais， Celene must keep her hold on the throne by any means necessary。

Fighting with the legendary skill of the Orlesian Chevaliers ， Grand Duke Gaspard has won countless battles for the empire and the empress But has he fought in vain？ As the Circle fails and chaos looms， Gaspard begins to doubt that Celene’s diplomatic approach to the mage problem or the elven uprisings will keep the empire safe。 Perhaps it is time for a new leader， one who lives by the tenets of the Chevalier’s Code， to make Orlais strong again。

Briala has been Celene’s handmaid since the two of them were children， subtly using her position to help improve the lives of elves across Orlais。 She is Celene’s confidante， spymaster， and lover， but when politics force the empress to choose between the rights of Briala’s people and the Orlesian throne， Briala must in turn decide where her true loyalties lie。

Alliances are forged and promises broken as Celene and Gaspard battle for the throne of Orlais But in the end， the elves who hide in the forests or starve in the alienages may decide the fate of the masked empire。

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Reviews

Elena ，

I played Dragon Age Inquisition before I read The Masked Empire。 Now I understand much more about Celene， Briala， and Gaspard， as well as the meaning behind the choice that the players can make in the game when choosing a ruler of Orlais。 In the beginning of the book Gaspard appeared as a villain but later on I began to understand him better and even respect for his chevalier code and wisdom when it was least expected。My favorite character， however， was Felassan due to his witty and yet wise com I played Dragon Age Inquisition before I read The Masked Empire。 Now I understand much more about Celene， Briala， and Gaspard， as well as the meaning behind the choice that the players can make in the game when choosing a ruler of Orlais。 In the beginning of the book Gaspard appeared as a villain but later on I began to understand him better and even respect for his chevalier code and wisdom when it was least expected。My favorite character， however， was Felassan due to his witty and yet wise comments。 I wish we could meet him again though it seems unlikely。All in all， it was a delightful read。 A huge thank you to everyone involved！ 。。。more

David ，

In all honestly， out of all the Dragon Age novels， this one I had the least high hopes for。 I thought it would be all political and boring。 But the books ended up behind far better than I anticipated。 I recommended to a true Dragon Age fan and if possible， read this book before playing Inquisition。

Rebecca Dy ，

While some of the characters feel a little lacking in characterization for it to be a standalone departed from the video games， it works to fill in gaps and enhance the universe it's written into。 Oftentimes tie-in books will be one-note， boring fanservice just to drive up game sales- this is not true of Weekes' work， you can see there's new information and world building in this tale。 While some of the characters feel a little lacking in characterization for it to be a standalone departed from the video games， it works to fill in gaps and enhance the universe it's written into。 Oftentimes tie-in books will be one-note， boring fanservice just to drive up game sales- this is not true of Weekes' work， you can see there's new information and world building in this tale。 。。。more

K ，

Celene is a ninja。 Otherwise， I was surprised that I enjoyed a book about Versailles-like court intrigue。 They also set the background well for the situation we bumble into in the game。 I never understood why Briala interacted with Gaspard the way she does--but here we go。Maybe it's me， but I think the timelines continue to be messed up because it doesn't seem like the stuff Briala is supposedly responsible for could have happened in the amount of time the civil war supposedly goes on。 Not to me Celene is a ninja。 Otherwise， I was surprised that I enjoyed a book about Versailles-like court intrigue。 They also set the background well for the situation we bumble into in the game。 I never understood why Briala interacted with Gaspard the way she does--but here we go。Maybe it's me， but I think the timelines continue to be messed up because it doesn't seem like the stuff Briala is supposedly responsible for could have happened in the amount of time the civil war supposedly goes on。 Not to mention that it seems way too powerful and there don't appear to be any direct repercussions in the game on the scale I would expect， but。。。 it's acknowledged in the game as her having "brief" access to the tool， so I guess it was。。。。 very brief。I usually skim or skip the combat scenes in these books， but this one had plot developments invisibly interspersed， so I had to keep going back。 But Celene is a ninja。 Conflicted。 。。。more

G Classey ，

Possibly the best of the series。

Max Diamond ，

A great read before playing InquisitionThis is an essential read before inquisition。 I have a much better understanding of so many characters that you meet in DAI

daisy ，

CAWPILE rating: 8。5/10 STAR rating: ★★★★½ CAWPILE rating: 8。5/10 STAR rating: ★★★★½ 。。。more

Hailley Wilson ，

I enjoyed this one better than Asunder， the writing was much better。 I'm still giving it the same rating though。 I always enjoy learning about the elves so I liked that， and I liked learning a bit of the backstory of the characters who show up in Inquisition。 I wish there had been more about the Game， rather than most of it being a typical adventure type book。 Also the romance between Celene and Briala felt very forced and not very romantic。 It didn't feel like there was any genuine connection b I enjoyed this one better than Asunder， the writing was much better。 I'm still giving it the same rating though。 I always enjoy learning about the elves so I liked that， and I liked learning a bit of the backstory of the characters who show up in Inquisition。 I wish there had been more about the Game， rather than most of it being a typical adventure type book。 Also the romance between Celene and Briala felt very forced and not very romantic。 It didn't feel like there was any genuine connection between them。 And I'm terrible at visualizing certain things， so the very in depth described fights were a bit boring for me。 。。。more

Heather ，

While it was interesting to get the backstories of the Orlesians I think this just isn’t my favorite of this series。 Not a bad book I just am not really one for all the backstabbing and betrayal and whatnot。 I know， weird， right？ Again， not a bad book， just not my cup of tea

Telaara Dunwin ，

Das Buch war gut， sehr gut， objektiv betrachtet。 Subjektiv allerdings 。。。 nun， meine Meinung zu den Protagonisten hat sich nicht geändert。 Ich mochte sie nicht als ich ihnen in Dragon Age Inquisition begegnet bin und sie sind mir nun noch unsympathischer geworden。 Es war aber auf jeden Fall interessant， den Weg zu sehen， der sie an die Positionen geführt hat， in denen man sie im Spiel antrifft。 Und im nächsten Spieldurchlauf werde ich wohl einige Entscheidungen anders treffen。

Jeannette Nikolova ，

Also available on the WondrousBooks blog。The Masked Empire tells the story of Orlais， the strongest force in Thedas， the empire which conquered， albeit briefly， Ferelden， and which can afford the most cultured and lavish life in the continent。 An empire ruled by a powerful and cunning empress - Celene。Strictly speaking of Dragon Age Inquisition， The Masked Empire is the book which is most crucial to the game's story， among all five companion novels。 Unaware of the book series when starting t Also available on the WondrousBooks blog。The Masked Empire tells the story of Orlais， the strongest force in Thedas， the empire which conquered， albeit briefly， Ferelden， and which can afford the most cultured and lavish life in the continent。 An empire ruled by a powerful and cunning empress - Celene。Strictly speaking of Dragon Age Inquisition， The Masked Empire is the book which is most crucial to the game's story， among all five companion novels。 Unaware of the book series when starting the games， I think I might have missed out a bit when it comes to The Masked Empire， because it was published prior to the release of Inquisition， partly as a publicity event， partly to add to the some of the events in the game。I could， of course， connect things from the book which what I'd already played in the game， however， I can imagine that it would have been so much better to play the game， knowing the backstory in advance， as it would have added more depth and importance to my interactions with characters such as Celene， Briala， Duke Gaspard， and even Michel and Ishmael， who made an appearance in Emprise du Lion， and to whom I paid too little attention at the time。Additionally， having read the book， I would have had a completely different attitude toward Briala during the quest in the Winter Palace。 Briala in the game was a character who I did not fully understand and therefore， did not support。 Briala in the book， however， makes a lot of sense。 So did， for that matter， Duke Gaspard。 He was， in fact， my favourite among the Orlesians in The Masked Empire。 I found him a lot more honorable and even reasonable as to his desires to seize the throne。 True， he was merciless， but so was Celene， and so was Briala， so among the three ruthless main characters in the book， Gaspard was actually the one who had clear and respectable reasons。Celene， on the other hand was a greatly unpleasant character， from her hypocritical "honor"， overly exaggerated skills， which she sorely lacked in Inquisition and needed the Inquisition to save her ass， and down to her extremely annoying constant repetition of "My champion" - nobody speaks like that！The one story in this book which I liked the most， though， was the one about Felassan。 The whole thing was very subtle， but having played DAI， I could easily make the connection between the ending of DAI and the ending of The Masked Empire， and it was quite fascinating and exciting。And since I liked the book overall， why the 3 stars？ Because I simply strongly dislike Orlais。 I'm team Ferelden all the way， and reading about these Orlesian buffoons for so long exasperated me。 I hope in the future games Ferelden overtakes the empire and brings the end of their silly masks， silly chevaliers and， most of all， their silly Game。 Too bad it might not be Alistair doing it， seeing as how the books gently avoid all player-made choices in the games， like who each player would choose to rule Ferelden， for example。 。。。more

Halli Ann ，

I loved this book！ Felassan was definitely my favorite。 I think with all that I learned， it will now influence my choices the next time I play inquisition and go through Halamshiral。 also I just want Felassan to be alive:（（ my baby:（（

Amy ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I hate politics。 I hate the scheming and gleeful backstabbing of Orlais， so I almost quit the book after the first 1/3。 My anxiety couldn’t take it。 Then it shifted to something more tolerable for me， a journey and uncovering mysteries。 And at the end I threw down the book in disgust because the last oh， 40-some pages just made me mad。I’ve made the wrong fucking decision every time my Inquisitor went to the Winter Palace。 But what’s even more fucking funny is that I just want to punch Fen’Harel I hate politics。 I hate the scheming and gleeful backstabbing of Orlais， so I almost quit the book after the first 1/3。 My anxiety couldn’t take it。 Then it shifted to something more tolerable for me， a journey and uncovering mysteries。 And at the end I threw down the book in disgust because the last oh， 40-some pages just made me mad。I’ve made the wrong fucking decision every time my Inquisitor went to the Winter Palace。 But what’s even more fucking funny is that I just want to punch Fen’Harel even harder。Maybe it’s because I just lived through a shit four years where my country showed its ass and it became obvious that people in power will never truly care for anyone who can’t help them keep that power。 Maybe I watched too many period romances with happy endings。 But this book just pissed me off。This is a companion to the game， and so I am not judging it as a book。 The story would be too disjointed if you weren’t reading it for the lore。 4 stars for inciting feelings of rage。 4 stars for Ser Michel and Briala。 5 stars for Felassan。 0 stars for Orlais and the Dread Wolf。 。。。more

Carrie ，

This was sort of a surprise for me！ I recently started playing Dragon Age: Inquisition。 I was looking for a high fantasy book and picked up this one， number 4 in the series， because it deals with characters I'm familiar with from the game。 Turns out it has a lot of things I like in high fantasy: multiple complex female characters， interesting politics， a dash of humor， and a bit of magic。The last 20% of the book got a little bit slow and repetitive for me because of the continued fight scenes， s This was sort of a surprise for me！ I recently started playing Dragon Age: Inquisition。 I was looking for a high fantasy book and picked up this one， number 4 in the series， because it deals with characters I'm familiar with from the game。 Turns out it has a lot of things I like in high fantasy: multiple complex female characters， interesting politics， a dash of humor， and a bit of magic。The last 20% of the book got a little bit slow and repetitive for me because of the continued fight scenes， so this is more of a 4。5 read， but hey， I read it in four days， which is a lot faster than I've read most books this year。 。。。more

Abigail Vollers ，

A book that asks to be read twice: once before playing the associated video game Dragon Age 3， and once afterwards。 Like a fine scotch， it is best savored with appropriate accompaniment。

endeavoursofvic ，

The Masked Empire: 3。5 Stars

Celthara ，

I went in with very low motivation as I didn't expect to care for Orlais and its politics but in the end I grew to love this book。 Partially， because it focused less on Orlais and more on people。 I have never felt truly engaged by Orlais and the novel did start out a tad boring setting up the scene， but then it managed to draw me in completely。 I think Weekes is best at writing characters and here he is doing an amazing job of introducing us to a selection of intriguing characters with their equ I went in with very low motivation as I didn't expect to care for Orlais and its politics but in the end I grew to love this book。 Partially， because it focused less on Orlais and more on people。 I have never felt truly engaged by Orlais and the novel did start out a tad boring setting up the scene， but then it managed to draw me in completely。 I think Weekes is best at writing characters and here he is doing an amazing job of introducing us to a selection of intriguing characters with their equally intriguing backgrounds and relationships。 And he does this while telling a well-paced， coherent story， that keeps you on edge and makes you want to keep reading。 。。。more

Marlene Bentsen （Boggrippen） ，

3。5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Mere Dragon Age😍🙌The Masked Empire hedder den fjerde roman i Biowares populære spil univers。 Det er den første bog， der ikke er skrevet af hovedforfatteren David Gaider （manden bag skønne karakterer som Morrigan， Flemeth， Cassandra， Anders， Fenris og Dorian）og jeg var lidt spændt på om Patrick Weekes kunne løfte opgaven。 Jeg havde dog selvfølgelig ingen grund til bekymring！ Weekes har været en fast del af Bioware siden 2005 og efter at have arbejdet med Mass Effect spillene （et andet 3。5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Mere Dragon Age😍🙌The Masked Empire hedder den fjerde roman i Biowares populære spil univers。 Det er den første bog， der ikke er skrevet af hovedforfatteren David Gaider （manden bag skønne karakterer som Morrigan， Flemeth， Cassandra， Anders， Fenris og Dorian）og jeg var lidt spændt på om Patrick Weekes kunne løfte opgaven。 Jeg havde dog selvfølgelig ingen grund til bekymring！ Weekes har været en fast del af Bioware siden 2005 og efter at have arbejdet med Mass Effect spillene （et andet yndlingsspil😍）， kom han over på Dragon Age holdet， hvor han arbejdede på DA:Inquisition og blev den nye hovedforfatter efter David Gaider af uvisse årsager forlod Bioware i 2016。Den fjerde bog er selvfølgelig tæt knyttet til spillet DA:Inquisition og omhandler det politiske spil i det franskinspirerede land Orlais。Har du spillet Inquisition， så vil du genkende situationen i The Masked Empire。 Krigen mellem mages og templars truer stabiliteten i Orlais og med elvernes oprør og Grand Duke Gaspards forsøg på at overtage tronen， hænger Empress Celenes magt i en tynd tråd。Hun får dog god hjælp af sin spionmester og fortrolige， elveren og elskeren Briala， der forsøger at ændre systemet indefra og dermed gøre livet mere tåleligt for sit folk。Men kampen om tronen er et forræderisk spil og Empress Celene bliver tvunget til at forråde sin elskede for nationen og sin trone。Denne historie er forhistorien til den main quest i spillet， der hedder Wicked Eyes And Wicked Hearts。 Den afgør hvem， der får tronen og ved at læse The Masked Empire， får man en større indblik i karaktererne og deres bevæggrunde。 Det er spilleren selv， der bestemmer udfaldet af quest’en， så det er meget fedt at læse lidt baggrundshistorie😃👍The Masked Empire var en spændende historie， der blev bedre jo længere jeg kom ind i den og jeg var ret begejstret over， at man udover at lære om Celenes og Brialas fortid， så får man også en del information om elvernes historie。 Den sidste del af bogen og specielt slutningen var virkelig interessant！Jeg troede ærlig talt ikke jeg ville bryde mig om historien， for Wicked Eyes And Wicked Hearts var en lidt træls og lang quest， men heldigvis overraskede den mig ganske positivt。 Ikke mindst på grund af Celenes champion Ser Michel de Chevin， som man også støder på i DA:Inquision😊😃 。。。more

Catherine ，

Made me want to play Dragon Age again。 And now I guess I know what the best decision is in wicked eyes and wicked hearts。

Debora Parisi ，

Salve a tutti e a tutte， oggi parlerò del secondo libro che ho letto su Dragon Age， ovvero L’impero delle Maschere。 Avviso che tale recensione potrebbe contenere degli spoiler。Come il titolo lascia dedurre， vi è una doppia interpretazione: non solo si riferisce al fatto che i nobili d’Orleais indossino maschere， ma che la maschera sia anche ciò su cui si basa il Gioco di corte。Sono proprio gli intrighi di corte a fare da padroni sulla trama: la lotta tra l’Imperatrice Celene e il Gran Duca Gaspa Salve a tutti e a tutte， oggi parlerò del secondo libro che ho letto su Dragon Age， ovvero L’impero delle Maschere。 Avviso che tale recensione potrebbe contenere degli spoiler。Come il titolo lascia dedurre， vi è una doppia interpretazione: non solo si riferisce al fatto che i nobili d’Orleais indossino maschere， ma che la maschera sia anche ciò su cui si basa il Gioco di corte。Sono proprio gli intrighi di corte a fare da padroni sulla trama: la lotta tra l’Imperatrice Celene e il Gran Duca Gaspard scuote la politica del regno， mentre Briala， amante e spia di Celene， viene coinvolta a suo malgrado in questi giochi di potere。Tali intrighi politici porteranno a due punti fondamentali: la scoperta del Crocevia degli Eluvian e il massacro dell’enclave elfica di Halamshiral， evendo che farò riflettere Briala sulla situazione degli elfi nella società。Leggendo questo libro， si avrà una visuale più ambia dei retroscena del gioco Inquisition， scoprendo ad esempio come mai Michel de Chevin ha giurato vendetta contro il demone Imshael。Ho amato tutti i personaggi in quanto il libro mostra i loro lati oscuri e chiari。Celene è pronta a tutto pur di mantenere il potere， in quanto dall’età di sedici anni doveva sopravvivere in un mondo di squali。 Non riesce a mantenere rapporti sani e perfino la sua relazione con Briala è tossica， fondata su bugie e manipolazione。Saranno proprio le sue azioni a spingere Briala a rompere con lei。Ora passiamo alla nostra capospia elfica: Briala è a mio parere il personaggio più “innocente” della storia。 Certo， ha le sue colpe in quanto nel gioco voleva far assassinare una povera servitrice elfa， ma nel romanzo ricopre il ruolo di una vittima sia della società。Grazie a questo libro ho capito che la rappacificazione con Celene non sarebbe stata sana in quanto il loro rapporto era tossico fin dall’inizio。Gaspard de Chalons è il cugino dell’imperatrice e in origine era l’erede prossimo dell’imperatore。 Purtroppo per lui， Celene gli rubò il posto con l’astuzia。In Inquisition pare un po’ impacciato， mentre nel libro scopriamo che è molto astuto e intelligente， ma a differenza della cugina， odia il Gioco ed è più onorevole della cugina。C’è chi lo ritiene un razzista， però a mio parere è più sicero nelle intenzioni della cugina。 Certo， è a causa sua se si è scatenato il massacro nella città elfica， ma Celene poteva scegliere e ha scelto di uccidere migliai di elfi per mantenere l’approvazione della nobitlà。Inoltre nel libro si intuisce che è disposto ad aprirsi a certi cambiamenti， come nell’accettare Michel de Chevin nonostante abbia una madre elfica， mentre Celine non esita a bollarlo come traditore per non perdere potere a corte。Se Gaspard diviene imperatore da solo o come burattino di Briala， si dimostrerà disposto a riabilitare la figura di Michel， cosa che Celene non farà。Inoltre Celene， pur essendo in apparenza più pacata nei riguardi degli elfi， non esita a rompere le sue stesse parole pur di mantenere il potere。 Quindi considero Gaspard un individuo meno instabile di Celene。Certo， potrebbe essere un guerrafondaio， ma con la giusta dose di diplomazia le dispute con il Ferelden cesserebbero （è una missione sul tavolo da guerra）。link alla recensione completa: https://www。portointergalattico。it/vi。。。 。。。more

Esme ，

Genuinely surprised by how engaged I was with this。 A very slow start but an excellent prequel to Dragon Age: inquisition

Lou ，

celene valmont i love u

Melanie ，

I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would。 I'm not crazy about Orlais or any of it's people or political pettiness， so I didn't think I was going to like this at all。 But it surprised me！ Another book in the Dragon Age realm down！ I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would。 I'm not crazy about Orlais or any of it's people or political pettiness， so I didn't think I was going to like this at all。 But it surprised me！ Another book in the Dragon Age realm down！ 。。。more

Nyasha ，

Wasn't my favourite in the series but it did detail a lot more about Briala， Celene， Michel and Gaspard， a good read！ Wasn't my favourite in the series but it did detail a lot more about Briala， Celene， Michel and Gaspard， a good read！ 。。。more

Niccy Cawkwell ，

IntriguingThis story fills in a few plot holes for the game dragon age inquisition。 It's definitely a fantastic read for those who like intrigue and spies。 IntriguingThis story fills in a few plot holes for the game dragon age inquisition。 It's definitely a fantastic read for those who like intrigue and spies。 。。。more

Lukas ，

*4。75*

Angie ，

This was a slightly more enjoyable read than the previous ones。 Writing style is more to my liking。 I was mostly underwhelmed by the plot （though it had some fun points）， but that may be due to my high expectations based on what happens in games。 It took me five months to get to reading it till the end。 If you are not madly interested in game franchise， I would not recommend you read this book， it won't do much in realm of convincing you to start playing the games。 This was a slightly more enjoyable read than the previous ones。 Writing style is more to my liking。 I was mostly underwhelmed by the plot （though it had some fun points）， but that may be due to my high expectations based on what happens in games。 It took me five months to get to reading it till the end。 If you are not madly interested in game franchise， I would not recommend you read this book， it won't do much in realm of convincing you to start playing the games。 。。。more

needlework ，

3。5， rounded up。

Jaclyn Tan ，

I felt that Felassan's mentor relationship to Briala should have been fleshed out more so the ending could have had a bigger impact。 Briala's relationship with Celene was also a bit bland and unconvincing。 Well worth reading if you're into the dragon age series though。 I felt that Felassan's mentor relationship to Briala should have been fleshed out more so the ending could have had a bigger impact。 Briala's relationship with Celene was also a bit bland and unconvincing。 Well worth reading if you're into the dragon age series though。 。。。more

Thirza ，

So， I generally do not go to my PC to write a review， but I had to this time。This book left me with shivers as I was finishing it。 It was the perfect representation of Orlais and a good inside look to what actually happens in this empire。 The Game was so well written， the intrigues were well written， even the relationship between Celene and Briala was so well written that I could connect the dots with the "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts" mission within Inquisition。 And while all of this is awesom So， I generally do not go to my PC to write a review， but I had to this time。This book left me with shivers as I was finishing it。 It was the perfect representation of Orlais and a good inside look to what actually happens in this empire。 The Game was so well written， the intrigues were well written， even the relationship between Celene and Briala was so well written that I could connect the dots with the "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts" mission within Inquisition。 And while all of this is awesome， I have not even gotten started on how well the chevaliers are written！ Their code of honour was so well represented that it ensured that the ending was perfect for the setting this story is in。 I loved it， and I would read it again！！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Masked Empire

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Masked Empire&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Masked Empire&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0