Guild Wars 2

I don’t really get into the whole Lore thing, I understand that some people are really into it and don’t miss a trick, I was talking to someone the other day who said the Guild Wars books are good to read,

So I figured id ask the people who follow the story/lore what they think, is it worth picking the books up?

Seeing as Anet are trying to distance themselves as far away from the original game, and there are so many unanswered questions, do the books etc cover all this, like why the gods left tyria, etc etc etc.

IMO, Sea of Sorrows and Ghosts of Ascalon are worth reading if you enjoy casual reading.

Edge of Destiny is only worth reading if you’re interested in the game’s lore. It’s story writing feels… subpar. Barely better than the disjointed feeling of the Living World.

The books don’t really cover much of anything from GW1. They do touch upon one or two things each (Livia for SoS; Ascalon/charr conflict for GoA; Glint for EoD) but they’re relatively minor things overall.

To add on to what Konig said, I really wasn’t impressed with Sea of Sorrows either. I like books where the characters drive the plot, but that one was definitely a case of the plot driving the characters, and as a result they all feel flat to me. Also, there’s a load of minor inconsistencies that grate when doing a close read.

Ghosts of Ascalon, I feel, was a very good book, and I would certainly recommend it.

Sea of Sorrows is still technically better written.

If you want to gain insight into the background of Destiny’s Edge, how the Charr-Human peace talks were made possible and how GW2 Lion’s Arch came to be (the one that’s destroyed now) then pick up the books.

It’s the only glimpse you will get of the Rising of Orr and of Kralkatorrik (so far). But they were written (except Sea of Sorrows) before the game got out so they felt kinda dislocated compared to the actual gameplay experience.

Not to speak of Ghosts of Ascalon, which made me (as a GW1 player) feel uncomfortable concerning the perspective of the Human-Charr conflict from GW1. It felt kinda WRONG to me, but that’s probably just me.

If you want some entertaining reads set in the GW2 universe then go ahead and pick them up. It’s not high literature, but decent fantasy. If you are seriously interested in the Lore the books are a must-read.

Sea of Sorrows, hands down. Gives you a nice thorough history of Lion’s Arch and offers much better characterization.