Mass Effect: Ascension

Lore & Background

The novel takes place shortly after the attack on the Citadel by the Reaper Sovereign and its allies Saren Arterius and the geth. The Ascension Project is an initiative program aimed at developing biotic abilities in humans, with a particular focus on the children of the victims of element zero accidents in multiple human colonies across the Systems Alliance. The Project, set up around 2176, is based at the Jon Grissom Academy, a medium-sized space station in orbit around the human colony of Elysium in the Skyllian Verge, a largely undeveloped patch of space situated along the borders of the Systems Alliance and the lawless Terminus Systems.

The Illusive Man, the enigmatic leader of the rogue, anthropocentric organization called Cerberus, plots Cerberus' next move, which involves the pursuit of an autistic young biotic prodigy named Gillian Grayson. Gillian's father and one of the Illusive Man's long-serving agents, Paul Grayson, is a troubled drug addict who was assigned with raising an infant girl with immense biotic potential. The autistic girl is now a member of the Ascension Project. Grayson, despite having much affection for his adopted daughter, is now reduced to a link man between Cerberus and their mole inside the Ascension Project, Dr. Jiro Toshiwa. Their mission is to sabotage the Ascension project by administering biotic-enhancing drugs to Gillian and evaluate their efficacy. When the Cerberus plot is exposed, Paul takes Gillian away from the Ascension Project and flees into the Terminus Systems. They are aided by Kahlee Sanders, a returning character from Revelation who is determined to protect Gillian, unaware that Paul is in fact a Cerberus operative. Their predicament is complicated when they cross paths with the quarian Migrant Fleet. Eventually Paul Grayson has a change of heart and leaves Cerberus, Kahlee returns to Grissom Academy, and Gillian remains with the quarian Migrant fleet.

Reader's Guide

Mass Effect: Ascension is significant as the first appearance of the Illusive Man and the first mention of the Collectors in the Mass Effect series, according to reviewer Rick Dakan. The novel provides insight into the lives of the quarian people, supplementing and clarifying lore and history provided by Tali'Zorah to Commander Shepard in the first Mass Effect, as noted by Brendan Lowry. It also offers further insight into Cerberus and their schemes, effectively serving as a prelude to Mass Effect 2. The book was written by Drew Karpyshyn, who was also a designer for the Mass Effect series, which reviewer Rick Dakan noted signaled that the book's events were likely to be fully integrated into the canon of the games. Reviewers praised the novel as a solid action/adventure thriller and a pleasant page turner, though Matt Wadleigh felt the book was over-written and would have benefited from more editorial oversight. The novel is recommended for fans interested in further exploring the motives of the Illusive Man, with whom Commander Shepard works as an unwilling operative of Cerberus in Mass Effect 2.