Guild Wars: Edge of Destiny

After reading Ghosts of Ascalon I was ready to dive into this book despite the mix of reviews. Two days after cracking it open I finished it. Yes, some parts are rushed (particularly in the last half), but still a good book in my opinion. I've never played guild wars but these books have me dying to play the upcoming game (and wishing that they had more books in the series)! Sweeping and reading, cooking and reading, laying in bed reading, walking around with the little one and reading...couldn't put it down!

Compared to Ghost of Ascalon, I found this book to be near equal. The story is different and there are a few parts that didn't flow well, but overall I think it is a great story. The thing about this book is it features Destiny's Edge's origins, who are a bit more iconic in Guild Wars 2. The book's beginning was good, but around the middle, it did feel a bit lacking. The story felt a bit rushed with shorter chapters covering events that got larger amount of details before. I would have liked to see the events expanded to feature more character interaction, especially bonding within the group. While it is implied that the group was close, I never really saw them being that solid of a thing or ever truly declaring themselves as a guild. These changes would have certainly made the story stronger. The ending seemed to get better again with more detail of the events. The ending may feel lacking in some ways, but it is meant to set the stage for Guild Wars 2 and show the story of how the guild fell apart. In short, I feel the middle could be improved and the relationship of the characters could have been strengthened more, but the story was worth reading. I would probably recommend it more for players who are interested in the back-story of Guild Wars 2 than as a Fantasy story. Still, it is a good story, just not as conclusive and fulfilling as the previous.

I read Guild Wars: Edge of Destiny soon after finishing Ghosts of Ascalon. While Ghosts of Ascalon had better execution -- better pacing, better dialogue, etc. -- Edge of Destiny tells a story that simply must be read by Guild Wars 2 players. The first half of the book, as many other reviews note, does an excellent job developing characters and introducing you to the greater world of Tyria that exists 250 years after the first game. The second half of the book, as the other reviews also note, is obviously rushed. It's almost like a highlight reel of the best fights, without any of the in-between. It's for the rushed second half that I deduct one star. However, the ending of the book ultimately makes it all worth it -- I can't exactly say how without spoiling it, but suffice it to say that it is brilliant. There is simply no way to read this book start to finish and not be extremely motivated to play the game. I have played the 3 Beta Weekend Events of Guild Wars 2 and clocked about 60 hours into the game. From what I can see in the game already, all of the characters from Edge of Destiny are integral characters in your own character's "Personal Story", as well as the Story-mode dungeons within the game. For people who have read the book, it's an amazing experience to see the characters you know and love show up on screen and come to life. Not only that, but the game consistently refers back to events in the novel, which if you read the book will give you greater context and understanding of the GW2 plot. Finally, many of the chief goals in the game are to fix conflicts that arose in the book (trying to be purposefully vague so as to not spoil). In short, if you plan to play GW2, you MUST read this book to give yourself deeper understanding of the characters and to get motivated to solve the conflicts from the novel in game. If you don't have any interest in GW2, this is an interesting fantasy novel but the rushed second half will bore you to death. Without a desire to play the game, you will probably also hate the ending.

Looking at the mixed reviews for this book before reading it,I was very speculative on how it would be. After reading Ghosts of Ascalon, I had very high expectations for this book to follow. Needless to say, I finished the book today in a little under a week, and was not as disappointed as a lot of the reviews led me to believe I would be. Although I do agree that the book isn't as good as Ghosts of Ascalon, I believe it is still a very well-written piece of work. The first half of the book especially, I actually liked it MORE than GoA, and towards the end I started seeing why people had some negative thoughts about it, this mainly stemmed from the plot moving very quickly, and the "epic battles" going a lot quicker than the first half. However, the ending of the book redeemed itself hugely for me. The last few parts of the book are very intense, well done, and extremely emotional. I can understand the more negative (3 or less) reviews on the book because of how it was rushed in parts of it, but like said, I even liked parts of this more than GoA, and would only place the book a slight notch below it. While I do believe a lot more could have been done with this book, mainly the battles with the Dragon Champions, I can understand too that they may have had a limited amount of time/space to work with in the book, and I think they pulled it off to the best of their ability. If you are a die-hard fan of Guild Wars like myself, I believe you will truly love the book as much as I did. For people who are not as intricated within the game or the lore, sure, I can understand why they may not have liked it. But to be the connecting novel for the game, it did a beautiful job in doing so, it completed what it was meant to do, not be one of the "best fantasy books of all time." If you love Guild Wars, (myself going past 6 years now), and have nothing to do before Guild Wars 2, definitely give Edge of Destiny a go-round.

It's a great addition of you're a Guild Wars Fan! This made me super interested in Ember Doomforge and overall a great book. Get reading! Exactly as pictured [minus some minor cosmetic blemishes, slight tear in the spine of the book.]

Worth it and helps understand the lore of guild wars 2. This is the second book of guild wars to read. Gives a back story to guild wars 2.

Diferente do outro livro da mesma franquia, este veio intacto e muito bem embalado. O que faz eu ter maior certeza que foi um erro no embalamento dos produtos. O livro é ótimo e é indispensável para um fã do MMORPG.

No sólo es la novela ideal para conocer realmente a esos co-protagonistas del juego, sino que presenta un pasado para nada evidente, y sin ella es bastante más difícil entender la situación que se encuentra el jugador a lo largo del juego, ya que la tragedia final es mucho mayor de lo que la pintan en éste. Una gran oportunidad para conocer al genio Snaff, y ver a Logan Thackeray en todo su esplendor como calzonazos.

Excellent book even for non guild wars fans, you dont need to know anything about the world of GW to enjoy it. Im quarter half way throu the book and im having a blast as a diehard GW 1 and GW2 fan.

Excellent bouquin. Bien que le background de Guild Wars ne soit pas extraordinaire, je me suis lancé dans la lectures des bouquins avant la sortie de Guild Wars 2 et je n'ai pas été déçue. Récit bien écrit et poignant, on s'attache facilement aux personnages et on retrouve avec nostalgie les terres d'Ascalon qui ont bien vieillies. Très bonne introduction au MMO.