Book Review: Dragon Age Last Flight

 The 5th and final entry in the Titan Books line of Dragon Age stories; Dragon Age: Last Flight is another strong entry into the stories that inhabit the world of Thedas.

Written by Liane Merciel the story of Last Flight follows two parallel perspectives occurring across different time periods. Valya is a elven mage who finds herself a refugee accommodated by the Grey Wardens in their main headquarters of Weisshaupt after the Templar/Mage civil war forced her and members of the Hossberg Circle to go on the run. In return for letting them stay, The Grey Wardens ask Valya and the other mages to help them research the history of the Wardens through the books in their great library. Valya ends up coming across a collection of documents including a personal diary of Issenya; a griffon rider from the time of the Fourth Blight. The story also follows Isenyar's story through the great battles and sieges of the Fourth Blight and how the Griffons eventually become extinct.

I like how strong the foundations of the narrative are in this book. Even though we're watching two different perspectives play out, their stories are intertwined through the Griffons and the Fourth Blight. They're both such compelling characters too, they each have similar backgrounds that help relate them to one another whilst also having enough definition to stand apart. The trip back into the past to look at how the Fourth Blight unfolded and was beaten was also really interesting to see. We know from the current games that there have been a number of Blights leading up to the Dragon Age and seeing how a prime one from the past played out was super cool. The biggest factor in this story is the Griffons specifically. We know by the point in Dragon Age that the Griffons are believed to be extinct, but we never knew how or why this happened. Getting that insight is much appreciated and it gives a lot of hope for where their story may lead to in future games or stories.

I can't fault the pacing or tone either. Moments never really linger unnecessarily all that much, the story keeps a consistent pace going from beginning to end. The fact that it has to manage two different stories occurring across two different time periods makes it all the more notable that it feels very consistent juggling both. There's a lot of gravity to the situations both these characters find themselves in too, dealing with personal conflict and the wider implications of wartime and the sacrifices and risks taken; it's such brilliant stuff and Merciel handles a lot of the emotional stuff really well while keeping it all in line with the Dragon Age lore.

This now marks the end of my time with the Titan series of Dragon Age stories. The collection of stories I've read each had a lot of interesting and compelling tales to tell which utilised the Dragon Age world brilliantly. Last Flight does just as good a job as all the prior stories in setting up a interesting storyline and shedding light on a mystery layered within the world of Dragon Age for a long time now.