DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

Overall an ok collection, full of hits as well as misses. Not really something I'd heavily reccomend to anyone unless they were like a hard core, hard core DA fan.

I wouldn't call myself a hardcore Dragon Age fan, but I enjoyed the first game - later renamed "Origins" - and was sufficiently intrigued by the ending of Dragon Age: Inquisition. The world of Dragon Age is a darker take on Tolkienian epic fantasy. Despite the obvious similarities with The Lord of the Rings - complete with an alliance between men, dwarves, and elves against an army of orcs (called "Darkspawn" in Dragon Age lore) - Dragon Age manages to evoke an illusion of depth. There are realms as interesting as Ferelden just offscreen. 

Tevinter is one of those realms. Tevinter Nights is an anthology of short stories that take place after Inquisition and mostly focus Tevinter. This has the effect of helping to build the world of Dragon Age, letting us explore an area and characters not seen in the games, while also providing hints at the announced fourth Dragon Age game. 

As with many anthologies, the stories contained within are of variable quality. Some are quite entertaining, some a bit slow. I actually found the most interesting tales to be the ones about the Ativan Crows. Zevran was one of the more complex characters in the first game and so I enjoyed learning more about how these assassins operate. For those readers looking for hints about the next installment in the Dragon Age mythos, this book should satisfy you. I won't spoil anything except to say that some of the stories deal directly with the aftermath of Inquisition and the revelation about Solas. 

I wouldn't recommend this book to general fans of fantasy literature; the book requires an extensive knowledge of Dragon Age lore to appreciate (do you remember what the Mortalitasi are?). However, I would recommend it for Dragon Age fans.

[Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.]

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book is available for purchase now.

Sometimes I’m in the mood for a fun, slash ’em and bash ’em fantasy. This collection of stories certainly fit the bill. As is the case with most short story collections, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. However, this is a strong book and even the stories I didn’t love were fun.

I’ll admit that I don’t know a ton of the lore surrounding Dragon Age. I don’t get much chance to play video games and I prefer multi-players, so I only know what I’ve been able to garner here and there. It didn’t matter, though: everything that is important to the book is explained throughout. Kudos to the authors for making this a book anyone can follow.

Even though all the stories are fun, there were two that really stood out to me. The first one is “Three Trees to Midnight” by Patrick Weekes. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say that I loved the development of the relationship between the two main characters. The condescension that built to a grudging respect moved the story along wonderfully.

The other story that I loved is “Luck in the Gardens” by Sylive Feketekuty. The narration in this story was excellent and made it easily the most memorable of the tales. The opening immediately hooked me.

If you’re looking for a book to take you out of the stress of everything going on, one to escape into, this book is for you.

Have you been in desperate need of a Dragon Age fix? If so, then this short story anthology is one way to help ease that pain. It's not the same as the games, of course, but that won't stop it from being an entertaining read.
Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights is a collection of fifteen short stories, all of them set within the wider world of the Dragon Age franchise. Here you'll find everything from bandits to heroes, and back again.
Stories included in this collection: Three Trees to Midnight by Patrick Weekes, Down Among the Dead Men by Sylvia Feketekuty, The Horror of Hormak by John Epler, Callback by Lukas Kristhanson, Luck in the Gardens by Sylvia Feketekuty, Hunger by Brianne Battye, Murder by Death Mages by Caitlin Sullivan Kelly, The Streets of Minrathous by Brianne Battye, The Wigmaker Job by Courtney Woods, Genitivi Dies in the End by Lukas Kristjanson, Herold Had the Plan by Ryan Cormier, An Old Crow's Old Tricks by Arone LaBray, Eight Little Talons by Courtney Woods, Half Up Front by John Epler, and The Dread Wolf Take You by Patrick Weekes. All of which I'll review individually down below.
Personally, I loved the variety found in this collection. It gave an even wider insight into the world, as well as providing a delightful trip back into a franchise I love so much. Then again, I've always been a fan of the novels and graphic novels, so perhaps my opinion isn't so surprising.


Three Trees to Midnight by Patrick Weekes ★ ★ ★ ★
Three Trees to Midnight is the tale of two unlikely allies in the face of great danger. One elf, and one human mage. Not the most likely pair, but together they must face (and escape from) the Qunari and their prison camp.
“Myrion raised his hands. If the Veil was thin, it was time to see how much he could really do.”
I really enjoyed this short story. It was quick, fun, and yet wasn't afraid to dive into the racism many characters carry, and how that can all be broken thanks to circumstance and perspective. Not to mention, I loved the insight into the lore of Arlathan. Much appreciated.


Down Among the Dead Men by Sylvia Feketekuty ★ ★ ★ ★
What happens when corpses take to the streets once again? Down Among the Dead Men is that tale. One corpse rose up in Nevarran, and in doing so dragged one guardsman and several Mortalitasi into the fray.
“Would not a guardsman who's recited the history of every stone in every promenade we've passed regret passing up the chance to see the architecture of the Grand Necropolis?”
This was another short story that I found myself really enjoying, mostly thanks to the guardsmen's perspective (and his love of architecture, history, and books...that might be my bias showing through, huh?). It was a unique story, though I wish that it had been further explained at points.


The Horror of Hormak by John Epler ★ ★ ★ ★
This is an aptly named short story. The Horror of Hormak is at its heart a horror story. Two Gray Wardens have gone off searching for missing comrades (an entire company, actually), only to find that something significantly darker than they could have hoped for was the cause of it all.
“For a moment, Ramesh forgot where he was. Black panic threatened to steal over him then, but he fought it down.”
Maybe it's because of all the horror I've been reading lately, but I really enjoyed this short story. It was easy to get into, and exceptionally chilling. It is exactly how I pictured the horror side of Dragon Age to go.


Callback by Lukas Kristhanson ★ ★ ★ ★
Sutherland has been called to Skyhold. It has been abandoned, yes, but that has not stopped the need to investigate the most recent goings on. More accurately, the state of abandonment is quite the cause for concern. Bonus points for classic character appearances.
“The Inquisition wasn't the first army it had hosted. The next might not be so charitably inspired.”
If you enjoyed Sutherland's character, then odds are good that you're going to appreciate this short story revolving around him. I also enjoyed the sense of suspense, as well as a brief glimpse into what has been going on here.


Luck in the Gardens by Sylvia Feketekuty ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Following a Riviana Lord of Fortune and a beloved character from the games, this is the tale of a great hunt. Well, mostly. Something dark is poaching within the city, and Dorian Pavus has amassed a small sum of money to pay off a hero (or anyone, really) to put an end to the monster.
“Luck is twisting things to your own good, or noticing when they go well.”
Once again, if you love seeing characters from the games make an appearance, then you're going to love Luck in the Gardens. I personally adore Dorian, so I was tickled to see his appearance here. I also loved the perspective from the Lord of Fortune, which made for a lot of fun. This was easily one of my favorites from this collection.


Hunger by Brianne Battye ★ ★ ★
Grey Wardens take to the forefront again for this short story, Hunger. One village has been plagued by nightly terrors, and while it isn't their directive, two Grey Wardens have decided to step up and save the day.
“Are you hungry? It asked itself.”
I was intrigued by this story, though truth be told, I had a lot of trouble getting into it. I love the concept of two Grey Wardens trying to change the perspective of an entire town by saving them from the monsters. I think I just wish that it had been more detailed, though that probably would have required it to be a longer tale.


Murder by Death Mages by Caitlin Sullivan Kelly ★ ★ ★
A war is brewing in Nevarra (what a surprise), and one Inquisition agent has been assigned to dive into the political mess and hopefully divert it before it begins. Cassandra Penaghast makes a brief appearance, though mostly in reference.
“And none of the other Nevarrans would rather feed themselves to a wyvern than return to Nevarra City”
I really wanted to love Murder by Death Mages, and I swear that's only partially because of Cassandra's involvement. Truth be told, I simply struggled to get into this story. I feel like if we had gotten more time to appreciate and sympathize with the leading character this whole tale would have gone better. But perhaps that's just me. On the bright side, there's a whole lot of politicking in this novel, from the royalty right down to the people in their care.


The Streets of Minrathous by Brianne Battye ★ ★ ★
From one investigation to another. The Streets of Minrathous follows a private detective (as opposed to the Inquisition) as they dig into the Venatori cult – one that is actively fighting for power within Minrathous.
“A bad night had turned into a bad morning, so I shouldn't have been surprised when the templars turned up.”
I think I would have enjoyed this story a lot more, if not for placement. The last two short stories sort of bled together, but maybe that's just me? I did have to stop and think for a minute, before sitting down and writing about these two. That being said, it was interesting to see a bit more about the cults (and how pervasive they are) in this world.


The Wigmaker Job by Courtney Woods ★ ★ ★ ★
Two Crows work in cohesion in order to take out their latest mark – a wigmaker of all people. The Wigmaker Job is a dark tale, following two descendants of the Talon as they hunt down a torturer you'd rather never hear about.
“Look at you-quivering over Antivan propaganda.”
I loved how dark and disturbing this story got. The more I read stories like these, the more I realize how well-suited it is to horror. Can we get more of this, please? The tone was perfection, as were the characters, whom I really enjoyed reading about. This is probably another one of my favorites from the collection.


Genitivi Dies in the End by Lukas Kristjanson ★ ★ ★ ★
Be careful how much you trust the word of others, be it written or spoken. Everything has a bias, even if that fact is not clear. That is the lesson Genitivi Dies in the End seeks to teach us. Or rather, it is one of many lessons. Together, a Bard, a Brother Genitivi, and a former Chantry Sister go off on a quest...and bite off more than expected in the process.
“A storied land of Blight and empire is 'unimportant' yet you linger on salacious personal details?”
This was a fascinating story – I loved the message behind it, as well as the combination of characters involved. I also appreciated the title, even though there's an obvious spoiler in it. In a way, that warning was helpful. I would have happily read a longer story about these three.


Herold Had the Plan by Ryan Cormier ★ ★ ★ ★
Herold Had the Plan is another tale involving a Lord of Fortune. Bharv is a dwarf, and he's been put on a job that comes with some unintended violence and dangers. All thanks to several subplots, all of which are revealed in time. Bonus points: Vaea makes an appearance near the end.
“My daughters think it's important I eat right while running for my life.”
I was surprised by how emotional this short story made me. I think it's because, despite the short amount of time available, it was easy to connect with and care about Bharv, the main perspective. More than that, he seemed to be in quite the bind, and yet was caring about the others on his team. Well, some of them, at any rate.


An Old Crow's Old Tricks by Arone LaBray ★ ★ ★ ★
Never discount the Old Crow. An Old Crow's Old Tricks is about one elderly Crow assassin who is far from retirement. For she's on the hunt again, targeting Tevinter soldiers who did wrong by several elves long ago.
“I even made sure to save something specifically for you.”
I loved this concept. An old assassin still going off on her hunt, intentionally being underestimated due to her age. It's actually quite brilliant. My only regret is that we didn't have more time to dive into this story.


Eight Little Talons by Courtney Woods ★ ★ ★
Looking for a murder mystery? Then Eight Little Talons is the short story for you to check out. The leaders of the Crow assassins have deemed it time to meet, despite all of the risks that come with having them all together. Naturally, things went off the rail from there.
“'We are not on holiday' he hissed. 'The other Talons will be judging our every move.'”
This short story kind of blends several genres together. It's mainly a murder mystery, but it has a strong romantic plot as well, which actually surprised me quite a bit. There are a lot of interesting details to pick up over the course of this read. I think had it been a full novel, or even novella, mostly because I feel like taking more time to set the scene would have been appreciated.


Half Up Front by John Epler ★ ★ ★
A disgraced Altus has been given the opportunity for one final job. One job that will set her and her lover into a world of comfort. One chance to make everything right. It'll be worth it. She's been through worse before this, after all.
“One thing you should know about me-I don't take kindly to intimidation.”
Half Up Front was a deeply personal story, one following a woman who has been through so much, and yet has a long way yet to go. There were some interesting points and choices made throughout this short story. Though sometimes that resulted in confusing scenes or moments (or even decisions). On the whole, I found it to be interesting, though there were times where it felt like I was waiting for something to happen.


The Dread Wolf Take You by Patrick Weekes ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
This is the story of Charter. She has been sent on another mission, this time to gather information about the Dread Wolf (aka, Solas). If you're wondering why you recognize that name, she is one of Leliana's spies, perhaps the one she trusts above all others. And it shows.
“We came because we possess a shared interest in the Wolf.”
The Dread Wolf Take You is probably the longest short story in this collection, but it's also the anchor story. There is good reason why it's so long, as there's a lot going on here. Honestly? It was fantastic. If you love Leliana half as much as I do, then you're going to love seeing how one of her spies works. The added bonus of the focus being on Silas is a nice touch, one of many throughout this story. I honestly would have happily kept reading this tale, had I been given half a chance.

I've been a huge fan of the Dragon Age franchise ever since Dragon Age: Origins was released back in 2009. I'm pretty sure I've played every game in the series and read every book and comic since they first started releasing. So even though I'm a big fan of short stories, I was still pretty excited to receive this book in the mail a few weeks ago and started reading it almost right away. Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights is a great collection of stories by some fantastic authors that was well worth the read!

While I'm normally not a fan of anthologies like this because I find the stories to be a bit too short for me liking, I do think the format works really well for a franchise like this. Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights does a wonderful job of expanding upon and fleshing out the world of Thedas even more. A lot of the stories in this anthology explore parts of Thedas we only see mentioned in the games and the way they are written they definitely feel like they are leading up to a new game in the franchise. Instead of a single linear storyline, Tevinter Nights bounces around a bit and shows us events and points in time that I think really help build out the lore of Dragon Age franchise as much as any of the games do.

I can't go into much detail on the stories without spoiling things for people who haven't had a chance to read the anthology yet, but I will say that the Qunari invasion is going to lead the world of Thedas to some really interesting places. One of the things that really surprised me about this book is that I don't think it contained a single story that I disliked. Though, I will say that both of the stories that Patrick Weekes wrote for Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights were my favorite stories in the entire anthology and would have made the book worth reading even if I didn't enjoy the rest of the stories like I did.

All in all, this was a fantastic book worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something new to read, whether they are a fan of the franchise or not. The one thing I think this book really did though was to make me want to go out and buy all the games so I can play them again in preparation for when we get the next game in the series!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an excellent treat for those of us awaiting Dragon Age 4. These stories are captivating and some really give insight to places and things we have yet to explore in the game. There were, of course, some stories that were better than others but that's expected. I am so happy to have been sent this.

I love Dragon Age.
Now saying this, I don't usually read the books associated with the game franchise. (Although I have read Asunder.) And I usually don't read short story collections.
However, this was fantastic. All of these stories have a focus on Tevinter (obviously) which is a country we haven't been able to really explore and learn as much as I would have liked to in the games. So, I was very excited to see it here. I was even more excited to realize that all of these stories take place after Inquisition.
I don't want to give any of this experience away, but I loved it more and more with each story. Not all the stories for me were five stars, but the majority were 4 stars or higher with only a couple 3 stars thrown in. I couldn't find it in myself to rate this book less as I enjoyed the reading experience so much. This was a great book to tide me over (a little bit) in between games, and there is a lot to speculate on here as to what will happen next.
After only the third story, I started another playthrough of DAI.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of the Dragon Age franchise for a very long time, so I was very eager to dive back into the world of Thedas. Luckily for those who enjoy dark fantasy but are unfamiliar with the video games, novels, or graphic novels, you do not need to have prior knowledge of what has gone on before to enjoy the short stories presented in this volume. For the enthusiast, there are Easter Egg cameos of previous cast members and further development into little known side characters; but they are rather like looking for Alfred Hitchcock in one of his movies - fun but not crucial.

I usually find it difficult to review anthologies. I could discuss each and every story, but that would be verbose and boring. There wasn't a work in the collection that I did not enjoy, but two that I found to be particularly well told tales were:

"Down Among the Dead Men" by Sylvia Feketekuty. It literally delves into a part of Thedas that has never been explored in depth before - the Nevarran Catacomes and the Necromantic Mortalitasi Mages that look after them. A young guardsmen must help two of the mages locate a corpse that has risen unexpectedly and hidden in the labyrinthine catacombs for some inexplicable reason. The story was fun despite it's macabre setting and circumstance. I was drawn in by the characters and stayed for the hunt. A fun twist to the end made the piece a very satisfying, quick read.

"The Wigmaker's Job" by Cortney Woods explores the job of an assassin from the view of two cousins that go about they're deathly duties in two very different ways - one with flash and style, the other with shadow and strike. From back alleys to high fashion parties they persue their target with skill, flair, and a bit of magic. The banter between cousins was witty and sharp, and the target was as horrendous as he was pompous. A fast and adventurous journey of vengeance with a side of mercy.

I also appreciated the smooth and subtle way that some of the stories tied themselves in with others in the book. Little details that helped make each piece tie together into a whole. Not many anthologies where all the stories share a setting bother to do that. Overall I enjoyed the book. The glimpses into new parts of a beloved world was intriguing and exciting. . . and has left me chomping at the bit for the next installment, in whichever media form it takes.

I recommend this for fans of the Dragon Age series, Barb Hendee, Gail Carriger, and Tanya Huff.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

It's always hard to review a book that is full of short stories. They are always unique and filled with many characters on different journeys. I enjoyed reading this one because I love the video games that this is based off of. There are characters old and new found in the pages which I loved. It was easy to get sucked into this world.

Of course with any book full of short stories, there are some that I liked more than others. Even though this was the case, it didn't take away for my overall enjoyment.

If you are a fan of the games then I would definitely suggest checking this book out!

Dragon Age : Tevinter Nights by Various Authors. A fun book and a quick read for those who enjoy reading about the video game series Dragon Age.