YMMV / Mass Effect: Deception

• Broken Base: While the novel itself is near-universally despised, fan opinion is divided over the revision (which still hasn't materialized). Some fans were optimistic about the revision and hold BioWare to its word, others pointed out that the novel's problems run far, far deeper than the continuity errors and that just fixing the lore errors isn't good enough to redeem Deception and that the entire book would've needed to be re-written. Then there were those who felt that the promise of the revised edition was just damage control and that it would never actually happen, who were ultimately been proven right.
• Canon Defilement: Here is a list of its many, many continuity errors. Let's just say it'd be easier to make a list of what it got right. Good thing later editions will fix these problems... hopefully.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Even after BioWare apologized and promised a revised edition, many fans still treat Deception as this. Not helping matters is that William C. Dietz, the author of the novel, claims that two BioWare officials did look it over before it was published.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • We actually do get to visit the apartment on the Citadel in the Citadel DLC for 3, presumably where Kai Leng ate that cereal.
  • Citadel would also feature a toothbrush making a significant event happen, though instead of a murder, it allows Shepard and company to break into the Normandy.
• Narm:
  • Kai Leng eating Anderson's cereal. The inevitable "cereal killer" jokes don't help. Neither did the text stating that he did it because he was "an adrenaline junkie and enjoyed being where he was".
  • Kai Leng "was about to pee in a vase that he had selected for that purpose". Yes, that happens. In those exact words.
  • Gillian's death. It should be tragic, but there's something inherently funny about the fact that Kai Leng killed her with a toothbrush.
• Narm Charm: Kai Leng eating Anderson's cereal was actually highlighted on the forums as a moment to be kept in the revised edition because it's so utterly hilarious. And frankly, Leng is so petty even in the actual games (see: him sending Shepard insulting e-mails in 3), that it's honestly still perfectly in character for him.
• Never Live It Down: When Kai Leng infiltrates Anderson's apartment to plant a bug, he takes the time to eat some of Anderson's cereal. The sheer randomness and pettiness of this act caught on with the fandom, leading them to give him the Fan Nickname of "Cereal Killer" and joke about what other characters' breakfast foods he'd steal. To this day, it's hard to talk about Kai Leng without somebody bringing up the incident.

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