The perspective of World of Thedas reminded me a lot of The Histories by Herodotus. I found myself thinking of two other books while reading this one.

Each perspective is faithfully recounted, without a definitive answer on which is 'right'. And the Elves have their own tales about the City, claiming that their pantheon is trapped there. However, we also hear that the pre-Chantry Imperium believed that the Black City was the home of their seven Old Gods. We learn the orthodox Chantry teaching that the City was once the home of the Maker, and was turned black when the magisters attempted to reach it. All sources agree that it's at the center of the Fade, and mages can verify this for themselves by observation, so it's accepted as true. For example, we hear various different stories about the Black City. The further back in time you go, though, the less certainty exists about exactly happened. As such, much like our own history books, recent events are explained quite clearly and authoritatively. It's from scholars within Thedas trying to understand their own land and history. The book's point of view isn't from Bioware. It isn't a simple dump of information, but a piece of nonfiction that's embedded within the fictional world it describes. I was pleasantly surprised, though, to find it such an interesting read. It exceeded my expectations: I was expecting to get a lot of lore and some attractive art. I just finished a cover-to-cover read of this book.

Dragon age map of thedas