I’ve got some good news for the hordes of you who fall over whenever you see Baldur’s Gate 3’s bitey bad boy Astarion: he’s getting a prequel novel dedicated just to him, and you can either read it, or listen to it read to you in voice actor Neil Newbon’s silky voice.
This news was revealed today over at Polygon, which shared that Larian and Wizards of the Coast are working with Random House Worlds “for a new collaboration centered around the game’s immersive lore and unforgettable characters.” This collaboration will consist of four books to be published this year, including the Astarion novel, and more books planned for further out.
Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion is written by T. Kingfisher, an award-winning author of numerous sci-fi and fantasy books including Nettle & Bone, Thornhedge, What Feasts at Night, and many more. Stephen Rooney, a senior writer on Baldur’s Gate 3, consulted on the book. It takes place prior to the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, and follows Astarion during his time as a servant of the evil vampire lord Cazador Szarr. Neil Newbon, the voice actor for Astarion in the game, will narrate the audiobook.
The remaining three books coming this year unfortunately aren’t character-focused. The second and third to be published this year are, I suppose, technically “books” by definition, though there’s not really anything to read in them. One is a blank notebook with grid paper in it that’s designed to look like The Necromancy of Thay, an in-game item. And the third is a coloring book with 40 different drawings to color in. The final project planned for this year, which is far more interesting to me, is A Feast for a Tenday: The Official Baldur’s Gate Cookbook by Andrew Wheeler. It is planned to include 65 different recipes from and inspired by the game, so you can cook your way through Faerûn.
No word yet on whether any other beloved characters from Baldur’s Gate 3 will get the novel treatment. One would hope at minimum we’d see fan-favorites Shadowheart and Karlach receive a spotlight, but if so, it won’t be until 2027 at the earliest. In the meantime, there’s an upcoming HBO TV series in the works that will continue the story after the events of the game, though much to our dismay, Larian isn’t involved. They’re too busy on Divinity.