Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion – Review

The backstory of everyone’s favorite vampire is explored in this extremely dark and captivating tale from T. Kingfisher.

*warning: minor plot spoilers below for Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion

When Baldur’s Gate 3 launched in 2023, one of the immediate standouts was Astarion, a vampire spawn NPC that could join the player’s party at the beginning of the game. Between the unforgettable vocal performance delivered by Neil Newbon and the heartbreaking story details uncovered as the game progressed, there’s no doubt fans wanted to learn more about Astarion.

And now, with Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion, the time for more information has come. The novel takes place before the events of the video game and follows Astarion as he navigates his day-to-day life in Baldur’s Gate under the thumb of his cruel sire Cazador. Astarion seems doomed to a life of perpetually looking over his shoulder, until a chance encounter with a paladin upends everything.

I was worried going in that this novel might require full knowledge of the video game to fully enjoy it. While I have played Baldur’s Gate 3, I haven’t exactly explored all the plot threads. Readers who haven’t played Baldur’s Gate 3 will be pleased to hear that, so far as I can tell, no real prior knowledge of the game is required before reading this book. Of course there are Easter eggs scattered throughout the story, but missing them doesn’t impact one’s enjoyment of the tale.

An important thing to keep in mind going in is that this story is dark. T. Kingfisher leaves very little to the imagination when it comes to describing the suffering that Astarion and the other vampire spawn endure at one time or another under Cazador’s “guidance.” Make no mistake, this story is not for the faint of heart or those who are easily squeamish. There are descriptions of torture and non-consensual sex, the latter is not particularly graphic but not gently described either.

I also had so many thoughts while reading about Astarion’s vampire “family.” They are, to put it bluntly, one of the most dysfunctional families I’ve ever encountered in fiction. To be fair, like Astarion, they have all suffered their fair share of trauma but each of them is dealing with it in vastly different ways, none of them healthy. If there is a dark side to the concept of “found family” then this is surely what it looks like. I do appreciate that the author took the time to flesh out each of Astarion’s vampiric siblings. They all, Astarion included, have their own foibles that have developed since being turned and truthfully I could read an entire novel that is just the vampire spawn bickering with one another.

The story does a brilliant job of bringing Astarion himself to life. I particularly appreciated how Kingfisher used Astarion’s particular brand of humor to break up the tension. For instance, imagine Astarion attempting to climb up a wall while trying to pretend he isn’t deathly afraid of heights. Anyone who has played Baldur’s Gate 3 can easily imagine Astarion’s internal monologue during such a moment and Kingfisher’s writing does not disappoint. It should be plainly said that 99% of the funny moments in this book come from something Astarion said or thought.

Astarion’s backstory is perfectly expanded upon. We learn a lot about his past, that is to say, before he became a vampire spawn in Baldur’s Gate. These expanded flashbacks are touching as well as heartbreaking, not least because the reader is aware from the start that none of Astarion’s big plans are going to pan out the way he thinks they will. Given what we know about Astarion as a vampire, it’s fascinating to see how ordinary his life was going to be before he ended up in Baldur’s Gate.

But I think the part of the story that touched me the most, aside from the glimpse into Astarion’s past, is his encounter with the paladin Hahn den Suriel, which takes up the bulk of the story. These two are a study in contrasts: Astarion is an undead vampire spawn and den Suriel is a paladin devoted to ending such creatures. By all accounts there shouldn’t be anything capable of existing between these two beyond a mutual desire to destroy the other. And yet, the way T. Kingfisher writes these two characters, you can practically watch the chemistry building between them from the moment they meet. There’s enough flirting and sass to please any romantasy fan. The only thing that would have made it better, in my opinion, is we could’ve had at least one chapter from den Suriel’s point of view, to have a better idea of what he thought about Astarion.

Baldur’s Gate III: Astarion is an amazing story. While extremely dark in places, the story is worth reading as it provides a deep look into the mind of Astarion Acunin, who has to walk a tightrope between what he wants and who he must (for now) obey. You certainly won’t look at Astarion the same way again after reading this story.