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Baldur’s Gate 3 Prequel Exclusive Clip Finds Neil Newbon Back as Astarion
Random House Worlds has released an exclusive excerpt from the forthcoming novel Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion, written by award-winning author T. Kingfisher, which delves into the backstory of the vampire spawn companion who became one of the breakout characters from Larian Studios' 2023 role-playing game. The excerpt is accompanied by an audio reading performed by Neil Newbon, who voiced and provided motion capture for Astarion in the original game, tying the prequel novel directly back to the performance fans fell in love with.
The passage depicts Astarion attempting to break into Gurgan's Magic Emporium in Baldur's Gate, reluctantly using his spider-climbing ability to scale the building before feeding on a nesting pigeon. The novel is set before the events of the game, in the period prior to mind flayers appearing over Baldur's Gate, and expands on Astarion's history as a former magistrate who was beaten, left for dead, and turned into a vampire spawn by the vampire lord Cazador Szarr.
In short
- New Astarion prequel novel excerpt released, narrated by Neil Newbon
- Author T. Kingfisher explores Astarion's backstory before Baldur's Gate 3
- Excerpt shows Astarion breaking into a magic shop and feeding on a pigeon
Explained simply
Astarion is one of the companion characters from Baldur's Gate 3, the acclaimed 2023 role-playing video game made by Belgian studio Larian Studios. He is a vampire spawn with a sharp wit and a dark past, and became especially popular with players, in part thanks to the performance of actor Neil Newbon, who provided his voice and movements in the game.
Random House Worlds is publishing a novel, Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion, written by T. Kingfisher, which tells the story of what happened to the character before the events of the game. It focuses on his life as a mortal magistrate before he was attacked and turned into a vampire by another character, Cazador Szarr, who then held power over him for centuries.
The novel matters to fans because it expands the world and characters of a game that had a huge cultural impact, and because it reunites the story with Newbon's voice through an accompanying audio reading, reinforcing the link between the book and the game many readers already know.
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