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Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion

by T. Kingfisher

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Nikki said:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

" I don’t think I even have words for how offensive this is to fans of the game. I have read fanfiction that is more accurate to the character and better written.

Kingfisher, multiple times, forgets or disregards canon events that are integral to Astar I don’t think I even have words for how offensive this is to fans of the game. I have read fanfiction that is more accurate to the character and better written.

Kingfisher, multiple times, forgets or disregards canon events that are integral to Astarion’s story. The Gur are removed entirely and replaced by some random group of poachers, because oh no, we can’t portray him as the corrupt magistrate he himself admits to being in the game. The way he is portrayed? I don’t know who that is. It’s sure as hell not Astarion. She had an opportunity to give him a solid backstory based on things he tells us in the game, but instead chose to… not do that.

I hate the way his family/upbringing is written. Sure, part of that may be bias because it goes against what I imagined for him, but it was also just poorly written. She could have made it work, but his childhood flashbacks, especially memories of his mother, came across as completely unserious. There were moments I literally had to stop and just laugh in disbelief.

She does not deliver on the horror I was expecting, based on the way Cazador is described in game if you talk to Astarion for all of 2 seconds. There are however a few weirdly sexual scenes involving animals, which seem to be added more for shock than actually delving into how it affects Astarion. The spawn are portrayed as being bored all the time and just moping around the Szarr palace. They each have their own bedroom, and Dalyria even gets her own laboratory apparently.

She tries to sprinkle in jokes during serious moments that absolutely do not land and just end up ruining the tone of the scene. She also made the bizarre choice to bring up sex or Astarion’s cock or someone else’s cock on pretty much every page for some reason, and completely downplayed his sexual trauma and how it shaped his character. A MAJOR part of why his character resonated with so many of his fans.

Her Paladin OC is boring. I have no other way to describe him. I genuinely wanted to stop reading when he was introduced, and I have nothing else I want to say about him.

Basically, this book is a slap in the face to BG3 fans, and even to people reading this book with no connection to the game because it’s just. Bad. ...more "

Sep 12, 2026 04:55PM · see review