New Dragon Age Novel Coming in October

BioWare and Tor Books have announced a forthcoming second novel set in the Dragon Age universe, entitled Dragon Age: The Calling.

Written by David Gaider, the lead writer of Dragon Age: Origins, the new book will follow up on Gaider's debut novel Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, released in March, which told the tale of Maric, a rebel prince who raises an army to seek vengeance for his mother's murder and retake the throne of Ferelden.

The sequel sees Maric, having ascended to the throne, allowing the return of the Grey Wardens from two centuries of exile. But their return brings dark news: One of them has joined with the Darkspawn, the ancient enemy of Ferelden, and now Maric must lead the Grey Wardens on a quest for a deadly secret that threatens to destroy not only the Wardens, but the entire kingdom.

With all due respect to Mr. Gaider, anyone going into this looking for a rebirth of the fantasy genre is bound to be disappointed. BioWare fans interested in digging deeper into the Dragon Age setting, on the other hand, will probably find it a worthwhile read. BioWare has a well-earned reputation for building remarkably detailed worlds for its games and with the studio invoking the spirit of Baldur's Gate in the pre-release hype, I'd expect nothing less from Dragon Age: Origins.

Dragon Age: The Calling is set for release on October 13 and will list for $14.99.