Baldur's Gate 3 Fans Rush To Cancel Preorders For Official Prequel

Published Sep 20, 2026, 4:54 PM EDT Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. Baldur's Gate 3 fans were elated to learn that an official prequel focused on Astarion was in the works, first revealed back in April 2026. Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion immediately jumped out among longtime Tavs as a chance to get better acquainted with one of the RPG's most popular companions/origin characters while exploring a period of his life the game only hinted at through deep-cut dialogue and flashbacks. Written by award-winning fantasy author T. Kingfisher, the novel takes place before the events of Baldur's Gate 3, during Astarion's long period of servitude to vampire lord Cazador Szarr. The story was meant to give us a much closer look at his experience as a vampire spawn, his desire to escape Cazador's control, and events that helped shape the character that players eventually meet in Larian Studios' legendary RPG. With Baldur's Gate 3 senior writer Stephen Rooney consulting on the project and Neil Newbon returning to narrate the audiobook, it might come as a bit of a surprise that fans who got an early look at the novel are seriously underwhelmed, with many rushing to cancel their preorders after early feedback suggests it completely missed the mark (via Reddit). Early reactions to Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion aren't looking great. In a recent Reddit thread literally titled "Should I cancel my preorder for the Astarion book?", the original poster, Dragont3e, ultimately did exactly that after other fans detailed what they had encountered in the novel, writing, "I canceled my preorder. As a Astarion lover [sic] this is definitely something I do NOT want to support." Another commenter similarly responded, "So glad I saw this before I bought the book." The most scathing criticism came from multiple commenters who have reportedly already read the ARC "cover to cover." A_Cosmic_Dandelion's biggest problem was the tone, which they described as "a light, breezy beach read masquerading as gothic horror." According to readers, Kingfisher's humor fails to capture the character players know from the game, arguing that she "doesn't capture Astarion's sense of humor at all (or any other aspect of his personality)." Apparently, the novel strips away much of the anger, bitterness, and trauma underlying Astarion's theatrical personality, leaving behind a version dominated by sex jokes and contemporary humor that simply falls flat. Even more concerning for longtime players are the alleged contradictions surrounding Cazador. The same reader claims the novel drastically softens Astarion's existence as his spawn, describing conditions they jokingly compared to "vampire summer camp." They specifically point to Astarion having a private suite, access to animal blood, and considerable freedom of movement while claiming that Cazador never compels him. That clashes sharply with the game itself, where Astarion explicitly describes Cazador as having "kept me like a pet, and forced me to do his bidding," while his Origin storyline establishes Cazador's supernatural dominance over his spawn. That apparent disconnect is fueling much of the backlash, and on face value fans like bluewhitecup are questioning whether Kingfisher has even played the game. One commenter said they were "shocked" that adherence to the game's lore apparently wasn't a stricter requirement, while another questioned how such a different interpretation of Astarion could have been approved at all. These Reddit reactions are still only an early snapshot, and many commenters have seen spoilers or excerpts rather than the entire novel. However, the fact that at least some previously enthusiastic fans are already canceling preorders makes the controversy difficult to ignore ahead of release. That said, whether you decide to hold on to your preorder or not and see for yourself, Kingfisher's Baldur's Gate 3: Astarion officially releases on Tuesday, September 29. Baldur's Gate 3 Systems Released August 3, 2023 ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence Developer(s) Larian Studios Publisher(s) Larian Studios Engine Divinity 4.0