Publisher: Tor Books
Author: David Gaider
Release Date: 3/2009-10/2009
MSRP: $14.99 (each)
Pages: Various
Recommended Audience: Young Adult
The Good: The Calling is purely epic and perfectly written, likable characters
The Bad: The Stolen Throne doesn’t feel like the game so much, it’s a bit repetitive
In Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, Maric set out on a mission of vengeance against the faithless lords who were responsible for his mother’s death. Now, having reclaimed the throne, King Maric finally allows the legendary Grey Wardens to return to Ferelden after two hundred years of exile. When they come, however, they bring dire news: one of their own has escaped into the Deep Roads and aligned himself with their ancient enemy, the monstrous dark spawn. The Grey Wardens need Maric’s help to find him. He reluctantly agrees to lead them into the passages he traveled through years before, chasing after a deadly secret that will threaten to destroy not only the Grey Wardens but also the Kingdom above.
Dragon Age: The Calling is the second novel to be set in the Dragon Age universe. It is set approximately fourteen years after King Maric Theirin and his companions ventured into the Deep Roads as described in Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne and eleven years after the Orlesian occupation of Ferelden was brought to an end at the close of the Blessed Age. Dragon Age: The Calling focuses on Maric, a young Duncan, and the Grey Wardens
The Calling — 9.5/10
The Calling is wonderfully written and feels more like the game than The Stolen Throne does. With the whole book being set in the Deep Roads you really get to know what these people feel when traveling this dangerous road. Gaider does an excellent job of making you feel claustrophobic, helpless, and glad that you are not with this guys. Every page is filled with tense dread and the psychological torment these people must go through to get to their destination. On another note, you also follow the Grey Warden who has joined the Darkspawn. However, we finally get to know about an intelligent Darkspawn that is very mysterious and may have different intentions.
The Calling has a great cast of characters that you really feel for and the book is very hard to put down. There never once was a dull moment and this book really lets you get even closer to the dark atmosphere of the game. This book is my favorite out of the two and deserves a read by fans.
The Stolen Throne –8.5/10
The Stolen Throne doesn’t feel like a game at all really except for one moment when the characters are in the Deep Roads. The rest of the book is all politics and huge battles with men. The book doesn’t really mention Darkspawn until towards the end of the book. This book is a tale of how Loghain and Maric met each other and this was before the next blight. The book is well paced, but it gets a bit repetitive with battle after battle. While they are different and have twists its a redundant pace of politics, battle, politics, battle.
The book isn’t as good as The Calling, and the characters aren’t as good, but it’s enough to keep you reading and fans of the game will definitely love both of these books.
