Review: Dragon Age: The Calling

It’s fairly common these days for the epic greats we all know in gaming to receive much more than just the standard game treatment. We receive comics and novels, anime spinoffs, soundtrack releases and figures, to bottom tier relevance such as bubble-breasted mousepads. With such a varied cast of characters whose relationship depends on every decision you make, and an incredibly vast world such as that of Dragon Age: Origins, it is no surprise that we’ve been already given two novels pre-dating the game’s storyline. The later and more recent novel, The Calling, does not require you to have read the first novel at all, nor need to have played the game. Is The Calling for you? (Spoiler-free!)

Let me tell you, I dove into Dragon Age: The Calling equipped with a very heavy arsenal of passion and appreciation for the game. (It did get Spawn Kill’s 2009 GOTY!) The lore of the fantasy universe of Thedas is large, filled with a multitude of races and classes of characters to encounter throughout your travels and exploration. By the end of the game, I had become thoroughly attached to my band of ye olde co-eds. I also was left with several whys and why nots.

That’s what brought me to snatch up and romp through The Calling, especially since it was written by David Gaider, the writer of the Dragon Age: Origins himself. Although The Calling is devourable for those who haven’t played the game, I couldn’t imagine recommending it to someone who hasn’t. This novel is clearly targeted to those who have familiarity with Thedas, Grey Wardens and the dread of the Blights. If you have played the game and are thirsting for more, I highly recommend reading The Calling. You’ll learn of Duncan’s cutthroat origins and follow him, King Maric (King Cailan and Alistair’s father from the game), and a sundry crew of Grey Wardens on a journey through the Deep Roads to discover a possible way to end all Blights to come. Reading the previous novel, The Stolen Throne, however, is completely optional. The Calling will not leave you lost or missing any information. Any reference to the occurrences of The Stolen Throne are minimal and fleshed out for new readers. Gaider never leaves us in the dust.

BioWare recently announced the expansion for the game The Awakening, and this is where my excitement really peaked. In The Awakening it was announced that you will meet a new darkspawn called the Architect, who is far different from any darkspawn ever encountered. He can speak in familiar tongue and has many eerie human-like behaviors. The Calling might make you rethink the gray lines of good and evil, moral and immoral. Just like the game, I become emotionally attached to the cast of The Calling, and grown even more attached to characters I was already familiar with. What I love about the cast of the Dragon Age universe is the depth of the varied and interesting personalities. During war, during battle of any real life historical period there is more than just tragedy; there is humor and pride amongst any brotherhood of soldiers, which you can always expect from David Gaider’s characters.

Learning of certain characters and exploring the history of familiar characters will reveal some pertinent and interesting backstory for Dragon Age: Origins by the time you reach the epilogue. Between every spray of the darkspawn’s nasty black ichor, there is a snarky remark from Duncan, your resident youth in revolt, a deeply emotional bonding moment between warrior and his hound, and a dirty, romantic escapade. Aside from character development and backstory, expect to encounter some nicely narrated, brutal, to-the-death battles alongside the team as they fight for a common goal.

FINAL SCORE: 8.5 / 10