If you’re a seasoned player of Bioware’s Dragon Age series, chances are you’ll know the name Varric Tethras. An adventuring dwarf with a dry wit, he featured as a companion character in both Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition, where he has some level of fame thanks to his novel, Hard in Hightown. Brilliantly, real-world publishers Dark Horse Books and Penguin Random House will be publishing the novel in its entirety for your reading pleasure.
As reported by GameInformer, the novel is written by Mark Kirby (referred to as Varric’s “co-writer”), and is fully illustrated thanks to the work of artists Stefano Martino, Álvaro Sarraseca, Andres Ponce, and Ricardo German Ponce Torres, with a painted cover from E.M. Gist.
Featuring Kirkwall city guardsman Donnen Brennakovic and “a recruit so green he might as well have leaves growing out of his armour”, the novel covers themes familiar to players of the Dragon Age series, albeit in a more hardboiled tone: there’s dead magistrates, a mysterious shadowy organisation known as the Executors, and a secret group of Chantry agents, as well as the obligatory ancient artifact.
Hard in Hightown will be released in hardcover on July 31. Away from the Dragon Age series, Bioware announced their latest game, shared-world action-RPG Anthem, at E3 2017; details are scarce but here’s what we know.
Matt Davidson is a freelance writer for IGN who has genuinely always wanted to read Hard in Hightown. He’s also available on Twitter, if you’re there.