What you need to know
- Publisher Tune & Fairweather has announced Grace Given: The Mythology of Elden Ring, a colossal unofficial 500-page lore book about FromSoftware’s award-winning ARPG.
- The tome is written by the popular community lore YouTuber Geoff “SmoughTown” Truscott, and will feature roughly 150+ illustrations from artists Shimhaq, MenasLG, Chris Lewis Lee, and Elliot Wells.
- You can pre-order the book now; the base edition is $278, though there are pricier $777 and $1,109 versions with luxuries like a wooden “Erdtree Arch” case, full gold page-edge gilding, and a special art print if you order before August 10. The $1,109 Benefactor’s Edition will also get your name printed in the back of the book, though it won’t be available after August 10.
- Tune & Fairweather has published many similar community-made works based on FromSoftware’s other games before. I own three, and am very happy with my purchases. Note that it says more affordable versions of Grace Given will come down the line after the volume releases in early 2025.
If you’re into Elden Ring lore, gorgeous artwork, and collector’s items, I’ve got good news for you — but not for your wallet. An unofficial Elden Ring lore book from publisher Tune & Fairweather is in the works, and it’s penned by the fan-favorite community lore YouTuber Geoff “SmoughTown” Truscott.
Titled “Grace Given: The Mythology of Elden Ring,” the colossal tome is coming in at over 500 pages, and features a complete and comprehensive appraisal of the award-winning ARPG’s mythology. Accompanying Truscott’s analysis are roughly 150+ illustrations from artists Shimhaq, MenasLG, Chris Lewis Lee, and Elliot Wells, and the book itself is bound with simulated antique-white leather, has a silk fabric title plate, and comes in a velvet slipcase.
Put simply, Grace Given oozes bespoke, premium quality, which is why it’s got an expensive $278 price tag. That’s pricier than the official Collector’s Edition for both Elden Ring and its new Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, if you didn’t know — and that’ll just get you the base version of the volume. There’s a Limited Edition selling for $777 that includes a wooden “Erdtree Arch” case and full gold page-edge gilding, as well as an eye-watering $1,109 Benefactor Edition that’ll get your name in the back of the book that’s only available until August 10.
Pre-orders for the lore book are live now at the above links, with its release and delivery estimated for early 2025 (payment is collected at the time of order, as it will help to fund production). Notably, ordering before August 10 will get you free shipping and free copies of the eBook and audiobook versions of the tome when they come out; 10 customers who pre-order the standard version of Grace Given before then will be entered into a drawing to get the Limited Edition, while early Limited Edition buyers will get a “Grace of Gold” art print from Shimhaq that depicts a Raging Wolf Set-wearing Tarnished holding the Godslayer’s Greatsword.
The author, SmoughTown, has about 233,000 subscribers on YouTube at the time of writing, and is one of the most popular Soulsborne story analysts on the platform. His channel features nearly 200 videos on the lore and narratives within FromSoftware games like Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls, as well as a variety of other popular games such as Warframe and Blasphemous.
Tune & Fairweather, meanwhile, has worked with many Soulsborne creators in the past to publish collectible books like these. Some you may have heard of include You Died: The Dark Souls Companion that acts as a “guided tour” of the first game in that trilogy; Abyssal Archive: The Mythology of Dark Souls, an appraisal written by analyst Lokey; another of Lokey’s works, Demonic Archive: The Mythology of Demon’s Souls; a detailed Bloodborne anthology titled Blood Echoes; and Soul Arts, a collection of gorgeous fan-made art pieces inspired by FromSoftware games and accompanied by notes from VaatiVidya, another massive Soulsborne loremaster.
The price of Grace Given makes owning it an expensive luxury many Elden Ring fans won’t be able to afford, but there’s good news: Tune & Fairweather promises “more affordable editions will arrive down the road,” so you’ll eventually be able to pick up a version with a much lower price (Abyssal Archive’s softcover edition is $34, for example — that’s a big drop from the $200 collector’s version).
For what it’s worth coming from someone who owns the lavish editions of Abyssal Archive, You Died, and Soul Arts, though, you absolutely get what you pay for. Yes, a fat coinpurse is indeed required ahead, but Tune & Fairweather’s production value is sky-high, and I’m more than satisfied with the purchases I’ve made; now that Grace Given’s been announced, I know what I’m having my girlfriend get me for Christmas this year.
Though completely understandable given that it just came out, one thing that’s a bit disappointing to know is that Grace Given won’t include the lore from Shadow of the Erdtree. It’s been said that “there are no contradictions with lore revelations from the DLC,” however, so that’s a plus.
The Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is finally here, and it makes one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of all time even better. It’s out now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and Windows PC for $39.99.
