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ArcheAge novel penned by popular Korean fantasy author
MMO novelizations are pretty common nowadays, what with everything from EVE Online to Guild Wars represented in extra-game lore-centric endeavors. ArcheAge is looking to join the hit parade with its first tie-in novel, a fantasy romp called The Fir and the Hawk that fleshes out the upcoming sandpark's extensive backstory. When we say extensive, we really mean extensive, as the book chronicles ArcheAge history some 2,000 years prior to the game's timeline. The novel is the work of popular Korean fantasy author Min-Hee Jeon, and fansite ArcheAge Online calls it "ArcheAge's first official tome of lore." The Fir and the Hawk isn't yet available in the States, but Korean-language fans can pre-order it via the Aladin service. [Thanks to Mark for the tip!]
World of Warcraft: "Wolfheart" novel description now available
A preview description for the next book set in the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm universe, Wolfheart, has appeared courtesy of BlizzPlanet. The novel, penned by Stormrage and War of the Ancients trilogy author Richard A. Knaak, follows the exploits of Varian Wyrnn, Genn Greymane, night elf leaders Malfurian Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind, and surprise guest Maiev Shadowsong. From the description, it appears the novel will focus on the tensions between Stormwind and Gilneas due to their tenuous new alliance, the Highborne's reintegration into night elven society, and the continued fight in Ashenvale against the surmounting Horde odds. Christie Golden's Thrall: Twilight of the Aspects, is currently on the shelves, chronicling Thrall's journey post-Cataclysm with the Earthen Ring and his counterpart Aggra, as well as the dragons and their quest to stay alive and allied during Deathwing's brutal return. With Wolfheart, it seems we're getting an Alliance leader's story opposed to that of Thrall, who was once the Horde's warchief. World of Warcraft: Wolfheart is going to be available on Sept. 13, 2011. Hit the jump for the full description.
Mysterious Battlefield 3 paperback/eBook spotted online
Listings for a book (potentially) based on Battlefield 3 have started cropping up at various literary outlets around the web, in both paperback and eBook flavors. Amazon lists the book as a 400-page "Mass Market Paperback" by Andy McNab, an author and war-vet who, according to Gamersbook, has been advising BF3 developer DICE on their motion-capture techniques. Barnes & Nobel also has a listing for Battlefield 3, this time in as a Nook eBook, with both McNab and BF3 Executive Producer Patrick Bach cited as authors. We can also assume that these listing aren't for a strategy guide, as the "Mass Market Paperback" classification is reserved for novels and the like, whereas strategy guides are classified as "Paperbacks." The tremendously tantalizing tome is available for pre-order at both outlets, with Amazon listing the release date as October 25 and B&N reporting a November release window. We've reached out to the book's registered publisher, Grand Central Publishing, for more information.
Woman publishes book filled with 12 years of her personal texts
The Most Interesting Man in the World's got nothing on Tracey Moberly. She's either incredibly exciting or is acquainted with plenty of people that are, because over the course of twelve years she's collected enough interesting texts to publish a book about them. We can't imagine saving and compiling thousands upon thousands of SMS messages -- let alone weaving them together into intricate stories and life lessons -- but it sounds like she's received more than enough interesting texts to make Text me up! worth a peek. A book about texts may sound boring, but the novel isn't just full of threaded conversations; Tracey's interspersed it with commentary and illustrations of her own, making it a rather unique (and comprehensive) take on the various trials and joys we face in everyday life. Regardless of how successful the book is, it's nigh impossible to read our own incoming messages the same way again. Check out the six-minute video that shows Tracey being interviewed after the break.
Halo: Glasslands novel arrives this October
Announced last year, the sequel to the Halo novel Ghosts of Onyx has been given both a name and a release date. Halo: Glasslands, penned by Star Wars and Gears of War novelist Karen Traviss, will hit bookshelves later this year on October 25. Glasslands marks the first in a new trilogy -- separate from the Forerunner trilogy by Greg Bear -- and will "explore the Halo Universe in the wake of the final events of Halo 3." In addition to the release date, publisher Tor Books has also revealed the cover for Glasslands. You might have noticed that the image is dripping with subtext. It's clear there's something going on between this Spartan and Elite, but what is it? What are they thinking? We've taken a few liberties and created our own version of the cover to fill in some of the missing pieces. Find high resolution versions of both images in the gallery below. %Gallery-127510%
'Dragon Age: Asunder' is latest franchise novel, available late 2011
Dragon Age: Asunder, BioWare Lead Writer David Gaider's third novel set in the fantasy realm, will arrive in "late 2011." Gaider had previously chronicled the world of Thedas with Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne and Dragon Age: The Calling -- oh yeah, and both games. Asunder will jump off from Dragon Age 2, with a killer loose in the White Spire, a templar stronghold in the Orlesian Empire. With any luck, Gaider's Asunder novel won't be perceived as neglecting the "straight male" demographic in the same way Dragon Age 2 was accused of doing. To compensate, expect vivid descriptions of Orlesian breasts and a coupon for Domino's pizza hidden in the novel's pages (not confirmed).
Ico: Castle in the Mist novel excerpt makes us hungry for more
Avid North American readers won't get their hands on the English translation of Miyuke Miyabe's Ico: Castle in the Mist, a follow-up novel to Ico, the beloved PS2 classic (and soon to be PS3 remaster), until August 16. However, thanks to the Japanese book printer Haikasoru, you can now get a taste of the story online. The short excerpt gives an excellent sense of the novel's atmosphere, which is to say, Ico's atmosphere. We expect that you already have an inkling of what the setting is going to feel like, considering you should have already played Ico. Heck, even if you haven't, the book's title tells you everything you need to know: There is a castle. It is adjacent to mist.
BioWare links SWTOR and KOTOR in a new novel
Just about everyone who has played Knights of the Old Republic wants to know what happened to Revan after the game was done. After all, he was the main character for 60-plus hours of gameplay. Who wouldn't be attached? BioWare announced today that those fans will get their wishes fulfilled. Drew Karpyshyn, a principal writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic and author of the Bane novels, has set his pen to another Star Wars book. This one simply titled after its primary protagonist: Revan. In an interview on the official SWTOR website, Karpyshyn gives us a tease as to how this novel will relate to the new MMORPG. I think the novel will give them a much better understanding of the Sith Emperor and the Empire, for one thing. The Old Republic Sith Empire is very different from what people know from the movies, or even from the Great Hyperspace War comics that focus on characters like Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh. The novel will also give them some very direct background and detailed information that ties in directly with key Flashpoints in the game. I can't say too much, of course, but like any great prequel the books will give you the details of what came before to add an extra layer of depth to the experiences in the game. Although he does not mention an exact date for the book's release, we do know that it will come later this year. This reporter hopes that it is before the release of SWTOR.
Fourth Mass Effect novel, 'Deception,' coming this fall
When you need a game-related sci-fi novel -- like, stat! -- you call William C. Dietz. The man's something of a legend, churning out at least a book a year since the mid-80s, and in recent years adapting the likes of Halo, Hitman, Resistance and StarCraft into those neat little paper-filled rectangles you see piled into shelves at your folks' place or stacked by the toilet. This is why William C. Dietz was hired to get a fourth Mass Effect novel in to publisher Del Rey early this year, so it could be released ahead of Mass Effect 3. (That, and Drew Karpyshyn, lead writer of the first game and author of the existing three companion novels, has made a galactic shift to The Old Republic.) Right on schedule, Del Rey today announced the title of this latest work of fiction, Mass Effect: Deception. Due out this fall, Deception will continue the story of Gillian Grayson, who was introduced in the second book, Ascension -- in case you've been reading along. We're not sure if William C. Dietz has or not, but then he's pretty adept at making stuff up.
Rage to be prefaced by tie-in novel
It seems that even a prequel comic book isn't enough to flesh out the universe of id Software's upcoming mutant blaster, Rage. Bethesda has announced that Del Rey will publish a novel based on the first-person shooter. The novel -- conveniently penned by Matt Costello, one of the game's writers -- will retain the game's title and tells the story of Lt. Nick Raine. It seems that poor Nick has emerged from stasis to discover "a new society where might is right, mutants plague the Earth, and 'friend' is a term for the person who hasn't stabbed you in the back." We're going to hazard a guess that, at some point, the plot will also involve shooting. Rage, the novel, is set to hit book shelves on August 30. The game is due out in mid-September.
Star Wars: The Old Republic fans get Deceived today
"Our time has come. For 300 years, we prepared; we grew stronger while you rested in your cradle of power believing your people were safe and protected. You were trusted to lead the Republic, but you were deceived." These were the words that set off the chain of events in the very first Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer. That trailer introduced us to a pale Sith Lord named Darth Malgus, but who is this man? Is he a man at all? Paul S. Kemp weaves the words for Malgus' tale following the Sacking of Coruscant in the book Deceived. The 255-page novel hit store shelves today for the suggested retail price of $27.00 US for the hardback. If you are looking for a glimpse into the book before you buy it, be sure to check out Massively's review of the novel, and follow after the break for a trailer put together specifically for the book's release.
A sneak peek at RuneScape's Return to Canifis novel
At the end of this month, publisher Titan Books will be releasing the second installment in a new series of RuneScape novels. Return to Canifis tells the tale of a grim period in the city of Varrock's history. Citizens of Varrock are being kidnapped and killed by monsters from the corrupted lands of Morytania. An ancient prophecy also looms over the land, telling of a new king who will rule over Varrock and become lord of both the living and the dead. Fearing the prophecy's arrival, the King sends a band of adventurers to Canifis in the heart of Morytania. Return to Canifis is the sequel to the earlier RuneScape novel Betrayal at Falador. This latest book in the series continues the story from the first book, but the author has been careful to keep the novel approachable for first-time readers. Here at Massively, we received an advance copy of the book to review and have been allowed to show our readers an exclusive chapter from the beginning of the novel. If you've been on the bench about whether to buy the novel, give our four-page prologue preview a read and decide whether you like what you see. Read on to view the full prologue of RuneScape's Return to Canifis in four parts, complete with some exclusive author's commentary.
RuneScape's Return to Canifis: First impressions
Last year, publisher Titan Books released the first in a new series of novels based on free-to-play MMO RuneScape. Betrayal at Falador was well-received, with our own Rubi Bayer thoroughly enjoying the novel's story and its author's writing style. Author T.S. Church has since completed work on the novel's sequel, Return to Canifis, which is due to release at the end of the month. Massively was given an advance copy of the book, so I've spent most of this week ploughing through its pages. When Rubi reviewed the first novel in this series, she found the book very approachable despite her limited experience with RuneScape itself. Although I've played a lot of RuneScape, I'm at a similar disadvantage as I haven't read the first novel in this series. Because of this, I got a good insight into how the storyline of the book holds up on its own and how approachable the novel is to people who haven't read the first book. Skip past the cut to read my impressions of RuneScape's Return to Canifis.
Second RuneScape novel "Return to Canifis" to be released this month
In August of last year, Titan Books announced the beginning of a new series of novels set in the lands of free-to-play fantasy MMO RuneScape. The first novel, Betrayal at Falador, told a vivid tale from RuneScape's backstory using key characters from the game's lore and in-game quests. The book was well-received by both RuneScape veterans and new players just looking for a good read. Our own RuneScape novice Rubi Bayer had a blast reading the novel and being absorbed in the backstory of this popular browser MMO. Fans of the first novel will be pleased to hear that its sequel, Return to Canifis, is due for release this month. The book will be in stores in the U.S. and Canada on March 22nd, with the UK release following on March 25th. Whereas the first book introduced the lore surrounding Falador, Return to Canafis takes the story to the city of Varrock. The citizens of Varrock are being stolen away to Morytania, the land of vampires, and the king sends an expedition to Canafis to get to the bottom of it. Stay tuned to Massively's RuneScape coverage this week for our in-depth review of the novel.
J. Robert King talks about the second Guild Wars 2 novel, Edge of Destiny
As ArenaNet has been unveiling more and more racial lore about Guild Wars 2, there have been plenty of other sources for the upcoming game's backstory. Chief among those sources are the novels that have been mapping out the two centuries between the original Guild Wars and the sequel. Edge of Destiny is the second novel, written by J. Robert King, and it continues the story of the awakening Elder Dragons that shake the face of Tyria. We know that we've got more than a few regular readers interested in Guild Wars 2, and so we jumped at the opportunity to ask Mr. King a few questions about the storycrafting that went into writing Edge of Destiny. Click on past the break for more details on crafting the story and lore of Tyria's struggles and on how he worked in characters that are both iconic of the playable races while keeping them distinct and memorable.
Exclusive: Massively's interview with the author of the first DDO novel
Tie-in novels are nothing new in the world of MMOs. We've had several in the last year alone, both for Guild Wars 2 and for RuneScape. You can add the world of Eberron to that list, as the first Dungeons and Dragons Online novel will be hitting the shelves this September. It's early days, of course, but we've spent some time chatting with the author of The Shard Axe. Marsheila "Marcy" Rockwell has completed the book's final draft and had lots to say about what fans will find in this novelized version of Xen'drik. Follow along after the jump for your first look at The Shard Axe!
Massively gets the scoop on Empire & State, a new political MMO
Ah, we love the smell of a brand-new company. Massively staffers are known to daydream about potentially wonderful new products that might emerge from the cacophony of modern game development. So when we heard about a brand-new company being headed by a hotshot 22-year-old named Brayden Olson, we immediately had a contest to design movie trailers for the story. "Too Young to Fail" beat out "Level 22." EVE Online columnist Brendan Drain provided the voice-over. It was epic. When reality hits, though, we need to hear details. We sat down with Toby Ragaini, the newly appointed Director of Product Development of Novel, Inc., the start-up headed by Olsen. Toby came from the world of Big Fish Games, where he was Vice President in charge of games like Faunasphere. If you've played Asheron's Call, you've experienced some of his handiwork, as well. Click past the cut to see what he has to say about the company's new political MMO project called Empire & State.
Pandigital 7- and 9-inch Android tablets hands-on
Pandigital isn't beating around the bush with the two tablets it's showing here at CES -- they run Android 2.1, they're not getting Froyo, and they're most certainly not getting Honeycomb. These slates come in 7 and 9-inch varieties, and the 9-inch Novel comes in both AT&T 3G and WiFi-only models. To rub salt in the wound, these guys don't have any Android Market support, and they won't be getting it any time soon (or ever, for that matter). On the bright side though, you get B&N's Nook app pre-installed on the Novel (get it?). Unfortunately, we're most upset that Pandigital hasn't seemed to change any of the things we disliked so much with the first version -- the screens aren't glamorous and the performance is still painfully sluggish. If you're looking for a cheap Android tablet, we'd probably suggest waiting for something with a little bit lot more flare. %Gallery-113073%
Flameseeker Chronicles: Recap and review of Edge of Destiny
Welcome to 2011! I, along with pretty much the entire Guild Wars fanbase, am incredibly excited about what this year is going to bring to both Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. There's a lot in store, so I want to start the new year by looking at the thing that finished 2010 and brought us into 2011: Edge of Destiny. Of course, there are spoilers galore, so if you're one of the few who hasn't read the book, be warned. They're all past the cut, so follow along and let's look at Edge of Destiny.
Discussing Guild Wars 2 iconic characters with author J. Robert King
The Guild Wars lore constitutes stories -- nay, legends -- of remarkable heroism. The depth of this lore has entranced many a player of the game. ArenaNet created a world that enveloped the player in a setting that seemed greater than he. Guild Wars 2 will be no exception. Instantly, the player is surrounded by vivid characters and storylines that reach far beyond what he will ever see in-game. These amazing stories will be explored in a series of books. ArenaNet's Jeff Grubb recently sat down with the author of Edge of Destiny, J. Robert King, to discuss the characters and climate of the second novel based on events surrounding Guild Wars 2. Earlier this year, we met the characters of Destiny's Edge, a motley crew from all walks of Tyria, in the Races trailer. King speaks in depth about each of the different characters and how he personally related to each of them. The author explains in the interview: "[ArenaNet] provided me all kinds of information and images of these characters, but I couldn't write about them until they were mine. And the team gave me the creative freedom to make the characters my own." Definitely take some time to read the full interview on ArenaNet's site, and don't miss Massively's analysis of Edge of Destiny coming up in Monday's Flameseeker Chronicles.
