Several video games have gotten stories put to paper. While Dead Space had a comic book and anime prequel, it hasn’t gotten a novel yet. EA has announced that will change soon with Dead Space: Martyr.
Tor Books today announced Dead Space: Martyr (Paperback; $14.99), which will delve into the back story of the fiction including the history of the Church of Unitology, the discovery of the enigmatic “Black Marker” and the mysteries behind an alien artifact of unknown power. Dead Space: Martyr will be available in July 2010 at select retailers worldwide.
When geophysicist Michael Altman learns of a mysterious signal emitting from deep within the Chicxulub crater, he cannot resist the lure of an undiscovered artifact. He soon learns that being in close proximity to the artifact causes strange occurrences – visions of the dead, vivid dreams, and violent murders. Altman’s experience with the alien artifact leads to this crucial first chapter in the Dead Space saga.
“One of the most compelling storytelling aspects of Dead Space has been the Church of Unitology: its origins, power, and role in Dead Space,” says Tor editor Eric Raab. “Writer B.K. Evenson gets into the terrifying aspects of mob mentality like no other writer today. This isn’t only a great story within the Dead Space universe; it’s a great novel on its own.”
“The Dead Space world is incredibly vast and rich — expanding its fiction into a novel lets us share parts of the story that just can’t fit into videogames,” said Steve Papoutsis, Executive Producer of Dead Space 2. “We hope Dead Space: Martyr will be the first of many books to let fans dive deeply into Dead Space‘s secrets and immersive lore.”
B. K. Evenson is the award-winning author of Last Days, voted best horror novel of 2009 by the American Library Association and The Open Curtain, a 2006 Edgar Award finalist and Time Out New York best book of the year.