Dead Space prequel novel announced @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on April 13, 2010

News: Dead Space: Martyr will be available in bookstores everywhere this July.

Electronic Arts has teamed up with Tor Books to bring a prequel to Dead Space to bookstores this July. Titled Dead Space: Martyr, the novel will be written by B.K. Evenson (author of Last Days, the 2009 American Library Association selection for Best Horror Novel).

Dead Space: Martyr will explore the backstory of the game's Church of Unitology and "the discovery of the enigmatic УBlack MarkerФ and the mysteries behind an alien artifact of unknown power." Said alien artifact will then cause a wave of craziness and a whole lot of mass murder:

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.

УOne of the most compelling storytelling aspects of Dead Space has been the Church of Unitology: its origins, power, and role in Dead Space,Ф says Tor editor, Eric Raab. УWriter 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.Ф

УThe 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,Ф said Steve Papoutsis, Executive Producer of Dead Space 2. УWe hope Dead Space: Martyr will be the first of many books to let fans dive deeply into Dead Space's secrets and immersive lore.Ф

We'll have more soon.