Secrets of Dead Space to be revealed in an upcoming novel

by: Tina - posted: 4/13/2010 7:21:00 PM

The Church of Unitology is but a vague understanding to Isaac Clarke in Dead Space. Playing as the silent protagonist, you pick up information on the religious sect through audio logs you find along the path throughout the video game. Your journey quickly takes you from uncovering the mystery of the appearance of Necromorphs to dealing with the even more mysterious artifact known as the “Black Marker.”

Visceral Games wants you to delve deeper into the history of the Church of Unitology before the release of the Dead Space sequel. With the help of Tor Books and author B.K. Evenson, Dead Space: Martyr will tell a more involved tale concerning Dead Space with the intent of revealing more of its dormant secrets. The story will begin with geophysicist Michael Altman’s discovery of what is initially an undiscovered artifact, and promises to divulge even more invigorating aspects of the storyline.

Executive Producer of the upcoming sequel to Dead Space, Steve Papoutsis, explains his anticipation of the novel, “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.”

The novel is set to release July 2010 at the price of $14.99.

New York, NY – April 13, 2010 - Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction in the world—and Visceral Games™, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced Dead Space™: Martyr (A Tor Trade Paperback; $14.99; July 2010), the first novel based on the award-winning Dead Space videogame franchise. Dead Space: Martyr delves 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 artefact 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 artefact. He soon learns that being in close proximity to the artefact causes strange occurrences - visions of the dead, vivid dreams, and violent murders. Altman’s experience with the alien artefact 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.



Originally launched in 2008, Dead Space quickly became one of EA’s top rated wholly-owned intellectual properties. With close to 100 industry awards and an average critic score of 89*, Dead Space became a hit with horror and videogame fans worldwide. In 2009, EA launched Dead Space Extraction, a prequel to the original game and will continue to expand the fiction with its stunning sequel, Dead Space 2.