~2 minute readNew books based on our Planetfall & Wishbringer
Novels take place in the same 'universe' as the games
Books based on two of our most popular games will be published this August. Wishbringer: The Riddle of the Twin Worlds, and Planetfall: In Search of Floyd, Part I are being published jointly by Infocom, Avon Books, and Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc.
The books are new novels by leading authors, not retellings of the original games or choose-your-own adventures. The novels take place in the same worlds as the games and use some of the characters and ideas from the games, but the plots are all new. Take, for instance, this excerpt from the back of the Wishbringer book:
"Simon never wanted to meet an ogre... But Simon was a con man who got caught and sentenced to deliver mail in the lovely town of Festeron. It would have been an easy sentence if Festeron hadn't turned into the town of Witchville.
"Suddenly, Festeron wasn't lovely anymore. The postmaster wanted to cancel him. The librarian wanted to shelve him. The Boot Patrol wanted to kick him, and Gloria, sweet Gloria, the girl of his dreams, was dating the entire Patrol."
Those of you who have played the Wishbringer game recognize the postmaster, the librarian, and the Boot Patrol. But Gloria is a new character, created by the author of the book, Craig Shaw Gardner, whose other literary achievements include A Malady of Magicks and A Difficulty with Dwarves.
The Planetfall book also combines the old with the new:
"Homer got lost. Really lost. Fortunately, he was accompanied by his loyal robot Oliver and the ghost of his beloved robot Floyd. The fate of the Third Galactic Empire depended on the Stellar Patrol's finding Homer â- the only man in the fleet who can play the soprano saxophone."
The Planetfall book was written by Arthur Byron Cover, who also wrote The Platypus of Doom, one of the Isaac Asimov Robot City novels.
We know from talking to you that one thing most people who play our games have in common is that they like to read. Here, then, are two more opportunities to enjoy the worlds created by Infocom.
The books will sell for $3.95 each ($4.95 in Canada) and should be available in August at all bookstores carrying science fiction and fantasy titles.
These historical, out-of-print articles and literary works have been GNUSTOed onto InvisiClues.org for academic and research purposes.
