Yacht Club Games has partnered with Grosset & Dunlap to publish a series of Shovel Knight-themed books targeted at kids 8-12 years old. The four books announced so far include:

• Shovel Knight Guidebook, a 176-page strategy guide that includes all of Shovel Knight’s secrets and tips to defeat the Order of No Quarter.
• Shovel Knight: Codes of Shovelry Handbook, which will teach readers more about the characters from the game, “as well as tips for enhanced gameplay.”
• Shovel Knight: Digger’s Diary, a journal filled with “fun activities, challenging mazes and puzzles, and writing prompts.”
• Shovel Knight Mad Libs, which promises 21 silly stories from the world of Shovel Knight.

All four books will be released on January 10, 2017.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on July 14, 2009.

Del Rey is quickly establishing themselves as the go-to publisher for video game adaptations. After publishing novels based on major franchises such as Halo, Gears of War, and Mass Effect, the Random House imprint will next turn their attention to God of War.

Del Rey will publish two novels based on the God of War series, with the first, simply titled God of War, scheduled for release in March 2010. The novel will be based on the first game, and it’ll be released alongside PlayStation 3 launch of the third game in the series, God of War III.

In the novel God of War, Kratos, the game’s protagonist, is a great warrior who seeks revenge on the God of War Ares for the deaths of his wife and child. On his journey to Olympus, Kratos must battle great monsters of legend–and fight his own inner demons. Kratos’ quest will take him through a world of Greek mythology transformed, in which the familiar legends take on a terrifying new life–from the Aegean, where Kratos will grapple with the Great Hydra, to the depths of Hades, where Kratos will face death itself, to the heights of Mount Olympus. With all the thrilling action that got fans hooked on the game, the novel God of War takes us deeper into this fascinating world.

God of War will be written by Matthew Stover, who is best known for his contributions to the Star Wars Expanded Universe, including Star Wars: New Jedi Order – Traitor, Star Wars: Shatterpoint, and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on April 7, 2009.

During this weekend’s Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, Tor Books and Microsoft’s Frank O’Connor announced (via Kotaku) that famed science fiction author Greg Bear will be writing a new trilogy of Halo novels. The series will follow the exploits of the Forerunners, the ancient race from the game’s mythology that built the Halo. The series will be set 100,000 years before the first game and trace the Forerunners’s connections to humanity.

The first book in the Forerunner trilogy will be released sometime next year.

In addition, DK Publishing has announced they will publish The Halo Encyclopedia in November. The reference book will be 352 pages and feature full color illustrations of many characters, locations and weapons from the Halo universe. The forward will be written by O’Connor, a member of Microsoft’s new “internal Halo team,” and will include content from all four currently-available Halo games and the upcoming Halo 3: ODST. Presumably, the encyclopedia will also cover events from the Halo novel series.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on November 20, 2008.

The six issue prequel comic book series to Dead Space has been collected and released as a hardcover graphic novel. The book will initially be released exclusively to comic book stores and then other retailers and websites at the end of November.

The story was written by Antony Johnson and illustrated by Ben Templesmith. The graphic novel collection includes exclusive cover art by Templesmith, an exclusive bonus art section, and a background section on the major characters.

This is not the only prequel offshoot of Dead Space. A Direct-To-DVD movie, Dead Space: Downfall, was released in October.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on October 22, 2008.

One of the first posts I ever made on this blog was about the announcement that the manga series based on The Legend of Zelda would be coming to America soon. It looks that time is now, as Akira Himekawa’s The Legend of Zelda: Volume 1 – Ocarina of Time: Part 1 was released on October 7.

Ocarina of Time: Part 1 retells the first half of the game’s story, and Link’s adventure will conclude in The Legend of Zelda: Volume 2 – Ocarina of Time: Part 2, which is set to be released on December 2.

Volume 3 (which will be based on Majora’s Mask) and Volume 4 (which will adapt Oracle of Seasons) are currently on track for a 2009 release.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on September 22, 2008.

Viz Media is getting ready to release the first volume of The Legend of Zelda manga, The Legend of Zelda: Volume 1 – Ocarina of Time: Part 1, on October 7. But now, Amazon listings for Volume 3 and Volume 4 have popped up on the site.

Both books will again be written by Akira Himekawa and will be based on different games in the Zelda saga. The third volume, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. will be released on February 3, 2009. The fourth volume, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, will follow on April 7, 2009.

Part 2 of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s manga adaptation is still scheduled for release on December 2.

This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on August 25, 2008.

Wiley Publishing has revealed the latest book in their “For Dummies” series… Wii For Dummies. Scheduled for a September 29th release, the book was written by Kyle Orland, Joystiq blogger and freelance game journalist extraordinaire. Orland is one of the best game journalists out there, so this book will surely be as thorough an examination of the Wii as a “For Dummies” book will allow.

Some of the topics that Wii For Dummies will cover include:

• How to connect a Wii to a television
• How the various Wii controllers work
• Mii creation and use
• An explanation of Wii Channels (including the Photo Channel, the Wii Browser and the various Mii channels)
• Details on the Wii’s best games, including Wii Sports and Wii Fit

Wiley Publishing has tackled video games with the “For Dummies” series before, and they previously published PlayStation 2 For Dummies in 2001 and Xbox 360 For Dummies in 2005.