The novel is titled “Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance,” and is written by Oliver Bowden. I couldn’t find a book description on either Amazon or Tower Books, but Play.tm says it will be an expansion of Ezio’s tale. Whether that means a prequel or continuance is anyone’s guess. The book has a release date of Nov. 26

“Penguin are hugely excited to be publishing the novelization to the second Assassin’s Creed game,” Alex Clarke, the Penguin editorial director, told Play.tm. “This partnership presents at last a way for traditional book-publishing to cross-over with the ever growing and increasingly exciting world of gaming media.”

Penguin to Deliver Assassin’s Creed Book [Play.tm]

Halo: Evolutions, due out on November 24th, is an extended look at the Halo universe through the eyes of popular science fiction and fantasy authors, along with several members of Microsoft’s 343 Industries’ staff. On the author side we get stories from Karen Traviss of Star Wars: Republic Commando fame, The Last Days author B.K. Evenson, and comic book writer Fred Van Lente.

The 343 Industries team responsible for the Halo game franchise delivers stories from franchise director Frank O’Connor, managing editor Kevin Grace, and Robert McLees, a writer on the first three Halo games as well as the upcoming Halo: Reach.

“We sought out writers who came to the table with an obvious passion for Halo and amazing story ideas.” says Eric Raab, Tor editor. “We got stuff for every kind of Halo fan from straight up action with the Master Chief to glimpse into the Elite mindset post Halo 3, and some really cool explorations of some other familiar faces like Cortana, the Gravemind, and Admiral Preston Cole, and some awesome new stuff that wander into unexplored territory of the Halo mythos.”

The only books I love more than video game novels that explore untold back-story is anthologies of stories that do the same thing. Makes for an extremely bathroom-friendly read. Check out the full list of contributors below, along with a nice shot of the book’s cover, so you know what to look for.

TOBIAS S. BUCKELL, the New York Times bestselling author of HALO: The Cole Protocol and Sly Mongoose.

B.K. EVENSON, the Edgar and Horror Guild International nominated author of Last Days and The Open Curtain.

JONATHAN GOFF, writer and artist with 343 Industries.

KEVIN GRACE, writer and Managing Editor of 343 Industries.

ROBT McLEES, Bungie game developer and writer on Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo 3, as well as the upcoming Halo: Reach.

ERIC NYLUND, the New York Times bestselling author of Halo: The Fall of Reach and Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, and most recently a new non-Halo series that begins with Mortal Coils.

FRANK O’CONNOR, the Franchise Director for Halo at 343 Industries.

ERIC RAAB, writer, and Tor editor of the Halo novels since 2004.

KAREN TRAVISS, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of her own Wess’har series as well as Star Wars and Gears of War novels.

JEFF VANDERMEER & TESSA KUM: Vandermeer is the World Fantasy award-winning writer of City of Saints and Madman as well as Shriek: An Afterword and Finch. Kum is the author of 7wishes and editor for Weird Tales and the Best American Fantasy series.

FRED VAN LENTE, the New York Times bestselling author of Incredible Hercules (with Greg Pak) and Marvel Zombies 3, as well as Cowboys and Aliens and the upcoming Marvel comic series Halo: Blood Line.

Either way, you can let your ears take a stroll through the geek district.

Patrick W. Galbraith, author of The Otaku Encyclopedia and University of Tokyo PhD candidate, is your guide. Geek luminaries like Otaku USA Magazine editor Patrick Macias and Tokyo Stormtropper Danny Choo are interviewed as well.

Each tour is bundled with a CD with MP3 audio, an area map and a photography booklet. Yours for US$12.

TOKYO REALTIME – Audio Guided Walking Tours [Official Site]

Simon & Schuster imprint Atria Books has inked a three-book deal with Realtime Associates’ F.J. Lennon for a series of novels based on his iPhone title Soul Trapper: Episode 1.

In the three-hour game, reports game site GameSetWatch, players are a drifter who carries an Soul Trap device to trap, interrogate and free ghosts across Los Angeles via Choose Your Own Adventure-style play.

Soul Trapper sold around 25,000 copies since its release last fall. Talent agency CAA has even been pitching a Soul Trapper script to the major studios — it’s apparently a “darker, edgier Ghostbusters”. So… it’s not funny?

Soul Trapper [Publishers Weekly via GameSetWatch]

EA’s new FLIPS series takes books from some of today’s best children’s writers to deliver what are essentially extended director’s cuts of their works to the Nintendo DS. Children will be able to read books from Cathy Cassidy, Eoin Colfer and Enid Blyton, with quizzes and reference links built right in to help encourage getting to the end of each chapter.

“I’m over the moon to see my stories and characters brought to life on the Nintendo DS with EA’s new FLIPS range,” said Eoin Colfer, author of the award-winning Artemis Fowl series. “Everyone knows that reading improves literacy skills. I have two children who are DS fanatics and cannot wait for the FLIPS to arrive, so EA might finally get them reading my books!”

Here’s what they’ve got lined up so far:

Enid Blyton (Egmont) – The Enchanted Wood®, The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree, Enchanted World – Petal and the Eternal Bloom, Enchanted World – Melody and the Enchanted Harp, Enchanted World – Silky and the Rainbow Feather

Cathy Cassidy (Penguin)– Scarlett, Angel Cake, Sundae Girl, Shine on Daizy Star, GingerSnaps, Driftwood

Eoin Colfer (Penguin) – Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code, Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception, Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

Too Ghoul For School (Egmont) – Silent but Deadly, The In-Spectres Call, Ghoul Dinners, The Bubonic Builders, Attack of the Zombie Nits, School Spooks Day, French Fright, Terror In Cubical Four

That’s an impressive list of reading materials right there. The first four FLIPS titles are being released in the UK on the 4th of December, with each release featuring six to eight books for the low price of £24.99 ($44). Will the Nintendo DS succeed where libraries and book stores have failed? We’ll find out then.

Kojima Productions knows how to put together some informative literature, as you might be able to gather from perusing the TGS Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker promo book yourself. It’s brief, but big—about 14″ by 10″ when folded. Plus, it’s pretty too look at, with snazzy artwork from Metal Gear maestro Yoji Shinkawa and good design slathered all over the thing.

Take a peek. And be gentle with the quality. The Japanese authorities confiscated my scanner at customs.

We’ve learned how big a focus ArenaNet was putting on the art for Guild Wars 2 during our annual pilgrimage to the Penny Arcade Expo, which really puts the The Art of Guild Wars 2 into perspective. This isn’t just concept art. As far as ArenaNet is concerned, this is the game itself. Consider the book a way of getting your hands on the MMO a little early.

North American fans can snag the book from the Penny Arcade Store for $US30, while our friends in Europia can order directly from NCsoft for £20.00 or €25.00.

Kotaku AU note: Both ship to Australia. NCsoft have sold out, but will take back orders.

The Art of Guild Wars 2 [Guild Wars 2 Website - Thanks Connor!]

Joe McNeilly’s “Neuromancer: 25 Years Later” looks at the connection between cyberpunk granddaddy William Gibson’s work and the video game scene today. It’s a lengthy read — the kind I’m more used to seeing on Gamasutra — but there’s some good stuff in there about the rise of home consoles and the gamer-occupied cyberspace we’re so used to navigating. Even if the history lesson bores you a bit, it’s nice to know (or pretend to know) where ideas like Project NATAL come from.

Here’s a good bit:

…cyberspace isn’t just for boring stuff like industry and shipping. Home game consoles have all but replaced the primitive arcades that originally inspired Gibson to dream up cyberspace in the first place. Gamers project themselves into the matrix, with senses ever more immersed in the experience of HD graphics and surround sound and virtual community. Many disregard meatspace in a manner similar to Case, Neuromancer’s console cowboy, forgetting to eat, sleep, drink, pee or blink during extended periods of game-trance. When neural jacks finally arrive, gamers will be the first to plug in.

Go check out the rest if you want to know where Rez fits in.

Neuromancer: 25 years later [GamesRadar]

More than just an art book, this large, hard-bound special edition tome is filled from cover-to-cover with the history of the EverQuest franchise, from the original release to the coming of EverQuest 2. You’ll find developer interviews, box art, concept art, and developer commentary that will have a lapsed player itching to get back into the fray.

Or at least it had this lapsed player itching. SOE delivered a copy of the book to me late last week, and I’ve had a hard time putting it down. It’s been years since I traveled Norrath, but half a decade of my life is contained in those pages, and the reminiscing is fine.

You can purchase the book for $US34.99 directly from SOE by clicking the link I cleverly hid in this sentence.

The Art of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney collects all of the artwork from the three Nintendo DS Phoenix Wright titles as well as Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, into one giant coffee-table holding down stack of bound paper. It’s perfect for showing your friends and family how much you enjoy the artwork of the Phoenix Wright series, or at least I hope it is, because otherwise what’s the point?

I wouldn’t have thought the Phoenix Wright series was popular enough to warrant an UDON art book, but after the wild applause the next game in the series got at this year’s Comic-Con, it’s probably a wise choice.