Earlier today, Rockstar Games announced a conjunction with Mulholland Book that will result in the publishing of a series of short stories based upon characters and cases in the world of upcoming crime thriller L.A. Noire titled "L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories".
The collection is being produced in partnership with "notable authors of the thriller genre" including Megan Abbott, Lawrence Block, Joe Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, Francine Prose, Jonathan Santlofer, Duane Swierczynski and Andrew Vachss. It is currently set for a June 6 release and will be available through all major eBook retailers.
"L.A. Noire draws on a rich history of not just film, but also great crime literature for inspiration," said Sam Houser, founder of Rockstar Games. "Using the game’s world as a springboard, we worked with the genre’s best writers to create stories that lived up to the finest traditions of crime fiction."
The stories will feature classic Noir villains, desperate actresses looking for their Hollywood break, and "heroes turned defeated men". Rockstar claims that familiar cases from the game will be played out in the stories and will "take on a new spin to tell the tales of emotionally torn protagonists, depraved schemers and their ill-fated victims."
"We are thrilled to be embarking on a creative partnership with the team at Rockstar Games," said Michael Pietsch, publisher of Little, Brown and Company, which owns Mulholland Books. "The possibilities for cross-promotions of this nature, encouraging gamers to read and readers to play games are huge. We’re looking forward to a new frontier of book publishing possibilities and see Rockstar as an ideal partner."
Those who can’t wait for the collection as a whole will be able to get a taste soon as some of the stories will be made available across various media outlets prior to the May 17 release of L.A. Noire. One of these stories, "The Girl" by Megan Abott, is already available in excerpt form and can be read on Rockstar’s website.
To see the covers for "L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories" and "The Girl", simply scroll down.
