In an attempt to expand the universe of Dying Light, developer Techland has revealed plans to release a tie-in novel for the game entitled Nightmare Row, which is due to take place before the zombie outbreak occurs.
That novelization will be scripted by none other than Raymond Benson, who dabbled in the lore of one James Bond when he provided follow-up books commissioned by the Ian Fleming Estate. Now, Benson is ready to transition to a whole new breed of action.
In a statement, here’s what the celebrated author had to say about the opportunity to dip his toe into the horror genre, and how Techland has served up a rich, blood-drenched canvas upon which to project his ideas.
“Writing the origin story for Dying Light was an exciting adventure for me. I’d always wanted to try my hand at a zombie-genre tale and this gave me the perfect opportunity. The folks at Techland created a rich and intriguingly bleak setting for the game, so that gave me a wonderful and creepy world in which to play around.”
Taking place in Harran — Dying Light‘s ravaged, post-apocalyptic setting — Nightmare Row will orbit around the trials and tribulations of Mel Wyatt; an 18-year-old athlete who finds herself stranded in the region along with her brother. It’s hardly the most radically original idea for a story of this nature, but given the author’s clout, we’re willing to give the tie-in novel the benefit of the doubt. At this time, neither Benson nor Techland has provided details on pricing or a release date, though we expect to learn more soon.
Now that Techland has dropped the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, Dying Light is due to shuffle onto PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on January 27.
