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Total War: Rome will be a series of novels

by: Nathaniel -
More On: Total War: Rome II
Yeah, you read that right.  Your one-stop location for historically-based pre-mechanized combat, Sega and Creative Assembly, have commissioned a series of novels based on their RTS franchise.  These novels will be written by David Gibbins, author of the "Jack Howard" series of archaeological thrillers - two words you'd never expect to see together in such a relationship.
 
The first novel will be called Total War: Rome - Destroy Carthage.  Gibbins is working alongside Creative Assembly to spin a fictional narrative that still manages to remain true to the source material.  It follows the adventures of centurion Fabius Petronius Secundus from his first battles against the Macedonians until the Siege of Carthage itself.

I've never read any of his stuff before (my historical fiction begins and ends with Bernard Cornwell), however, I might have to check out his "Jack Howard" series just to see if it's what I'm afraid it will be: a Clive Cussler/Dirk Pitt rip-off.  

To learn more, you can follow the jump.

 
FIRST TOTAL WAR NOVEL REVEALED;

‘TOTAL WAR: ROME - DESTROY CARTHAGE’

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON – May 20 2013 – Pan Macmillan, SEGA® of America, Inc., SEGA® Europe, Ltd and Creative Assembly today announced Total War™: ROME - Destroy Carthage will be the first in a grand series of Total War inspired novels written by bestselling author David Gibbins and released alongside the latest game in September 2013.

Working closely with developers at Creative Assembly and calling on his years of experience as a fiction writer and lecturer of history, David Gibbins is creating an original story that will captivate the authenticity, quality and scale of Total War™: ROME II.  The story follows Fabius Petronius Secundus – Roman legionary and centurion – and his rise to power; from his first battle against the Macedonians, that seals the fate of Alexander the Great’s Empire, to total war in North Africa and the harrowing events of the Siege of Carthage.

Epic, packed with action, yet remaining character-driven at heart, Destroy Carthage explores how significant the Carthage campaign was on a personal level for each man who made war revealing the importance of loyalty, honour and ambition.
Pan Macmillan along with US sister company, Thomas Dunne Books won the rights in October 2012 to publish a four part series of novels inspired by the award winning, SEGA® published, Total War franchise.

“The Total War game series is all about conquering your own personal version of history, in a world we make as authentic to the period as possible,” Rob Bartholomew, Brand Director at Creative Assembly commented.  “David’s novel is a fantastic opportunity to further indulge in the kind of what-if story-telling our players enjoy.”

“It’s been hugely exciting for me to work on this novel.” David Gibbins, bestselling author commented. “The story of Rome’s struggle with Carthage is truly a story of total war, of a conflict spread over more than a century, in which annihilation of one side was the only possible outcome. It’s been fascinating for me to reimagine the lead-up to the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC through the eyes of a fictional legionary, Fabius. The story has been very close to my own work as an archaeologist at Carthage itself – it’s fantastic to be that close to real history, and that’s what makes my novels come alive for me.”
Total War: ROME: Destroy Carthage will be published in September 2013 to tie in with the global release of the game. The first novel in the series will be localised into Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese and Hungarian and is available for pre-order from supporting retailers now. For more information about the book and to watch the exclusive teaser trailer, head to www.totalwarbooks.com

You can find out more about Total War at www.totalwar.com 

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About the author
David Gibbins is the author of seven previous historical adventure novels, including the international bestseller, Atlantis. After holding a Research Fellowship at Cambridge, he spent almost a decade teaching archaeology, ancient history and art history as a university lecturer in England, before giving up teaching to write fiction full-time. He is a passionate diver and has led numerous expeditions, some of which resulted in extraordinary discoveries of ten-thousand-year-old artefacts.
David divides his time between England and Canada, where he does most of his writing.

About Total War
Multi-million-selling Total War is one of the most critically-acclaimed series in gaming with a legacy covering 12 years. A drive for historical authenticity and superb gaming quality has helped establish the franchise as one of the most successful PC games of all time. Alongside the core historical-based games, the Total War series has expanded to include mobile and now has a free-to-play title, Total War: ARENA, currently in development. Total War’s website is located at www.totalwar.com

About Creative Assembly

Founded in 1987 and based in Horsham, West Sussex, Creative Assembly is one of the UK’s most successful and established game studios. Creator of the multi award-winning Total War strategy series, the studio has received numerous press, industry and consumer accolades, including BAFTA and the Develop Industry Excellence awards.  With over 250 highly talented developers and counting, the studio is expanding to embark on thrilling new triple-A console, PC and mobile projects. Creative Assembly’s website is located at www.creative-assembly.com

About SEGA® Europe Ltd.:

SEGA® Europe Ltd. is the European Distribution arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. SEGA Europe’s web site is located at www.sega.com
About SEGA® of America, Inc.:

SEGA® of America, Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home.  The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.  SEGA of America’s Web site is located at www.sega.com
About Pan Macmillan:

Pan Macmillan is one of the largest fiction and non-fiction book publishers in the UK and includes the imprints of Pan, Picador and Macmillan Children’s Books. Pan Macmillan publishes a broad list of popular bestsellers to prize-winning literary fiction and non-fiction, as well as poetry and children’s book. The company has offices in 41 countries world-wide and operates in over 70 countries. 
www.panmacmillan.com