Ubisoft's stealth-killing video game franchise is now set to include an all-new series of novels for teens. The first Assassin's Creed YA novel, Matthew J. Kirby's Last Descendants, has a colorful cover to grab gamers' eyes. I've got details on Last Descendants, plus a look at the unveiled cover, below.
Since 2007, Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed games have put players in control of various Assassins, locked in a centuries-long war with the Knights Templar. These playable characters have included Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad in 12th century Syria, Ezio Auditore in Renaissance Italy, and the Frye twins in Victorian London, among others.
Assassin's Creed players are actually playing a game within a game, at least so far as the narrative is concerned. In the games' version of the modern day, the Knights Templar own Abstergo Industries, and have kidnapped Assassin descendants to participate in trials of their Animus technology. The Animus allows individuals to relive their ancestors' memories, controlling said ancestors from within the machine.
According to a February press release from Scholastic, Last Descendants will be "set concurrently in the present-day, 1860s New York City, and during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire." There's no word yet on which Assassins the book will follow, but Scholastic says the story "will feature historical figures including William “Boss” Tweed, Hernán Cortés, [and] renowned opera singer Adelina Patti, among others."
Unveiling the newly finalized cover in a May 25 blog post, Kirby reminded readers that Last Descendants is "available for pre-order most everywhere," and will appear in stores on August 28. Which means you have plenty of time to read it before the Assassin's Creed movie adaptation hits theaters in November.
Image: Ubisoft
