The Elder Scrolls games, and most recently Oblivion, have appealed to gamers who love to tell their own stories. While there is a central, guided experience, players work in a world where they can pick and choose the missions for their character, defining their own history and grandiose tales. Essentially the games have served as the videogame approximation of a "choose your own adventure" novel.

Let's be honest, that's the face of someone who didn't read enough books.

Now Elder Scrolls is getting a novelization, but it is, unfortunately, not a choose your own adventure. The first of two books in the works will debut this fall and will be written by Greg Keyes, a novelist of note who has written "Star Wars" novels in the past. The first book will be titled "The Infernal City" and takes place after the events in Oblivion. Here is a quick synopsis from the press release:
Floating high above the land is a strange and mysterious city that is casting a horrifying shadow – wherever it falls, people die and rise again as undead. It is up to an unlikely duo – a seventeen-year-old girl named Annaig and the Emperor's young son, Prince Attrebus – to rescue the kingdom from doom.
The hope for the series is, according to Bethesda Softworks' Vice President of Public Relations Pete Hines, to allow the books to be "a natural extension of the franchise" that "fans will love."



Anthony says: The whole appeal of Elder Scrolls is, for me, my ability to pick where my character is going and to choose how he acts. I don't find the universe all that original, and I never felt attached to the world or lore. Frankly I just don't see much appeal in having a story told to me in this universe, especially when there's a glut of other fantasy novels out there that have more original back-stories.