Tor Books announced the publication of BioShock: Rapture by John Shirley (A Tor Trade Paperback; $14.99; July 19, 2011), the first novel based on the best-selling, critically acclaimed "BioShock" video game franchise.  BioShock: Rapture is available at retailers nationwide.

BioShock: Rapture tells the story of Andrew Ryan, a great dreamer with a vision: a utopia free from government, censorship, and moral restrictions on science – where great men and women can get what they give.  So begins the origin story of Rapture – the majestic, shining city beneath the sea, an underwater utopia…destined to suffer great tragedy. This is the story of how it all came to be, and how it all ended.

John Shirley is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Black Butterflies and cyberpunk classics City Come A-Walkin', Eclipse, and Black Glass. He also famously penned the script of the acclaimed dark noir classic film The Crow, along with other film and TV projects.  Shirley's terrifying and inventive stories range across the same dark, dystopian, and imaginative thematic landscape as the acclaimed BioShock franchise, making him the perfect fit for this project.

Originally launched in 2007, the first BioShock game was lauded as one of the most unique original properties on modern consoles and took home a number of major industry awards.