Bethesda Softworks and Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, are pleased to announce that Del Rey Books will publish two novels based on Bethesda Softworks' award-winning, high-fantasy video game series, The Elder Scrolls.  The best-selling game series is known for giving the player the ability to choose how their story will play out and unfold, and for the incredible amount of lore and depth found in these rich game worlds.

Penned by New York Times bestselling author Greg Keyes, the novels will be all-new, original stories based in The Elder Scrolls universe. The first novel – The Infernal City – is set to be published in Fall 2009. Among Keyes' prior works are the Age of Unreason tetrology (for which he won the prestigious "Le Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire" award), and three New York Times bestselling Star Wars novels in the New Jedi Order series.

"We've been big fans of Greg's work for a long time, and we're thrilled he agreed to bring his talents to The Elder Scrolls," said Pete Hines, vice president of public relations and marketing for Bethesda Softworks. "We see these books as a natural extension of the franchise and think fans will love the stories and characters Greg has created."

The Infernal City is set after the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the latest game in the video game series, and finds the citizens of Tamriel once again facing an uncertain future. 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. Annaig and Attrebus' quest will take them through the Elder Scrolls universe and their adventure is sure to add to the series' already magnificent mythology.

For more information on Bethesda Softworks, visit www.bethsoft.com.

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