August 25^th, 2005 (3:16pm) - Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction and fantasy books in the world—announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with Microsoft Game Studios for the publishing rights to three novels based on the world of Perfect Dark. The first novel available in October, Perfect Dark: Initial Vector, sets up the world of Agent Joanna Dark as gamers worldwide eagerly await the upcoming release of Perfect Dark Zero for the Xbox 360.

"Tor’s mission is to provide great books that explore human innovation and our ability to push the limits of technology. Perfect Dark Zero is on the cutting edge of high fidelity interactive games and we think our relationship with Microsoft Game Studios is a perfect match," says Tom Doherty, President and Publisher of Tor Books.

The novel, Perfect Dark: Initial Vector (available in trade paperback from Tor at $12.95) will be the first in a line of three novels that will answer those questions and take fans and newcomers alike deep into the Perfect Dark universe, building on the game’s rich action and intrigue as readers enter into a shadowy world of the near future. The novel will go on-sale October 4th and will be authored by Greg Rucka, acclaimed thriller novelist and commonly considered to be one of the "Big Three" writers at DC Comics.

"We wanted gamers to find out more about Joanna," said the Perfect Dark team. "What’s her background? Where did she come from? How does she turn into this ’perfect’ agent?"

"The team at Rare has done some amazing work on the Perfect Dark storyline. The life of Joanna Dark is so rich and mysterious, it only seems natural to explore it further in novels, " says Tor Editor Eric Raab.

Tor Publicity Director Elena Stokes says of the anticipation for Perfect Dark Zero, "What Tor is doing with the release of Perfect Dark: Initial Vector is giving fans a chance to see inside the world of Perfect Dark before the game launches. We’re giving readers an insider’s look into the secretive world of Joanna Dark. "