Aconyte Books, the fiction imprint of global games group Asmodee Entertainment, has secured a multi-year agreement with tabletop RPG masters Chaosium to create and publish brand new novels in their Call of Cthulhu game
settings Regency Cthulhu and Cthulhu by Gaslight.
According to the announcement, "Call of Cthulhu is the revered roleplaying game of investigation and horror set in the 1920s. Inspired by the arcane fantasy fiction of H.P. Lovecraft and other writers who have added to the Cthulhu mythos over many decades, this is the first time official licensed fiction has been set in Call of Cthulhu's acclaimed Victorian and Regency settings."
The series of novels, the publisher said, "sets the action in the late 18th Century England, where the masked balls and the society calendar are fronts for sinister cultists to further their own dark conspiracies." The first Regency Cthulhu novel, Secrets & Sacrifices, by author Cath Lauria, will be published next April. The book follows "the indomitable Cassandra Wright [as she] goes in search of the cruel nobleman who drove her father to the grave. The secrets she uncovers, however, threaten to drive her to the brink of sanity.
The first Cthulhu by Gaslight novel will follow in summer 2024, the publisher added, "revealing sinister forces threatening the very heart of terror-struck Victorian London."
"As long-time fans and players of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, we’re delighted to be able to collaborate on publishing novels in these fabulously imaginative settings," Aconyte publishing director Marc Gascoigne said in a statement. "Let’s face it—Bridgerton with extra tentacles and Sherlock Holmes facing off against shoggoths—what’s not to love? Our mission to bring game worlds to life with new and untold stories makes these two series a perfect fit for the Aconyte range."
Jeff Richard, creative director at Chaosium, added: "We are so excited to be working with Aconyte on these stories. We can't wait for our fans to get a chance to read new Call of Cthulhu novels!"
Aconyte’s novels are published in trade paperback and e-book format, and audiobook editions are currently under discussion. Distribution to the book trade in the U.K. is through Simon & Schuster, and to tabletop gaming stores by Asmodee.
Aconyte Books is the publishing arm of Asmodee Entertainment, charged with extending Asmodee’s intellectual properties into novels and comics, TV and film, location-based entertainment, and consumer products. In addition to novels adapted from Asmodee’s games, Aconyte is also extending its catalog with key partnerships, including several ranges of novels set in the worlds of Marvel comics and Ubisoft’s computer games.
A version of this story originally ran in BookBrunch in the U.K.
