Get Gamers Reading with 8 Books Based on Video Games

Song of the Deep, by Brian Hastings
When twelve-year-old Merryn’s father, a fisherman, doesn’t return from his latest expedition, she builds herself a submarine and goes on a thrilling and dangerous journey to find him. Both this stunning new game and a novel that tells the story (written by the game’s creator!) come out on July 12—and intrepid young gamers will love experiencing the adventure by both playing the game and reading the novel. It’s the perfect way to completely immerse yourself in a beautiful, treacherous undersea world.

Plants vs. Zombies: Save Your Brains!, by Catherine Hapka
Plants vs. Zombies is a wildly popular mobile and desktop game pitting the cartoonish forces of the living dead against the player’s equally cartoonish flowery deathtraps. By using a variety of plants, kids learn rudimentary time-, space-, and resource-management skills. In Hapka’s “I Can Read!” tie-in, kids get to know a little bit more about the game’s characters, and strategy via its eccentric narrator, Crazy Dave. There’s also a graphic novel series for older readers.

Angry Birds Comics, Volume 1: Welcome to the Flock, by Paul Tobin and Jeff Parker
IDW has quietly tapped some of the comics industry’s best talent to create these Angry Birds comics since 2014, and frankly, they’re way more entertaining than all-ages mobile app tie-in books have any right to be. Tobin (Bandette) and Parker (Batman ’66) team up to tell the tale of a flock of, well, angry birds courageously fighting against the pig menace. Featuring art by comics stalwarts like Corrado Mastantuono, this is one book that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Sonic / Mega Man: Worlds Collide: The Complete Epic, by Sonic/Mega Man Scribes
Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man are both gaming legends whose characters have found new life in their ongoing series from Archie Comics. Gamers young and old have thrilled to adventures of a hedgehog with super-speed and a pint-sized android from the future, but those two universes have never crossed over—until now. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this action-filled romp.

Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth, by Christopher Golden
With the fourth installment in the Uncharted franchise fresh on game store shelves, now’s a great time to explore the literary side of Nathan Drake’s adventures. The gunslinging action-archaeologist has a knack for getting himself into messy situations, but when he investigates a murder in New York that leads to an ancient mystery in Egypt and Greece, Drake stumbles into a deadly maze from which he and his friends may never escape.

World of Warcraft: Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, by Christie Golden
Speaking of SFF writers named Golden, Christie Golden has written almost fifty gaming novels in her career, including some of Blizzard Entertainment’s finest tie-ins. Any WoW player owes it to themselves to look into her prequel for the “Wrath of the Lich King” expansion, which tells the story of Azeroth’s most terrifying menace.

Starcraft II: Flashpoint, by Christie Golden
Golden is so prolific, we couldn’t put just one of her works on this list! Her Dark Templar Saga alone marks her as one of the most important writers of the Starcraft II series, but Golden has even more to offer this universe. Based on the much-hyped expansion “Heart of the Swarm,” Flashpoint delves into the mind of fallen heroine Sarah Kerrigan after being dethroned as Queen of the Zerg.

Tomb Raider: The Beginning, by Rhianna Pratchett
Pratchett has never been one to coast on her father Terry’s fame. She’s made quite a name for herself in SFF circles, writing video games like Heavenly Sword, Overlord, and most salient to this list, the recent Tomb Raider soft reboot. What better person to handle the comic adaptation of the game’s prequel than the woman who wrote the game in the first place? With art by Nicolas Selma and Andrea Mutti, Lara Croft fans of all ages will enjoy this gripping look at how the Endurance crew came together for their fateful mission.
Gamer parents, what tie-in books have you given your kids?