Assassin's Creed (book series)

The first official Assassin's Creed novel, Assassin's Creed: Renaissance, was written by Anton Gill (under the pen name Oliver Bowden) and is a novelization of Assassin's Creed II. It was released on 20 November 2009 in the United Kingdom,[1] and on 23 February 2010 in the United States. While the novel follows the game's events involving Ezio Auditore da Firenze (with the modern-day aspect entirely excluded), it changes most of the dialogue, the appearances of certain characters, and how some events occurred. It also omits certain events, while adding in others not featured in the game (some of these, such as Ezio's relationship with his first girlfriend, Cristina Vespucci, would later be adapted in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood).

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the second novel in the series, was also written by Gill and is based on the video game of the same name. It was released on 25 November 2010 in the United Kingdom, and on 30 November in the United States. Like Renaissance, the novel changes some elements of the game, including omitting or adding in certain events, to better fit its narrative, but is overall a much more faithful adaptation.

Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade is the first novel in the series written by Andrew Holmes (using the same name pen name of Oliver Bowden), and depicts the story of Altaïr Ibn-LaʼAhad, as told by Niccolò Polo, adapting the events of Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, and the Altaïr sequences from Assassin's Creed: Revelations. It also features many events not depicted in any of the games, including Altaïr's childhood and his life in exile after being deposed as Mentor of the Assassin Order by his former friend, Abbas Sofian. The novel is presented as Niccolò's journal, which is recovered by Ezio at the beginning of Revelations. The epilogue reveals that Ezio is the actual narrator, as he is reading through the journal on his way to Constantinople during the events of the game. The Secret Crusade was released on 23 June 2011 in the United Kingdom, and on 28 June in the United States.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is the final novel in the series written by Gill and is an adaptation of the video game of the same name, focusing on Ezio's side of the story. The novel also desribes the final years of Ezio's life, after the events of the game. It was released on 24 November 2011 in the United Kingdom and on 29 November 2011 in the United States.

Assassin's Creed: Forsaken, again written by Holmes, is based on Assassin's Creed III, but is not a direct adaptation. Instead, it tells the story of Haytham Kenway, the game's main antagonist, from his childhood until his death, showing a mirrored perspective to what the game portrays. Similarly to The Secret Crusade, the novel is presented as Haytham's journal, which is recovered by his son Connor (the game's main protagonist), who proceeds to read through it to better understand his father, and later completes it with events that occurred after Haytham's death. Forsaken was released on 4 December 2012 (the in-universe birth date of Haytham).

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, again written by Holmes, is based on Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. The novel is presented as the journal of protagonist Edward Kenway, and explores his early life and his thoughts on the events that occur in the game. It was released on 26 November 2013.

Assassin's Creed: Unity, again written by Holmes, is based on the video game of the same name. Similarly to Forsaken, it presents the events of the game from the perspective of a different character (in this case, Élise de la Serre), as well as the exeperiences of protagonist Arno Dorian after the game. It was released on 20 November 2014 in the United Kingdom, and on 2 December in the United States.

Assassin's Creed: Underworld was again written by Holmes and is based on Assassin's Creed Syndicate. The first two thirds of the book follow Henry Green, a major supporting character from the game, and Detective Frederick Abberline in 1862, with the final third covering the events of the game itself six years later. It was released on 5 November 2015 in the United Kingdom, and on 1 December in the United States.

Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization, written by Christie Golden, is an adaptation of the live-action Assassin's Creed film released in 2016. In addition to retelling the film's events, it also includes an anthology of short stories from Nathan, Emir, Moussa, Lin, and their respective ancestors, and an excerpt from Assassin's Creed: Heresy. The novelization was released on 21 December 2016, the same day as the film.

Assassin's Creed Origins: Desert Oath, again written by Andrew Holmes, is a prequel novel to Assassin's Creed Origins, telling the story of a young Bayek of Siwa and his father Sabu in Ptolemaic Egypt. It was published on 10 October 2017.[2][3]

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (The Official Novelization), written by Gordon Doherty, tells one of the possible story paths of Assassin's Creed Odyssey featuring Kassandra, one of the two protagonists of the game.[4] It was published on 30 October 2018 by Ace Books.[5]

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga, written by Matthew J. Kirby, is a tie-in novel to Asssassin's Creed Valhalla. It does not follow the events of the game, instead telling the story of the Viking Geirmund Hel-hide within roughly the same time frame as Valhalla. It was published on 10 November 2020.

• List of novels based on video games