The Tomb Raider Novel Takes Place After The Game, But Before The Comics

As you’ve likely heard by now, DK Publishing are publishing a Tomb Raider novel titled Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals. The novel takes place after the events of last year’s Tomb Raider game and sees Lara trying to rescue her best friend, Sam, from toxic overdose.

During her search for a remedy, Lara comes across a myth regarding an ancient artefact that could help her friend, and possibly even explain the supernatural events on the island of Yamatai from the game. Her pursuit of the cure apparently takes her across the globe, attempting to outrun a shadow society trying to beat her to the artefact.

DK say that this novel is being written in conjunction with Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, so we got in touch with Crystal to see what they could tell us about the book and how it ties into the next game, titled Rise of the Tomb Raider. Unfortunately, they weren’t willing to divulge much, but they did confirm the exact placement of The Ten Thousand Immortals within the series’ overall story.

“We’re not talking about the story of Rise of the Tomb Raider just yet,” Rich Briggs, global brand director at Crystal Dynamics, said to us. “However, we can confirm that the novel will take place following the conclusion of the Tomb Raider 2013 game, and prior to the storyline introduced by the Dark Horse comics.”

“Together, the novel and the comics will cover the period of time between the games, and will thus address Lara’s development and state of mind within that timeframe.”

Sending Lara trekking around the world sounds like a pretty big deal, and it seems odd to restrict her first global adventure to a novel format, so I asked if we’ll see the events of The Ten Thousand Immortals addressed in the new game at all.

Briggs replied, “The plot and events of the novel will become canon within the franchise, but at this time we don’t have any more details to share about how these events will impact the franchise.”