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INTERVIEW
WITH ERIC KNIGHT
Tomb
Raider novelist Eric Knight has written
and published the second novel based on
the adventures of video-game heroine Lara
Croft, aptly titled Tomb Raider: The Lost
Cult. Minnesota-born E. E. Knight may be
best known for authoring the Vampire Earth
series - beginning with the novel Way of
the Wolf - but the part-time teacher has
now turned his hand to writing numerous
sci-fi adventures as well as tapping into
Eidos' most potent video-game franchise
to date.
Tomb
Raider: The Lost Cult chronicles the adventures
of Lara Croft who narrowly escapes death
while on a mission for the CIA to recover
stolen Iraqi artifacts. After destroying
years of his research on the ancient Méne
cult, archaeologist Professor Frys is murdered
by an unknown assassin. Lara Croft knows
her colleague must have stumbled upon a
dangerous secret-and someone took his life
to ensure it would remain in the shadows.
So Lara jets to the mysterious cloud forests
of eastern Peru, home of the Méne ruins,
and makes a shocking discovery: A group
is attempting to revive the sinister cult
and its mind-controlling ways. One of the
followers is Lara's former friend and failed
protégé, Tomb Raider Ajay-and she is determined
to see Lara silenced... permanently.
But
Lara, never one to run from a challenge,
has other plans. So unfolds The Lost Cult...
Eric Knight stopped by to give www.tombraiderchronicles.com
an exclusive interview to promote his Lara
Croft adventure novel.
1.
Who is Eric Knight and what publications
have you been involved with in the past?
An
unknown (and therefore inexpensive) writer
of mass-market genre thrillers. All I've
published so far are the first two volumes
of my Vampire Earth epic (though I've sold
four others in the series). I'm also a part-time
teacher.
2.
If you had to choose, which writer would
you consider a mentor?
I've
been mentored by Fred Saberhagen and Alan
Dean Foster. Stephen King has been an indirect
mentor, mostly throug his Danse Macabre
and On Writing books.
3.
Why did you decided to write the second
Tomb Raider novel?
Because
I was a fan of the game, familiar with Lara,
and they offered to pay me. When you're
starting out in an authorial career, you
go after paychecks like you're a pit-fighter.
4.
Did you have much input from Tomb Raider
fans during production?
What
kinds of things did they say? Well, since
there's something like twenty million of
them, the question is "which fans do I listen
to?" I posted on a couple of boards but
didn't get much input. I saw some of the
criticisms of the movies, AOD, and Resnik's
book (though with the last my volume was
already pretty much in production and it
was too late to make major changes).
5.
Why you do think Lara Croft Tomb Raider
has become the most potent video-game franchise
to date?
The
artistry and intricacy of the adventures,
the athleticism of Lara's climbs, dives,
swims, and jumps, mixed with action here
and there, give it an appeal that crosses
from the "Myst" type puzzle-solving players
to shoot-em-ups. Lara being pleasing to
look at helps. I believe Lara's future will
be in adventuring through gorgeously-realized
sets and landscapes, so playing her will
be a bit like living a David Lean movie.
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