Now that we have some info about Skyrim's storyline, it should be very interesting to see if (A) Keyes links his novels with the upcoming next game, and (B ) if we get any in-game references to the Umbriel Crisis in Skyrim itself.

Given the fact that the Empire falls yet again (this time to the elves), viewing Keyes' work as a "bridging" storyline between TES IV and TES V works quite well, considering.

And where did you get the info from? Anyway, there's no proof for such an event - also, we know there is an Empire in IC and there is an Empire during Skyrim's events.

The beginning of the Skyrim GI article stated that the Empire had "ceded territory to the Elven nations it once ruled." That may not be the exact wording but it's close, and I'm not near my magazine right now. But the point is, that's where he got that from. The Empire certainly hasn't fallen but we know that even in 4E 200, 160 or so years after the book, the Empire still hasn't been able to reclaim the Elven provinces that seceded before the book, which speaks volumes about how weak it is now.

Its been on the UESP for about a month. I started a topic about it http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1155361-next-novel/. So yes, we've known for quite a while.
And it does say in the beginning of the GI article about the Elven territory.

Which is true, as Morrowind was lost to the Argonian Empire, and the Summerset Isles and Valenwood are now ruled by the Aldmeri Dominion.

Well, I was talking about the "Empire falls" part - which, as You said, isn't true. And we can hardly judge the Empire's strength because of this info - Morrowind is in a large part a (often poisonous) wasteland. Thus there is no point in reclaiming it. And about the Dominion... Tiber Septim himself was able to defeat it only after using the Numidium - and I'm willing to bet a lot that the current emperor doesn't have a giant stompy robot which can bend time itself

Well, with the Skyrim information we can at least assume that if taking back the elven nations is a plot point, it won't end with a victory for the humans. That doesn't mean either side is weak, of course, just... weaker.

Is anyone else hoping they release a hard cover version that combines both the Infernal City and Lord of Souls? Or at the very least a version that combines both. :read:

Yes, I wish that. I think that way I could have my shelf space be more economical. Only a fifth of my closet is actually mine, as it happens, so not nearly as much space for beloved tomes as I need, and with the amount of books I read it would be hard to get even books I very much like a prominent place in that small of an area.

Ditto.

This is news to me, but most welcome news at that! I've been wondering when the next one would be coming out, and what it would be called; too bad we have to wait that long... I'm not a very patient woman... But, better September than October... :wink_smile:

J. Gregory Keyes certainly does his homework before writing a given book, and his "shared universe" efforts (The Elder Scrolls, Babylon 5, and Star Wars) are among the better ones being done today.

Given the fact that this next novel will be somewhere in the neighborhood of over a hundred pages longer than its predecessor, it bodes well for him being able to devote more page-space towards the detail and lore that we love about TES series.

I was going by a translation of a recent French gaming-mag article, which mentioned the whole "Empire-falls-to-the-Elves" thing, but if this was an error, I stand corrected on that.

It makes one wonder, though -- if Max Von Sydow's character is supposedly the "last of the Blades" (or else one of the last ones left), how does that affect what we currently know about the Empire's status as of the timeframe of TES V? Has the Emperor been driven into exile, maybe? Does the Empire "rule" Tamriel in name only, similar to the Ravenna rump-state after Rome's collapse?

The first novel notes that Titus Mede apparently conquered Cyrodiil after defeating a previous Emperor's armies; who could very well have been the new Emperor selected by Chancellor Ocato and the council following Martin's death. Is the Mede line still active, and will this get addressed in Lord of Souls? If Keyes is working even somewhat closely with Bethesda on these books, you'd think they'll be giving him a few foreshadowing elements to place into the next one, in order to effectively set the stage for the events of TES V.

The Blades only serve the Dragonborn. They do not have an an active role in the Mede dynasty.

A common misconception is that the Blades serve the Emperor, whoever he may be, but they serve a certain bloodline. They retreated to their Temples during the 200 year time period between Oblivion and Skyrim. Titus Mede formed a new order to do some of the same dirty work the Blades once did - the http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Penitus_Oculatus.

That's the other thing I was remembering, there -- the Penitus Oculatus in the novel. Been over a year since I last read it, and was trying to recall the exact details of the nature/specifics of their Imperial service, versus that of the Blades'.

Although, don't the Blades (as an order) go back even further, to the time of the Akaviri invasion and Reman Cyrodiil's ascent? I think there's material in TES IV mentioning something to this effect, but can't remember right offhand.

I didnt know where to go to but seeing as how this is a novel thread. I havent completely read the infernal city so dont spoil it but.... Prince Attrebus what is he prince of? Cyrodil doesnt have an emporer because of the loss of dragonborns. Is this something that gets revealed later on?

It has a new Emperor. Titus Mede. He's not a Dragonborn, just a regular guy with a keen head for strategy and politics.

The new Emperor that was to be selected by Chancellor Ocato and the Elder Council following the end of the game was presumably picked not long after Martin's death. Whereas, the first novel is set some 40 years or so after the Oblivion Crisis -- Titus Mede went and usurped that Emperor's throne within a decade or less after the game's finale. It's not clear whether Ocato's pick was a Dragonborn like Uriel and Martin, but Mede definitely is not.

The way I read it, the throne was unoccupied when Titus Mede arrived at the Imperial City. He took it with less than 1000 men, and he destroyed a band of Nibenese rebels with 2000 men.