Discover Why Ico Became a Novel Through Short Excerpt

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
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Discover Why Ico Became a Novel Through Short Excerpt



If the idea of an Ico novel confuses or intrigues you, its publisher is offering a short excerpt that exposes what the book is all about.

Earlier this year, it was Ico [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107463-Mysterious-Boy-Pulls-Ico-Novel-to-U-S]'s Japanese novelization was being translated into English courtesy of Viz. If you're like me, you wondered what author Miyuke Miyabe had fit into this wondrous book. As evidenced by an early translated excerpt, it's more than just a lot of: "The boy led the girl by the hand."

Ico: Castle in the Mist [http://www.amazon.com/ICO-Castle-Mist-Ico/dp/1421540630/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1306003864&sr=1-1] is a 400 page extension of the Ico universe, going deeper into the characters of Ico, Yorda, and even the mysterious presence in the Castle of the Mist. The excerpt appears to introduce a new character named Toto that was one of Ico's childhood friends.

There's really no point in spoiling it for you, so go read the excerpt here [http://www.haikasoru.com/excerpt/ico-castle-in-the-mist-miyuki-miyabe/]. The book's entire description is as follows:


A boy with horns, marked for death.
A girl who sleeps in a cage of iron.
The Castle in the Mist has called for its sacrifice: a horned child, born once a generation. When, on a single night in his thirteenth year, Ico's horns grow long and curved, he knows his time has come. But why does the Castle in the Mist demand this offering, and what will Ico do with the girl imprisoned within the Castle's walls? Delve into the mysteries of Miyuki Miyabe's grand achievement of imagination, inspired by the award-winning game for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, now remastered for PlayStation 3.


Ico: Castle in the Mist is currently scheduled for release on August 16, 2011. If you've never played Ico, the remastered PS3 version found in the upcoming delayed [http://www.amazon.com/ICO-Shadow-Colossus-Collection-Playstation-3/dp/B002I0J5FG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306005081&sr=8-1]. All the more time to read the book and load up on spoilers.

Source: GameSetWatch [http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2011/05/preview_miyuke_mayabes_ico_nov.php]

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MrGFunk

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Oct 29, 2008
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My pre-ordred UK version's release date was also put back.

Is there anything Team ICO related that isn't delayed this year?
 

Wireframefool

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Mar 20, 2011
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Oh? Ico is being made in book form, that's really cool. I'll have to pick it up when it comes out sometime.
 

Fiz_The_Toaster

books, Books, BOOKS
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Jan 19, 2011
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Looks like I know what I'm gonna be reading soon!

I'm interested to know how Ico would be translated into a book, and reading from the excerpt, looks like it would turn out just fine.
 

Mandalore_15

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Aug 12, 2009
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Read the extract. The writing style is shit. Has this guy never heard of the golden rule: "show, don't tell"?
 

Chancie

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Sep 23, 2009
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I'm a little skeptical since every time someone tries to turn a video game into a novel, the writing is almost always terrible. But I'll give it a shot and pick it up. I loved both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.

Mandalore_15 said:
Read the extract. The writing style is shit. Has this guy never heard of the golden rule: "show, don't tell"?
Yeah, I didn't actually read the excerpt but this is what I was afraid of. Oh well, I'll probably read it anyway.
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
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Eaarrg.

Yeah, go ahead, spoil all the mystery that made Ico interesting.

Nice job whoever's behind this.
 

thenumberthirteen

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Dec 19, 2007
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Tom Goldman said:
Earlier this year, it was Ico [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107463-Mysterious-Boy-Pulls-Ico-Novel-to-U-S]'s Japanese novelization was being translated into English courtesy of Viz.
Viz? like this Viz?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_448y6kVhntg/SUvIR8I8doI/AAAAAAAAD64/JMV-iWrCHJM/s400/viz2008.jpg

Now THAT would be a great adaptation!
 

default

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Apr 25, 2009
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WANT. DO WANT!!!

I still have to play the game though :\

Shadow of the Colossus is one of my favourite games of all time.
 

Syntax Error

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Sep 7, 2008
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ThatNickGuy said:
Doesn't explaining all the ambiguity in the game kind of ruin its magic?
Ninja'ed...

What made it so great was that it was so open-ended you could come to your own conclusions. While some Word of God is nice, it would kinda kill the mystique behind it.
 

varulfic

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Jul 12, 2008
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Why Ico? Why a novel of all things? The thing that made Ico unique was it's minimalistic story telling... a way of story telling that is impossible to do outside of a visual medium. A movie I could buy, but a book? However this turns out, it will be nothing like the game. Frankly adapting any other game ever would be a better choice.

[sub](except for Shadows of the Colossus)[/sub]
 

roostuf

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Dec 29, 2009
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the only reason why i want a PS3 is to play the remastered ico/sotc edition and the last guardian, but ill get the book as well if it turns out ok.