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The 'Two Swords' Debuts at #1 on the Wall Street Journal's Bestseller List; R.A. Salvatore's Classic Tale of Fantasy Triumphs on Bestseller Lists Nationwide RENTON, Wash. --(Business Wire)-- Nov. 8, 2004 -- Less than two weeks after its release, R.A. Salvatore's new fantasy novel 'The Two Swords' landed at the top of The Wall Street Journal's list of hardcover fiction bestsellers, establishing a new record in the history of its publisher Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS). Salvatore's gripping story about courage and friendship also debuted at #2 on Publisher's Weekly bestseller list and #4 on The New York Times's bestseller list. Wizards of the Coast, Inc. is one of fantasy fiction's most prominent publishers, and has sold more than 45 million copies of its 600 titles in the two decades since its founding."Fantasy fiction has always been popular, but lately even more people have been discovering how much they crave a story with a hero," said Peter Archer, Associate Publisher for Wizards of the Coast Book Department. "Love, war, revenge, friendship -- all of life's biggest issues are central to fantasy, and especially to Salvatore's novels. It's the human drama that keeps readers turning pages." 'The Two Swords' is the third hardcover installment in The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, and the much-anticipated sequel to the Forgotten Realms(R) fantasy novel 'The Lone Drow', which debuted at #7 on the New York Times best-seller list last October. In July 2003, the market paperback edition of 'The Thousand Orcs' also became a New York Times best-seller. According to the author, who recently concluded a well-attended national book signing tour, 'The Two Swords' is a chronicle of dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden's most harrowing adventures to date. 'The Two Swords' finds the world at the mercy of the orc King Obould Many-Arrows, who has united evil tribes into an army of nightmarish size, and waged a war against the forces of good. Through it all, Drizzt has fought alone, but as the conflict draws to a bloody conclusion, the lone Hunter, as Drizzt is known, will have to find allies both new and old -- or die along with the rest of the civilized North. Drizzt Do'Urden, R.A. Salvatore's signature character, first appeared over a decade ago in his acclaimed 'Icewind Dale' Trilogy. Since then, Drizzt's popularity has driven Salvatore's last nine hardcover titles to New York Times best-seller status. 'The Two Swords' story is set in the Forgotten Realms(R) world, the most popular fantasy world from the classic Dungeons & Dragons(R) roleplaying game, as well as the setting for several successful licensed products, including the best-selling electronic games Baldur's Gate(TM), Neverwinter Nights(TM) and the recently released Demonstone(TM). R.A. Salvatore, a Massachusetts native, is among the most well-known fantasy authors writing today. A discovery of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., Salvatore has produced numerous Forgotten Realms novels, many of which have been New York Times best-sellers. Over seven million R.A. Salvatore novels have been sold with many translated into different languages and audio versions. For more information about The Two Swords and The Hunter's Blades Trilogy, scheduled author appearances, or other novels published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., please visit wizards.com/books. Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on the method of playing trading card games (TCGs) and produces one of the world's best-selling TCGs, Magic: The Gathering(R), as well as the celebrated Dungeons & Dragons(R) roleplaying game. Publisher of adventure games, family card and board games, and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's premier book publishers of fantasy series fiction whose novels have made numerous appearances on The New York Times best-seller list and have sold millions of copies worldwide. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com. Wizards of the Coast, Drizzt Do'Urden, Magic: The Gathering, Forgotten Realms, Dungeons & Dragons, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Demonstone are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the United States and other countries. (C)2004 Wizards. |
