COWBOYS & ALIENS by Joan D. Vinge, A Novelization Based on the Major Motion Picture From Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures

NEW YORK, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Tor Books is proud to present the official novelization of one of this summer's most anticipated films: COWBOYS & ALIENS (A Tor Mass Market Paperback Movie Tie-In; $7.99; On-sale: August 2, 2011).  Crafted by Hugo-Award winning author Joan D. Vinge, the novelization gives fans of the film an opportunity to delve further into the world of COWBOYS & ALIENS.  The novelization is developed through a licensing agreement with Universal Partnerships & Licensing.

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About COWBOYS & ALIENS:

Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: COWBOYS & ALIENS.  Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers -- Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci -- he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.

1875.  New Mexico Territory.  A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution.  The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist.  What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It's a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky.  Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation.  As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force.  With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents -- townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warrior -- all in danger of annihilation.  United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

The screenplay for Cowboys & Aliens is by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, from a screen story by Fergus & Ostby and Steve Oedekerk.  It is based on Platinum Studios' "Cowboys & Aliens" by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg.  Grazer, Howard, Kurtzman, Orci and Rosenberg produce.  Spielberg, Favreau, Denis L. Stewart, Bobby Cohen, Randy Greenberg and Ryan Kavanaugh executive produce.

For more details, visit: http://www.cowboysandaliensmovie.com/

JOAN D. VINGE has won two Hugo Awards, one for her novel The Snow Queen. Author of ten novels and a number of film adaptations, her books have been bestsellers here and abroad.  She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

About Universal Partnerships & Licensing

UP&L oversees Universal's consumer product licensing, film and home entertainment promotions, and all corporate alliances for Universal's theatrical, home entertainment, theme parks and stage productions. This dedicated division is also responsible for monetizing the Studio's vast library of films and characters through licensing, branding and marketing opportunities. UP&L is part of NBCUniversal.  NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience.  NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.

About Tor Books

Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books, founded in 1980 and committed (although not limited) to SF and fantasy literature. Between an extensive hardcover and trade-softcover line, children's imprint Starscape, an Orb backlist program, and a stronghold in mass-market paperback, Tor annually publishes what is arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher. Books from Tor have won every major award in the SF and fantasy fields, and for the last twenty-two years the company has been named Best Publisher in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in SF. http://www.tor-forge.com

SOURCE Tor Books