We're proud to announce Ghosts of Ascalon, the first original Guild Wars novel! Written by acclaimed fantasy authors Matt Forbeck and Jeff Grubb, Ghosts of Ascalon sets the stage for the release of the highly anticipated Guild Wars 2 MMO.

It appears that the launch date for the new book, Ghosts of Ascalon, is scheduled for July 27th, 2010. This is only twelve days away, so get ready to head to your local bookstore (either virtual or online) and snag a copy of the book.

There is a free sample chapter available in addition to a new map showing what the new world looks like. The new map has the locations of the capital cities, a few other notable points of interest, and how the world is shaped including Orr re-arriving on the coast. It seems like Lion's Arch will remain in a similar location but Divinity's Reach is further north. Hoelbrak appears to be at the border between the northern and southern shiverpeaks and The Grove and Rata Sum appear to be really close.

The book is going to be an awesome read and it has two excellent fantasy authors behind it, so be sure to check out the official site for more details.