Novels

The Web of Arachnos

"The Web of Arachnos" was the first novel based on the City of Heroes universe, and was published by CDS Books in October, 2005. It was written by Robert Weinberg, with cover art by George Pérez, and focused on the origins and backstory of Statesman and Lord Recluse.

Blurb from the back cover:

The fabled Well of the Furies holds the power to transform ordinary men and women into heroes -- or villains -- mighty enough to rival the demigods of Greek myth.

In 1930, as economic catastrophe and political chaos flourish around the world, two friends uncover the well's secret. The two men will become bitter enemies as well as legends -- one a renowned champion of justice known as Statesman, the other a reclusive criminal mastermind whose diabolical schemes will shake the globe.

Their epic conflict begins in Paragon City, a once-great American metropolis brought low by the Depression and crippled by corruption. But the battle cannot be won by Statesman alone.

For justice to triumph, Paragon will have to become a city of heroes . . . .

The Freedom Phalanx

"The Freedom Phalanx" was the second novel based on the City of Heroes universe, and was published by CDS Books in April, 2006. It was written by Robin D. Laws, with cover art by George Pérez, and focused on the re-formation of The Freedom Phalanx and its members.

Blurb from the back cover:

Despair stalks the streets of Paragon City. Five decades after Statesman and his allies first formed the Freedom Phalanx, that legendary group of heroes is no more and power-mad villains stand poised on the brink of ultimate victory.

The fledgling hero Positron has a plan to stop them: rebuild the Freedom Phalanx. But the world's mightiest champions no longer see the point of battling alongside others, not when they have their own private wars to wage and personal demons to conquer.

For Positron to forge a new Freedom Phalanx and save Paragon City from the schemes of the dreaded Tyranny Legion, he must first save Statesman, Manticore, and the other crime-busting legends from their greatest enemies -- themselves.

The Rikti War

A third novel, "The Rikti War," was planned from the beginning of the series, but was eventually abandoned. Excerpt from Wikipedia entry:

A third novel, The Rikti War, was announced by CDS at the time the first novel was published, with an August 2006 scheduled release date. Authors Paul S. Kemp and Shane Hensley have been attached to the project at various times. The book will reportedly cover the epic transdimensional war between Earth and the Rikti home world, however a post on the official message boards containing a message supposedly from Kemp states that the "novel is not to be and [he] must leave it at that." Developer Sean Michael Fish (Manticore) has recently stated that CDS will no longer be publishing books for CoH, and The Rikti War may or may not be published.