World Of Divergent Bonus Book Promises Allegiant Teasers

From a promotional standpoint, there's a benefit to an incomplete book series ahead of a feature adaptation's arrival in theaters. Take Fifty Shades of Grey, for example. The series was completed before word of mouth made the steamy trilogy a pop culture reference. The bright side to that was that readers could gobble up all three books if they wanted to, no wait necessary. The downside is that, with the movie expected to arrive in theaters next year, there isn't much in the way of book material for fans to look forward to while they wait for the movie - at least, not right now. Twilight fans had the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, to anticipate while they waited for the first film to hit theaters later that year. That surely created additional buzz for the series ahead of the movie. Divergent is on a similar timeline. The third and final book in the trilogy, Allegiant, will arrive in stores this fall, and the feature adaptation of the first book hits theaters March 2014. Book 3 gives fans something to chew on while we wait for that first movie. And that's just one thing Divergent fans have to keep their interest piqued in the interim. Ahead of Allegiant's publication, a bonus booklet will be released in digital form, which will give fans a few teases of what's ahead in the last book and delve into the dystopian world created by Roth for this series.

Set in dystopian Chicago, where people are divided into five factions, which determine their way of life, Divergent introduces us to Tris Prior, a teen who learns that she's Divergent and will therefore not fit in well in any one faction. She keeps this a secret as she chooses her faction and begins her training. Divergent precedes Book 2, Insurgent. And come this fall, we'll get Allegiant, but before that is the bonus ebook, which takes a closer look at the world in which this story is set and teases the final novel. The description for World of Divergent: Becoming Allegiant (via Hypable) promises "ten enticing teasers from Allegiant."

The best part about this "sixty-page bonus" is that the digital version appears to be free and available for pre-order at Amazon, due out September 3. Those who want a hard copy of it in "Bonus Booklet" form will have to pick up the Divergent Series Complete Box Set, but the downside to that is that it doesn't release until Allegiant does, on October 22. The eBook comes more than a month sooner and since it's Amazon, it's compatible with the Kindle and all Kindle apps.

Last month, we learned that Divergent author Veronica Roth was writing four e-shorts that give us further insight into Four's life and perspective. She did something similar with the 15-page eBook Free Four, which told the Divergent knife-throwing scene from Four's perspective. Those are set to start rolling out this fall, and will continue to be made available leading up to the film's release. The fact that the e-shorts seem to be timed ahead of the movie - with only one of them coming out before Allegiant hits shelves - suggests that these are as much for fan's enjoyment as they might be a way to keep readers interested in all things Divergent ahead of the movie. And while the World of Divergent eBook description makes sure to remind us that the movie is on the way, it's early release indicates that this one is intended to get us excited for the last book. And given the extremely affordable price tag, something tells me even the most casual fans will want to take a look at it before the last book hits shelves.