Video game lore: love it or loathe it, you have to admit there are people tedious enough to obsess over the minutiae of unspectacular stories. The latest monument to lore is the 256-page Assassin's Creed Encylopedia but fear not, gentle reader, it does also cover actual history too, and has plenty of pretty pictures to look at.

The softcover Encyclopedia covers the characters, world and plot of the numerous Assassin's Creed games, storybooks, short films, and comics, perfect if you can't tell your Borgias from your Baroncellis. It'll cover Assassin's Creed Revelations too, so you'll want to play that before reading.

As well as contributions from the folks who built the world, the Encyclopedia features the work of those who love it, as five fans were hired from the Assassin's Creed community to help out.

The Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia is included in the European special Animus Edition of Assassin's Creed Revelations, but North Americans will have to buy it separately for $34.95. You can pre-order it from Ubisoft at the discounted price of $29.95, though. Revelations is slated to arrive for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 15.