The Halo Box Set, containing the first three Halo novels.

The Halo novels are books that have expanded heavily on the Halo universe.

Development

The Halo novel project was initiated with the intent of establishing an "expanded universe" for future content. Contrary to popular belief, the project was overseen by Microsoft Game Studios Franchise Development Group and not by Bungie Studios (though they were given a significant degree of creative control). The relationship between Bungie and Microsoft was somewhat rocky at this time, with the former resenting Microsoft's creative interference in the Halo story and nearly having the first novel, Halo: The Fall of Reach, canceled.

Although the novels have always been considered canonical, their stories they told were generally regarded as distinct from the Halo games' stories in some respects, with both games and the "expanded universe" forming their own standalone narratives. Additionally, there were sometimes creative differences between Bungie and the novels' authors; for example, Bungie's writing staff disliked the notion of Avery Johnson's immunity to the Flood introduced in Halo: First Strike and retconned the circumstances of his survival in the Halo Graphic Novel. However, Bungie would nonetheless introduce several elements originating from the novels into their games; an example of this are the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and the orbital defense platforms. Following the advent of 343 Industries and their philosophy of expanded connectivity between Halo media, the writing process of the novels has become more extensively intertwined with the planning of the stories of the games and other fiction.

The first three novels were published by Del Rey Books. Microsoft Studios' next publishing partner was Tor Books, which published all Halo novels from 2006 to early 2014. The three initial Halo novels were reissued by Tor in 2010. While mostly unchanged, the new versions feature additional content and several alterations. In 2014, 343 Industries entered a contract with Gallery Books as the publisher of subsequent Halo literature.

List of novels

Individual novels

Title	Cover	Author	Audio book narrators	Publication	Summary
Halo: The Fall of Reach		Eric Nylund	Todd McLaren	2001	Details the SPARTAN-II program, the Covenant attack on Reach, and how the UNSC Pillar of Autumn escaped to Halo.
Halo: The Flood		William C. Dietz	Todd McLaren	2003	The novelization of Halo: Combat Evolved. Also features a number of additional subplots which expand on the events on Installation 04.
Halo: First Strike		Eric Nylund	Todd McLaren	2003	Fills in the gap between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, explaining the Master Chief's return to Earth and the survival of a number of characters from Reach and Halo.
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx		Eric Nylund	Jonathan Davis	2006	Follows Kurt-051, the training of the Spartan-IIIs on Onyx, and the three-sided battle for the planet in 2552.
Halo: Contact Harvest		Joseph Staten	Holter Graham, Jen Taylor	2007	Follows Sergeant Avery Johnson and features the events leading up to first contact with the Covenant at Harvest and the beginning of the Human-Covenant War.
Halo: The Cole Protocol		Tobias Buckell	Jonathan Davis	2008	Introduces Gray Team and details the backstories of Jacob Keyes and Thel 'Vadam.
Halo: Broken Circle		John Shirley	Scott Brick	2014	A story told from the perspective of several Sangheili and San'Shyuum characters during both the beginnings of the Covenant and the Great Schism.
Halo: New Blood		Matt Forbeck	Scott Brick	2015	Explores the story of the Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck and his squad Alpha-Nine during and after the Human-Covenant War.
Halo: Hunters in the Dark		Peter David	Scott Brick	2015	Follows a joint human-Sangheili expedition to the Ark in the post-war era.
Halo: Saint's Testimony		Frank O'Connor	Scott Brick	2015	Explores the world of smart AIs through the eyes of Iona as she attempts to prevent her own decommissioning.
Halo: Last Light		Troy Denning	Scott Brick	2015	A detective story following Blue Team and Special Inspector Veta Lopis as they investigate murders on a human colony which harbors Forerunner technology.
Halo: Shadow of Intent		Joseph Staten	Scott Brick	2015	Focuses on a conflict between Tem'Bhetek, a vengeful San'Shyuum Prelate, and Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum several months after the Covenant War.
Halo: Smoke and Shadow		Kelly Gay	Scott Brick	2016	Follows Rion Forge on her quest to discover the fate of her father and his ship, the UNSC Spirit of Fire.
Halo: Envoy		Tobias Buckell	Scott Brick	2017	Follows Melody Azikiwe on a diplomatic mission on Carrow, while searching for a way to rescue Gray Team from captivity.
Halo: Retribution		Troy Denning	Scott Brick	2017	Returns to Veta Lopis and the Ferrets on a joint mission with Blue Team to identify the assassin of Admiral Graselyn Tuwa.
Halo: Legacy of Onyx		Matt Forbeck		2017	Follows Molly Patel as she adjusts to her new life living inside the Onyx Forerunner shield world and deals with a looming threat from the Servants of the Abiding Truth.
Halo: Bad Blood		Matt Forbeck		2018

The Forerunner Saga

Title	Cover	Author	Audio book narrators	Publication	Summary
Halo: Cryptum		Greg Bear	Holter Graham	2011	Describes the experiences of the Forerunner Manipular known as Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting and the Didact during the Forerunner-Flood war.
Halo: Primordium		Greg Bear	Tim Dadabo	2012	Details the story of a human known as Chakas and his odyssey across Installation 07.
Halo: Silentium		Greg Bear	Euan Morton	2013	Recounts the twilight years of the Forerunner civilization, the Ur-Didact's descent into insanity, and the firing of the Halo Array.

Kilo-Five Trilogy

Title	Cover	Author	Audio book narrators	Publication	Summary
Halo: Glasslands		Karen Traviss	Euan Morton	2011	Details the state of the Halo universe after the end of the Human-Covenant War and serves as a follow-up to Ghosts of Onyx.
Halo: The Thursday War		Karen Traviss	Euan Morton	2012	Continues the story of Kilo-Five and humanity's involvement in the Blooding Years.
Halo: Mortal Dictata		Karen Traviss	Euan Morton	2014	Focuses on the Venezian rebel movement threatening Earth and the terrorist Staffan Sentzke's connection to Kilo-Five's Naomi-010.

Collections and box sets

• Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, a collection of short stories relating to the Halo universe by several critically acclaimed authors.
• Halo: Fractures, a collection of short stories.
• Halo Box Set, the box set featuring the three first Halo novels by Del Rey Books.
• Halo Boxed Set, featuring the first three novels by Tor Books.