Halo novels

This article is about books grouped by their series. For the novels listed by release date, see List of Halo novels by release date.

A compilation of cover art for all of the Halo novels released between 2001 and early 2024.

The Halo novels are books that have expanded heavily on the Halo universe. This page documents the various novels, their series', and their orders. Halo Studios also maintains an official, regularly-updated guide to the novels of the Halo series, which can be accessed here.

Development

A box set of the first three Halo novels.

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, the 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

The Original Series

Main article: The Original Series

The Original Series v • d • e
Novel	Author	Audio book narrator	Publication date	Summary	Notes
Halo: The Fall of Reach	Eric Nylund	Todd McLaren	October 30, 2001	Details the SPARTAN-II program, the Covenant attack on Reach, and how the UNSC Pillar of Autumn escaped to Halo.	Releases after August 3, 2010 contain an adjunct section.
Halo: The Flood	William C. Dietz	Todd McLaren	April 1, 2003	The novelization of Halo: Combat Evolved. Also features a number of additional subplots which expand on the events on Installation 04.	Releases after October 13, 2010 contain an adjunct section.
Halo: First Strike	Eric Nylund	Todd McLaren	December 2, 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.	Releases after December 21, 2010 contain an adjunct section.
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx	Eric Nylund	Jonathan Davis	October 31, 2006	Follows Kurt-051, the training of the Spartan-IIIs on Onyx, and the three-sided battle for the planet in 2552.	N/A

Gray Team series

Main article: Gray Team series

Gray Team series v • d • e
Novel	Author	Audio book narrator	Publication date	Summary
Halo: The Cole Protocol	Tobias Buckell	Jonathan Davis	November 25, 2008	Introduces Gray Team and details the backstories of Jacob Keyes and Thel 'Vadam.
Halo: Envoy	Tobias Buckell	Scott Brick	April 25, 2017	Follows Melody Azikiwe on a diplomatic mission on Carrow, while searching for a way to rescue Gray Team from captivity.

The Forerunner Saga

Main article: The Forerunner Saga

The Forerunner Saga v • d • e
Novel	Author	Audio book narrator	Publication date	Summary	Notes
Halo: Cryptum	Greg Bear	Holter Graham	January 4, 2011	Describes the experiences of the Forerunner Manipular known as