Halo: Outcasts

Halo: Outcasts is a print novel by Troy Denning that was released on August 8, 2023. The novel was originally set to release on October 18, 2022, but was ultimately delayed to July 25th, 2023 due to Denning's own personal health complications. In March 2023, the novel was delayed once more seemingly due to supply chain issues, this time to August 8, 2023.

The novel follows Thel 'Vadam and Olympia Vale's efforts to recover a rumored artifact on Netherop that could stop Cortana, unaware that they're being manipulated by someone else. The novel's focus on Netherop follows on from the planet's establishment and heavy feature in previous Denning novels Silent Storm and Oblivion. Several of the novel's Sangheili cast of characters follow on from the 2015 novel Halo: Hunters in the Dark and some of the other characters were ones introduced in Silent Storm and Oblivion.

Trivia

 * The novel's existence was first hinted at in an Easter Egg on the Halo Infinite multiplayer map Streets. Various books placed near the map's arcade room reference real Halo novels, with one particular title bearing the word "Outcast".
 * While the fate of Nizat 'Kvarosee and his ground forces on Netherop are explored, no mention is ever made of what became of the rest of the Flotilla of Unyielding Piety and Nizat's plot to destroy ONI from Halo: Oblivion aside from a brief mention that Nizat had stolen the Luminal Beacons.
 * Rosa Fuertes' internal thoughts in chapter 16 were inspired by Denning's own dream-like experience during his recovery from a surgery he had undergone when he was penning Halo: Outcasts.