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.

Individual novels
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%; border:1px solid #999999; background: #FFFFFF;" ! style="width:100px;" | Title ! style="width:50px;" | Cover ! style="width:100px;" | Author ! style="width:100px;" | Audio book narrators ! style="width:100px;" | Publication ! Summary
 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Fall-o-reach.jpg
 * Eric Nylund
 * Todd McLaren
 * 2001
 * Details the SPARTAN-II program, the Covenant attack on Reach, and how the escaped to Halo.
 * Halo: The Flood
 * The Flood CVR.jpg
 * 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
 * Firststrike2.jpg
 * 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
 * Onyx cover.jpg
 * 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
 * Contact Harvest Cover.JPG
 * 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
 * Halocole.png
 * Tobias Buckell
 * Jonathan Davis
 * 2008
 * Introduces Gray Team and details the backstories of Jacob Keyes and Thel 'Vadam.
 * Halo: Broken Circle
 * HaloBrokenCircle.jpg
 * 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
 * Halo New Blood cover.jpg
 * 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
 * Halo-HuntersInTheDark-CoverArt.jpg
 * Peter David
 * Scott Brick
 * 2015
 * Follows a joint human-Sangheili expedition to the Ark in the post-war era.
 * Halo: Saint's Testimony
 * Halo Saint's Testimony cover.jpg
 * 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
 * HaloLastLight.jpg
 * 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
 * HSOI-Cover.jpg
 * 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
 * Halo Smoke and Shadow cover.jpg
 * Kelly Gay
 * Scott Brick
 * 2016
 * Follows Rion Forge on her quest to discover the fate of her father and his ship, the.
 * Halo: Envoy
 * HaloEnvoy.png
 * 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
 * Halo Retribution.jpg
 * 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
 * Halo Legacy of Onyx.png
 * Matt Forbeck
 * Scott Brick
 * 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
 * Halo Bad Blood.jpg
 * Matt Forbeck
 * 2018
 * Sees Spartan Edward Buck reform his old squad Alpha-Nine to undertake a daring mission following the rise of Cortana's Created.
 * 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
 * Halo Legacy of Onyx.png
 * Matt Forbeck
 * Scott Brick
 * 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
 * Halo Bad Blood.jpg
 * Matt Forbeck
 * 2018
 * Sees Spartan Edward Buck reform his old squad Alpha-Nine to undertake a daring mission following the rise of Cortana's Created.
 * 2018
 * Sees Spartan Edward Buck reform his old squad Alpha-Nine to undertake a daring mission following the rise of Cortana's Created.
 * Sees Spartan Edward Buck reform his old squad Alpha-Nine to undertake a daring mission following the rise of Cortana's Created.

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.