"WE'VE GOT A NEW CONTACT, UNKNOWN CLASSIFICATION!"
This article may contain information based upon upcoming, unreleased, or recently-released content, and may not be fully complete. Additionally, the information may be subject to change if it is based on pre-release material. Please update it as soon as any relevant and accurate material is available.
Halo: Epitaph
Cover art for the book.
Attribution information

Author(s):

Kelly Gay[1]

Cover artist(s):

Chris McGrath[2][3]

Publication information

Publisher:

Simon & Schuster

Publication date:

February 27, 2024[4][5]

Media type:

Print

Pages:

352 pages[5]

ISBN:

9781668017531

 

"The Didact returns..."
Alex Wakeford announcing the novel.[6]

Halo: Epitaph is a Halo novel by long-time series writer, Kelly Gay,[1] released on February 27, 2024. The book was formally announced during the Canon Fodder live event at the Halo World Championship on October 21, 2022, in a panel focusing on the discussion of how Halo multiplayer maps fit into canon. Appropriately, the novel's name is a reference to the Halo 3 multiplayer map Epitaph.[6]

The novel was originally set to release in late 2023 before being pushed back to January 2, 2024, before a second delay to the final release date.[4][5]

Halo: Epitaph features the continuation of the story of the Ur-Didact and is set after Halo: Escalation's The Next 72 Hours arc from 2013 during which he is composed following a conflict with John-117 and the rest of Blue Team.[6][7][8]

The Didact's Halo 4 voice actor, Keith Szarabajka, narrated the audiobook for Epitaph.[9]

Official summaryEdit

Stripped of armor, might, and memory, the Forerunner warrior known as the Didact was torn from the physical world following his destructive confrontation with the Master Chief and sent reeling into the mysterious depths of a seemingly endless desert wasteland. This once powerful and terrifying figure is now a shadow of his former self—gaunt, broken, desiccated, and alone. But this wasteland is not as barren as it seems. A blue light glints from a thin spire in the far distance…

Thus begins the Didact’s great journey—the final fate of one of the galaxy’s most enigmatic and pivotal figures.[10]

Plot summaryEdit

  This section needs expansion. You can help Halopedia by expanding it.

AppearancesEdit

Characters

AI
Flood
Forerunner
Human
Jiralhanae
  • Atriox (Not mentioned by name)
Precursor

Species

Locations

Events

Weapons


GalleryEdit

SourcesEdit

  1. ^ a b Twitter, Kelly Gay (@KellyHGay): "Yep it’s official! Writing a Didact novel: HALO: EPITAPH. #halo #HaloWC 🤗" (Retrieved on Oct 21, 2022) [archive]
  2. ^ Halo Waypoint, Halo: Epitaph - Cover Reveal (Retrieved on May 15, 2023) [archive]
  3. ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Covering Fire: Interview with Chris McGrath about the cover for Epitaph (Retrieved on Jan 31, 2024) [archive]
  4. ^ a b Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Auditory Additions (Retrieved on Dec 15, 2022) [archive]
  5. ^ a b c Simon & Schuster, Halo: Epitaph (Retrieved on Apr 22, 2023) [archive]
  6. ^ a b c YouTube - Halo, HaloWC 2022 Community Stage - Friday
  7. ^ Twitter, Alex Wakeford (@haruspis): "To be totally clear, this is set AFTER Halo 4 and Escalation. As I said on the panel: the Didact’s story continues!" (Retrieved on Oct 21, 2022) [archive]
  8. ^ Halo: Escalation, issue 10
  9. ^ YouTube - Halo, HaloWC 2023 Community Stage – Day 1 (Forge, Steve Downes, Jen Taylor, Keith David, Lore, Digsite +): 7:38:02 (Retrieved on Oct 14, 2023)
  10. ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Didact's Domain (Retrieved on Feb 3, 2023) [archive]

External linksEdit