Karen Traviss

Karen Traviss is a British science fiction author and the writer of a series of upcoming Halo novels.

Biography

Originally from the Portsmouth area, she currently lives in Wilthshire, England in the United Kingdom. She is a graduate of the Clarion Workshop for science fiction authors, and has previously worked as a journalist and a defense correspondent and served in the Territorial Army and the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service.

In addition to creating her own science fiction universe in the novel City of Pearl and its sequels, Traviss has authored multiple novels using existing intellectual property, most notably in the Star Wars universe. She has also written three (and soon four) novels set in the Gears of War universe, and serves as the lead writer for the video game Gears of War 3.

Halo work

"When I was invited to write Halo fiction I already knew it’d be right up my street; not just because military fiction is my specialty, but because there’s also huge unexplored depth, grey areas, and really uncomfortable moral dilemmas that underpin the Halo story, and that’s like catnip to a writer like me. I write what’s known as tight third person – that is, I get right inside each character’s head and see the world as they see experience it – and Halo offers some terrific chances to explore some fascinating psyches caught in complex situations."

— Karen Traviss on writing Halo fiction.

Her first contribution to the Halo universe was the short story Human Weakness in Halo: Evolutions. She is also the author of the upcoming unnamed Halo novel series, set in the post-Human-Covenant War era. The trilogy includes an untitled Ghosts of Onyx sequel, but Traviss has clarified that the novel is not a direct sequel to the book and will feature its own characters and storylines.