Halo Mythos

The comprehensive, authoritative guide to the Halo universe, written in collaboration with the developers, 343 Studios. It incorporates the entirety of the Halo canon, including the games, books and comics, film and television. For the first time ever, the timeline of the Halo universe is available in one place, charting humanity's battles against alien forces of the Covenant, Forerunners and the Flood. The book is filled with amazing illustrations by a variety of famous illustrators, including Jean-Sébastien Rossbach, Leonid Kozienko, Benjamin Carré, Isaac Hannaford and 343's internal art team too. With a release due to coincide with Halo Wars 2, this book is a must-have for Halo fans.

Since the Doom series, First Person Shooter (FPS) videogames have ricocheted through the gaming community, often reaching outside that community to the wider public. While critics primarily lampoon FPSs for their aggressiveness and on-screen violence, gamers see something else. Halo is one of the greatest, most successful FPSs ever to grace the world of gaming. Although Halo is a FPS, it has a science-fiction storyline that draws from previous award-winning science fiction literature. It employs a game mechanic that limits the amount of weapons a player can carry to two, and a multiplayer element that has spawned websites like Red vs. Blue and games within the game created by players themselves. Halo’s unique and extraordinary features raise serious questions. Are campers really doing anything wrong? Does Halo’s music match the experience of the gamer? Would Plato have used Halo to train citizens to live an ethical life? What sort of Artificial Intelligence exists in Halo and how is it used? Can the player’s experience of war tell us anything about actual war? Is there meaning to Master Chief’s rough existence? How does it affect the player’s ego if she identifies too strongly with an aggressive character like Master Chief? Is Halo really science fiction? Can Halo be used for enlightenment-oriented thinking in the Buddhist sense? Does Halo's weapon limitation actually contribute to the depth of the gameplay? When we willingly play Halo only to die again and again, are we engaging in some sort of self-injurious behavior? What is expansive gameplay and how can it be informed by the philosophy of Michel Foucault? In what way does Halo’s post-apocalyptic paradigm force gamers to see themselves as agents of divine deliverance? What can Red vs. Blue teach us about personal identity? These questions are tackled by writers who are both Halo cognoscenti and active philosophers, with a foreword by renowned Halo fiction author Fred Van Lente and an afterword by leading games scholar and artist Roger Ngim.

A sensational short story collection in the expansive universe of HALO, the New York Times bestselling series! Launch once more into galaxy-spanning conflict and legendary heroism…shards of an ever-expanding journey where human and alien alike find their finest hours in facing their greatest challenges. These scattered stories span untold millennia, from the age of the ancient custodial race known as the Forerunners…to the aftermath of the Covenant’s bloody war against humanity…and even the shocking events surrounding the resurrection of the mysterious Guardians. Halo: Fractures explores mythic tales of bravery and sacrifice that blaze brightly at the very heart of the Halo universe. Featuring electrifying works from such acclaimed authors as: Tobias Buckell • Troy Denning • Matt Forbeck • Kelly Gay • Christie Golden • Kevin Grace • Morgan Lockhart • John Jackson Miller • Frank O’Connor • Brian Reed • Joseph Staten • James Swallow

Halo: Warfleet is the official, authoritative guide to spacecraft in the Halo universe, featuring ten intricately detailed full-color cross-sections of the franchise's most renowned ships--including the Pillar of Autumn, Truth and Reconciliation, Infinity, and Shadow of Intent. Discover encyclopedic information which reveals the secrets of Covenant, UNSC, and Forerunner weapons, sensors, fighters, planets, and more! Illustrated by renowned artists Hans Jenssen, John R. Mullaney, Isaac Hannaford, Darren Bacon, Shi Kai Wang, Glenn Israel, and Jay Prochaska. Additional artwork by Carlos Naranjo and Tyler Jeffers. Foreword by Frank O'Connor, Halo Franchise Creative Director. Cover art by Sparth, Art Director for Halo 5: Guardians. Written by Kenneth Peters, Halo Franchise Writer.

An original full-length novel set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series! It has been six years since the end of the Covenant War...and yet on the planet Carrow, a world on the edge of the Joint Occupation Zone, a decisive new battle suddenly erupts. Human colonists and the alien Sangheili have already been living a tension-filled co-existence in this place, with Unified Earth Government envoy Melody Azikiwe attempting to broker a lasting peace between their two species. But as civil war now engulfs the Sangheili settlers, Melody must act on an additional covert assignment courtesy of the Office of Naval Intelligence: find a way to free the SPARTAN-IIs known as Gray Team, held in stasis since the end of the war by a cunning Elite fleetmaster consumed with vengeance. And none can anticipate the ongoing violence leading to the discovery of an even greater, unstoppable threat—one hidden for eons below the surface of the planet....

The authoritative guide to the spacefaring fleets of the Halo universe. Discover everything about the spaceships of the Halo universe with Halo Warfleet, from the Covenant's homeworld, High Charity, to the gigantic Forerunner Guardians that lay dormant beneath the planets of the Orion Arm. Each of the featured ships is shown as a detailed cross-section, illustrated by renowned technical artists Hans Jenssen and John R. Mullaney, which shows the internal machinations and features of these incredible spacecraft. Created in collaboration with the team at 343 Industries, this is the perfect companion to the multimillion-selling franchise.

An original full-length novel set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series! Just hours following their climactic battle on the Forerunner planet Genesis, the Spartans of Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris find themselves running for their lives from the malevolent machinations of the now-renegade artificial intelligence Cortana. But even as they attempt to stay one step ahead, trouble seems to find Spartan Edward Buck no matter where he turns. A secret mission enacted by the Office of Naval Intelligence could possibly help turn the tide, and has Buck reluctantly agreeing to reform his old team, Alpha-Nine. Because if the band is really getting back together for this one, that means everybody—including the Spartan who Buck never wants to see again, the one who committed the ultimate betrayal of trust…

A Master Chief story and original full-length novel set in the Halo universe—based on the New York Times bestselling video game series! 2526. It has been a year since humanity engaged in its destructive first contact with a theocratic military alliance of alien races known as the Covenant. Now the hostilities have led to open war, and the United Nations Space Command understands virtually nothing about its new enemy. There are only two certainties—the Covenant is determined to eradicate humanity, and they have the superior technology to do just that. The UNSC’s only hope lies with the Spartans: enhanced supersoldiers raised and trained from childhood via a clandestine black ops project to be living weapons. Their designated commander, Petty Officer John-117, has been assigned to lead the Spartans on a desperate counterattack designed to rock the Covenant back on its heels, and to buy humanity the time it needs to gather intelligence and prepare its defenses. But not everyone wants the Spartans to succeed. A coalition of human insurrectionist leaders believes an alliance with the Covenant to be its best hope of finally winning independence from the Unified Earth Government. To further their plans, the insurrectionists have dispatched a sleeper agent to sabotage the UNSC counterattack—and ensure that John-117 and the Spartans never return from battle....

In Halo 5: Guardians, game developer 343 Industries continues to enthrall fans worldwide with the exploits of the legendary Spartan super soldier, the Master Chief, as well as new characters in the Halo universe, including Agent Jameson Locke and others. This deluxe art book chronicles the creative and breathtaking art of the worlds, vehicles and characters of Halo 5: Guardians, with exclusive details behind the creation of returning characters such as the Arbiter and the Master Chief himself. Complete with commentary from 343 Industries, The Art of Halo 5: Guardians is the ultimate exploration of the intricate creature design and groundbreaking gameplay that define the Halo experience. This beautiful hardback edition is an ideal gift for Halo fans.

For the first time ever, Halo fans of all ages can join the ranks of the most powerful super-soldiers in the galaxy with this in-world military handbook.

An original full-length novel set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series! Find. Claim. Profit. In a post-Covenant War galaxy littered with scrap, it’s the salvager’s motto—and Rion Forge certainly made her mark on the trade. All she wanted was to grow her business and continue the search for her long-lost father, but her recent discovery of a Forerunner debris field at the edge of human-occupied space has now put her squarely in the crosshairs of the Office of Naval Intelligence and the violent remains of the Covenant. Each faction has a desire to lay claim to the spoils of ancient technology, whatever the cost, sending Rion and the crew of the Ace of Spades on a perilous venture—one that unexpectedly leads them straight into danger far greater than anything they’ve ever encountered…

Halo Effect

A collection of interviews, anecdotes, commentary, and artwork spotlights the innovative work of the artists, musicians, writers, and game developers of Bungie Studios who created the best-selling Xbox game Halo, in a dramatic overview of the complete game development process and its characters, weaponry, technology, and alien environments. Original. 55,000 first printing.

A Master Chief story and original full-length novel set in the Halo universe—based on the New York Times bestselling video game series! October 2559. It has been a year since the renegade artificial intelligence Cortana issued a galaxy-wide ultimatum, subjecting many worlds to martial law under the indomitable grip of her Forerunner weapons. Outside her view, the members of Blue Team—John-117, the Master Chief; Fred-104; Kelly-087; and Linda-058—are assigned from the UNSC Infinity to make a covert insertion onto the ravaged planet Reach. Their former home and training ground—and the site of humanity’s most cataclysmic military defeat near the end of the Covenant War—Reach still hides myriad secrets after all these years. Blue Team’s mission is to penetrate the rubble-filled depths of CASTLE Base and recover top-secret assets locked away in Dr. Catherine Halsey’s abandoned laboratory—assets which may prove to be humanity’s last hope against Cortana. But Reach has been invaded by a powerful and ruthless alien faction, who have their own reasons for being there. Establishing themselves as a vicious occupying force on the devastated planet, this enemy will soon transform Blue Team’s simple retrieval operation into a full-blown crisis. And with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance, mission failure is not an option…

Details the origins of the popular video game, as well as the characters, weapons, vehicles, equipment and locations from all of the Halo releases to date, in a guide created in full collaboration with Microsoft, the game's maker, that includes hundreds of images, illustrations and technical drawings. Video game tie-in.

Immerse yourself in the mysterious universe of Halo 4 Read all about the Master Chief's dramatic return and explore planet Requiem and the ship Forward Unto Dawn in Halo 4 The Essential Visual Guide. Powerful characters such as the Didact and Cortana are covered in depth, while weapons, vehicles, ships and armour are showcased in spectacular detail, including cut out images and amazing in-game action. Sections on key locations and equipment are packed with fascinating facts to bring the keenest fan fully up to date with the Halo 4 phenomenon. Halo 4 The Essential Visual Guide is the perfect companion for anyone embarking on a journey in the compelling and danger-filled Halo cosmos.

Provides an in-depth look behind-the-scenes at the creation of the worlds of Halo 4, featuring concept art, character sketches, and detailed environments.

RELEASE DATE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. COVER NOT FINAL The Master Chief is back. The legendary super soldier returns in Halo Infinite. 343 Industries and Microsoft are building the biggest and most visually spectacular Halo yet. Halo Infinite debuts on the Xbox family of consoles, including Xbox Series X, Microsoft's latest and most powerful game console. To take full advantage of its prodigious graphical prowess, 343 Industries built an all-new, next-generation game engine, giving their world-class artists the tools and technology to realize the worlds, war, and wonder of the Halo universe in unprecedented style and fidelity. 343 Industries have given Dark Horse access to the art and artists who've brought Halo Infinite to vibrant, vivid life. It's all here in unparalleled detail, the heroes you've grown to love--the Master Chief, the brave soldiers of the UNSC, as well as the weapons, vehicles, villains and vistas--and of course, the eponymous and magnificent environments of Halo itself. The Art of Halo Infinite also features a brand-new cover from legendary concept artist and Halo Infinite's Art Director, Sparth! Join us as we take you from concept to launch inside the artwork of the most ambitious Halo game to date.

The New York Times bestselling series based on the blockbuster Xbox® games! While Spartans get all the glory, no soldier―not even the legendary Master Chief―wins a war on their own. Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck and his team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs) played a major role in saving the Earth from all-out invasion at the end of the Covenant War―acts of bravery and ingenuity that did not go unnoticed by the United Nations Space Command. Now, after many Spartans have been killed in battle and the Master Chief is listed as MIA, the UNSC decides to create a new generation of Spartans to defend humanity from threats both outside―and within. When they come to Buck with an extraordinary proposition, he is forced to make a life-altering decision. With the Covenant War finally over, is it time for him to finally retire to the sidelines for a life he could only dream about…or is he prepared to step up and become part of the military’s new blood? Copyright © 2015 by Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Halo, the Halo logo, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.