This past weekend, Tor Books revealed the title and cover art of the first book in Greg Bear's Forerunner trilogy: Halo: Cryptum.
Coming January 2011, this will definitely be a first day purchase for me (unless it's a hardcover title, then I'll need to wait). So much of the Halo franchise revolves around what the Forerunners left behind, yet we know so little about them and we've never even been privileged to see a Forerunner until Halo: Legends, and there they were in full armour!
It will be very interesting to read what kind of a picture Greg Bear paints for this ancient race, and of course, how they ultimately deal with and fail to contain the Flood.
You can check out the full press release below.
TOR BOOKS ANNOUNCES TITLE, COVER ART OF FIRST NOVEL IN SCIENCE FICTION LEGEND GREG BEAR’S HALO FORERUNNER SAGA!
HALO: CRYPTUM
Science fiction legend GREG BEAR to publish first in a new Halo® trilogy set in the time of the Forerunners.
Coming January 2011!
New York, NY - Friday October 8, 2010 - Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction in the world—is pleased to reveal the title, cover art, and release month of Halo: Cryptum, the first in a trilogy of novels by Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Greg Bear in the New York Times bestselling “Halo®” series based on the hugely successful “Halo” video games franchise for the Xbox 360. Halo: Cryptum will be published in January 2011. An unabridged audio book edition will publish simultaneously with the new novel.
Halo: Cryptum will begin the first deep exploration into the time of the Forerunners, the creators and builders of the Halos. Almost nothing is known for sure about this ancient race. Worshipped by the Covenant as gods, their engineering relics pepper the galaxy, and their connection to humanity remains unanswered. Devoted fans of both the books and games will finally get to delve deep into the era of these enigmatic beings, and discover for themselves the epic story behind one of the great mysteries of the “Halo” universe: the complete disappearance of the Forerunners from existence.
"The enigma of the Forerunners is really at the heart of the drama and mystery of the Halo universe," says Frank O'Connor, Franchise Development Director for 343 Industries. "In all the games and the books so far we've only scratched the surface of the terrible events that engulfed the Forerunners and the Galaxy they protected 100,000 years ago, and we're very lucky to have a writer with Greg's experience and creativity to help us finally shed some light on why the Halos are really here."
An icon in the science fiction community, Greg Bear has penned such critically celebrated international bestsellers as Eon and The Forge of God. His work has covered such heavy themes as galactic conflict, artificial universes, consciousness and cultural practices, and accelerated evolution. Bear’s talent for taut narratives, intellectually rigorous themes, and realistic, appealing characters make him the most qualified author writing today to extend this blockbuster franchise.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Halo is one of the quintessential science fiction offerings of our time,” says Tor senior editor Eric Raab. “What Greg Bear has done with the deep lore of this extremely epic and complex story will definitely emphasize to science fiction fans just how amazing this universe really is. It powerfully lives beyond the games.”
Along with this new trilogy, Tor Books has also recently announced a “Halo” novel series that will take fans into the post-“Halo 3” universe to be penned by Karen Traviss. Earlier this year saw the release of the new editions of earlier “Halo” novels written by Eric Nylund and William C. Dietz.
“Halo” has emerged from the videogame world as a global entertainment phenomenon. To date, more than 34 million copies of “Halo” games have been sold worldwide, driving more than 3.3 billion hours of game play by people connected to Xbox LIVE. In 2007, the “Halo 3” launch broke all previous sales records for a videogame launch and also became the biggest day-one entertainment launch in history. In September, the “Halo” video game franchise made history once again when “Halo: Reach” generated more than $200 million in sales in the United States and Europe in the first 24 hours of its release, making it the largest U.S. entertainment launch of the year.With a fully fleshed-out universe of heroes, villains and epic scenarios in place, the novels will continue to expand the “Halo” universe and offer a grander view of the places and characters fans have learned about from the games.
About Tor Books
Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books, founded in 1980 and committed (although not limited) to SF and fantasy literature. Between an extensive hardcover and trade-softcover line, an Orb backlist program, and a stronghold in mass-market paperback, Tor annually publishes what is arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher. Books from Tor have won every major award in the SF and fantasy fields, and for the last twenty-two years in a row the company has been named Best Publisher in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in SF.
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