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Halo novels get a makeover

Publisher Tor Books announces reissue of first three Halo novels ahead of Halo: Reach release; new books to include updated content, art, and stories.

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Halo fans wishing to brush up on their Covenant history before the release of Halo: Reach later this year will have their chance with news that Tor Books will be reissuing the first three original Halo novels with new content and cover art.

Tor Books--one of the world's biggest science-fiction publishing houses--announced yesterday that it will be updating the original Halo trilogy to "set the stage" for the upcoming Halo title.

Want to know what's going on? Read the book.
Want to know what's going on? Read the book.

The new novels will include updated content and artwork, as well as a series of short stories that expand on the universe of Halo games to date. The first book in the trilogy to be released will be Halo: The Fall of Reach, written by science-fiction author and Microsoft Game Studios writer Eric Nylund. The book is the basis for the upcoming Halo: Reach game and will be available in August 2010.

The original Halo: The Fall of Reach novel was released in 2001 as a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved. It details the story of series protagonist Master Chief, from his childhood to his rise to the top of the Spartan-II program, and explains the events that led up to the first game in the series.

The remaining two novels in the trilogy, Halo: The Flood by William C. Dietz and Halo: First Strike also by Eric Nylund, bridge the gaps between the Halo 2 and Halo 3 games.

According to Tor Books, sales in the Halo franchise--including video games, novels, anime, action figures, and merchandise--have eclipsed US$1.7 billion to date, while the publisher's own Halo novels have sold over a million combined copies.

The publisher also revealed plans to publish a new Halo trilogy later this year written by science-fiction writer Greg Bear, which will give readers a look into the Halo universe during the time of the Forerunners.

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