FRACTS OF LIFE

Back in 2009, Halo fans around the world – including your humble messenger – devoured their respective copies of Halo: Evolutions. Showcasing “essential tales of the Halo universe,” the acclaimed anthology featured a wonderful collection of stories from a variety of passionate authors tackling a wide range of narrative corners. From “Headhunters” and “The Return,” to “Human Weakness” and “The Impossible Life & Possible Death of Preston J Cole,” many of these stories quickly began to rank among fans’ favorites. With this in mind, 343 Industries and Simon & Schuster are extremely excited to announce a brand new anthology novel, Halo: Fractures.

Wrapped in a gorgeous new piece of cover art (seen here; click to view in pureform mode) by 343 Industries’ own Sparth, Halo: Fractures brings Halo fans a new set of collected tales from scattered sources and events around the Halo universe, and features a pretty killer collection of authors – from Halo veterans to critically-acclaimed new blood. And of course, not only are the selected authors on tap a truly eclectic bunch, but so are the stories themselves. We can’t say too much just yet, but let’s take a little peek at what you’ll be getting yourself into…

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.

So that’s the “back of the book” text, but for the fervent Fodderhood, I’ll pull you aside and let you know that we’ve got a narrative smorgasbord of story topics on hand to tickle your fiction fancy. Care to peek in on some ferrets, or read beyond rebirth? Interested in Spartans that have had their worlds turned inside out, or unknown Warrior-Servants looking for greater purpose? We figured you might be. No matter what your favorite flavor of Halo fiction is, Halo: Fractures aims to have just about something for everyone.

We’ll be talking a bit more in detail about the specific story subject matters themselves at a later date, but for now, here is a list of the passionate penmen that have taken these new tales to task. In alphabetical order we have:

Tobias Buckell

Troy Denning

Matt Forbeck

Kelly Gay

Christie Golden

Kevin Grace

Morgan Lockhart

John Jackson Miller

Frank O’Connor

Brian Reed

James Swallow

As a sweet little bonus, the anthology will also include Joseph Staten’s Halo: Shadow of Intent, and Frank O’Connor’s Halo: Saint’s Testimony, offered for the first time in print form. We’re pretty excited about it all and certainly hope you are too. Halo: Fractures is available for pre-order now, and is slated to arrive in your story-happy hands on September 20, 2016. Stay tuned for more info about the upcoming anthology in the nearish future.