Greg Bear has signed to write a trilogy based on the Xbox 360 game series Halo. The deal was managed by Bear’s agent Richard Curtis with publisher Tor Books and game publisher Microsoft. Tor expects to publish the first book in early 2010, with a simultaneous unabridged audiobook release.
Bear’s books will be set in the time of the Forerunners, the creators and builders of the Halos. According to Tor publicist Justin Golenbock, “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.”
Tor editor Eric Raab said “Greg Bear is truly a living legend of science fiction. To have him at play in the Halo universe will be exciting not just to Halo fans but to science fiction fans on a whole.”
Greg Bear is the author of more than thirty novels, including Eon and The Forge of God, and has won five Nebula and two Hugo awards. Bear also serves on political and scientific action committees, advising both corporations and government agencies. Frank O’Connor—who is the Franchise Development Director for Halo at Microsoft Game Studios—said 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. “We’re thrilled to have Greg Bear join a great tradition of sci-fi writers who’ve inhabited the Halo universe, and Greg’s incredible sense of epic scale and wonder is the perfect match for the Forerunner mythos.”
Halo games have sold more than 26 million copies worldwide. The newest game in the franchise, Halo Wars, launched on 3 March 2009, and is the best-selling current generation console-based strategy game of all time. Three previous Halo books (published by Tor) have sold over a million combined copies to date.