Tor Books sent out this cover art for the upcoming Halo-themed book, Halo: Contact Harvest.

Halo: Contact Harvest was written by Bungie's Joseph Staten and deals with humanities first contact with the Covenant and how things got off on the wrong foot. The whole thing is told from the perspective of Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson. The book is due out on Oct. 2.

Halo: Contact Harvest will debut in stores on October 2 and is written by Joseph Staten, Bungie Studios' lead writer and one of the original creators of the Halo game trilogy.

Halo: Contact Harvest reveals the state of the Halo universe leading up to humanity's devastating first contact with the Covenant —a chance encounter that catapults mankind into a struggle for its very existence. Readers will experience the start of the Human-Covenant war from the perspective of Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson, Master Chief's legendary confidant and mentor. As readers follow the young Sergeant's adventures, they will gain terrifying insights into both the Covenant's genocidal fury and the vicious civil war that threatened to destroy humanity's fledgling interstellar empire, even before the Covenant got their chance.

First-time novelist Joseph Staten started with Bungie Studios in 1998, and has since served as a writer and designer for ONI (2001) as well as writer and cinematics director for HALO (2001) and HALO 2 (2004) and is currently working on the much-anticipated, HALO 3.

"It goes without saying that Joseph has great, intimate knowledge of the Halo universe, so who better to tell the harrowing tale of humanity's first contact with the Covenant?" says Tor Editor Eric Raab. "In the novel, Joseph not only reveals exciting nuances of known events and characters such as Sgt. Johnson. But he also breaks new ground —takes readers on an action-packed journey to a little-known but vital part of the Halo universe: the far-flung, ill-fated word of Harvest."

Halo has emerged from the video game world as one of today's greatest SF franchises. With a fully fleshed-out universe of heroes, villains and epic scenarios, the novels expand the universe to give fans a grander view of the game environments and characters they encounter. And in Halo: Contact Harvest readers will finally witness the dramatic origin story of one of the games' most vibrant and beloved characters.

The original Halo: Combat Evolved game for the Xbox came out in 2001 and established the Xbox as a leader in the console video game market. The Halo franchise has now sold more than 14.7 million units worldwide, logging over 800 million hours of multiplayer action on Xbox LIVE and spawning action figures, books, a graphic novel, apparel and more. 2007 will see the launch of the much-anticipated Halo 3.

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