We now learn that the upcoming sixth Halo novel, Halo: The Cole Protocol will also publish simultaneously with an audiobook, so you can explode your head by listening to the Halo story while playing Halo. What a world.
As we recently reported, the book will apparently deal with an "unexplored conflict" in the war against the Covenant, will reveal the location of the Spartan Gray Team, and is penned by Crystal Rain author Tobias S. Buckell for a Fall release.
Full details after the jump.
TOR BOOKS CONFIRMS RISING SCIENCE FICTION STAR AND NEBULA NOMINEE TOBIAS BUCKELL TO PEN THE NEXT HALO® NOVEL
Halo®: The Cole Protocol is Expected for Release This Fall
Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC-the largest publisher of science fiction in the world-and Microsoft are pleased to announce the latest novel and its author in the New York Times bestselling Halo® series. Nebula nominee and Prometheus Award finalist, Tobias Buckell has been tapped to write Halo®: The Cole Protocol, due in Fall 2008. The new novel will be the sixth in the New York Times bestselling series based on the blockbuster Microsoft and Bungie Studios' Halo® video games for the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system. An unabridged audiobook edition will publish simultaneously with the new novel.
Tobias S. Buckell exploded onto the science fiction scene with Crystal Rain, (Tor 2006) a debut that combined a unique mix of Caribbean culture – where Buckell was born and raised – and hard SF adventure elements. Buckell's unique and groundbreaking work won him acclaim from peers and the literary community, who called him "a dazzling new voice." His second novel, Ragamuffin, (Tor 2007) was a 2007 Nebula Award nominee for Best Novel; a 2008 Prometheus Award finalist for Best Novel; and a Locus "Best of 2007." He is a graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop, and was a first-place winner for the Writers of the Future, as well as having been nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.
Buckell's blend of hard science fiction with character-based action adventure and forays into classic SF pulp won the admiration of both Tor and Microsoft. Buckell is also a big Halo fan who has played every incarnation of the game. "I've been a fan of Buckell's since Crystal Rain, and when I found out he was playing Halo®, I was chomping at the bit to get him to try his hand at a Halo® novel." says Tor Editor Eric Raab. "The Cole Protocol is awesome stuff that expands the Halo universe in some really amazing ways."
Halo®: The Cole Protocol will unveil the location of the Spartan Gray Team, and take readers into an unexplored conflict of the Human-Covenant War, where unlikely alliances are formed and shattered, altering the course of the humanity's epic struggle for survival. The Halo® novels, Halo®: Ghosts of Onyx (Tor 2006) and Halo®: Contact Harvest (Tor 2007) became instant bestsellers and they, along with the three previous novels, have helped establish Halo® as one of today's greatest SF franchises.
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 three games that serve as the foundation of the Halo® franchise has now sold more than 20 million units worldwide, logging hours of multiplayer action on Xbox LIVE and spawning action figures, books, a graphic novel, apparel and more.
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 years in a row Tor has been named Best Science Fiction Publisher in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in SF.