Halo: Contact Harvest
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| Author | Joseph Staten |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Halo |
| Genre | Military science fiction |
| Published | October 30, 2007 (Tor) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 396 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 148729299 |
| Preceded by | Halo: Ghosts of Onyx |
| Followed by | |
Halo: Contact Harvest is a military science fiction novel by Joseph Staten, based on the Halo series of video games. The book was released in October 2007 and is the fifth Halo novel, following 2006's Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, written by Eric Nylund. Staten is a longtime employee of Bungie, the developer of the Halo video game series; he directed the cut scenes in the video games and is a major contributor to Halo's storyline. He set out to write a novel that appealed to gamers, as well as those who had never read a Halo novel.
Set in 2525, twenty-seven years before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, the novel tells the story of the United Nations Space Command's first encounter with the alien collective known as the Covenant on the colony world of Harvest, and the beginning of the long war that follows. The novel is an ensemble piece, with the action being narrated from both human and Covenant viewpoints. The protagonist is a young Marine, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson, who also appears in the Halo video games. Upon release, the book was generally well received and became The New York Times bestseller in its first week. Critics pointed to the novel's success as a sign of the increasing importance of story in video games.
According to Staten, Tor Books asked Bungie if they had someone suited to writing the next novel; Staten, having written much of the Halo series canon, was the obvious choice. The author found that the book was the perfect way to elaborate on the Halo story without stripping it down for a video game: "I always felt we shortchanged [the player]. We don't have a lot of time to tell story while the bullets are flying." In addition, Staten said that the novel was the perfect way to do the character of Sergeant Johnson—who had appeared somewhat one-dimensional in the games—proper justice as a well-rounded character. Replying to G4TV's question about writing action, Staten replied that he felt that writing "involves slowing things down", in comparison to a game of Halo. The author also said that the work of his favorite science-fiction authors helped teach him the importance of honing a "strong, consistent voice".
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