Halo: The Fall of Reach
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| Author | Eric Nylund |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Halo |
| Genre | Military science fiction |
| Publisher | Del Rey |
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Publication date
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October 30, 2001, December 7, 2010 (reprint) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 352, 416 (reprint) |
| ISBN | |
| Followed by | Halo: The Flood |
Halo: The Fall of Reach is a military science fiction novel by Eric Nylund, based on the Halo series of video games, and acts as a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, the first game in the series. The book was released in October 2001 and is the first Halo novel. It is set in the fictional Halo universe, taking place in the 26th century across several planets and locations. The novel details the events which led up to the game and explains the origins of the SPARTAN II super soldiers, narrating the story of the series protagonist, the Master Chief.
The Fall of Reach was conceived after Nylund had discussed the possibility of a Halo novel with Microsoft's Franchise Development Group. A "Halo Story Bible" was created to assist Nylund in keeping with Halo canon. The novel was written in seven weeks, Nylund's shortest writing deadline.
The book was well received by critics who thought it added depth to the plot of the game but the large number of characters was highlighted as a shortcoming. Going on to sell over one million copies, the success of The Fall of Reach paved the way for further Xbox game novelizations, including another book in the Halo series. William C. Dietz would write the next book, entitled Halo: The Flood. The book was adapted into a comic series entitled Halo: Fall of Reach and released in 2010. The book itself was re-released on December 7, 2010 after the comic book adaptation, and contained new content as well as updating both editing mistakes and minor continuity errors. The novel was also adapted into an animated series that was streamed exclusively through the Halo Channel to coincide with the 2015 release of Halo 5: Guardians.
Eric Nylund had discussed the possibility of a Halo related novel with Eric Trautmann, a member of Microsoft's Franchise Development Group, before Halo: Combat Evolved was developed but it was postponed due to legal technicalities. Nylund thought positively of the delay as it "gave [him] a chance to see the game in almost every stage of development before [he] started writing." He wrote the book based on an outline approved by Bungie and the "Halo Story Bible", a book containing all information on the characters and universe in which Halo takes place, so that his story would not conflict with other Halo publications. Nylund found it easier to write with the "Bible" available as the details of the universe he was writing in were already established, only minor alterations were made to fit the novel into the universe. A seven-week deadline was established for Nylund to write the book. According to Trautmann, the book was nearly cancelled because Bungie was opposed to the idea of the Master Chief having a definite backstory. They eventually relented after Trautmann made them the offer that they let the book be completed and published in exchange for he, Matt Soell, and Brannon Boren completing Combat Evolved's script, which was still "80 percent" unfinished.
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