Sequel to Ghosts of Onyx to be written by Karen Traviss

Keen Halo Fans may have heard of science fiction author, Karen Travis - she wrote a piece for the Halo Evolutions short story collection a while back. Now she has been bought in by Micosoft to go the whole hog and write a series of Halo Novels including a follow up to one of the favourite Halo books, Ghosts of Onyx which was written by Eric Nylund,.a long time Halo writer.

As part of the announcement Traviss said:

“When I was invited to write Halo fiction I already knew it’d be right up my street; not just because military fiction is my specialty, but because there’s also huge unexplored depth, grey areas, and really uncomfortable moral dilemmas that underpin the Halo story, and that’s like catnip to a writer like me. I write what’s known as tight third person – that is, I get right inside each character’s head and see the world as they see experience it – and Halo offers some terrific chances to explore some fascinating psyches caught in complex situations.”

Which all sounds nice and promising. And she'd be able to deliver on those promises too (if she made them!) as she has experience writing for other science fiction worlds including Star Wars and The Xbox's own Gears of War.

Everyone's favourite Frankie, Frank O’Connor, know to fans as 343 Industries Director of Franchise Development backed up Travis's statement with:

“Halo fiction fans are incredibly passionate about the fate of the Spartans of Onyx and the state of the Halo universe in the aftermath of the game events. We know that Karen has the talent, skill and passion to not only bring those stories to life, but also bring her experience a fresh new perspective too.”

So, given the books will apparently be set after the events of the classic Halo 3 - will the books tie in with the as yet unannouced Halo project that 343 Industries are not so secretly working on? Bet the farm, and the entire Harvest!

What is the plot of The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole?

The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole plot summary


In the beginning, before Halo: Combat Evolved was even released on the original Xbox, Bungie had thought big and organised a book tie in. That book was The Fall of Reach. It's job was to set up the events and plot that had lead to the start of the Halo game. It's author was a chap called Eric Nylund and he went on to write two more of the 5 Halo novels that followed the Fall of Reach. 


Halo: Evolutions is a collection of Halo fiction in the 'short story format'. It seems only natural then that Microsoft bought back Eric Nylund to have a crack at a story. 'The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole' is his take on one of the Halo universe's key characters.


The title itself is most interesting. On the face of, it says nothing. It's almost in the style of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and other book titles that seem to describe the plot. 

Players of the original Halo game may remember that the Pillar of Autumn arrived at the Halo, after following the directive known as The Cole Protocol. Named after the protagonist of Nylund's short story, the Cole protocol was itself the subject and name of the sixth halo novel.

The plot of Nylund's story gives an insight into what may have really happened to Admiral Cole as according to the official records, he died...but did he?

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Clearly, this isn't the full plot summary, it will be here when I've read the whole thing!