Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction in the world—today announces the launch of HALO: THE COLE PROTOCOL by Nebula nominee and Prometheus Award finalist Tobias S. Buckell, just in time for the holidays!
The new novel is the latest in the *New York Times *bestselling series based on the hugely successful Microsoft and Bungie Studios' *Halo* video games for the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system. 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 to establish Halo as one of today's greatest science fiction franchises.
Though HALO: THE COLE PROTOCOL marks Buckell's first time writing a Halo novel, it is far from his first foray into the Halo universe. In fact, Buckell is a big Halo fan who has played every incarnation of the game. In a recent interview, Buckell recalls one particular thumb-numbing Halo marathon session: "I started playing *Halo 3* in December after I wrapped up my third original novel that year: it was my 'OMG I finished another book now it's time to play until my brains leak out my ears' sort of thing that happens after every major project.'"
Buckell brings a unique voice to the Halo novels, having burst 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. His groundbreaking work has won him the admiration of both Tor and Microsoft and has also garnered him acclaim from peers and the literary community, who have praised his "dazzling new voice."
"Tobias has done some amazing work exploring this corner of the Halo universe." says Tor Editor Eric Raab. "*The Cole Protocol* may be the closest reading experience to playing the games. The action is non-stop, and it bores into some really interesting questions concerning alliances in the greater Halo universe."
In HALO: THE COLE PROTOCOL Buckell* *unveils the first, desperate days of the Human-Covenant War, when the UNSC has enacted the Cole Protocol to safeguard Earth and its Inner Colonies from discovery by a merciless alien foe. Out beyond the Outer Colonies lies the planet Hesiod, a gas giant surrounded by a vast asteroid belt. As the Covenant attacks the human occupied planets near Hesiod, many of the survivors flee to the asteroid belt where they come face-to-face with the Covenant settlement of Kig-Yar . . . yet somehow they survive.
In the path of this uneasy alliance is the Spartan Gray Team, a three-man renegade squad whose simple task is to wreak havoc from behind enemy lines in any way they see fit. But the Prophets have also sent their best—an ambitious Elite, whose quest for nobility and rank is matched only by his brutality . . . and who will do anything to secure his Ascendancy and walk the Path.
Stay with www.forumwizard.net.