Tor Books has just announced the title and release date for the second novel in the Karen Traviss’s “Kilo-Five Trilogy” of Halo books, the follow-up to last October’s Halo: Glasslands. Halo: The Thursday War will release on October 2, 2012.
Halo: The Thursday War picks up immediately where Halo: Glasslands left off, with forces on Earth and among the Covenant threatening a peace that is precarious at best. With a splinter group among the Sangheili pushing for war, some human colonies rebel against earth authority; and as ONI policy continues to shift with the volatile situation in space, the discovery of a trove of Forerunner technology on Onyx provokes leaders on Earth to seek uses for it in the conflict. For the fight is far from over .
“I wanted to focus on what it feels like to operate in a fragile ceasefire that’s turning into a mass of small, unpredictable wars where the enemy is much harder to spot and define,” says author Karen Traviss. “It’s not about big set piece space battles, superheroes, and hardware; this is a messy conflict seen at close quarters by real people with their own problems, whether those people are human, alien, or artificial intelligences.”
Traviss, whose first foray into the Halo Universe came with the short story “Human Weakness” in fall 2009’s New York Times bestselling “Halo: Evolutions” anthology, launched her new trilogy last fall with the acclaimed bestseller Halo: Glasslands. A veteran author who has penned number one bestselling novels in the Star Wars universe, bestselling novels for the Gears of War franchise (she most recently served as lead game writer for Gears of War 3), as well as her own science fiction series “The Wess’Har Wars.”
“From the very first page, The Thursday War propels you into a universe on the brink of chaos,” says Frank O’Connor, Franchise Development Director, 343 Industries. “It will immerse you immediately and enthrallingly into the events and circumstances that will come to define the state of the Halo universe in Halo 4. I can’t wait for fans and newcomers alike to experience the sequel to Glasslands.”
i hope that this sequel is better than the last!, glasslands was very slow and unproductive the whole time i was waiting for something to happen and finally when it did the book was done. I own and have read every book in the franchise glasslands was the biggest dissapointment and that hurts to say but its true. no action in a halo book really!? karren traviss get it together you walked into a big universe that has action in it no one goes to buy a halo book with no action in it it was cool you uncovered some awesome things but it could have been done in 100 pages instread you dragged it out to 400 pages of talking! you say you cant be a fan of anything you work on thats a problem. please, please, please! dont mess up halo like you did gears of war 3!
I really did enjoy parts of Glasslands, but felt it was too slow. I really hope “The Thursday War” is filled with much more ation, but at the same time telling a really well thought out story, I want to learn more about the Human/Sangheili relations and where the UNSC infinity is going, along with the revelation of the elusive SPARTAN – IV program and what the UNSC are doing with the Forerunner technology. So please Karen, make us happy and give us a book to rememmber.
I thought glasslands was excellent. It stayed true to the halo formula of wonder, discovery and intrigue without devolving into the mindless violence that is in so many other novels. Halo is a violent series to be sure, but glasslands provided some much needed revelations and opened many doors in the universe. It also makes the characters seem likeable and believeable from the beginning, unlike previous novels which still (despite 3 of them, and massive amounts of combat) havent managed to show the master chief as an individual with his own personality.
Emotionally, I was disappointed by both Halo book releases of the past year. I felt they were too slow, however, of the two, I was more satisified with Glasslands. I felt Traviss’ writing was far superior from that which came before it (Excluding Bear). That the character development was excellent. That the people were fleshed out more realistic and non-stereotypically than in earlier books. So the slowness of Glasslands seems justified to me in terms of it being the first part of three.
What I want to know is this: Why is there a shortage of Engineers when the Gettysburg brought a shipload of Engineers to Earth?
I loved how glasslands filled a lot of holes in some of the other stories but I hear that the release of Halo 4 is supposed to tie in more with the book series. As everyone else said I hope there is the action that keeps me reading halo books. I look foward to the release.
I really enjoyed the book glasslands but felt that it was more like a prologue to a bigger story than a novel of its own. Saying that however it appears as if the setting of the story has now been established and the more violent and action-packed part of the series is now ready to begin. I look forward to thursday war and hope that it is at least as good as glasslands if not better.
Enjoyed this book very much. I’m resisting the urge to argue the points made about ,”lack of action” as everybody is entitled To …. etc etc. I have enjoyed all bar-one of the Halo series and this ranks as highly as any of the previous books I’ve read.
Have to agree with one post in the negative though, but not about this book, about The Gears 3 game storyline….that was a bit poo Karen!! I can only assume that you were not in full control of that project as your Gears books were so bloody good!. :-)
I realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but come on people, Halo is not about mindless action. There is a very deep history and story behind the series, just as I don’t read books for the violence in them I don’t play the Halo games for the violence, I play because it’s a great story. Glasslands was slow (I’ll give you that) but it makes up for that fact by fleshing out the characters, revealing a lot of new info., and finally continuing where Halo 3 and Onyx left off. If all the majority of you care about is mindless violence go read the Call of Duty comic book.
GOD… I just finished the last page of the book. And damn, that was a loooooong boring book. As like most of you I have read all of the halo books before this one. Although I wasnt a real huge fan of the game itself, when I started reading the first book I new I was hooked. But my excitement for this series ended to halt on this book. The main reason I loved these books was because of the epic action in them. Epic space battles explained in intricate science fiction manner, And the shock and awe battles with the super-human Spartans against the Covenant were mindblowing. It gave me a sense of pride to be human (although I knew it was fiction) that humans can stand toe-to-toe with more advanced aliens. But, my fantasy all ended with this book, come on, 400+ pages of talking? Subplot after subplot. I dont (as well as most readers I believe) think that reading about how moral Dr. Hasley was or lengthy explaination about Sangheili insurrection can be compared to reading about super huge MAC cannons and ridiculously big ass thermonuclear planet busting weapons that blasted aliens to bits
after a brilliant tactical plan defeating a more advaced alien race, or how HUMAN military prowess and training in the battlefield ovecame insurmountable odds. What the hell! it was like reading a soap opera rather than an action story. I can understand Traviss’ intention of putting depth into the story line but come on, you cant take the epic battles out of a Halo novel! To the person who posted that this is a prelude or groundwork for a more exciting series read the article above again. Traviss stated:
“It’s not about big set piece space battles, superheroes, and hardware;
this is a messy conflict seen at close quarters by real people with
their own problems, whether those people are human, alien, or artificial intelligences.”
Damn! Its like she said that she wont incorporate epic action scenes anymore and will stick with this boring cloak-and-dagger storyline. When I pick up a Halo novel the things she said she will omit is exactly the things I want to read about! PLEASE BUNGIE bring back Master Chief! Bring back Eric Nylund or William Deitz!!! BRING BACK THE ACTION!!!!!!! And to the last poster, YES we do care about mindless violence, lest you forget that these booked ARE based on a 1st person shooter game which in essence, “mindless violence” is the bread and butter of all 1st person shooter games.
MAC cannons and Covenant Super Carriers mean nothing to me unless the action they’re involved in is backed up by intriging characters and complex storylines. If you think that Eric Nylund is the ace writer of the Halo Series, then you should probably find something else to read, because Traviss and Bear have shown that the series is taking a huge step up in development of story and that means less action as a whole. Leave the enjoyment of the series to ther REAL halo fans, ones that want an expansion of the Halo Universe and the deepening of characters like Halsey, and Osmin, and the Spartans themselves
“I wasnt a real huge fan of the game itself” Well, disappointed, you made that pretty obvious when you pleaded with bungie to bring back the master chief. Bungie hasnt had a hand in the series for quite some time now. 343 Industries controls the franchise. Based on your obvious lack of understanding and passion for the series, it would be better if you didnt try to assume you have any clue “what most fans” want
i didn’t mind the change of pace with glasslands as much as i did with primordium (sp?) at least something happened in this book and they didn’t just walk around a halo for 400 pages.
I’ve played every game. I’ve watched every animated flick. I’ve read every Halo Novel. Except Glasslands. I read halfway through it. Karen Traviss is an excellant writer. My beef with the book though, is that she takes pre-established canon and completely destroys it.
She completely villifies Halsey in everyone’s eyes. She has the brutes playing nice with the elites. She has a spartan-III that is taking medication, which is stupid because that means Lucy isnt qualified to be combat personnel. I don’t “need” action when I read a book, but Halo is not something that can or should be riddled with nothing but intrigue and made up BS at that. Traviss even admitted that she has not read any of the other Halo Novels and instead relies on summaries of them.
I’ve read plenty of her other books. Gears of War was fine because there was no established story canon and she could do what she wanted within reason. Same goes for her republic commando series which was mostly isolated any main star wars plot lines. The only reason I ever read her republic/imperial commando series was to find out what happened to Sev. And guess what? Those books were cancelled because she over-stepped her canonical boundaries.
That damn book (Glasslands) has been sitting on my shelf for months seeming to taunt “I’m incorrect and you have to accept me as fact :p”
is this also going to lead up to halo four as well or is it leading away from it?,
because i have halo glasslands and it leads up to the events that start off halo 4 and help explain the forunners shield world apparently but does this do the same or does it lead away from halo 4?
The halo glasslands book is exellent but if the next one leads away from halo 4 then its going to be quite confusing
I thought this was a great book. The writing was slow no doubt, but it is a different kind of story. it is the underworld of ONI. Where the world is cautiously calculated. There are a lot of loose ends to be closed. i am very glad that the story finally got back to the original spartans. it poses some very interesting ethical questions and about the redemption of guilt. I am sure that my opinion does not matter to anyone but i thought it was a good book and will be happy to purchase the next one.
Everyone seems to side with either Action or Characters. I personally have never found any of the Halo books bad at all. I did enjoy Fall of Reach though as MY favorite. I have to admit Glasslands was slow to start, but you don’t just read a book solely for the action within it, nor should there be lack of action in a series where action is inevitable. I liked Glasslands because you learn so much about the characters (except John-117 who’s awesome) that you’ve read about since the first Halo dropped. But in the past books, where lack of character information exsisted, action took it’s place and vise versa with Glasslands. There is no doubt that in the future Halo books/games everyone will be pleased on the balance that you will find between Action and Character information. So I can say I’m excited for what is to drop soon. The Halo series is without a doubt a great series, BUT I will say that I love reading the books with John-117 as the Protagonist, its how the series started and I’d wish they’d incorporate him back into the books and have the books seen from his angle. And also it’d be great to see Kelly, Linda, Fred, Dr. Halsey, CPO Mendez, and the rest of the Spartans (no matter II, III, IV) incorporated into the games as well. BUT this is just my opinion.
For everyone complaining glasslands was to slow. Think about it, you pick up a book about a war that has ended and expect it to be action packed? I thought glasslands was amazing, i had many burning questions awnsered.
Ghosts of onyx is probably my favorate. So naturaly i had been waiting for the explanation of the ending for a long time.