New York, NY – April 25, 2012 - Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction in the world—is excited to reveal the title and release date for the second novel in the “Kilo-Five Trilogy” written by bestselling novelist and renowned game writer Karen Traviss. HALO: THE THURSDAY WAR will release in hardcover alongside a simultaneous audio edition on October 2, 2012.
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 #1 New York Times bestselling author who has penned novels in the Star Wars and Gears of War franchises (she most recently served as lead game writer for Gears of War 3), as well as her own critically acclaimed science fiction series, The Wess’har Wars, Traviss has an incredible gift for writing believable and compelling military science fiction.
“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.”
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."