Halo: The Fall of Reach

Halo: The Fall of Reach

Author	Eric Nylund
Language	English
Series	Halo
Genre	Military science fiction
Publisher	Del Rey
Publication date	October 30, 2001, December 7, 2010 (reprint)[1]
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages	352,[2] 416 (reprint)[3]
ISBN	0-345-45132-5
Followed by	Halo: The Flood

Halo: The Fall of Reach is a military science fiction novel by Eric Nylund, set in the Halo universe, and acts as a prelude to Halo: Combat Evolved, the first game in the series. The book was released in October 2001 and is the first Halo novel. It takes 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 supersoldiers, 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, 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. It is also available through DVD and Blu-ray releases.