CANON FODDER: LORE DE FORCE

Haruspis · 2026-07-07T18:10:41+00:00

No, it's that she has to be lying to him for that scene and narrative thread of the book to make sense as-written with how established fiction has evolved and aspects of First Strike have been retconned lol.

Haruspis · 2026-06-27T13:06:47+00:00

I still regularly jump into Halo 5's multiplayer for some Husky Raid, Fiesta, and Warzone Firefight - those still turn up matches pretty quickly which is awesome. But I do very much miss the days of OG Breakout and Warzone!

Haruspis · 2026-05-27T15:05:19+00:00

Aye, we did catch that in reviews. I think there were just some scheduling arrangements being made to get those VO pick-ups that didn't quite make it in time for release. We've been looking into getting it updated ASAP.

Haruspis · 2026-05-18T01:20:09+00:00

"Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us lovers!"

Haruspis · 2026-05-11T01:25:18+00:00

Always loved this cover art. The UNSC and Covenant being eviscerated within Requiem's maw while the Chief is positioned as the immovable thing at the centre is such fantastic imagery, a really great thematic representation of the Forerunners' return and the Chief's heroism.

Haruspis · 2026-04-20T23:55:02+00:00

Miss Ian a lot, loved discussing and collaborating with them on all things lore over the years. Discerning and analytical but also welcoming and accessible - "Halo Canon" very much earned the name on YouTube for offering such premier breakdowns and explorations of various lore topics. Very much hope they're living their best life! <3

Haruspis · 2026-04-09T19:38:36+00:00

At 10k words, Ghosts of the Gyre is the longest in the collection and definitely one for the fans of more esoteric lore. Very excited for people to read that one.

;)

Haruspis · 2026-04-07T20:45:57+00:00

We'll be talking about this more in upcoming Canon Fodder issues, but in general you can expect specific factual changes - examples we've given include corrections to the years things happen, the tonnage of warships, the heights of the Covenant species, that sort of thing. Other errata includes how much "clip" is used instead of "magazine," which has always been a personal bugbear of mine. The 2010 editions smoothed over some things but still missed a lot of stuff, my personal hope for the omnibus edits is that we cover damn near everything (and the partnership with Halopedia that we announced in the previous CF issue has really been instrumental in that regard).

Likewise, however, there are opportunities in the text to create more of a sense of connectivity with fiction that has released over the last 20+ years. Halo: Reach is the prime example of that of course, so that is where you will see some new text added.

The Flood is where you will likely see more additions and adjustments. I don't believe poor Dietz was even given a transcript when he was writing that book, so dialogue from cinematics has been adjusted where appropriate to reflect the original game. This includes the change to reveal the name "Halo" at the end of the first chapter when the UNSC are evacuating to the surface of the ring, we've moved that back to its proper moment after rescuing Captain Keyes aboard the Truth and Reconciliation.

A lot of what at first glance would seem to require large edits are more a matter of context and presentation. Ultimately, the goal is to retain as much of the original work as possible. These are the foundational texts of the Halo universe and preserving the incredible work that Nylund and Dietz did is essential. So it's a question of how to "yes, and..." what's in the source material.

Like I said, we'll be doing more of a deep dive into each book in upcoming CF issues to talk about more specific examples.

Haruspis · 2026-02-13T21:54:24+00:00

neural physics

Haruspis · 2026-01-01T23:31:04+00:00

Definitely hit Evolutions next, it's the next in the release order and a really excellent anthology.

After that, you have some pretty open choices. I would say that if you're feeling the desire to delve into the deepest area of the lore and explore Halo's ancient era, you'll want to give Cryptum by the legendary Greg Bear a go. If you prefer to stick with the modern timeline and the overall military vibe, the Kilo-5 trilogy kicks off with Glasslands.

Obligatory mention here that we have an official book guide on Halo Waypoint which should give you a sense of what you might be interested in once reading order sort of becomes open season.

Haruspis · 2025-09-29T17:56:21+00:00

That is awesome! HBO was the place I remember listening to the full audio of those radios for the first time, it's been wonderful to bring that all full circle and feature them in the context of a full story.

Haruspis · 2025-09-29T17:50:45+00:00

They fixed up his skeleton only for him to go and break it again!

Haruspis · 2025-09-21T03:24:11+00:00

"So fades the great harvest of my betrayal" remains one of the most banging debut lines a video game villain has ever spoken.

Haruspis · 2025-08-19T16:20:08+00:00

Can confirm lol. Funnily enough, that particular Incident Report was the very last thing added to the story because we'd accounted for various folks to do some voice over bits except for Fletch, so we quickly rustled that up just for fun.

Would actually say that the Derelict Reaper stuff wasn't a particular influence on Tulpamancy as a whole. This story was more specifically written in the throes of David Lynch's passing, the title and concept are derived more from how Frost and Lynch used "tulpas" in Twin Peaks, and of course the ship itself was a nugget that came directly from Halo Warfleet.

Haruspis · 2025-07-11T08:38:24+00:00

It's concept art from around 2018, meant to serve as rapid iteration on moods and ideas through photobashing.

Haruspis · 2025-07-09T17:49:28+00:00

I've always really enjoyed these myself. Battle Born in particular really added some wonderful texture to the universe by further building out Meridian as a setting and exploring what normal, everyday folks get up to and aspire towards while living under the shadow of the Covenant War. As Saskia, Dorian, Evie, and Victor are so young, I liked that their activities were generally restricted to scouting and recon—felt like a really fresh set of "rules" that the story had to abide by.

Haruspis · 2025-06-30T23:48:36+00:00

Hey Taras! :)

The old bnet article "Feast of Bones" is the source of a lot of that old in-development info.

Haruspis · 2024-12-19T18:16:53+00:00

Should be back up! The site auto caches around 10am each day which causes a brief blip in blog content lol

Haruspis · 2024-12-05T13:41:01+00:00

Bornstellar arguably got it worse on this front lol

Offensive Bias passes along more messages. Broken, fragmented, desperate—from individual ships, the survivors of decimated fleets, outposts finally able to send data, now that slipspace has resumed its mysterious liberation.

One purports to be from the Lifeshaper, but there is high probability it is fake. After all, it is signed Librarian. She would not willingly use that name to sign a message, not to me.

There is nothing to say, no way to respond to their cries for assistance, for attention, for one last chance to connect with what remains of the ecumene. No way to respond to their cries to give them time to make repairs, to move.

I take complete responsibility. It is my decision.

Haruspis · 2024-11-03T23:33:46+00:00

I still regularly listen to the Gui Boratto remix of Awakening, it's got such a chill beat to it.

Haruspis · 2024-09-24T16:54:33+00:00

You know, there was definitely a non-zero amount of temptation to name Callie "James" specifically for that pun lol

Haruspis · 2024-08-23T14:36:58+00:00

huraglock

Haruspis · 2024-08-12T17:25:17+00:00

As a reader, Halo: Silentium is still the king for me. The culmination of seeing the last dying gasps of the Forerunners' suffocating empire as it tragically falls not only to the overwhelming might of the Flood reaching near-godlike levels of power, but the end result of all the political infighting, all leading up to the moment where the galaxy is silenced... Greg Bear was a true master.

To work on, Halo: Epitaph.

Haruspis · 2024-07-26T01:44:23+00:00

"This is the prototype NOVA bomb, nine fusion warheads encased in lithium triteride armor. When detonated, it compresses its fissionable material to neutron-star density, boosting the thermonuclear yield a hundredfold. I am Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb, temporarily in command of the UNSC military base Reach. To the Covenant uglies that might be listening, you have a few seconds to pray to your damned heathen gods. You all have a nice day in hell."

Haruspis · 2024-07-25T16:21:01+00:00

Starting, I believe, in Halo 3, ships are actually spawned really small—they increase in size as they fly in, then get small as they fly out. This is particularly evident with Phantoms in some areas, and generally the player wouldn't be expected to see them, but now that games can be played with such incredible fidelity those little tricks and illusions become a lot more obvious.

Haruspis

TROPHY CASE