First off, I'd like to thank you for responding logically and not flaming. The only point that I really feel a need to correct you on is the part about the brutes serving as honor guards. While your statement regarding the brutes encountered by the Spartans in the temple is correct, it ignores the epilogue, in which Truth has a conversation with Tartarus regarding the Space-bending crystal from Reach, as well as the fate of the soon to be Arbiter. During that conversation, it specifies that the honor guard was all brutes, something the Elites would not have stood for before the events of Halo 2. Now, I shall rephrase my point to try and be more clear with what I'm getting at: Bungie may have acknowledged the books as 'cannon,' but the Halo Bible, and thus the cannon, may be considered fluid. As you yourself mentioned, Bungie has demonstrated on multiple occasions that they have no shame when it comes to introducing plot and game elements with little or no explanation. The introduction of some elements however, have drastically changed plot events throughout the Halo universe. Take Brutes for example. They didn't exist in Halo 1, or when the Fall of Reach was written. Thus, at the time that The Fall of Reach was being written, the Halo Bible probably didn't say anything about the Covenant collapsing into a civil war, and the elites joining the Humans to defeat them. However, once introduced during Halo 2, the brutes would end up having a drastic effect on the entire story of the Halo saga. The so called Halo Bible would have had to be edited to reflect that. On top of all that, it is doubtful that the Halo Bible is a highly detailed work. It is more likely an in depth outline of major characters, and predetermined plot events. All the little details in between are likely up to the interpretation of the author/game designers. Thus my point: Whether the books were written with the aid of the Halo Bible or not is irrelevant. The Bible is edited and changed to reflect Bungies games, and even if it isn't, chances are it leaves a lot open to the interpretation of the individual writers. IMO, As Bungie is the creator of Halo, only those elements in their games are set in stone 'cannon.' All other books, games, comics, videos, and even any future movies, are only cannon so long as they don't conflict with Bungie's games. Unfortunately, Bugie's control of the Halo Universe will evaporate completely after the release of Reach, to we will probably see plot holes increase exponentially in the coming years. [Edited on 08.21.2010 12:05 PM PDT]