[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Desert_Fox_23 I think you're taking this a [i]little[/i] too seriously.[/quote] Oh, really? [quote]I really despise whoever it was at 343...[/quote] [quote]bull--blam!-[/quote] [quote]feels like something an excited 11 year old scribbled in his notebook after playing the original Halo trilogy.[/quote] [quote]If Bungie considered the books canon - then they certainly didn't act like it. Don't believe me? Read The Fall of Reach, then go play Halo: Reach. I rest my case.[/quote] Reach's errors have been fixed by 343i through the Data Drops last year. Joseph Staten, lead writer for Halo 2, 3 and ODST, and author of Contact Harvest, confirmed that the novels are canon: [quote][url=http://uk.xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/halo-2/562962p2.html]The books are full of wonderful, complex elements that would be hugely problematic if we included them in Halo 2 in any meaningful way (e.g. the existence of other Spartans). That being said, I did my best to be take the books into account as I wrote, and there are definitely common themes and characters.[/url][/quote] Pete Parsons talks about how the Halo universe fits together: [quote][url=http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/halo1.htm]How Stuff Works: Was the "Halo" story fully realized and segmented into different games, or did you take the story as far as "Halo 1" and when it came time for a sequel, build the story from the ground up? Pete Parsons: The "Halo" universe has an overarching story that is well thought out and was well thought out before "Halo 2." We have roughly 600 years worth of "Halo" fiction, and we know what happens inside of that universe at any given time. The ["Halo 2"] story itself only existed as notes and was really fleshed out. We know ultimately, at least in the "Halo" universe, where humanity came from, where it's going to, at what point in time it comes in contact with The Covenant [the villains in "Halo"] and what happens well beyond that. "Halo 2" picks up literally right after "Halo 1." But there is still plenty of story in and around that. And you can see some of that in the three novels we have. How Stuff Works: The novelization of a video game is, well ... novel. Where does Eric Nyland get the background for his books? Pete Parsons: We work closely with him on all the stories. So what we do is we have these story arcs of the "Halo" universe, and Eric goes in and says, "Well that's a really good piece to take and here is in a microcosm what I think that story will look like." How Stuff Works: Are you guys very conscious to make sure that everything fits together -- that the books and games don't contradict one another -- so that everyone can look to any source and say, "This is very consistent, fully realized world"? Pete Parsons: Yes, but not in the marketing kind of way. We do it because we want the "Halo" universe to be manifold. You can certainly probably pull out some inconsistencies, but as a general rule we really try to keep it manifold. Because we think that ultimately we are doing this for ourselves. And after that, we're doing it for our fans, and we want them to really believe in this place that is the Halo universe. I think the reason Halo has captured so many imaginations is because we care a lot about what's going on in that universe and how believable that universe is. We have this high level myth that we understand very well.[/url][/quote] I agree that they never acted like they were canon because they seemed to make a real effort [i]not[/i] to accomodate the additional fiction into the games, which in the end made their story suffer. [Edited on 12.09.2012 12:00 PM PST]