Editing The Forerunner Saga

{{Title|''The Forerunner Saga''}}
{{Status|RealWorld}}
[[File:Forerunner Saga compilation.png|thumb|right|250px|All three books in the trilogy.]]
{{quote|A science fiction icon and winner of the field’s highest awards, Greg Bear has signed on to write three Halo novels set in the time of the Forerunners, the creators and builders of the Halos. Almost nothing is known for sure about this ancient race. Worshiped by the Covenant as gods, their engineering relics pepper the galaxy, and their connections to humanity remains unanswered. Devoted fans of both the books and games will finally get to delve deep into the era of these enigmatic beings, and discover for themselves the epic story behind one of the great mysteries of the Halo universe: the complete disappearance of the Forerunners from existence. World publication rights to Tor Books.|[[Tor Books]]}}

'''''The Forerunner Saga''''' is a trilogy of ''[[Halo]]'' [[Halo novels|novels]] focusing on [[Forerunner]] life 100,000 years before the [[Human-Covenant War]], written by [[Greg Bear]] and published by [[Tor Books]].<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=921153 HBO Forums: Greg Bear writing Halo novels about Forerunner]</ref> The series reveals a great deal of new information about the Forerunner-[[human]] interactions in ancient history,<ref name="cryptum">[http://www.tor.com/stories/2010/12/excerpt-halo-cryptum-chapter-one-by-greg-bear? '''Tor.com''' — ''Halo: Cryptum'' chapter one excerpt]</ref> as well as providing additional background for the events in ''[[Halo 4]]'' and subsequent media.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNDQN7nwZlw&feature=related '''YouTube''': ''SDCC 2011: Halo Universe Panel Part 1'']</ref>

The first novel in the series, titled ''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'', was released on [[2011|January 4, 2011]].<ref name="pressrelease">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us#/news/headline/science-fiction-legend-greg-bear-set-to-explore-the-time-of-the-forerunners/5011 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Science fiction legend Greg Bear set to explore the time of the Forerunners'']</ref> The second novel, titled ''[[Halo: Primordium]]'', was released on [[2012|January 3, 2012]],<ref name="waypoint">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/news/headline/tor-books-reveals-title-cover-art-and-release-date-of-second-halo-novel-by-greg-bear/113219 '''Halo Waypoint''' - Tor Books Reveals Title, Cover Art, and Release Date of Second Halo Novel by Greg Bear]''</ref> and the final book, ''[[Halo: Silentium]]'', was released on March 19, 2013.<ref name="Greg Bear Forum 532012">[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/10/release-date-for-halo-silentium-updated '''Tor.com''': ''Release Date for Halo: Silentium Updated'']</ref>

==Background==
{{quote|It's going to be a trilogy. A connected universe that will remain faithful to the scale and mysteries, while exploring the detail and challenges of a VERY powerful culture. This won't be some skirt-raising exercise in Forerunner populist-ism. Folks know way more about Forerunners than you think, but we're definitely going to respect that strange sense of wonder and awe that Bungie infused from day one. It will be BIG Greg Bear fiction in a faintly familiar place, but one that's full of surprises. Think [[Wikipedia:Eon (novel)|Eon]].|[[Frank O'Connor]]}}

Originally known only as the "Forerunner Trilogy", the series was officially announced at the [http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/index.php Emerald City ComiCon] in [[United States of America|Seattle, Washington]], where its author, Greg Bear, made a guest appearance.<ref>[http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/programming.php#SunB12pm EmeraldCity ComiCon 2009 schedule]</ref> The first book's working title was "''Antediluvian''".<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZyXwZJ-nnE&feature=channel '''YouTube.com''' — Emerald City ComiCon 2010]</ref> The word "antediluvian" means, "of or belonging to the period before a flood," hinting that the novel would take place prior to the [[Forerunner-Flood war]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/user/HaloWaypoint?blend=2&ob=1#p/u/7/PZAkTzMzGGk '''YouTube''': ''SDCC: Halo Universe Panel Part 4'']</ref> On October 11, 2010, the official name of the book was revealed to be ''Halo: Cryptum''.<ref>[http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/11/halo-cryptum-novel-by-greg-bear-launching-in-jan-2011/ '''Joystiq''': ''Halo: Cryptum novel by Greg Bear launching in Jan. 2011'']</ref>

As the series was written back-to-back with the production of ''Halo 4'' and shares many of the elements seen in the game, [[343 Industries]] artists created a number of illustrations which tie in directly with the ''Forerunner Saga''. For example, the covers of the first two novels are taken from pieces of ''Halo 4'' concept art. Frank O'Connor has mentioned that these illustrations would eventually be released in an art book.<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us#/intel/featured/complex/greg-bear-talks-halo-cryptum/ba8dd0af-d981-4ac6-8cc1-fd04d5e4895e '''Halo Waypoint''': 'Greg Bear talks Halo: Cryptum''']</ref> A large number of the game's concept art was released in the form of ''[[Awakening: The Art of Halo 4]]'' on November 2, 2012.<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/Headlines/post/2012/05/08/Titan-Books-Signs-Up-Lavish-Art-Book-of-Halo-4.aspx '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Titan Books Signs Up Lavish Art Book for Halo 4'']</ref>

==Synopsis==
In comparison to the novels set in the ''Halo'' universe's "modern" era, ''The Forerunner Saga'' is written in a style more akin to a mythical epic; author Greg Bear has drawn parallels between the series and a Greek tragedy.<ref name="kast17">[http://waypointassets.blob.core.windows.net/mobilecontent/legacysupport/content/assets/en-us/podcast/343Sparkast_017.mp3 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''343 Sparkast 017'']</ref> Set before the Forerunners' end at the hands of the [[Flood]], the series touches on the origins of humanity and the contacts with Forerunners and humans. Many elements about the Forerunners are introduced and explored, such as their political system, social structure and their various advanced technologies. All of the novels are framed with fictional devices as in-universe narratives by given characters and have no omniscient narrator. These records have been discovered by the UNSC in the post-[[Covenant War]] era, shedding more light into the history of the Forerunners and humanity.

Written concurrently with ''Halo 4'', the series introduces many elements featured in the game. Among the first is the establishing of humans and Forerunners as a separate species and rival civilizations. The Forerunners are revealed to be an exceedingly hierarchic and culturally stagnant civilization, their society structured around several castes known as [[rate]]s. The origins of the eponymous [[Halo Array|Halo]] ringworlds are also established as the work of a powerful caste of Forerunners known as [[Builder]]s, political opponents to the [[Promethean]] [[Warrior-Servant]]s led by the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]. Humanity, while previously a [[prehistoric human civilization|great interstellar empire]], has been devolved to [[Erde-Tyrene civilization|a primitive state]] by the Forerunners at the time the novels are set as punishment for their [[Human-Forerunner wars|war against the Forerunners]]. It is revealed that humanity fought the [[Flood]] before the Forerunners and helped sterilize the infection before its final wave reappeared in the galaxy and eventually necessitated the Forerunners' activation of the Halos. Recent anthropological findings inspired the inclusion of a number of different human species into the collective humanity featured in the series; Greg Bear particularly enjoyed writing about the [[Florian]] [[Riser]], a diminutive but intelligent human character.{{Ref/Reuse|kast17}}

The characters of the Didact and the [[Librarian]], introduced in the [[Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal]]s in ''[[Halo 3]]'' and later encountered in ''Halo 4'', are featured as central characters in the series. With the Didact returning as the primary antagonist of ''Halo 4'', one of the goals of the ''Forerunner Saga'' was to give him a character arc portray his tragic transformation into the character seen in the game.{{Ref/Reuse|kast17}} The series also solves a discrepancy involving major differences in the Didact's actions between the ''Halo 3'' terminals and ''Halo 4'' by establishing a [[IsoDidact|secondary Didact]] created by the original Didact through an [[Forerunner mutation|imprinting procedure]]. [[343 Guilty Spark]], the principal [[monitor]] character from the games, is also heavily featured throughout the series, along with the revelation of his origins.

The series introduces multiple new elements and carrying themes which are explored as the story unfolds; one of the most prominent is the Forerunners' assumed legitimacy as heirs to the [[Mantle]], a role of galactic stewardship they believe to have inherited from the even more ancient and powerful race known as the [[Precursor]]s. The novels also introduce the [[Domain]] as the Forerunners' transcendent cultural and historical record and the perpetual mystery as to its true nature. These aspects are part of an overarching theme exploring the interactions and competition between various forms of life, encapsulated in the philosophy of [[Living Time]].

Some of the content of the ''Forerunner Saga'' fed into the final version of the ''Halo 4'' script and vice versa. The introduction of Forerunner [[mind transfer]] technology in ''Halo: Cryptum'' influenced the nature of the [[Composer]] as seen in the final game in a back-and-forth exchange of content between the two.{{Ref/Reuse|kast17}} Elements of the saga were also incorporated to the [[Terminal (Halo 4)|terminals]] on ''Halo 4'', albeit in compressed and simplified form. The discrepancies between the saga and both the ''Halo 3'' and ''Halo 4'' terminals are given in-universe explanations, the former being manipulated by the rampant [[Mendicant Bias]] and the latter being hosted by the unreliable Domain.{{Ref/Reuse|kast17}}

===''Cryptum''===
{{Main|Halo: Cryptum}}
Released January 4, 2011,{{Ref/Reuse|pressrelease}} ''Cryptum'' focuses on a young Forerunner known as [[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]], a rebellious [[Manipular]] from a family of [[Builder]]s, the highest and most politically powerful [[rate]] of the Forerunner. [[Bornstellar's father|His father]] sends him to the planet [[Mars|Edom]] in a distant system known as [[Sol system|Sol]] to work with the [[Miner]]s to come to terms with his duty as a Builder. As part of the Librarian's far-reaching plans, however, Bornstellar is led to [[Earth]], where he crosses paths with two humans, [[Chakas]] and [[Riser]]. They soon stumble upon the [[Cryptum]] of the ancient [[Promethean]] military leader known as the Didact, forever changing the fate of the galaxy.<ref>'''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''', [[:File:Cryptum Jacket.png|forward jacket description]]</ref>

===''Primordium''===
{{Main|Halo: Primordium}}
The sequel to ''Halo: Cryptum'' was released on [[2012|January 3, 2012]].{{Ref/Reuse|waypoint}} ''Primordium'' is centered around Chakas, one of the two humans who accompanied Bornstellar in the first novel. After being captured by the [[Faber|Master Builder]] during the events of ''Cryptum'', Chakas finds himself marooned on an [[Installation 07|embattled Halo installation]], where he is joined by two humans on a quest to find his companion Riser. During their journey and its eventual conclusion, revelations are made as to the nature of the Flood, the rampant AI Mendicant Bias and the mysterious [[Primordial]], as well as the far-reaching plans of the Precursors.

===''Silentium''===
{{Main|Halo: Silentium}}
''Halo: Silentium'' is the third and last book of The Forerunner Saga. Released on March 19, 2013,<ref name="delay">[http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/Headlines/post/2012/10/22/Tor-Books-Updates-Release-Date-of-the-Third-Halo-Novel-by-Legendary-Science-Fiction-Author-Greg-Bear.aspx '''Tor Books updates release date of the third Halo novel by legendary science fiction author Greg Bear''']</ref> ''Silentium'' ties in directly with ''Halo 4'', elaborating on the stories of the Ur-Didact, IsoDidact, the Librarian and the end of the Forerunner civilization as the [[Forerunner-Flood war]] draws to a close. Mythology concerning the Precursors and the origins of the Flood is expanded upon and clarified, along with a number of elements and locales touched on in the previous Forerunner Saga novels.

Prior to the release of the novel, it was stated that there were "specific strategic reasons" as to why it would be released after ''Halo 4'';<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/Headlines/post/2012/03/08/The-Halo-Bulletin-30712.aspx '''Halo Official Site''': ''The Halo Bulletin: 3.07.12'']</ref> namely, story elements that tie in heavily with the game. As part of 343 Industries' decision not to reveal the appearance of the Forerunners until ''Halo 4'', ''Silentium'''s full cover - depicting the Ur-Didact and the Librarian - was not shown until after the game's release.<ref>[http://sparth.tumblr.com/post/37282071285/greg-bear-silentium-book-covers-we-actually-had '''SPARTH''']</ref>

An audio epilogue, ''[[Rebirth]]'', can be unlocked by inserting a code found in each of the novel's chapter headings on [[Halo Waypoint]].

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Cryptum - Cover.jpg|''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'', the first installment in the trilogy. 
File:HPrimordium - Cover.jpeg|''[[Halo: Primordium]]'', the second installment in the trilogy.
File:Silentium cover front.jpg|''[[Halo: Silentium]]'', the final installment in the trilogy. 
</gallery>

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

==Related links==
===Internal===
*[[Forerunner]]
*[[Forerunner-Flood war]]

===External===
*[http://www.curtisagency.com/news.php Greg Bear Press Release and Announcement on a ''Forerunner Trilogy'']

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