| Halo: Outcasts | |
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464 pages[5] |
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9781668003282 |
Halo: Outcasts is a print novel by Troy Denning that was released on August 8, 2023.[4][6] The novel was originally set to release on October 18, 2022, but was ultimately delayed to July 25th, 2023 due to Denning's own personal health complications.[1][7][8] In March 2023, the novel was delayed once more seemingly due to supply chain issues, this time to August 8, 2023.[4]
The novel follows Thel 'Vadam and Olympia Vale's efforts to recover a rumored artifact on Netherop that could stop Cortana, unaware that they're being manipulated by someone else. The novel's focus on Netherop follows on from the planet's establishment and heavy feature in previous Denning novels Silent Storm and Oblivion.[2] Several of the novel's Sangheili cast of characters follow on from the 2015 novel Halo: Hunters in the Dark and some of the other characters were ones introduced in Silent Storm and Oblivion.
Official summary
| “ | 2559. Formerly one of the Covenant's greatest and most fearsome warriors, Arbiter Thel 'Vadam is now allied with his former human enemies while deeply entrenched in leading the Sangheili people to a new era of unification. But his aspirations are under constant threat, whether by the dangerous, warring factions of rival Sangheili keeps, or the relentless shadow of oppression spread by the renegade artificial intelligence Cortana.
An opportunity to break Cortana's chains has suddenly presented itself through the rumored existence of an ancient artifact located on the hostile world of Netherop. Spartan Olympia Vale, trained with the skills to live and thrive among the Sangheili, also recognizes this alien prize as an essential means to aid humanity in reaching the same goal of freedom. But behind the scenes, both 'Vadam and Vale are being manipulated by a mysterious figure with their own agenda. And to make matters worse, all involved are unknowingly placing themselves at perilous odds with forces beyond their comprehension.[2] |
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Plot summary
Outcasts opens in the time between Cortana's created army extending its reach and the excapades of Halo Infinite on Zeta Halo. Outcasts begins on the home planet of the elites, Sanghelios. The arbiter (Thel Vadam) is being transported amidst his dwellings while trying to avoid the created's army currenty occupying his world. Thel is stopped by a checkpoint of Armigers and inspected for weapons and possible threats. He soon suspects the AI army is attempting to locate a person or group supposedly responsible for a skirmish a few nights before. Narrowly avoiding a conflict with the enforcement agents, he soon is released to go about his buisness. Once back in his base, he learns that an Oath Warden has come to see him regarding a specific visitor in the city of Vadam. The arbiter plays off the warden and realizes that the target he seeks is not the resident spartan (Olympia Vale) but an archeo-scientist that may have found means to combat Cortana's forces.
Olympia is stationed in the city as a medic to hide her spartan presence. She soon receives a subtle message from an unknown carrier to meet up in a private location below her flat. She meets up with the scientist in question who ultimately reveals that their might be a way for the UNSC to fight back against Cortana. She also reveals that she has a deal with an unknown force to retrieve the weapon. She shows hesitation in helping her client thus the oath warden is sent after her to force her to carry out her assignment. Vale suggests they regroup and refit and head to the planet in question, Netherop (the same planet blue team recently visited in the novel OBLIVION). Vale soon noticed that the Arbiter (who has not responded to her messages) seems to have a plan to escape the planet unnoticed by Cortana's AI army.
The arbiter soon arrives at the planet with a array of forces under his rule. After meeting with the commanders of his local forces he soon realizes that his army is not the only ones in the region. At the same time, the Banished leader Atriox is looming on a nearby moon under an invisbility cloak watching and waiting to see what the arbiter and his forces do next. Atriox assumes the arbiter is here for the same thing he is and wonders how and where the arbiter gained such knowledge. One of Atriox's followers, an old elite, states that he hired a human archeologist to help track down the lost technology, saying that she is the most likely to be able to find the weapon. Atriox and his forces anxiously await the arrival of the human scientist in order to gain more information pertaining to the weapons whereabouts. There is soon a signal that the UNSC forces have finally arrived at the planet. . . More to come, still reading. . .
Appearances
Trivia
- The novel's existence was first hinted at in an Easter Egg on the Halo Infinite multiplayer map Streets. Various books placed near the map's arcade room reference real Halo novels, with one particular title bearing the word "Outcast".
- While the fate of Nizat 'Kvarosee and his ground forces on Netherop are explored, no mention is ever made of what became of the rest of the Flotilla of Unyielding Piety and Nizat's plot to destroy ONI from Halo: Oblivion aside from a brief mention that Nizat had stolen the Luminal Beacons.
- Rosa Fuertes' internal thoughts in chapter 16 were inspired by Denning's own dream-like experience during his recovery from a surgery he had undergone when he was penning Halo: Outcasts.[9]
Gallery
Full cover art without logos.
A parody of the novel's cover art created by community writer Alex Wakeford.
An official illustration of the state of Vadam, done for the novel.
Sources
- ^ a b c Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Shippin' Out (Retrieved on Feb 2, 2022) [archive]
- ^ a b c Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Of Protocols and Prisons (Retrieved on Mar 7, 2022) [archive]
- ^ Amazon, Halo: Outcasts (Retrieved on Mar 25, 2023) [archive]
- ^ a b c Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Echoes With-Dinh (Retrieved on Mar 25, 2023) [archive]
- ^ a b Simon & Schuster, Halo: Outcasts (Retrieved on Mar 25, 2023) [archive]
- ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Lore of the Jungle (Retrieved on May 4, 2022) [archive]
- ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Auditory Additions (Retrieved on Dec 15, 2022) [archive]
- ^ Twitter, Troy Denning (@TDenningauthor): "Some HALO: OUTCASTS news: As some of you may have noticed already, we're delaying my next Halo book. The reason is that a congenital heart defect (a bicuspid aortic valve) has started to act up earlier than expected, and I need to have open-heart surgery." (Retrieved on May 5, 2022) [archive]
- ^ Halo Waypoint, Halo: Outcasts | Spartan Chatter (Retrieved on Aug 12, 2023) [archive]
External links
- Text previews
- Halo Waypoint, Halo: Outcasts - Preview 1
- Halo Waypoint, Halo: Outcasts - Preview 2
- Halo Waypoint, Halo: Outcasts - Preview 3
- Audiobook previews
- YouTube, Halo: Outcasts – Preview #1 - Audio Excerpt
- YouTube, Halo: Outcasts – Preview #2: Arbiter Thel 'Vadam - Audio Excerpt
- YouTube, Halo: Outcasts - Preview #3: Spartan Olympia Vale - Audio Excerpt
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