New Halo novel coming in March, starring ODST's main character

Halo will add to its canon with a new book, to be released digitally at first, called Halo: New Blood. It will explore the story of Gunnery Sgt. Edward Buck (pictured), one of the principal characters of 2009's Halo 3: ODST.

Matt Forbeck is the author of the book, to be published by Pocket Star Books and Simon & Schuster. Forbeck also wrote Ghosts of Ascalon, a book set in the Guild Wars canon.

Forbeck, in an interview on Halo Waypoint, noted that he's played through Halo 3: ODST twice, and studied cutscenes to make sure the dialogue written for Buck evokes the character voiced by Nathan Fillion.

"I absolutely loved Halo 3: ODST myself, and I always wanted to know more about Buck and his teammates too," he said. "When you finish the game, there are so many unanswered questions about who Buck is and what's going to happen to him. This became my chance to fill in a lot of the blanks in his past and even help chart out his future, and I could not have been more honored."

The book will be released on March 2. A summary of the book says it takes place after the Covenant War, and Buck will be faced with choosing between retirement and helping the UNSC create a new generation of Spartans.

Halo 3: ODST re-entered the news when 343 Industries announced that early buyers of Halo: The Master Chief Collection will get an updated version of ODST, as part of an apology for the problems The Master Chief Connection faced at launch.