Tor Books is excited to reveal the title, cover, and release date for the second novel in the Halo Forerunner Saga, Halo: Primordium, written by legendary science fiction author Greg Bear.

Book one of the Forerunner Saga, Halo: Cryptum, is currently available in hardcover, and will release in trade paperback this fall.  Book two, Halo: Primordium, will release January 3, 2012 alongside a simultaneous audio edition.

The New York Times bestselling Halo series, based on the hugely successful Halo videogames franchise for the Xbox 360, has sold millions of copies, part of a global phenomenon that has dominated the science fiction landscape over the last decade.

In Halo: Cryptum, Greg Bear began a three-book arc set in the era of the Forerunners, the ancient and enigmatic creators and builders of the Halos, that continues in Halo: Primordium. In Halo: Cryptum, a young, rebellious Manipularbegan a dangerous search for artifacts of the Precursors — long-vanished superbeings of unknowable power and intent — setting off a devastating chain of events that nearly ended the Forerunner empire. Now two humans, former companions of the Manipular, find themselves captives and strategic pawns in a cosmic game whose madness knows no end — a game of ancient vengeance between the powers who seeded the galaxy with life, and the Forerunners who expect to take up their sacred Mantle of duty to protect all living things.

“I’m having great fun working through the action and growing mysteries in Halo: Primordium , as humans engage in an epic odyssey across a damaged, war-torn Halo, facing the Flood, rogue AIs, and the stunning testament of the Last Precursor,” says author Greg Bear. “This is classic SF territory for me, and it’s a terrific opportunity to work with the 343 team, and to contribute through these books to both future games and the Halo universe in general.”  

“In Cryptum, Greg began an exploration of a vast and imposing part of the Halo universe,” says Frank O’Connor, Franchise Development Director for 343 Industries. “In Primordium, he takes that story closer to the ground, exploring characters, motivations and mysteries that began in Cryptum and continuing a journey that’s fascinating, horrifying and inspiring, all at once.”

Tor Books has proudly partnered with Microsoft and 343 Industries to publish every book set in this iconic universe.  Along with the first two books of the Forerunner Saga, Tor has also announced another all-new Halo trilogy penned by Karen Traviss that will explore the Halo Universe in the wake of the final events of Halo 3. Traviss’s first novel, Halo: Glasslands, will come out October 25, 2011.