A couple of months ago we chatted with Eric Nylund author of two out of the three previously releases prose novels based on Bungie's first person shooter series Halo. With the new novel, Halo: Ghost of Onyx, now shipping to book stores today we get back with Nylund for yet another brief interview about the new book and what else he is working on.

FiringSquad: First, it's been a little while since your last Halo novel. Why was there a long wait for the new novel to come out?

Eric Nylund: I just sit in my office and answer the phone when it rings. Bungie calls the shots with respect to when new novels come out and who gets to write them. I just say “yes!” when they ask.

FiringSquad: How did the switch from DelRay to Tor affect your writing of the novel in terms of its editing?

Eric Nylund: Del Rey edited the manuscripts (FALL OF REACH and FIRST STRIKE) after Bungie looked them over. There wasn’t much room in the schedule for changes, so there were very few changes made. This time around the TOR editor, the talented Eric Raab, looked at the manuscript before Bungie did and made suggestions. It’s a good thing, too. He untangled some very complicated plotting to make it silk smooth.

FiringSquad: How much input does Bungie give in terms of your plots?

Eric Nylund: On earlier novels? Not so much. I had to hit certain story targets—like getting the Master Chief on the Pillar of Autumn and at HALO to synch with the start of HALO: CE--but other than that I had a blank canvas. This time around there’s much more going on in the HALO universe, and it took a great deal of collaboration to weave a story together with the elements in the other novels and games—past, present, and future!

FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the plotline of the novel and how they relate to the other Halo novels you have written?

Eric Nyland: I won’t say much because I don’t believe in spoilers, but I can say that the timeline of this novel ranges over a wide swath of territory and there are many connections to the novels and games.

FiringSquad: What would you say are the major themes and messages that you are trying to project in Ghosts of Onyx?

Eric Nylund: What would you do to win a war? How much of a sacrifice is too much? When does one person take responsibility and defy everyone and everything to do what they think is right?

FiringSquad: The Master Chief character is so mysterious in the Halo games. How hard is it to make him a fully three dimensional character in your novels?

Eric Nylund: First, thanks for the compliment. I guess in a way I grew up with the Master Chief. All those early training sequences with John and his friends made it easy for me to slip into his mind and mature along with him as he grew up…and found himself in more and more extreme situations.

FiringSquad: With Halo 3 due out sometime in 2007, are there any plans for you to write the novel adaptation this time or will you let that be handled by another writer as you did with Halo: The Flood?

Eric Nylund: I don’t believe anyone has come out and either confirmed or denied that there will be an adaptation of the HALO 3 game. But to answer your question: No. Unless there was a substantial amount of material that I could add to the story, I would not be interested.

FiringSquad: Marvel has announced plans to publish a monthly Halo comic book in 2007. Would you consider writing for the comic book as well?

Eric Nylund: I _am_ writing a comic! Not with Marvel, something else…but just as cool. So, yes, I would absolutely consider it.

FiringSquad: What other future writing projects do you have planned?

Eric Nylund: As I mentioned a new comic series and a new novel which will probably be out in 2008. Called MORTAL COILS—it’s something for all the people who grew up with Harry Potter, but are now a little older, more sophisticated…darker.

FiringSquad: Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Halo: Ghosts of Onyx?

Eric Nylund: As I’m thinking about the novel, I’m seeing one of the scenes near the end…and damn—it still gives me goose bumps.

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