Audiobook Club: Contact Harvest
As part of our audiobook giveaway series with Simon & Schuster, we’re inviting Halo fans to join a community book club in our official Discord server, where we’ll focus on a new novel from Halo’s expansive canon each month. Join the #audio-book-club channel to listen along!
This month’s book club title is Halo: Contact Harvest, written by Halo chronicler Joseph Staten and covering humanity’s first tragic contact with the Covenant. The audiobook is narrated by Holter Graham and Jen Taylor.
PLOT PREVIEW
In the year 2524, the colony world of Harvest prospers at the edge of human-controlled space. Elsewhere in the galaxy, the United Nations Space Command contends with a bitter civil war against the Insurrection, a colonial rebellion resistant to UNSC authority.
The agrarian society of Harvest has been untouched by war—until now.
Humanity has unknowingly trespassed on holy ground sought by a theocratic alien empire. When a Covenant vessel captures a freighter bound from Harvest, a squad of war-weary UNSC marines must rally the colonists to take arms against a new and deadly foe.
Follow Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson as he finds himself thrust into a fight for humanity’s survival.
CHARACTER GUIDE
Check out these brief intros to prominent characters to learn more about the events of Halo: Contact Harvest.
Avery Johnson
Wearied from years fighting Insurrectionist cells across human-occupied space, Avery Johnson returns to Earth for a much-needed furlough. But when he discovers that his last family relation has died alone and uncelebrated, he succumbs to his grief and falls afoul of local law enforcement.
A last-minute transfer to Harvest saves him from disgrace—but who authorized it?
Nolan Byrne
Johnson’s comrade in arms during Operation: TREBUCHET, a covert strike against Insurrectionist munitions factories, and his unwitting partner in a new mission on Harvest. After a moment of hesitation resulted in tragedy, Byrne has lost the respect he once had for Johnson. Who knows how the coming conflict might change his mind?
Jilan al-Cygni
A decorated officer of the Office of Naval Intelligence and a clandestine operative of its Section Three subdivision. Though she arrived in the sector under other pretenses, Lieutenant Commander al-Cygni has secretly bootstrapped Byrne and Johnson into a covert mission against Insurrectionists operating near Harvest.
Maccabeus and Tartarus
Chieftain of the Jiralhanae and shipmaster of the Covenant vessel Rapid Conversion. Esteemed as much for his naval and martial prowess as his religious zeal, Maccabeus takes a personal interest in the reports of Forerunner relics on Harvest and the possibility of encountering a sacred oracle—even against the orders of the Covenant high command. He is accompanied by his young nephew, the ruthlessly ambitious Tartarus.
Dadab and Lighter Than Some
An Unggoy deacon assigned to Minor Transgression, the Covenant missionary vessel that first encounters humanity. When a raid on a human freighter goes wrong, Dadab escapes with his Huragok companion, Lighter Than Some, to the cruiser Rapid Conversion, where he preaches the divine word of the Covenant—and finds ways to excuse his friend’s insatiable desire for tinkering.
Sif and Mack
An artificial intelligence aboard Harvest’s orbital station, the Tiara, and tasked with freight logistics for its shipyards. After encountering a distress beacon from the human freighter Horn of Plenty, Sif coordinates with fellow AI Mack—responsible for Harvest’s agricultural operations and heavy machinery—to evacuate the colony during the ensuing invasion.
The Minister of Fortitude
A San’Shyuum minister holding court on the Covenant’s holy city of High Charity. When a Forerunner oracle reveals the truth about the supposed “relics” discovered on Harvest, Fortitude’s schemes lead him and his co-conspirators to the coveted rank of hierarch.
GAME CONNECTIONS
Halo: Contact Harvest introduces us to Sergeant Johnson as a young man, 28 years before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. Over the course of the novel, Johnson takes part in the earliest events of the Human-Covenant War and becomes the hardened warfighter who eventually helps the Master Chief finish the fight.
The Minister of Fortitude is perhaps better known as the Prophet of Truth, a major antagonist in both Halo 2 and Halo 3. Brute chieftain Maccabeus is the uncle of Tartarus, who appears in both Halo 2 and as a minor character in Contact Harvest. (No spoilers! You’ll have to read the novel to learn what part he plays in its exciting events.)
To learn more about the Halo novels, visit our Official Halo Book Guide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joseph Staten was the writer and creative lead for Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Reach, and the Head of Creative for Halo Infinite. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Halo: Contact Harvest and the novella Halo: Shadow of Intent.
ABOUT THE READERS
Holter Graham
Holter Graham is a stage, film, and television actor based in New York. He has also narrated over 200 audiobooks, including works by Stephen King, Nicholas Sparks, and prolific Halo writer Greg Bear, as well as several other works in the Halo series.
Jen Taylor
Jen Taylor is the voice of Cortana, Dr. Catherine Halsey, and The Weapon in the Halo series, as well as numerous other recognizable video game characters. Beyond her voice acting career, Jen has performed in theatrical productions, appeared in television series, and narrated over 30 audiobooks, including Halo: Contact Harvest and Halo: Evolutions.
AUDIOBOOK GIVEAWAY
Enter to win an audiobook copy of a new book-club title each month now through October! To participate, react to the Contact Harvest post in the #giveaways channel of the official Halo Discord server before June 6.
Stay tuned to @Halo on X later this month for more ways to win! See full contest rules and entry directions.
JOIN THE BOOK CLUB
Listen to a new Halo title every month with the Halo community in our Discord book club! To participate, simply join the #audio-book-club channel of the official Halo Discord server, where we’ll select a new title from the Halo universe to discuss each month through October.
Share your favorite moments and engage in discussion topics for a chance to find your words featured in an upcoming Halo Waypoint post! At the end of every month, we’ll host a special Spartan Chatter episode on Discord to discuss the audiobook and answer questions from the Halo community.