Halo: Epitaph | Cover Reveal
Over ten years ago, the Master Chief awakened from cryo sleep as the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn approached a mysterious shield world known as Requiem.
Within this hollow sphere was an ancient Forerunner warrior—the Didact. Imprisoned a hundred millennia ago by his wife after being driven to madness, he emerged to continue his campaign against the humans that he saw as unworthy of the Mantle, the responsibility of guardianship over life in the galaxy.
Seeking to imprison humanity as his army of machine thralls, the Didact was defeated by the Master Chief and Cortana as he led an attack on Earth, casting him into slipspace. A further confrontation on Gamma Halo would see the Didact’s physical body disintegrated by the destruction of his Composer devices, sending the scatterings of his consciousness into the Domain.
It is here that Halo: Epitaph, the next novel from acclaimed author Kelly Gay, begins. Here’s the official description of what is to come:
Stripped of armor, might, and memory, the Forerunner warrior known as the Didact was torn from the physical world following his destructive confrontation with the Master Chief and sent reeling into the mysterious depths of a seemingly endless desert wasteland. This once powerful and terrifying figure is now a shadow of his former self—gaunt, broken, desiccated, and alone. But this wasteland is not as barren as it seems. A blue light glints from a thin spire in the far distance…
Thus begins the Didact’s great journey—the final fate of one of the galaxy’s most enigmatic and pivotal figures.
We are thrilled to reveal the cover art of Halo: Epitaph, beautifully illustrated by Chris McGrath, depicting the Didact in a vast desert within the Domain, where fans of Halo 3 may recognize a certain tower in the background.
Published by Gallery Books and our friends over at Simon & Schuster, Halo: Epitaph is currently scheduled for release in early 2024.
Stay tuned later this year for chapter previews that will provide a closer look at the last great journey of the Didact.