Exclusive Interview: “Halo: Epitaph” Author Kelly Gay

 

With four previous novels based on the Halo games under her belt, it’s not surprising that writer Kelly Gay’s newest, Halo: Epitaph (paperback, Kindle, audiobook), would connect to the other novels she’s written about the titular sci-fi shooter series.

But as she explains in the following email interview, this installment is actually more connected to someone else’s Halo novels than her own.

To start, what is Halo: Epitaph about, and when and where does it take place in relation to the games, the other novels, and the comics?

Epitaph is centered around the ancient Forerunner known as the Ur-Didact, a character portrayed as an antagonist in Halo 4, and one of the central figures in the Forerunner Saga, a book trilogy by Greg Bear.

In Halo 4‘s campaign, the Didact is defeated by Cortana and the Master Chief. And shortly after, in the comic book series, Halo: Escalation, the Didact appears to meet an untimely demise — but that’s not the end of his journey.

Epitaph picks up after this event in 2557, and carries through to events in 2560, while also diving deep into the ancient past, to the Didact’s early life as an adolescent, how he was given his name, Shadow-Of-Sundered-Star, his subsequent training to becoming the Forerunner ecumene’s Protector and, finally, the challenges he faced during the Forerunner / Flood War.

It is a book that sits firmly in both past and present. And perhaps…another place entirely.

Where did you get the idea for Halo: Epitaph? What inspired it?

The initial idea came by way of the franchise team at Halo. They surprised me with an offer to write the Didact (which I leapt at!) and had a detailed outline of story points (or synchrons, shall we say) for his character-arc, which showcased the kind of tale they wanted for him and the ultimate conclusion they were hoping to achieve. This was the inspiration to then design the plot to hit those points and achieve the resolution they were after. I had a lot of free rein to elaborate, adjust, and just dive in, going into my den and tuning out the rest of the world to draft the story and create some really cool backstories and origins and fleshing out established characters more.

This book was a lot of fun to write, and I feel so lucky to be part of it. I think the best part was finally sharing it with my editor, and then after revisions, sharing it with 343. (I might have gotten a text about some tears being shed.)

So what was it about the Didact that intrigued you so much?

The Didact is such a complex, multi-layered character, and if anyone knows him from the Forerunner Saga or the in-game terminal stories, comics, and other media, they know he is not a simple one-dimensional villain. In the Halo 4 campaign, he arrives with a vengeance, composing millions of humans from Earth, but the question that intrigued me the most was how did he get to that point? We knew the larger answer from terminal stories and Greg Bear’s Forerunner Saga, but those answers only inspired more questions and as a fan of those books (and further researching them for my previous Halo novels, Renegades and Point Of Light), I have always felt there is so much more we don’t yet know about the Didact, mysteries and unknown events that shaped him and the choices he made, and these I was keen to figure out and bring to light.

Keith Szarabajka, who did the Didact’s voice in Halo 4, is narrating the audio book of Halo: Epitaph. Does that mean that Halo: Epitaph is told from the Didact’s perspective?

It is told exclusively from his viewpoint, though it is not a first-person narrative, but rather done in third person. There are certain elements of the story and the way in which it is constructed that made third person the best option to deliver the Didact’s tale. The approach doesn’t really differ too much if it’s from one person versus several people, as in my previous books. You just settle in with that character for whatever time you have with them and focus on their deep point of view. For this book, I wanted the Didact to be the star of the show, so I really enjoyed moving him through the scenes of his life, both past and present, via his unique point of view.

The Halo games and novels are usually military science fiction space opera stories. Is it safe to assume Halo: Epitaph is as well?

While Epitaph is an extension of the military sci-fi space opera that is Halo as a whole, I wouldn’t say it falls neatly into those categories, but rather skirts around the edges, diving in and out at times. We absolutely see some of those attributes throughout the story, but it is also, at its heart, a combination of biography, drama, and adventure that spans across a hundred thousand years of Halo history.

Halo: Epitaph is your fifth Halo book, but you’ve also written another five in your Charlie Madigan series, and, under the name Kelly Keaton, four in the Gods And Monsters series and a stand-alone novel called Embers In A Dark Frost. Are there any writers, or stories, that had a big influence on Halo: Epitaph but not on any of your previous books, and especially not any of your Halo stories?

I wrote this book in a very insulated way, surrounding myself for almost a year immersed in all things Halo and Forerunner. The big influence on this book came from the same works that inspired Renegades and Point Of Light.

In truth, Epitaph is somewhat of an extension of those two books, as well as an extension of Greg Bear’s trilogy. Without Greg masterfully laying the foundation that is the Forerunner Saga, there would not be a basis to create a finale for the Didact. So I was really inspired by his writing. I studied his stories as though they were textbooks, learning the ways he molded the Didact, the small details he gave to the characters and settings, the speech patterns, the ancient world of the Forerunners, their culture and beliefs, and reading between the lines of things suggested but not said. All of it to stay in keeping with canon and the established world, and to inform how I approached the Forerunners and the scenes from that ancient time period. And because of this, I can’t really think of separate big influence whether it be books or media other than the Forerunner Saga.

Now, within the Halo novels there are some subseries, such as your Rion Forge & Ace Of Spades novels. Is Halo: Epitaph a stand-alone Halo novel, or is the first book in a new subseries?

It is a stand-alone novel, though with deep connections to the Forerunner Saga, and to my two Rion Forge novels Renegadesand Point Of Light. And there may even be a connection or two to certain events in Halo Infinite and my novel, Halo: The Rubicon Protocol.

As I mentioned earlier, Halo: Epitaph is your fifth Halo book. What is it about the games, and the fictional universe they’re set in, that you just like writing about so much?

I love the vastness of the Halo universe. As a creator this is gold. There is not much that can confine you. The worlds, the timelines, the species, the characters, the endless options of time periods in which to write…there is always so much to choose from, so many layers to work with in terms of setting, genre, character, plot. And, of course, it’s Halo. I love it. From before I was asked to write a short story for Halo: Fractures in 2015 I was a fan and player of the game. So this is a space I not only love and have spent a lot of time in, but one that I am comfortable in and confident in, and that makes the writing so much more enjoyable. We are going on nine years now, and I am loving every minute of it, even when it’s hard. The friendships I have made, the ultra-talented people I work with and adore, they are invaluable, inspiring, and very special to me.

So, is there anything else you think people might want to know about Halo: Epitaph?

I’d love to answer this with all the things I’m bursting to reveal. There are so many great character appearances (from the ancient past to the present) in this book. There is heartbreak, laughter, drama, action, resolutions, and some really awesome character elements revealed. It is designed so that you don’t need to read the Forerunner Saga beforehand (though it is very enriching to do so, before or even after).

But above all, I want fans to know that I understand how much the Didact means to them. It is something I have kept in mind during the writing of this book, and I can assure readers that his final journey was shaped with a lot of care and consideration.

Finally, if someone enjoys Halo: Epitaph, but they haven’t read any of your other Halo books, which one would you suggest they read next and why that one?

If they enjoyed Epitaph, most definitely I’d recommend Renegades and Point Of Light as they will find characters from Epitaphin those books and can see what becomes of them. And also The Rubicon Protocol as there are some resolution to be found therein in terms of certain events. I must refrain from any more detailed explanations as it puts me on the edge of hush-hush information, and I wouldn’t want to spoil the great reveals and connections in the book.