Halo: New Blood Announced – A Followup Book to Halo: ODST

343 Industries has decided to continue the story of the fan favorite character, Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, through a new digital short novel continuing the tale of Halo 3: ODST.

Pocket Star Books, Simon & Schuster and 343 Industries are teaming up to release Halo: New Blood, a digital-first short novel. This Matt Forbeck story follows the footsteps of Edward Buck long after the events of Halo 3: ODST, where he was the leading and surviving member of his Orbital Drop Shock Trooper platoon. The ODST crew played a pivotal role during the Covenant War, and we loved ODST for all of its 'Firefly'-filled awesomeness. You can already tell we can't wait to see what happens to Nathan Fillion's character long after the war finished.

Here's a teaser for what to expect in this digital book:

While Spartans get all the glory, no soldier―not even the legendary Master Chief―wins a war on his or her own. Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck and his team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers played a major role in saving the Earth from all-out invasion at the end of the Covenant War―acts of bravery and ingenuity that did not go unnoticed by the United Nations Space Command.

Now, after many Spartans have been killed in battle and the Master Chief is listed as MIA, the UNSC decides to create a new generation of Spartans to defend humanity from threats both outside―and within. When they come to Buck with an extraordinary proposition, he is forced to make a life-altering decision. With the Covenant War finally over, is it time for him to finally retire to the sidelines for a life he could only dream about…or is he prepared to step up and become part of the military’s new blood?

It sounds like they might make Buck a Spartan somehow. While no pricing has been listed, E-readers and Kindles will be able to download this digital book when it launches on March 2. Hopefully a physical copy of New Blood gets an orbital drop so we can put it on our bookshelf.