This article is from the first edition of The Video Game Librarian website I published between 2008 and 2010. It was originally written on July 21, 2008.

After the success of the Halo series of novels, it was only a matter of time before Microsoft’s Gears of War series got the same treatment. And get it, it will. The first novel in a planned Gears of War trilogy will be released on October 28 (just ahead of Gears of War 2‘s November 7 release date). It will be a prequel to the game series titled Gears of War: The Battle of Aspho Fields and will be written by Karen Traviss (who previously brought the Star Wars: Republic Commando world to life in a series of novels).

Here’s what Del Ray had to say about The Battle of Aspho Fields:

In Gears of War: The Battle of Aspho Fields, the last human stronghold on Sera braces itself for another onslaught from the Locust Horde, as ghosts come back to haunt Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. For Marcus — decorated war hero, convicted traitor — the return of an old comrade threatens to dredge up an agonizing secret he’s sworn to keep. As the beleaguered soldiers of the Coalition of Ordered Governments take a last stand to save humankind from extermination, the harrowing decisions made at Aspho Fields have to be relived and made again. Marcus and Dom can take anything the Locust Horde throws at them — but will their friendship survive the truth about Dom’s brother Carlos?