First Strike was also released as an audiobook, narrated by Todd McLaren. The novel serves as a bridge between the events of the games Halo: Combat Evolved and its 2004 sequel Halo 2. The book was released in December 2003 and is the third Halo novel Nylund's second contribution to the series. Halo: First Strike is a military science fiction novel by Eric Nylund, based on the Halo series of video games.