Karen Traviss – författare

When the bestselling video game Gears of War was released in late 2006, it quickly became the fastest selling original Xbox title ever, and has since gone on to sell more than five million copies, received more than fifty industry awards, and has garnered high praise from critics and fans alike. And the first novel in the series was released at the end of 2008, to coincide with the release of the second Gears of War video game. With this terrific track record to build on, this is the third tie-in novel to be based on the Gears of War franchise. The massive Gears of War fan-base will be eager to see more in this series of original novels.

With the Locust Horde apparently destroyed, Jacinto's survivors have begun to rebuild human society on their island stronghold. Raiding pirate gangs take a toll - but it's nothing that Marcus Fenix and the Gears can't handle. Then the terrifying life-forms they thought they'd left behind - the Lambent, creatures even the Locust feared - begin to advance across the planet. Gears and gangs must fight side by side to stop their deadliest enemy yet, falling back on the savage tactics of another bloody siege: Anvil Gate.

The story of Delta Squad's toughest fighters - soldier's solder Marcus Fenix and steadfast Dominic Santiago - as well as a detailed account of the pivotal battle of the Pendulum Wars. As kids, the three of them were inseparable; as soldiers, they were torn apart. Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago fought alongside Dom's elder brother Carlos at Aspho Fields in the epic battle that changed the course of the Pendulum Wars. There's a new war to fight now, a war for mankind's very survival. But while the last human stronghold on Sera braces itself for another onslaught from the Locust Horde, ghosts come back to haunt Marcus and Dom, as the return of an old comrade threatens to dredge up an agonizing secret Marcus has sworn to keep. As the beleaguered Gears of the Coalition of Ordered Governments take a last stand to save mankind from extinction, 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 Carlos Santiago?

Young Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, his new Padawan Asohka, and his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are on a mission to rescue the kidnapped son of Jabba the Hutt. But Count Dooku and the Separatists also want to rescue the baby Hutt -- because whoever succeeds in returning Jabba's son to him will gain the support of the Hutts in the war between the Republic and the Separatists.

As civil war continues to break out in the Galactic Alliance, terrorism begins to drive the Alliance towards ever more repressive laws. Families find themselves divided, and old friendships are torn apart. But the bitterest enemy can be your own flesh and blood - and your foe can turn out to be your only ally. Old enemies Han Solo and Boba Fett are drawn together as they both learn some harsh truths about their own kin, while Luke and Mara Skywalker fear for their only son, Ben, when his Jedi Master, Jacen Solo, makes a dangerous choice that shocks both families and the galaxy at large.

Powerful, award-worthy author Karen Traviss returns to the explosive "Wess'har War" novels, in her most accomplished, action-packed story yet. As the Isenj civil war continues, the ghosts of Shan Frankland's past come back to plague her present. For the c'naatat genie will not go back into the bottle, and the implications are boundless. Once infected, c'naatat carriers are virtually immortal...and the process cannot be reversed. And asking for help from a vastly superior alien military means that the changes they bring may or may not be what you initially asked for. As pressures mount from every side, Shan must make a difficult decision - leave the new life she has created on F'nar to save Earth from itself, or turn her back on humanity forever?

SACRIFICE is the fifth book in the 9-book Legacy of the Force series, a bold new Star Wars story arc for fans of the New Jedi Order and the franchise's most popular characters: Luke, Han, and Leia. This is the middle book in the series and the second of three hardcovers. The adventure continues, and one of our storylines comes to a crucial and shocking climax.Things come to a head in the galaxy of the Skywalker and Solos when Jacen Solo makes a horrifying decision from which there is no going back. For Luke, Han and Leia, nothing will ever be the same again...

Torrent Company's Captain Rex agrees to relieve Anakin Skywalker of his ubiquitous-and insatiably curious-Padawan, Ahsoka, for a while by bringing her along on a routine three-day shakedown cruise aboard Captain Gilad Pellaeon's newly refitted assault ship. But the training run becomes an active-and dangerous-rescue mission when Republic undercover agent Hallena Devis goes missing in the middle of a Separatist invasion.Dispatched to a distant world to aid a local dictator facing a revolution, Hallena finds herself surrounded by angry freedom fighters, and questioning the Republic's methods-and motives. Summoned to rescue the missing operative who is also his secret love, Pellaeon-sworn to protect the Republic over all-is torn between duty and desire. And Ahsoka, sent in with Rex and six untested clone troopers to extract Hallena, encounters a very different Jedi philosophy, which shakes the foundation of her upbringing to the core. As danger and intrigue intensify, the loyalties and convictions of all involved will be tested. . . .

During this savage civil war, all efforts to end Jacen Solo’s tyranny of the Galactic Alliance have failed. Now with Jacen approaching the height of his dark powers, no one–not even the Solos and the Skywalkers–knows if anything can stop the Sith Lord before his plan to save the galaxy ends up destroying it.Jacen Solo’s shadow of influence has threatened many, especially those closest to him. Jaina Solo is determined to bring her brother in, but in order to track him down, she must first learn unfamiliar skills from a man she finds ruthless, repellent, and dangerous. Meanwhile, Ben Skywalker, still haunted by suspicions that Jacen killed his mother, Mara, decides he must know the truth, even if it costs him his life. And as Luke Skywalker contemplates once unthinkable strategies to dethrone his nephew, the hour of reckoning for those on both sides draws near. The galaxy becomes a battlefield where all must face their true nature and darkest secrets, and live–or die–with the consequences.

Marcus Fenix. War hero. Decorated Gear. Loyal son. Traitor. As the Locust Horde advances into one of humanity's last bastions, Marcus does the unthinkable: he defies Colonel Hoffman's orders and abandons his post in the middle of the battle in a bid to rescue his father, weapons scientist Dr Adam Fenix. As the Coalition struggles to defend Sera's surviving humans from the invading 'grubs', Marcus faces a court martial - and a possible death penalty. In the Slab, there are no rules and no mercy. Marcus must learn to survive in an institution populated by the most dangerous dregs of society. Meanwhile, COG scientists continue the race against time to find a weapon to defeat the Locust - but there's another traitor - one of the most trusted men in the COG, who knew the Locust existed long before the creatures erupted from their underground warrens. Worse, there's an even bigger threat emerging: a life-form called the Lambent, which drove the Locust to the surface and that will eventually destroy all life on Sera. As the Locust infiltrate deeper into COG territory, the Slab is in danger of being overrun. All the prisoners are released ...except Marcus.The Locust close in while Dom Santiago mounts a last-ditch rescue bid to free the one man who can save humanity.

The Clone Wars are over, but for those with reason to run from the new galactic Empire, the battle to survive has only just begun. . . .The Jedi have been decimated in the Great Purge, and the Republic has fallen. Now the former Republic Commandos-the galaxy's finest special forces troops, cloned from Jango Fett-find themselves on opposing sides and in very different armor. Some have deserted and fled to Mandalore with the mercenaries, renegade clone troopers, and rogue Jedi who make up Kal Skirata's ragtag resistance to Imperial occupation. Others-including men from Delta and Omega squads-now serve as Imperial Commandos, a black ops unit within Vader's own 501st Legion, tasked to hunt down fugitive Jedi and clone deserters. For Darman, grieving for his Jedi wife and separated from his son, it's an agonizing test of loyalty. But he's not the only one who'll be forced to test the ties of brotherhood. On Mandalore, clone deserters and the planet's own natives, who have no love for the Jedi, will have their most cherished beliefs challenged. In the savage new galactic order, old feuds may have to be set aside to unite against a far bigger threat, and nobody can take old loyalties for granted.

The first novel of the Kilo-Five Trilogy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss—part of the expanded universe based on the award-winning video game series Halo!2553. The theocratic military alliance known as the Covenant has collapsed after a long, brutal war with humanity that saw billions slaughtered on Earth and its colonies. For the first time in thirty years, however, peace finally seems possible. But though the fighting has stopped, the war is far from over: it’s just gone underground. The United Nations Space Command’s feared and secretive Office of Naval Intelligence recruits Kilo-Five—a clandestine team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, a Spartan super-soldier, and a diabolical AI—to accelerate the insurrection within the Covenant’s warrior species, the Sangheili, even as their notable defector-turned-leader Thel ‘Vadam—the Arbiter—struggles to stave off civil war among his divided people.Across the galaxy, a woman thought to have died in the Covenant attack on the planet Reach is actually very much alive. Chief scientist Dr. Catherine Halsey broke every law in the book to create the Spartan program, and now she’s broken some more rules to save them. Marooned with Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez and a Spartan team in a Forerunner slipspace bubble hidden in the destroyed planet Onyx, Halsey finds that this place has been guarding an ancient secret—a treasure trove of Forerunner technology that will change everything for the UNSC and mankind. As Kilo-Five joins the hunt for Halsey, humanity’s violent past begins to catch up with all of them as the disgruntled colony Venezia has been biding its time to strike at Earth…and its most dangerous terrorist has an old, painful link with both Halsey and Kilo-Five that will test everyone’s loyalty to the limit.

The thrilling short story collection featuring Jeff VanderMeer, Karen Traviss, and Eric Nylund—part of the expanded universe based on the New York Times bestselling video game series Halo!When humanity expanded beyond the safety of Earth to new stars and horizons, it never dreamed what dangers would be encounter there. When the theocratic alien juggernaut known as the Covenant declared war upon the fragile human empire, millions of lives were lost—but millions of heroes also rose to the challenge. In such a far-reaching conflict, not many tales of the brave have a chance to become legend. This collection of eleven stories dives into the depths of the vast Halo universe, not only from the perspective of those who fought and died to save humanity, but also from those who vowed to wipe it out of existence.

As the Clone Wars rage, victory or defeat lies in the hands of elite squads who take on the toughest assignments in the galaxy ... On a mission to sabotage a chemical weapon research facility on a Separatist-held planet, four clone troopers operate under the very noses of their enemies. The commandos are outnumbered and outgunned, deep behind enemy lines with no backup - and working with strangers instead of trusted team-mates. Matters don't improve when Darman, the squad's demolitions expert, gets separated from the others during planetfall. Even Darman's apparent good luck in meeting an inexperienced Padawan vanishes once Etain admits to her woeful inexperience.For the separated clone commandos and stranded Jedi, a long, dangerous journey lies ahead, through hostile territory brimming with Trandoshan slavers, Separatists, and suspicious natives. A single misstep could mean discovery ... and death. It's a virtual suicide mission for anyone - anyone except the Republic Commandos.

Star Wars Republic Commando: Triple Zero - the sequel to Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact - is set a year after the battle of Geonosis, and follows the continuing missions of Omega Squad. As the Clone Wars casualties mount, the commandos find themselves deployed on increasingly dangerous missions that take them beyond the battlefield and further into sabotage and intelligence operations in the heart of Separatist territory. Newly-promoted Jedi Generals Etain Tur-Mukan and Bardan Jusik are also catapulted into front line combat roles and find themselves identifying strongly with the clone soldiers under their command, who turn out to be anything but predictable cannon fodder. Then Omega Squad survives a close brush with disaster to end up in the most potentially dangerous hot spot in the galaxy.

The fourth novel in the Republic Commando series, where multiple storylines come to a head in the wake of Emperor Palpatine's issuing of the notorious Order 66. When the order comes through, the clone troopers of Delta and Omega squads must decide whether to turn on their Jedi generals - or to disregard the command and face dire consequences.

As the savage Clone Wars rage unchecked, the Republic's deadliest warriors face the grim truth that the Separatists aren't their only enemy - or even their worst. In the Grand Army's desperate fight to crush the Separatists, the secret special ops missions of its elite clone warriors have never been more critical ...or more dangerous. A growing menace threatens Republic victory, and the members of Omega Squad make a shocking discovery that shakes their loyalty. As the lines continue to blur between friend and enemy, citizens - from civilians and sergeants to Jedi and generals - find themselves up against a new foe: the doubt in their own hearts and minds. The truth is a fragile, shifting illusion - and only the approaching inferno will reveal both sides in their true colours.

Based on the blockbuster Xbox game, this is the stunning story of the men and women who stood between a planet and total destruction - and now have to face the consequences of their actions. After a brutal fifteen-year war for survival, the Coalition of Ordered Governments is forced to destroy mankind's last city in a final bid to stop the Locust Horde. As the survivors flee Jacinto, they must contend with the last of the Locust, bent on vengeance, as they struggle to stay alive in an icy wilderness. Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, and their fellow Gears fight to get Jacinto's refugees to a safe haven, but find themselves in a lawless new world where the enemy is human - and as desperate and dangerous as any grub. This novel is based on a computer game with an 18-rating.