User blog comment:EpsilonIndi/Halo Tiers of Canon/@comment-4791684-20110208154618

You know, this does tie in with the issue many people, including myself, have had with recent "canon", mostly published by 343 Industries.

We were all surprised by how Bungie changed the dates of the Battle of Reach in Halo: Reach. But you have to realize that a planet as big and well defended as Reach simply won't fall in 1 day. When Eric Nylund wrote the first edition of The Fall of Reach in 2001, the idea was still in its early concepts, so you were bound to expect retcons 10 years later. So I think in this case, it'd be wise to follow the game datelines.

What's more, books tend to rely on the games for new content, and while they have introduced new concepts for Bungie (ODSTs, for example), we've often been confused about many things in the novels that have disrepancies with the universe. For example, the MJOLNIR Mk. V was apparently finalized in 2542, and the BR55 in 2548; yet Spartans have had neither until 2552. They also seemed to never encounter Elites, Brutes, or Hunters until that year either; yet other sources of canon say otherwise. You also see characters using weapons from an older Halo game when obviously the story they are in takes place at a time when they would have newer ones. This is because the story writers aren't working for Bungie, and therefore wouldn't have a clear idea on what they're planning next. They may have asked for details on some new characters or events (like the possible appearance of Thel 'Vadamee in First Strike; maybe Nylund thought his armour was always grey-ish black), but probably wouldn't be directly associated with any designs themselves; this is to say, when competing books with games, and with very few exceptions, trust the games.

Now, as for 343 Industries. I have voiced my concerns about their familiarity with Halo canon before, and some probably think I'm irrationally prejudiced against them. But just to clarify, while they have lost a lot of my trust in terms of capability, I think that the main issue is the transition. You see, Bungie is allowed to mess up their own storyline, because they're the creators of Halo, and should have a clear view of why they're changing something. It's like any of us writing fanon, and deciding that an idea doesn't work anymore, especially given all the additions to the ever-growing Halo universe. But 343 Industries' blunders are more due to the fact that they're new to this kind of thing. No matter how many specifics Bungie gives them, there's always bound to be something missing because it's hard to explain, and 343 Industries can't read their minds; just like collaborating with someone on Halo Fanon; no matter how brilliant they are at writing, if your styles different greatly, people are going to notice. So the best we can hope for is that 343 Industries will grow used to creating canon for the Halo universe, and until then, keep their less reliable content as lower-tier priority.

P.S. Don't buy the new version of the Fall of Reach; it has more mistakes than the first version. Either stick with the first edition, or hope that Nylund will release another copy that actually incorporates elements from Halo: Reach and/or doesn't replace every "2552" with "2542".