What is the chronological order of the Halo novels?

This is a question not easily answered. Although most Halo novels span time with no overlap, some of the Halo novels digress into history, or cover events that take place during the same time as the other novels.

Halo books in order

The quick answer? Using the bulk of each novel, many sources tend to agree to this order:

Halo: Forerunner Trilogy
Halo: Contact Harvest
Halo: The Cole Protocol
Halo: The Fall of Reach
Halo: The Flood
Halo: First Strike
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
Halo: Evolutions (spans from about a year before covenant war to six years after)

The long answer on the chronological order of the Halo novels?

Opinions differ across the net, and one of the most detailed timelines for the Halo novels can be found at wikipedia. Here is a list compiled from that source, including the Halo games into the timeline for comparison:

• Halo: Cryptum (Forerunner Trilogy: Book 1)
• Halo: Primordium (Forerunner Trilogy: Book 2)
• Halo: Silentium (Forerunner Trilogy: Book 3)
• Halo: Contact Harvest
• Halo: The Fall of Reach (prologue, section II)
• Halo Wars (Game)
• Halo: The Cole Protocol
• Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (sections 1-2)
• Halo: The Fall of Reach (section III – epilogue)
• Halo: First Strike (chapters 1-4, 12-14)
• Halo: REACH (Game)
• Halo (Game)
• Halo: The Flood
• Halo: First Strike (chapters 5-11, 15-epilogue)
• Halo: Evolutions (Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian)
• Halo 2, The Heretic – Metropolis (Game cutscene)
• Halo 3, ODST (Game)
• Halo 2, The Arbiter – The Great Journey (Game cutscene)
• Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (sections 3-7)
• Halo 3 (Game)
• Halo: Glasslands
• Halo: Evolutions

View entire timeline and info here at Wikipedia

On a side note, HBO (halo.bungie.org) compiled a timeline that can be found here. With a pretty cool detailed timeline for Halo 2 here. (or click image to open and view in new window)

Note from editor: “Long answer” list has been updated to replace Halo: Silentium into it’s placeholder, since it had not been announced at the time this post was published.