way, I did what I was hired to do. ...there must be some folks who feel that I wrote the Chief out of character. That's news to me. All I can tell you is that the Bungie folks, who care deeply about the character and the universe never raised that issue, and approved the book as written. However, there's no doubt that every author is different, and will approach characters differently. So if Nylund's rendition of the Chief is different from my own in subtle ways that would be understandable. Despite the less enthusiastic response The Flood garnered than its predecessor, the book still sold well. Soon after release, The Flood made the Publishers Weekly top ten bestsellers paperback list. The next book in the series, Halo: First Strike, would be written by Eric Nylund and bridge the gap between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. See also Halo: Combat Evolved References Military science fiction novels Flood Novels set on fictional planets 2003 novels 2003 science fiction novels Del Rey books sv:Halo (bokserie)#Halo: The Flood