This should help, here's a link to [i]all[/i] the issues of the currently ongoing comic series Escalation which has some direct ties to Halo 5 - viewcomic.com/?s=Halo And here's a link to PDFs of the Halo Graphic Novel, Initiation, Uprising, Blood Line, and Helljumper - dropbox.com/sh/rp8dxqk07wjb3vu/AAAa-TDccTCCZz0_6WKr9Ieca?dl=0. As for the books, most of them are available to listen to as audiobooks on Youtube (for the extra ones you might not be able to afford). The most essential ones are: - Forerunner Saga, comprised of Cryptum, Primordium, and Silentium (the latter is the most important of the three, and probably the most important book of the lot). - Fall of Reach, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx explore the origins of the Spartan-II and III projects, along with the backstories of many of the Spartans (including the Master Chief). These are really old books now, they should be pretty cheap. - Glasslands and The Thursday War, the latter being the most important of what's known as the Kilo-5 trilogy. It explores the backstory of Jul 'Mdama and how he reforms the Covenant, tying directly into Halo 4 as he sets off to Requiem to find the Ur-Didact. It also serves as a continuation of Ghosts of Onyx. Those are the books I would classify as the MOST important, others may have different lists, but in terms of basic backstory that provides context for the major goings on in the Halo universe and a lot of the things that are relevant to the Reclaimer Saga, these are essential. The order I would advise you read these would be: - Fall of Reach - First Strike - Ghosts of Onyx - Glasslands - The Thursday War - Cryptum - Primordium - Silentium