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Halo #16
Halo: Hunters in the Dark
It is 2555, more than two years after the Master Chief went missing-in-action following a decisive conflict on Installation 00—the massive, extragalactic Forerunner construct known as the Ark—as part of the final chapter in humanity’s bloody thirty-year struggle against the overwhelming forces of the Covenant. Now, as a tenuous peace exists between the humans and the Elites, a startling scientific discovery is made…and the riddle behind its Forerunner origins could very well seal the fate of the entire galaxy within a matter of weeks. In order to unravel these dangerous secrets, a heroic, hastily formed coalition of humans and Elites must attempt to overcome their differences as they embark on a covert mission back to the Ark—an astonishing, enigmatic place beyond comprehension from which few have returned and where mortal danger awaits them all�
368 pages, Paperback
First published June 2, 2015
136 people are currently reading
2,241 people want to read
About the author
Peter David
3,490books1,336followersaka David Peters
Peter Allen David (often abbreviated PAD) is an American writer, best known for his work in comic books and Star Trek novels. David often jokingly describes his occupation as "Writer of Stuff". David is noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real world issues with humor and references to popular culture. He also uses metafiction frequently, usually to humorous effect, as in his work on the comic book Young Justice.
Peter Allen David (often abbreviated PAD) is an American writer, best known for his work in comic books and Star Trek novels. David often jokingly describes his occupation as "Writer of Stuff". David is noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real world issues with humor and references to popular culture. He also uses metafiction frequently, usually to humorous effect, as in his work on the comic book Young Justice.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
July 15, 2019
There are only so many stories one can watch/read/play in any given franchise before, eventually, the plots all start to threaten to run together into one giant narrative muck…and unfortunately, I think I’ve reached that point with “Halo.�
Don’t get me wrong � “Hunters in the Dark,� on its own terms, is a solid enough novel, telling a story that’s set primarily in or around the Ark post-Halo 3. It’s a great setting for a story, and writer Peter David, to his credit, does yeoman’s work exploiting the setting for all it’s worth; it also doesn’t hurt that he’s populated it with a cast of characters that are genuinely interesting and well-paired with one another. We care about this cadre of individuals, and we genuinely want to see them make it out of this treacerhous terrain, which goes a long way towards imbuing the novel with a sense of genuine stakes.
The problem � and really, it’s not a problem so much with “Hunters in the Dark� as it is the broader “Halo� franchise in general � is that these stories have begun to feel very, VERY familiar. There’s only so many books or comics that follow the same general trajectory � characters pursue and/or conflict over ancient Forerunner technology � that one can read before a sense of narrative fatigue begins to set in. Maybe the issue is less that the series is going through the same motions as it is that I've just happened to read too many "Halo" stories in too much proximity to one another � who knows. Regardless, I still can’t help but hope that the “Halo� franchise starts to take some more risks with the types of stories that it's telling, because - as things are now - the series is starting to feel just a wee bit stale.
Don’t get me wrong � “Hunters in the Dark,� on its own terms, is a solid enough novel, telling a story that’s set primarily in or around the Ark post-Halo 3. It’s a great setting for a story, and writer Peter David, to his credit, does yeoman’s work exploiting the setting for all it’s worth; it also doesn’t hurt that he’s populated it with a cast of characters that are genuinely interesting and well-paired with one another. We care about this cadre of individuals, and we genuinely want to see them make it out of this treacerhous terrain, which goes a long way towards imbuing the novel with a sense of genuine stakes.
The problem � and really, it’s not a problem so much with “Hunters in the Dark� as it is the broader “Halo� franchise in general � is that these stories have begun to feel very, VERY familiar. There’s only so many books or comics that follow the same general trajectory � characters pursue and/or conflict over ancient Forerunner technology � that one can read before a sense of narrative fatigue begins to set in. Maybe the issue is less that the series is going through the same motions as it is that I've just happened to read too many "Halo" stories in too much proximity to one another � who knows. Regardless, I still can’t help but hope that the “Halo� franchise starts to take some more risks with the types of stories that it's telling, because - as things are now - the series is starting to feel just a wee bit stale.
February 2, 2016
This is my favorite novel of the series. Looking back on it, ok, it has its problems. These stand-alone novels always feel like they should be longer, especially when they are introducing new characters almost every time. As such, the characters in this are far from fleshed out and there are far too many “main� characters, or at least characters of which we are privy to their internal thoughts. Perhaps if they had removed Richards� sections and replaced them with more Olympia/Luther it would have been better.
Other issues:
The relationship between Kodiak and N’Tho was actually quite entertaining, but it was kind of obvious how it ended. Besides, why was Kodiak pissed? He has a sweet robotic arm!
Bobby. Come on, out of all the people in the universe, it was ? Give me a break.
Rampancy. Clearly this novel deals with a case of AI breakdown, which we have been reading about time and time again in this series. It also wasn’t clear whether the AI had control of the entire Arc or just parts of it. You have some stories where the AIs are near omniscient due to their connectivity, which I would have presumed was the case here if he was a Forerunner creation. But parts of the Arc were damaged, so I guess that’s the explanation for why the humans/Elite could run around pretty much wherever they wanted.
Also, why did Solitude want Olympia again? And why did he tell her his evil plans ad nauseum? Is he a James Bond villain?
Luther. He was kinda all over the place. First he’s a scientist. Then he’s a bad-ass sniper. Then he’s a family man? If he was the central character these things might have made him well-rounded, but because he was competing for the spotlight it just came out of nowhere. Though I did enjoy when he went on that rampage. Ha.
Same with Olympia. We don’t get nearly enough of her back story/personality to make her the main character either.
Yet, despite these flaws, I really enjoyed reading it. The author had a pleasant prose that strode the line quite well between moving the story forward and describing the surroundings. The novel didn’t feel rushed. I enjoyed the action scenes and dialogue. The way his Sangheili spoke and the way they acted was well done and consistent, but the Elites weren't just clones of another (Usze and N'tho were distinguishable from one another). I also liked how there were ideological and cultural differences between the two races which raised doubts about motives. For example, how Kodiak often found it hard to read into what N’tho was saying, unsure not just what his comments/actions were also indicative of, but even if the Elite was being (for example) sarcastic. This made sense to me and it was interesting to see the two races begin to understand one another more as the story went on.
I am also very fond of quest novels, which this one clearly was. I can’t help it � anytime a group of people are thrust into a situation where they have to travel together, bond as a team, and complete an objective, I just love it. I guess because anything could happen in a quest novel so I find it exciting. A killer tree? Didn’t see that coming!
The Sangheili and humans having to work together? I’ve been waiting for this novel for awhile. I just love aliens. I blame Star Trek, but video games and other novels made me a complete xenophile. I always tell my husband that my celebrity pass is any future alien we make contact with. Then he makes jokes about tentacle monsters. But really, it’s because he’s jealous.
Which leads me into my favorite aspect of this novel. I’m well prepared for four possible reactions from anyone who is still reading this overly-wordy and almost nonsensical review. 1. Tina, you’re crazy. 2. Tina, you’re reading too much into this novel. 3. Tina, this is not Mass Effect. 4. Tina, you’re gross � why would you even want to read about this?
So, without further apologies � my favorite part of this novel was that, I swear, there was something going on between Olympia and Usze. I mean, she clearly had no interest in Holt (when he repeatedly propositioned her), Usze and Olympia were always chatting, he claimed she was “interesting�, and he instantly joined the team that went to find her when she took off. Oh, and the time he carried her? And, then that little scene at the end? Come on, you can’t tell me there wasn’t something there. Sigh. Besides, I'm doing to call on my buddy Derrida to say "there is nothing outside the text", so I can interpret this novel any way I want.
Other issues:
The relationship between Kodiak and N’Tho was actually quite entertaining, but it was kind of obvious how it ended. Besides, why was Kodiak pissed? He has a sweet robotic arm!
Bobby. Come on, out of all the people in the universe, it was ? Give me a break.
Rampancy. Clearly this novel deals with a case of AI breakdown, which we have been reading about time and time again in this series. It also wasn’t clear whether the AI had control of the entire Arc or just parts of it. You have some stories where the AIs are near omniscient due to their connectivity, which I would have presumed was the case here if he was a Forerunner creation. But parts of the Arc were damaged, so I guess that’s the explanation for why the humans/Elite could run around pretty much wherever they wanted.
Also, why did Solitude want Olympia again? And why did he tell her his evil plans ad nauseum? Is he a James Bond villain?
Luther. He was kinda all over the place. First he’s a scientist. Then he’s a bad-ass sniper. Then he’s a family man? If he was the central character these things might have made him well-rounded, but because he was competing for the spotlight it just came out of nowhere. Though I did enjoy when he went on that rampage. Ha.
Same with Olympia. We don’t get nearly enough of her back story/personality to make her the main character either.
Yet, despite these flaws, I really enjoyed reading it. The author had a pleasant prose that strode the line quite well between moving the story forward and describing the surroundings. The novel didn’t feel rushed. I enjoyed the action scenes and dialogue. The way his Sangheili spoke and the way they acted was well done and consistent, but the Elites weren't just clones of another (Usze and N'tho were distinguishable from one another). I also liked how there were ideological and cultural differences between the two races which raised doubts about motives. For example, how Kodiak often found it hard to read into what N’tho was saying, unsure not just what his comments/actions were also indicative of, but even if the Elite was being (for example) sarcastic. This made sense to me and it was interesting to see the two races begin to understand one another more as the story went on.
I am also very fond of quest novels, which this one clearly was. I can’t help it � anytime a group of people are thrust into a situation where they have to travel together, bond as a team, and complete an objective, I just love it. I guess because anything could happen in a quest novel so I find it exciting. A killer tree? Didn’t see that coming!
The Sangheili and humans having to work together? I’ve been waiting for this novel for awhile. I just love aliens. I blame Star Trek, but video games and other novels made me a complete xenophile. I always tell my husband that my celebrity pass is any future alien we make contact with. Then he makes jokes about tentacle monsters. But really, it’s because he’s jealous.
Which leads me into my favorite aspect of this novel. I’m well prepared for four possible reactions from anyone who is still reading this overly-wordy and almost nonsensical review. 1. Tina, you’re crazy. 2. Tina, you’re reading too much into this novel. 3. Tina, this is not Mass Effect. 4. Tina, you’re gross � why would you even want to read about this?
So, without further apologies � my favorite part of this novel was that, I swear, there was something going on between Olympia and Usze. I mean, she clearly had no interest in Holt (when he repeatedly propositioned her), Usze and Olympia were always chatting, he claimed she was “interesting�, and he instantly joined the team that went to find her when she took off. Oh, and the time he carried her? And, then that little scene at the end? Come on, you can’t tell me there wasn’t something there. Sigh. Besides, I'm doing to call on my buddy Derrida to say "there is nothing outside the text", so I can interpret this novel any way I want.
July 8, 2015
There are countless other references to events and characters throughout the book, available for any lore fan to pluck at. Importantly though, Hunters in the Dark still stands on its own as a novel. Despite the wealth of canon that it draws from, it’s not bogged down in references nor does it feel like a rip-off of other Halo media. No other Halo novel is required to understand or follow. Hunters in the Dark owns its story and owns its characters.
A core theme of Hunters in the Dark seems to be reconciliation. In contrast to the Kilo-Five trilogy, which highlighted where even the best intentions can fail, Hunters shows that conjoined efforts can push through deep-rooted animosity. Hunters also seems to stress that for reconciliation to work, there has to be a change of heart(s), not just outward appearances.
In Genreflecting (7th edition), “Science fiction is defined as the literature of ‘what if.� Author Philip K. Dick probably put it best: ‘The SF writer sees not just possibilities but while possibilities. It’s not just “what if� � it’s “My God; what if,� in frenzy and hysteria. The Martians are always coming’� (Genre, pp 340). This is a positive spin on the “what if?� What if these species were able to reconcile? What if they were capable of working together? What if humanity was no longer alone in this aggressive universe? This positive spin makes Hunters in the Dark the most optimistic of the Halo novels, and that’s very refreshing.
(From my analysis on Halo Archive: )
A core theme of Hunters in the Dark seems to be reconciliation. In contrast to the Kilo-Five trilogy, which highlighted where even the best intentions can fail, Hunters shows that conjoined efforts can push through deep-rooted animosity. Hunters also seems to stress that for reconciliation to work, there has to be a change of heart(s), not just outward appearances.
In Genreflecting (7th edition), “Science fiction is defined as the literature of ‘what if.� Author Philip K. Dick probably put it best: ‘The SF writer sees not just possibilities but while possibilities. It’s not just “what if� � it’s “My God; what if,� in frenzy and hysteria. The Martians are always coming’� (Genre, pp 340). This is a positive spin on the “what if?� What if these species were able to reconcile? What if they were capable of working together? What if humanity was no longer alone in this aggressive universe? This positive spin makes Hunters in the Dark the most optimistic of the Halo novels, and that’s very refreshing.
(From my analysis on Halo Archive: )
July 25, 2022
(Light Spoilers)
Wow, this was great stuff. I am once again in awe of how good a video game book series is. I'm serious when I say more people should be reading these books. Halo is my favorite series ever, so maybe I'm a bit biased. But believe me when I tell you these books are a delight. I highly recommend you play the actual games as well, though. The mixed experience is beyond words. Buy the Master Chief Collection right now and start playing the games. Then do yourself a favour and pick up The Fall of Reach to start your journey on the books.
The whole 'Ark' Arc (see what I did there?) was quite interesting in this book. The Arbiter was in here only briefly, but his brief presence still gets points. Any Arbiter is good Arbiter. This book was surprisingly dark as well. I loved it.
However, I will say the name sucks. The name does not convey anything about the book's actual plot. The cover art as well. They both make it seem like this is a small, isolated story about hunting raptors or some such nonsense. When in reality, this book is about a massive event in the universe that threatens its very existence. The scope is far, far beyond what the title and cover lead you to believe. I don't quite understand what they were thinking.
Wow, this was great stuff. I am once again in awe of how good a video game book series is. I'm serious when I say more people should be reading these books. Halo is my favorite series ever, so maybe I'm a bit biased. But believe me when I tell you these books are a delight. I highly recommend you play the actual games as well, though. The mixed experience is beyond words. Buy the Master Chief Collection right now and start playing the games. Then do yourself a favour and pick up The Fall of Reach to start your journey on the books.
The whole 'Ark' Arc (see what I did there?) was quite interesting in this book. The Arbiter was in here only briefly, but his brief presence still gets points. Any Arbiter is good Arbiter. This book was surprisingly dark as well. I loved it.
However, I will say the name sucks. The name does not convey anything about the book's actual plot. The cover art as well. They both make it seem like this is a small, isolated story about hunting raptors or some such nonsense. When in reality, this book is about a massive event in the universe that threatens its very existence. The scope is far, far beyond what the title and cover lead you to believe. I don't quite understand what they were thinking.
June 22, 2015
Promises not delivered
The book had a very good set up to begin with but lacked the development of plot and characters. Blending of two species was praiseworthy though. All in all disappointed!
The book had a very good set up to begin with but lacked the development of plot and characters. Blending of two species was praiseworthy though. All in all disappointed!
August 4, 2015
Having played the Halo games, I never ventured into Halo novels, until now. In Hunters in the Dark, Peter David sets up an adventure story with a mixed, colorful cast of characters as they go through the portal on Earth to the remnants of the Ark. There they must stop a demented monitor from wiping out all sentient life in the universe. For so a daring mission, the human and Covenant forces send a team of Spartans, Elites and scientists to find the Ark and the cause for the trouble. Alas, the story falls short of delivering a fun and entertaining read. Peter David’s prowse, plotting and characterizations run shallow, predictable and mundane. It loses a lot of steam once they reach the Ark, and the story never manages regain that level of interest. This is certainly a book you can skip. Fair warning, plenty of spoilers after this point.
Oddly enough, the beginning of the story focused on a pair of intellectuals. One of the primary characters is an expert on the Forerunners named Luther. His companion is an engineer named Henry who also focuses on Forerunner technology. There is a good amount of page time spent with these two as they explore the mysteries of the Forerunners, the Halo rings, and eventually the Ark. However, while that could have been a good thing, none of those mysteries are ever intended for the reader. They’re simply plot hurdles for the characters, and after some hand waving, the obstacles disappear. Thus the mysteries of the Forerunners remain mysteries to the readers, even if the characters themselves supposedly learned something. It’s just one of numerous missed opportunities that could have made the story better.
Complementing the scientists, the story throws in a pair of Spartans and a pair of Elites. Now playing through the Halo games, the Spartans are fairly impressive warriors. The Master Chief creates a mythos to them that sadly the two Spartans in this book do little to warrant. Spartan Kodiak is simple minded warrior who still holds a grudge against the Covenant even though the war is over. He lost an arm to an Elite named N’tho ‘Sraom and a brother to a secret mission to the Ark. That sums up the entirety of his character. The other Spartan is a guy named Holt who unabashedly, and unexplainably, grovels over Olympia Vale, even though she’s married and show no interest in him. He’s more chatty than Kodiak, but he gets even less character development. In fact, her gets zero character development. Where he starts is where he finishes. There’s absolutely no character evolution for him at all.
The two Elites are almost mirrors of the Spartans. Usze Taham gets a nice little passage in the beginning when hunts down a heretic, but after that, he’s just a throwaway piece of scenery that occasional stabs things and says some unimaginative piece of action dialog. The other Elite is of course N’tho, which does add some nice tension to the story. N’tho and Kodiak fight each other and come to an uneasy working agreement to do their jobs. Regrettably the tension had more potential than what was actually done in the story. All four characters become pretty boring after a while when it becomes evident that there isn’t much to any of them. Of the four, Kodiak gets the most character development simply because he gets over his hatred for N’tho and manages to find his brother. But even that isn’t saying much since there isn’t a whole lot for readers to attach on to.
Rounding out the cast, there is a Huragok named Drifts Randomly, a USNC captain named Annabelle Richards, and a language expert named Olympia Vale who is sent to mediate between the humans and the Sangheili on the mission. Drifts Randomly remains a side character for the entire book and shows up whenever the plot requires some hand waving to remove an obstacle or heal and injury. Captain Richards starts out with a prominent role being in charge of the human force, but is quickly taken down a peg when the Elites forcibly take control of the mission and sideline her and her authority. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she then gets injured as it completely sidelined from the story. Vale on the other had is probably the oddest character in the book. She can fluently speak Sangheili, so she is sent along to help maintain cooperation during the mission. However she never mediates anything between the two sides. Instead Kodiak and N’tho, and Captain Richards and N’tho all work out their differences by themselves. Eventually Vale conveniently gets mind controlled, captured by the monitor, and unsuccessfully tries to talk the monitor out of destroying Earth. At the end of the book, they of course are triumphant and save the day, but Vale is upset that she was unable to to mediate with the monitor. She gets one fight scene which warrants a compliment from Kodiak who says she should become a Spartan. All in all it’s a very underwhelming character journey for her.
Just to clarify some of the flaws with the story, let me provide some examples. For instance, there’s Spartan Holt, who in his once chance of character insight reveals his greatest strength is having no imagination. Seriously, he says this in the story elaborating how not being able to creatively think gives him an edge in battle. I’m still not sure how any reader on the entire planet is suppose to believe that one. Then there’s the N’tho the Sangheili Elite who commands his ship in battle. It’s a great moment to showcase his leadership abilities. However, what happens is he orders his crew “Fire on that vessel.� Then “fire on that vessel�. Eventually he comes up with a grand idea to really underline his tactical brilliance, “ram the ship!� It was easily the worst dialog I’ve ever read of a ship captain commanding a vessel. On top of all this, the ONI, which is suppose to be the intelligence force for the humans, sends to prejudiced operatives on the joint task force to save the universe. The story takes great pride in pointing this out, showcasing how Kodiak can barely contain his hatred for the Sangheili, and Captain Richards complete disdain for the Sangheili. Yet even with all of that, I think the worst element of the story was when the author used mind control on Vale to take her out of picture and put her in captivity. It completely undermined the strength of her character and weakened the entire story. Add to it Kodiak’s hatred toward N’tho undermining the strength of his character, Richards getting sidelined, and a handful of shallow warriors, and you get a very uninspiring cast of characters.
In the end, Hunters in the Dark is a weak story with a weak plot and weak characters. As my first foray into Halo literature, it was a terrible experience. I’m not prepared to give up on the franchise yet as a bad book is often the fault of a bad writer and not a bad setting. Thus I’ll try a couple more Halo books before I give up on it. That said, it’s unlikely I’ll ever read another book by Peter David. I give this one two out of five metal bikinis. While it wasn’t a completely awful book, it’s certainly not a story I’d recommend to anyone.
Oddly enough, the beginning of the story focused on a pair of intellectuals. One of the primary characters is an expert on the Forerunners named Luther. His companion is an engineer named Henry who also focuses on Forerunner technology. There is a good amount of page time spent with these two as they explore the mysteries of the Forerunners, the Halo rings, and eventually the Ark. However, while that could have been a good thing, none of those mysteries are ever intended for the reader. They’re simply plot hurdles for the characters, and after some hand waving, the obstacles disappear. Thus the mysteries of the Forerunners remain mysteries to the readers, even if the characters themselves supposedly learned something. It’s just one of numerous missed opportunities that could have made the story better.
Complementing the scientists, the story throws in a pair of Spartans and a pair of Elites. Now playing through the Halo games, the Spartans are fairly impressive warriors. The Master Chief creates a mythos to them that sadly the two Spartans in this book do little to warrant. Spartan Kodiak is simple minded warrior who still holds a grudge against the Covenant even though the war is over. He lost an arm to an Elite named N’tho ‘Sraom and a brother to a secret mission to the Ark. That sums up the entirety of his character. The other Spartan is a guy named Holt who unabashedly, and unexplainably, grovels over Olympia Vale, even though she’s married and show no interest in him. He’s more chatty than Kodiak, but he gets even less character development. In fact, her gets zero character development. Where he starts is where he finishes. There’s absolutely no character evolution for him at all.
The two Elites are almost mirrors of the Spartans. Usze Taham gets a nice little passage in the beginning when hunts down a heretic, but after that, he’s just a throwaway piece of scenery that occasional stabs things and says some unimaginative piece of action dialog. The other Elite is of course N’tho, which does add some nice tension to the story. N’tho and Kodiak fight each other and come to an uneasy working agreement to do their jobs. Regrettably the tension had more potential than what was actually done in the story. All four characters become pretty boring after a while when it becomes evident that there isn’t much to any of them. Of the four, Kodiak gets the most character development simply because he gets over his hatred for N’tho and manages to find his brother. But even that isn’t saying much since there isn’t a whole lot for readers to attach on to.
Rounding out the cast, there is a Huragok named Drifts Randomly, a USNC captain named Annabelle Richards, and a language expert named Olympia Vale who is sent to mediate between the humans and the Sangheili on the mission. Drifts Randomly remains a side character for the entire book and shows up whenever the plot requires some hand waving to remove an obstacle or heal and injury. Captain Richards starts out with a prominent role being in charge of the human force, but is quickly taken down a peg when the Elites forcibly take control of the mission and sideline her and her authority. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she then gets injured as it completely sidelined from the story. Vale on the other had is probably the oddest character in the book. She can fluently speak Sangheili, so she is sent along to help maintain cooperation during the mission. However she never mediates anything between the two sides. Instead Kodiak and N’tho, and Captain Richards and N’tho all work out their differences by themselves. Eventually Vale conveniently gets mind controlled, captured by the monitor, and unsuccessfully tries to talk the monitor out of destroying Earth. At the end of the book, they of course are triumphant and save the day, but Vale is upset that she was unable to to mediate with the monitor. She gets one fight scene which warrants a compliment from Kodiak who says she should become a Spartan. All in all it’s a very underwhelming character journey for her.
Just to clarify some of the flaws with the story, let me provide some examples. For instance, there’s Spartan Holt, who in his once chance of character insight reveals his greatest strength is having no imagination. Seriously, he says this in the story elaborating how not being able to creatively think gives him an edge in battle. I’m still not sure how any reader on the entire planet is suppose to believe that one. Then there’s the N’tho the Sangheili Elite who commands his ship in battle. It’s a great moment to showcase his leadership abilities. However, what happens is he orders his crew “Fire on that vessel.� Then “fire on that vessel�. Eventually he comes up with a grand idea to really underline his tactical brilliance, “ram the ship!� It was easily the worst dialog I’ve ever read of a ship captain commanding a vessel. On top of all this, the ONI, which is suppose to be the intelligence force for the humans, sends to prejudiced operatives on the joint task force to save the universe. The story takes great pride in pointing this out, showcasing how Kodiak can barely contain his hatred for the Sangheili, and Captain Richards complete disdain for the Sangheili. Yet even with all of that, I think the worst element of the story was when the author used mind control on Vale to take her out of picture and put her in captivity. It completely undermined the strength of her character and weakened the entire story. Add to it Kodiak’s hatred toward N’tho undermining the strength of his character, Richards getting sidelined, and a handful of shallow warriors, and you get a very uninspiring cast of characters.
In the end, Hunters in the Dark is a weak story with a weak plot and weak characters. As my first foray into Halo literature, it was a terrible experience. I’m not prepared to give up on the franchise yet as a bad book is often the fault of a bad writer and not a bad setting. Thus I’ll try a couple more Halo books before I give up on it. That said, it’s unlikely I’ll ever read another book by Peter David. I give this one two out of five metal bikinis. While it wasn’t a completely awful book, it’s certainly not a story I’d recommend to anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2015
I wanted to love this one. I was ready to love it. I did not love it.
Things start off really prominently. I love the Elites (they're my favorite aspect of the Halo universe) and to see them in a prominent role was an excellent beginning. Even more exciting (and more proof for how much of a nerd I am), I quickly recognized that Uzse Taham and N'tho Sroam were the names of the Elite characters you would play as in four-player co-op mode in Halo 3's campaign. How cool is that? Very cool, for the Sangheili-inclined.
Then you have Olympia Vale, who's going to be a part of the upcoming Halo 5 game (and voiced by fan favorite VA Laura Bailey), so getting introduced to her character also feels promising. And we're going back to the Ark! So much potential!
Other characters just feel . . . off. Luther Mann, scientist, sharpshooter, sometimes badass? Or Captain Richards, who basically disappears for the bulk of the plot despite being introduced and developed as though she's going to be a major character?
Here's the problem: we're given this tantalizing scenario: the Halos have come online again and are going to fire. We get a diverse cast together to deal with the problem. We had back to the Ark, which we (the audience) haven't seen since Halo 3 in 2007.
And then . . . nothing really comes of it. The plot feels disconnected, with too much walking from place to place. The antagonist's motivations don't feel authentic or fully conceived and things are resolved too quickly and too easily. A fleet of Forerunner robots swarms earth and are defeated in about twenty pages. Wait, what?
Most of all, though, is the problem that this book just didn't feel "Halo" to me. Obviously, each writer is going to put his or her own unique spin on a shared universe, but I didn't get a sense that the author really "got" this universe. I could easily imagine everything about this story having the Halo serial numbers filed off and it would translate seamlessly to another universe. Which means we're dealing with some pretty generic space-based science fiction. And that's too bad, because I felt like there was a lot of potential here.
Things start off really prominently. I love the Elites (they're my favorite aspect of the Halo universe) and to see them in a prominent role was an excellent beginning. Even more exciting (and more proof for how much of a nerd I am), I quickly recognized that Uzse Taham and N'tho Sroam were the names of the Elite characters you would play as in four-player co-op mode in Halo 3's campaign. How cool is that? Very cool, for the Sangheili-inclined.
Then you have Olympia Vale, who's going to be a part of the upcoming Halo 5 game (and voiced by fan favorite VA Laura Bailey), so getting introduced to her character also feels promising. And we're going back to the Ark! So much potential!
Other characters just feel . . . off. Luther Mann, scientist, sharpshooter, sometimes badass? Or Captain Richards, who basically disappears for the bulk of the plot despite being introduced and developed as though she's going to be a major character?
Here's the problem: we're given this tantalizing scenario: the Halos have come online again and are going to fire. We get a diverse cast together to deal with the problem. We had back to the Ark, which we (the audience) haven't seen since Halo 3 in 2007.
And then . . . nothing really comes of it. The plot feels disconnected, with too much walking from place to place. The antagonist's motivations don't feel authentic or fully conceived and things are resolved too quickly and too easily. A fleet of Forerunner robots swarms earth and are defeated in about twenty pages. Wait, what?
Most of all, though, is the problem that this book just didn't feel "Halo" to me. Obviously, each writer is going to put his or her own unique spin on a shared universe, but I didn't get a sense that the author really "got" this universe. I could easily imagine everything about this story having the Halo serial numbers filed off and it would translate seamlessly to another universe. Which means we're dealing with some pretty generic space-based science fiction. And that's too bad, because I felt like there was a lot of potential here.
April 2, 2016
I criticized a couple of Halo books in the past but this was the first one that I was genuinely disappointed with. I was excited when I first started reading it; I thought it was interesting, had a lot of promise, and I could not wait to read on. But as the book advanced I became concerned as I noticed how far it had come and yet nothing significant had been addressed.
It is like the plot promised you a wonderful three course meal and then just forgot to serve them. It would not be a big problem, if the book was just the first in a series but being just a stand-alone novel, the story takes too long to setup and when it finally gets going seems like the author no longer had enough space to give the story the attention it deserved.
It runs short, as it were, with a clear need to wrap everything up that just does a disservice to the original plot; there are too many unanswered questions that the author just has to quickly wrap up, and with simply too many characters for most of them to ever develop or have a purpose in the story. Many of the characters are simply just a name on the page, with zero personality.
The book has all the necessary pieces to be a good addition to the Halo universe but somehow they they never come together, and just appear like impostors; a poorly constructed stage where the movie audience can easily see how the filmmakers cheated.
It is like the plot promised you a wonderful three course meal and then just forgot to serve them. It would not be a big problem, if the book was just the first in a series but being just a stand-alone novel, the story takes too long to setup and when it finally gets going seems like the author no longer had enough space to give the story the attention it deserved.
It runs short, as it were, with a clear need to wrap everything up that just does a disservice to the original plot; there are too many unanswered questions that the author just has to quickly wrap up, and with simply too many characters for most of them to ever develop or have a purpose in the story. Many of the characters are simply just a name on the page, with zero personality.
The book has all the necessary pieces to be a good addition to the Halo universe but somehow they they never come together, and just appear like impostors; a poorly constructed stage where the movie audience can easily see how the filmmakers cheated.
July 15, 2015
When this book was announced, I was immediately excited about it. I have read a few other books by Peter David, and he is a quality Sci-Fi author. I'm glad he was able to get a foot in the Halo franchise. I know he has helped with some of the comic books, but I'm glad he got a chance at a full-length novel!
The book definitely delivers on what I believe 343 wanted to push in preparation for Halo 5: Guardians. The introduction of Olympia Vale was extremely well done. Her character is very intriguing, and I definitely want to learn more about how she ends up becoming a Spartan who joins Locke's team.
The setup for the story was phenomenal. Fans of Halo 3 will get all nostalgic in many places as they return to familiar places within the structures residing on the Ark. We also get to see some old familiar faces, like Admiral Hood and the Arbiter. The new characters were well-done, too. Vale, obviously was great. Luther Mann was also a fun guy to read about. N'tho ended up being one of my favorites. Even Kodiak's character was created and executed well for the most part. I also enjoyed reading Tragic Solitude was also intriguing, but my biggest issue with this book resides around him. More to come on that. The other characters were a lot a of meh to me. Henry Lamb, who had potential in the beginning, didn't amount to much in my eyes, .
The stress between the humans and the Sangheili was a terrific ingredient to add to the recipe of this book. It made the conflict feel a little more real.
Ok, so about Tragic Solitude...
The book definitely works as a standalone novel, but I would highly recommend reading some of the other books, as there are many references made to them, like Ghosts of Onyx, as well as the Kilo Five trilogy.
After completing the book, I had to go back and reread the prologue, and I'm glad I did. It helped me connect a very important character that comes into play later on in the book.
The book definitely delivers on what I believe 343 wanted to push in preparation for Halo 5: Guardians. The introduction of Olympia Vale was extremely well done. Her character is very intriguing, and I definitely want to learn more about how she ends up becoming a Spartan who joins Locke's team.
The setup for the story was phenomenal. Fans of Halo 3 will get all nostalgic in many places as they return to familiar places within the structures residing on the Ark. We also get to see some old familiar faces, like Admiral Hood and the Arbiter. The new characters were well-done, too. Vale, obviously was great. Luther Mann was also a fun guy to read about. N'tho ended up being one of my favorites. Even Kodiak's character was created and executed well for the most part. I also enjoyed reading Tragic Solitude was also intriguing, but my biggest issue with this book resides around him. More to come on that. The other characters were a lot a of meh to me. Henry Lamb, who had potential in the beginning, didn't amount to much in my eyes, .
The stress between the humans and the Sangheili was a terrific ingredient to add to the recipe of this book. It made the conflict feel a little more real.
Ok, so about Tragic Solitude...
The book definitely works as a standalone novel, but I would highly recommend reading some of the other books, as there are many references made to them, like Ghosts of Onyx, as well as the Kilo Five trilogy.
After completing the book, I had to go back and reread the prologue, and I'm glad I did. It helped me connect a very important character that comes into play later on in the book.
October 29, 2016
Not the greatest Halo book out there.
I was hoping for something more because of the whole truce between humans and sangheili. I loved Luther Mann's backstory on how he loves to study the Covenant but Olympia Vale was poorly introduced. Where did she come from exactly? Everyone acts like she's all that and one thing I can't stand is the shipping of her and Usze just because there were a couple of pages in two chapters where they interact. Usze tells us about himself in a whole page, for some reason finds Vale an interesting human, and saves her when the portal malfunctions.
That my friends is all that happens between them so I find the shipping of them to be illogical as fuck. I can't believe some Halo fans are shocked that I don't support it. Most shippings out there are pretty irrational anyway.
Fans, if you really want to ship characters in this book, ship Vale and Holt instead. Much more interaction between them.
Kodiak is your typical Spartan with a long time grudge and points his gun at everything and I've already seen enough of that since Halo was handed to 343. As someone who loves the aliens more than the UNSC, do you really have to point your gun at anything and everything that is non-human. It may not even be a threat!
I felt like the story in this book was too rushed in my opinion, and I read sci-fi books with much more development than this.
I was hoping for something more because of the whole truce between humans and sangheili. I loved Luther Mann's backstory on how he loves to study the Covenant but Olympia Vale was poorly introduced. Where did she come from exactly? Everyone acts like she's all that and one thing I can't stand is the shipping of her and Usze just because there were a couple of pages in two chapters where they interact. Usze tells us about himself in a whole page, for some reason finds Vale an interesting human, and saves her when the portal malfunctions.
That my friends is all that happens between them so I find the shipping of them to be illogical as fuck. I can't believe some Halo fans are shocked that I don't support it. Most shippings out there are pretty irrational anyway.
Fans, if you really want to ship characters in this book, ship Vale and Holt instead. Much more interaction between them.
Kodiak is your typical Spartan with a long time grudge and points his gun at everything and I've already seen enough of that since Halo was handed to 343. As someone who loves the aliens more than the UNSC, do you really have to point your gun at anything and everything that is non-human. It may not even be a threat!
I felt like the story in this book was too rushed in my opinion, and I read sci-fi books with much more development than this.
May 2, 2021
This fucking rules
August 1, 2020
Hate to say it, but this is the worst novel in the Halo franchise I've read so far.
Overused story tropes, weird clichés, established characters acting nothing like they do in canon and an insane amount of exposition that just made me groan.
Also the main character has been endowed with a weird superman-like motif that never gets explained.
I'm sure this guy has written other books that people like but, if you're a fan of Halo, I would recommend you skip this one.
Overused story tropes, weird clichés, established characters acting nothing like they do in canon and an insane amount of exposition that just made me groan.
Also the main character has been endowed with a weird superman-like motif that never gets explained.
I'm sure this guy has written other books that people like but, if you're a fan of Halo, I would recommend you skip this one.
May 28, 2016
Oh mein Gott.
Diese Spannung!
[Actual Review will follow!]
Diese Spannung!
[Actual Review will follow!]
August 17, 2016
A solid read, even if you don't know much about the world of HALO.
October 25, 2021
Halo: Hunters in the Darkby Peter David is a video game tie-in novel based of the Halo video game franchise.
Taking place between the gamesHalo 4andHalo 5: Guardians.The Master Chief is still MIA, and there is both an old and a new threat: the Halo Array has mysteriously been activated again, and it is up to a team of an unlikely pair of scientists, a handful of SPARTAN-IVs, Sangheili warriors with interesting histories, and an unlikely Huragok to stop the Halo Array from firing and tackle an unforeseen threat.
A trait that makes this book so readable for Halo fans is that it introduces Olympia Vale, whom we first met inHalo 5: Guardianson SPARTAN Locke’s fireteam. This is before she is a SPARTAN-IV, and the book doesn’t get into how she became a SPARTAN, although it does tease you towards the end with her preliminary thoughts of becoming one.
Halo 3fans also go on a nostalgia trip as they return to the Ark and other familiar places in this story, which is the locale of the Halo Array having been reactivated. There are a few cameo appearances as well, such as Admiral Lord Hood, the Arbiter, and even Serin Osman from previous books (if you can’t remember, she became head of ONI after Margaret Parangosky’s resignation).
The new characters were enjoyable reads. Luther Mann, the main character and lead Forerunner scientist on the team, has a captivating backstory to his professional vocation and drive. The Sangheili N’tho has a neat backstory with SPARTAN Kodiak before he became a Spartan. The main antagonist was especially captivating, which I will not reveal here lest I spoil it (I did not see it coming, so I don’t want to ruin the experience for future readers).
However, the other Forerunner scientist, Henry Lamb, was a bit underwhelming. He was essentially the comic relief and I didn’t become too attached to him. He was a nice element to the team in the story, but he could’ve been developed better.
I also expected there to be a lot more deaths of leading characters and even a few insignificant ones. Aside from the deaths of a few nameless Marines, there was hardly any deaths that affect the reader.
A nice touch to the book was also the tensions between the Humans and the Sangheili.Halo 4begins with the alliance between the Humans and the Sangheili and other races after the Covenant War. As this book takes places before the events ofHalo 4,Hunters in the Darktakes a look at the tensions that take place between the Humans and Sangheili on both a collective and individual level after so many decades of war against each other. This tension is seen especially in the team that embarks on their perilous mission to the Ark.
Some say Hunters in the Dark works wellas a standalone novel. I agree and I disagree. On the one hand, if you haven’t played a single Halo game or read a single Halo book, the plot will become especially lost on the reader as well as a few details of this book. There are references to previous books likeGhosts of Onyxand theKilo Fivetrilogy, for example. When these come up inHunters in the Dark,they’ll appear as insignificant or confusing to the reader when they actually play a vital role insofar as the continuity of lore is concerned.
On the other hand, if you have played Halo 3throughHalo 5,you will still get agood sense of what’s going on even if you haven’t read any other Halo books. Still, however, you won’t get the significance of some of the details of cameos and throwbacks to earlier books that are just too cool to pass up. It’s worth reading all the other books before getting to this one in the timeline.
Overall, Halo: Hunters In the Dark tells an interesting side story of unlikely heroes coming together to save the galaxy. I would definitely highly recommend the book for Halo fans who want to know more about the Halo lore or anyone looking for a good Military sci-fi read.
Taking place between the gamesHalo 4andHalo 5: Guardians.The Master Chief is still MIA, and there is both an old and a new threat: the Halo Array has mysteriously been activated again, and it is up to a team of an unlikely pair of scientists, a handful of SPARTAN-IVs, Sangheili warriors with interesting histories, and an unlikely Huragok to stop the Halo Array from firing and tackle an unforeseen threat.
A trait that makes this book so readable for Halo fans is that it introduces Olympia Vale, whom we first met inHalo 5: Guardianson SPARTAN Locke’s fireteam. This is before she is a SPARTAN-IV, and the book doesn’t get into how she became a SPARTAN, although it does tease you towards the end with her preliminary thoughts of becoming one.
Halo 3fans also go on a nostalgia trip as they return to the Ark and other familiar places in this story, which is the locale of the Halo Array having been reactivated. There are a few cameo appearances as well, such as Admiral Lord Hood, the Arbiter, and even Serin Osman from previous books (if you can’t remember, she became head of ONI after Margaret Parangosky’s resignation).
The new characters were enjoyable reads. Luther Mann, the main character and lead Forerunner scientist on the team, has a captivating backstory to his professional vocation and drive. The Sangheili N’tho has a neat backstory with SPARTAN Kodiak before he became a Spartan. The main antagonist was especially captivating, which I will not reveal here lest I spoil it (I did not see it coming, so I don’t want to ruin the experience for future readers).
However, the other Forerunner scientist, Henry Lamb, was a bit underwhelming. He was essentially the comic relief and I didn’t become too attached to him. He was a nice element to the team in the story, but he could’ve been developed better.
I also expected there to be a lot more deaths of leading characters and even a few insignificant ones. Aside from the deaths of a few nameless Marines, there was hardly any deaths that affect the reader.
A nice touch to the book was also the tensions between the Humans and the Sangheili.Halo 4begins with the alliance between the Humans and the Sangheili and other races after the Covenant War. As this book takes places before the events ofHalo 4,Hunters in the Darktakes a look at the tensions that take place between the Humans and Sangheili on both a collective and individual level after so many decades of war against each other. This tension is seen especially in the team that embarks on their perilous mission to the Ark.
Some say Hunters in the Dark works wellas a standalone novel. I agree and I disagree. On the one hand, if you haven’t played a single Halo game or read a single Halo book, the plot will become especially lost on the reader as well as a few details of this book. There are references to previous books likeGhosts of Onyxand theKilo Fivetrilogy, for example. When these come up inHunters in the Dark,they’ll appear as insignificant or confusing to the reader when they actually play a vital role insofar as the continuity of lore is concerned.
On the other hand, if you have played Halo 3throughHalo 5,you will still get agood sense of what’s going on even if you haven’t read any other Halo books. Still, however, you won’t get the significance of some of the details of cameos and throwbacks to earlier books that are just too cool to pass up. It’s worth reading all the other books before getting to this one in the timeline.
Overall, Halo: Hunters In the Dark tells an interesting side story of unlikely heroes coming together to save the galaxy. I would definitely highly recommend the book for Halo fans who want to know more about the Halo lore or anyone looking for a good Military sci-fi read.
February 12, 2021
Fantastic book. Interesting characters and expansion of their back stories. Timless tale of how hate can give way to, if not friendship, at least mutual respect. Plus any book that pays its respects to LotR has my appreciation.
August 26, 2021
Awh shucks they work together how cute
August 16, 2022
Usze 'Taham, my beloved
February 6, 2025
Excellent story about the early days of peace between humans and Sangheili. Love that the two main Sangheili are Usze and N'tho who first showed up in Halo 3
February 14, 2022
The Story: 4 stars
The Writing: 1 star
I have a...history of strongly disliking Peter David's novels in beloved franchises. I'm going through all of Halo now and didn't want to skip one, so I told myself I was going to forget as often as possible he was writing it and just motor on through.
A lot easier than I thought! The story is compelling, there's a lot of cool lore in it, and the pace is pretty decent. My problems came where all my others problems with Peter's novels come from: characters and writing style.
The main character, Luther, is right off the bat described as a mega-genius. He fluently speaks and understands a zillion languages, and is the absolute foremost expert on the Forerunners (though I thought that was Halsey?). A little cringey, but I can roll with it. Then, about 1/3 of the way through the book, this professor and linguist picks up a gun and is also an expert marksman from a past he doesn't like to remember. Really? Reeeeally? It just sucked me right out of the action and narrative. There's also a prominent role occupied by a Huragok, who we've gotten to know over the Halo books, and the pre-established lore about them is pretty much ignored. Also, Luther speaks their language even though it's just incomprehensible sign language and no human in the books has ever come close to doing so. They also whistle as part of their speech now? The most egregious example might be a literal entire paragraph where I'm supposed to believe this human is waving his arms around and whistling at an Huragok while delving into the origins of the term "deadline".
The captain in charge of this mission to the Ark learns early on that one of her Spartans has a blood feud with one of the Elites on the mission, and she...does nothing? Her internal monologue is literally "well he hasn't acted on this well-known hatred, what can I do?" ¯\_(�)_/¯ It was an attempt to create suspense and tension between the Elites and Spartans, but it did not, and it just made the Spartans seem like maybe they shouldn't be Spartans, and it made the captain seem incompetent at best.
One of my pet peeves in any book by any other is exposition dialogue that takes place between two characters who are already both aware of the exposition, therefore having no reason to talk about it to each other. This happens constantly throughout the book and drives me bonkers. I don't need two characters studying a Halo ring to tell me about what happened in the first Halo game! Just give me some non-dialogue background.
I don't want to delve too deep into specific spoilers, but the presence of infinitesimally-small chance encounters, convenient off-screen action, and the ignoring/passing over some general lore just really soured me on this one. The story was top-notch, and it probably would have been stellar if it was in someone else's hands without these habits.
The Writing: 1 star
I have a...history of strongly disliking Peter David's novels in beloved franchises. I'm going through all of Halo now and didn't want to skip one, so I told myself I was going to forget as often as possible he was writing it and just motor on through.
A lot easier than I thought! The story is compelling, there's a lot of cool lore in it, and the pace is pretty decent. My problems came where all my others problems with Peter's novels come from: characters and writing style.
The main character, Luther, is right off the bat described as a mega-genius. He fluently speaks and understands a zillion languages, and is the absolute foremost expert on the Forerunners (though I thought that was Halsey?). A little cringey, but I can roll with it. Then, about 1/3 of the way through the book, this professor and linguist picks up a gun and is also an expert marksman from a past he doesn't like to remember. Really? Reeeeally? It just sucked me right out of the action and narrative. There's also a prominent role occupied by a Huragok, who we've gotten to know over the Halo books, and the pre-established lore about them is pretty much ignored. Also, Luther speaks their language even though it's just incomprehensible sign language and no human in the books has ever come close to doing so. They also whistle as part of their speech now? The most egregious example might be a literal entire paragraph where I'm supposed to believe this human is waving his arms around and whistling at an Huragok while delving into the origins of the term "deadline".
The captain in charge of this mission to the Ark learns early on that one of her Spartans has a blood feud with one of the Elites on the mission, and she...does nothing? Her internal monologue is literally "well he hasn't acted on this well-known hatred, what can I do?" ¯\_(�)_/¯ It was an attempt to create suspense and tension between the Elites and Spartans, but it did not, and it just made the Spartans seem like maybe they shouldn't be Spartans, and it made the captain seem incompetent at best.
One of my pet peeves in any book by any other is exposition dialogue that takes place between two characters who are already both aware of the exposition, therefore having no reason to talk about it to each other. This happens constantly throughout the book and drives me bonkers. I don't need two characters studying a Halo ring to tell me about what happened in the first Halo game! Just give me some non-dialogue background.
I don't want to delve too deep into specific spoilers, but the presence of infinitesimally-small chance encounters, convenient off-screen action, and the ignoring/passing over some general lore just really soured me on this one. The story was top-notch, and it probably would have been stellar if it was in someone else's hands without these habits.
February 7, 2017
Probably more like 3.5 stars.
I wanted to love this book! Don't get me wrong, it was a good story and the premise was set up to be a great one and in the end I felt that it fell a little short. An unknown force on the Ark has triggered the Halo rings to fire and annihilate all life in the galaxy in a few weeks. Desperate for survival the humans and Elites (recently in an uneasy alliance) send a joint team to travel to the Ark and save the galaxy. There are Elites, Spartans, Forerunner constructs, spaceship battles and battles on the Ark with deadly creatures. But for all the build-up and possiblities it seem it was lacking the more the story unfolded. The Spartans didn't shine as much as the should have. I didn't understand why some characters were included (because they didn't seem to contribute much to the story) and I don't understand the purposes being hinted at with some of the characters' relationships (what was with Holt and Vale?).
(Spoiler) In the end I understood the monitor's demented goal and reasoning but for such an intelligent entity with powerful resources at its disposal it was pretty lame at effective planning and contingency planning (I guess we can blame that on its malfunctioning). If it intended to destroy most of the party it sure took its sweet time doing it and was pretty inept.
I would still recommend this book to Halo fans.
I wanted to love this book! Don't get me wrong, it was a good story and the premise was set up to be a great one and in the end I felt that it fell a little short. An unknown force on the Ark has triggered the Halo rings to fire and annihilate all life in the galaxy in a few weeks. Desperate for survival the humans and Elites (recently in an uneasy alliance) send a joint team to travel to the Ark and save the galaxy. There are Elites, Spartans, Forerunner constructs, spaceship battles and battles on the Ark with deadly creatures. But for all the build-up and possiblities it seem it was lacking the more the story unfolded. The Spartans didn't shine as much as the should have. I didn't understand why some characters were included (because they didn't seem to contribute much to the story) and I don't understand the purposes being hinted at with some of the characters' relationships (what was with Holt and Vale?).
(Spoiler) In the end I understood the monitor's demented goal and reasoning but for such an intelligent entity with powerful resources at its disposal it was pretty lame at effective planning and contingency planning (I guess we can blame that on its malfunctioning). If it intended to destroy most of the party it sure took its sweet time doing it and was pretty inept.
I would still recommend this book to Halo fans.
September 15, 2016
Started off with near infinite potential: tension between the Sangheili and humans, old rivalries, frightening technology and high-concept sharpness, and an ancient landscape familiar to anyone who knows Halo Canon...
...and after the 100 or so page mark, it all came crashing and burning down in a burning carcass of scenarios so repetitive they're eye-roll worthy, dull action sequences, cardboard characters, and a fumbling, desperate attempt to install character empathy with only a dozen or so pages left in the thing. This could have been a fantastic entry in the Halo novels - perhaps even better than Glasslands. But it stands amoung the worst: wasted potential and soulless. It earns itself a 2.5 due to it's clarity (a skill that Greg Bear seems utterly incapable of applying to his attempts at tackling Halo canon), but my hopes were dashed too hard to give it anymore than that.
We deserve better.
...and after the 100 or so page mark, it all came crashing and burning down in a burning carcass of scenarios so repetitive they're eye-roll worthy, dull action sequences, cardboard characters, and a fumbling, desperate attempt to install character empathy with only a dozen or so pages left in the thing. This could have been a fantastic entry in the Halo novels - perhaps even better than Glasslands. But it stands amoung the worst: wasted potential and soulless. It earns itself a 2.5 due to it's clarity (a skill that Greg Bear seems utterly incapable of applying to his attempts at tackling Halo canon), but my hopes were dashed too hard to give it anymore than that.
We deserve better.
April 19, 2022
Probably the most outright fun Halo novel I've read so far, outside of maybe one of the short stories (the Preston Cole one) in Halo: Evolutions
What makes this novel so fun is that it is a pretty straightforward quest/adventure story about a ragtag party trying to work together in spite of their differences. So yeah, it is not the most original story in the Halo universe from a structural perspective, but the details used to fill in that structure are good, and Peter David's writing style is really swift and effective, making this ultimately a real page turner.
I think upon re-evaluation, this story does have a few problems in terms of its characters - which is something not necessarily new to someone familiar with Halo literature. The two main human characters, for example - Luther Man and Olympia Vale - both suffer from the same problem where they're both hyper-competent in nearly every field for no specific reason, and neither have any real flaws to make them more relatable. I think the fact that this novel has so many different perspectives converging makes that a bit less of a problem because you don't linger with anyone long enough to get tired of their perspective, so I can forgive two leads kind of being (and I HATE this term usually) Mary Sues (barf). There's one random scene where Luther Mann is just randomly an expert marksman in the middle of a firefight that is never really followed up on, for example.
Actually that might be the actual biggest problem with this novel - a lot of stuff is just not really ever followed up on or wrapped up in a satisfying way. The main narratives involving Luther Mann, Olympia Vale, Spartan Kodiak, Usze 'Taham and N'Tho 'Sraom, are all largely resolved but most of the other storylines either disappear for much of the middle of the novel or don't end in a satisfying way. Captain Richards' storyline in particular really left a lot to be desired, with her just sorta leaving the main group for an extended period of time only to very briefly show up at the end after the main adventure story has concluded.
I also think that some people might find some of the storylines predictable, particularly the conflict between Kodiak and N'tho S'raom which ultimately boils down to a bunch of different, "we're not so very different, you and I" moments.
I've written a lot about what didn't work here which initially made me think the novel is worse than I thought. But that would be leaving out all of the good, of which there is plenty.
The main mystery behind the story is built up really well, and even if it becomes obvious who is behind the mysterious goings-on pretty early, we still don't get their perspective until later so their motives remain unclear for a while.
I also love that all of the combat in this novel is humans and sangheili against the hostile fauna on the arc as well as some Forerunner armigers (presumbably), which is a nice change of pace from the action scenes in previous Halo novels. All of the new fauna introduced in this novel are also really neat and Peter David does a great job giving the reader detailed descriptions that never become tedious to read.
Lastly, while the characters themselves may not always be the most fleshed out and some storylines do not really go anywhere, the overarching themes and internal dialogue from the characters are really well done and the story explores some really interesting territory when it comes to 000 Tragic Solitude and his rampancy - something that in my opinion never gets old in the Halo universe as long as it is done well. Furthermore, the novel's exploration of the human-sangheili alliance is really well done, and the relationship between Olympia and Usze 'Thaham is really neat and not something we would have seen before. I've seen some people claim there is a hint of romance there (I wish), but it felt more like a student-mentor or even almost parental relationship. The fact that there is any speculation at all is a sign that it is both done well in this novel and also sorely lacking from the universe in general. I think I mention in almost every review I write that I wish there was more romance in these novels.
Overall this novel is probably more of a 3.5/5 but you can't do that on ŷ so I will round up because I'm too easy to please.
What makes this novel so fun is that it is a pretty straightforward quest/adventure story about a ragtag party trying to work together in spite of their differences. So yeah, it is not the most original story in the Halo universe from a structural perspective, but the details used to fill in that structure are good, and Peter David's writing style is really swift and effective, making this ultimately a real page turner.
I think upon re-evaluation, this story does have a few problems in terms of its characters - which is something not necessarily new to someone familiar with Halo literature. The two main human characters, for example - Luther Man and Olympia Vale - both suffer from the same problem where they're both hyper-competent in nearly every field for no specific reason, and neither have any real flaws to make them more relatable. I think the fact that this novel has so many different perspectives converging makes that a bit less of a problem because you don't linger with anyone long enough to get tired of their perspective, so I can forgive two leads kind of being (and I HATE this term usually) Mary Sues (barf). There's one random scene where Luther Mann is just randomly an expert marksman in the middle of a firefight that is never really followed up on, for example.
Actually that might be the actual biggest problem with this novel - a lot of stuff is just not really ever followed up on or wrapped up in a satisfying way. The main narratives involving Luther Mann, Olympia Vale, Spartan Kodiak, Usze 'Taham and N'Tho 'Sraom, are all largely resolved but most of the other storylines either disappear for much of the middle of the novel or don't end in a satisfying way. Captain Richards' storyline in particular really left a lot to be desired, with her just sorta leaving the main group for an extended period of time only to very briefly show up at the end after the main adventure story has concluded.
I also think that some people might find some of the storylines predictable, particularly the conflict between Kodiak and N'tho S'raom which ultimately boils down to a bunch of different, "we're not so very different, you and I" moments.
I've written a lot about what didn't work here which initially made me think the novel is worse than I thought. But that would be leaving out all of the good, of which there is plenty.
The main mystery behind the story is built up really well, and even if it becomes obvious who is behind the mysterious goings-on pretty early, we still don't get their perspective until later so their motives remain unclear for a while.
I also love that all of the combat in this novel is humans and sangheili against the hostile fauna on the arc as well as some Forerunner armigers (presumbably), which is a nice change of pace from the action scenes in previous Halo novels. All of the new fauna introduced in this novel are also really neat and Peter David does a great job giving the reader detailed descriptions that never become tedious to read.
Lastly, while the characters themselves may not always be the most fleshed out and some storylines do not really go anywhere, the overarching themes and internal dialogue from the characters are really well done and the story explores some really interesting territory when it comes to 000 Tragic Solitude and his rampancy - something that in my opinion never gets old in the Halo universe as long as it is done well. Furthermore, the novel's exploration of the human-sangheili alliance is really well done, and the relationship between Olympia and Usze 'Thaham is really neat and not something we would have seen before. I've seen some people claim there is a hint of romance there (I wish), but it felt more like a student-mentor or even almost parental relationship. The fact that there is any speculation at all is a sign that it is both done well in this novel and also sorely lacking from the universe in general. I think I mention in almost every review I write that I wish there was more romance in these novels.
Overall this novel is probably more of a 3.5/5 but you can't do that on ŷ so I will round up because I'm too easy to please.
February 18, 2018
Bad. I've enjoyed Halo Novels in the past, particularly Eric Nylund's work. This one is crap. I mean, it features blind, armless dinosaurs. The structure is predictable, a lot of the plot relies on contrivances that will make an active reader angry at the railroading, the characters act stupidly, and are just cliches and broad strokes. One of them is broadly characterised (As much as anyone in this shallow tripe is characterised) as stupid, and touches an obvious antagonist (Because they are in the rest of the series) that promptly mauls him to upset our actual protagonist, who alternates between remembering this and being sad, or forgetting this and being inconsistent. These two characters should actually have been merged. Characters drop out of the story for long stretches, and think unreasonable things (Like thinking monitors being bad is out of character, like, it's Halo, the first monitor encountered was 343 guilty-spark who tried to activate the first Halo and was antagonistic in sequels-this should be people's FIRST thought).
Everytime a gunshot happens off camera it is described as an "explosion". While true, this, and several other repeated poor choices of word, will become grating over time if you pay attention to prose.
There is no contribution to the rest of the setting or building on the rest of the world. This book is an utterly disposable one-shot entry to the series and is completely unnecessary in every manner. I was hoping the entire time that Halsey would show up because at least she was smarter than these characters, and wouldn't tolerate this bullshit.
The Halo novels are in general flawed, but while they may have structural issues, and the action is generally only worth one read through in most cases, they have ambition in lore and history and are generally compelling, with characters who you can at least comprehend the motivations of, who act in accordance with them.
Reread the Ghosts of Onyx.
Everytime a gunshot happens off camera it is described as an "explosion". While true, this, and several other repeated poor choices of word, will become grating over time if you pay attention to prose.
There is no contribution to the rest of the setting or building on the rest of the world. This book is an utterly disposable one-shot entry to the series and is completely unnecessary in every manner. I was hoping the entire time that Halsey would show up because at least she was smarter than these characters, and wouldn't tolerate this bullshit.
The Halo novels are in general flawed, but while they may have structural issues, and the action is generally only worth one read through in most cases, they have ambition in lore and history and are generally compelling, with characters who you can at least comprehend the motivations of, who act in accordance with them.
Reread the Ghosts of Onyx.
May 25, 2024
Peter David did a fantastic job of giving each character a unique perspective on the human-Sangheili conflict; each character reacts in their own way to the opposite species, and each have a very specific and understandable reason for acting the way they do.
In a story with so many characters, it’s important to distinguish them, and Peter David does that masterfully. From the very beginning I am invested in Luther Mann’s character because of his intriguing backstory and neurodivergent personality. I also enjoy that he’s a scientist, which surprisingly isn’t a perspective we see often in the Halo books (aside from Halsey, of course). And his fascination with the forerunners is relatively unique among the human protagonists in most Halo novels, so that’s also fun.
This quick characterization goes for pretty much every character. Annabelle Richards presents a reasonable hostility towards the Sangheili, but holds back, follows orders, and does the honorable thing. Spartan Holt presents a unique look at the Spartan IV’s, and one that’s more relatable to the general audience since he speaks his mind and fumbles; he’s still honor- bound and battle-hardened, but he’s a little more approachable. Spartan Kodiak is the opposite, he’s much more like a typical Spartan; his arc is incredible, coming around to not hating Entho and the Sangheili is so potent given his history with Entho. Entho also gives us a very specific glimpse into Sangheili culture. Entho’s arc is more subtle, but he learns what it means to be a true warrior by taking his own culture’s ideas and learning more about the humans� culture.
There were a few characters I thought were meh, though. Henry didn’t seem very distinct from Luther; his characterization made him out to be “the other scientist�. The same can be said for Olympia Vale, who seemed similar in characterization to Richards�, except she likes the aliens and Richards doesn’t. Vale has a specific purpose in the mission and plot, but it didn’t seem like she got much actual development. And finally, Usze didn’t seem very distinct from Entho to me. Like I said above, he was just the other elite. I would have preferred a smaller cast with more cohesive characterization, but I don’t want to complain too much since the good characterization was really good.
The plot was fine. The action was fine. I wish that the plot served to develop the characters a little more, which it did some, but not as much as I’d hope. The villain was meh, but pretty typical for Halo. Luther went through quite the personal journey, which made the whole plot on the Arc worth it for me.
In short, Luther is one of my new favorite Halo characters. If you like character-driven sci-fi, you’ll probably like this. This was an extremely solid Halo novel.
In a story with so many characters, it’s important to distinguish them, and Peter David does that masterfully. From the very beginning I am invested in Luther Mann’s character because of his intriguing backstory and neurodivergent personality. I also enjoy that he’s a scientist, which surprisingly isn’t a perspective we see often in the Halo books (aside from Halsey, of course). And his fascination with the forerunners is relatively unique among the human protagonists in most Halo novels, so that’s also fun.
This quick characterization goes for pretty much every character. Annabelle Richards presents a reasonable hostility towards the Sangheili, but holds back, follows orders, and does the honorable thing. Spartan Holt presents a unique look at the Spartan IV’s, and one that’s more relatable to the general audience since he speaks his mind and fumbles; he’s still honor- bound and battle-hardened, but he’s a little more approachable. Spartan Kodiak is the opposite, he’s much more like a typical Spartan; his arc is incredible, coming around to not hating Entho and the Sangheili is so potent given his history with Entho. Entho also gives us a very specific glimpse into Sangheili culture. Entho’s arc is more subtle, but he learns what it means to be a true warrior by taking his own culture’s ideas and learning more about the humans� culture.
There were a few characters I thought were meh, though. Henry didn’t seem very distinct from Luther; his characterization made him out to be “the other scientist�. The same can be said for Olympia Vale, who seemed similar in characterization to Richards�, except she likes the aliens and Richards doesn’t. Vale has a specific purpose in the mission and plot, but it didn’t seem like she got much actual development. And finally, Usze didn’t seem very distinct from Entho to me. Like I said above, he was just the other elite. I would have preferred a smaller cast with more cohesive characterization, but I don’t want to complain too much since the good characterization was really good.
The plot was fine. The action was fine. I wish that the plot served to develop the characters a little more, which it did some, but not as much as I’d hope. The villain was meh, but pretty typical for Halo. Luther went through quite the personal journey, which made the whole plot on the Arc worth it for me.
In short, Luther is one of my new favorite Halo characters. If you like character-driven sci-fi, you’ll probably like this. This was an extremely solid Halo novel.
May 25, 2018
This is a fairly standard Halo story in my opinion. I've read plenty of the novels and this one definitely didn't stand out in any significant way. That's not to say the book was mediocre, because I think that it was delivered well and told a concise story that was easy to follow with a direct narrative that held your hand the entire time. I don't think it's always a bad thing as sometimes stories with too many diverging paths become convoluted and don't feel finished. Hunters in the Dark definitely told a story that had a clear ending.
The partnership between Elites and Spartans is always interesting to me in these novels. Sometimes there is deadly conflict between the two groups and sometimes there is mutual partnership. Both scenarios invite a host of neat storytelling avenues that I believe are compelling when told well enough since the Elites and the Spartans are such legendary, powerful groups. This novel had some paper thin conflict that I was hoping would have evolved into something bigger but never really panned out and ended up being forgettable.
The main goal in this story was stopping Halo from activating. It's the ultimate doomsday scenario because it generally always means the end of all life in the universe. While a fairly common trope in this series, this novel did a fine job of telling an interesting story of a Monitor who goes crazy and is hellbent on destroying humanity. I definitely enjoyed the parts when the Monitor spoke about it's motivations because they were clear cut and totally believable and I found myself intrigued to see how far it would get before it was thwarted. Certainly an interesting take on the go-to narrative tale in this series.
Being a huge fan of the Halo universe, I thought this book was definitely a welcome addition. It expanded more on the Forerunners and it certainly surprised me because you learned about some characters who's futures are dependent on the actions they take in this book. If you enjoy Halo, give this book a shot because you'll get exactly what you're looking for. If you're new to the series, this book isn't mired in too much of the overarching Halo story so you won't feel confused reading through it.
The partnership between Elites and Spartans is always interesting to me in these novels. Sometimes there is deadly conflict between the two groups and sometimes there is mutual partnership. Both scenarios invite a host of neat storytelling avenues that I believe are compelling when told well enough since the Elites and the Spartans are such legendary, powerful groups. This novel had some paper thin conflict that I was hoping would have evolved into something bigger but never really panned out and ended up being forgettable.
The main goal in this story was stopping Halo from activating. It's the ultimate doomsday scenario because it generally always means the end of all life in the universe. While a fairly common trope in this series, this novel did a fine job of telling an interesting story of a Monitor who goes crazy and is hellbent on destroying humanity. I definitely enjoyed the parts when the Monitor spoke about it's motivations because they were clear cut and totally believable and I found myself intrigued to see how far it would get before it was thwarted. Certainly an interesting take on the go-to narrative tale in this series.
Being a huge fan of the Halo universe, I thought this book was definitely a welcome addition. It expanded more on the Forerunners and it certainly surprised me because you learned about some characters who's futures are dependent on the actions they take in this book. If you enjoy Halo, give this book a shot because you'll get exactly what you're looking for. If you're new to the series, this book isn't mired in too much of the overarching Halo story so you won't feel confused reading through it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2024
This is the twelfth Halo novel I have read and is one of a box set of ten Halo novels that I bought after giving up any idea of reading the Halo novels in chronological order. I’ve since discovered that ŷ has a definitive list of Halo novels and now I’m jumping all over the galaxy like a fugitive scavenger ship trying to avoid the Office of Naval Intelligence. However, I will stick with the box set for the time being.
This novel is the sixteenth volume in the expanding Halo universe. It is set in 2555, a couple of years after the end of the Covenant war. Human beings are at peace with the Sangheili � aka the Elites � although the latter have a civil war going on between the peaceniks and the hawks who want to continue the crusade to obliterate humanity.
Unfortunately, peace doesn’t last long as scientists on one of the Halo installations realise that some kind of countdown has begun. They surmise that this countdown signals the destruction of all sentient life in the galaxy and predict it will take four or five weeks to reach zero. But there’s no time to lose. The UN Space Command top brass decide to launch a joint human-Elite expedition to stop the countdown, which they believe is being orchestrated from the enormous Forerunner installation known as the Ark. Then Earth is attacked by strange craft sent from the Ark, apparently to strip mine Earth for materials with which to repair the Ark, which was badly damaged at the end of the Covenant war. UNSC want to faff around organising a D-Day like expedition to the Ark. The Elites are more impatient, realising that the UNSC way of doing things could lead to catastrophe, and once they have the key human personnel on their vessel they zip off to the Ark.
I’ll say no more about the plot. Obviously, the fact that there are 23 more novels in the series indicates that the expedition is a success, but it is a close-run thing and there are some genuine edge of the seat moments in the novel. I’d recommend this book to Halo fans or anyone who enjoys a bit of science fiction escapism. However, I would recommend trying to read the novels in some kind of chronological order, otherwise it’s easy to get lost in space.
This novel is the sixteenth volume in the expanding Halo universe. It is set in 2555, a couple of years after the end of the Covenant war. Human beings are at peace with the Sangheili � aka the Elites � although the latter have a civil war going on between the peaceniks and the hawks who want to continue the crusade to obliterate humanity.
Unfortunately, peace doesn’t last long as scientists on one of the Halo installations realise that some kind of countdown has begun. They surmise that this countdown signals the destruction of all sentient life in the galaxy and predict it will take four or five weeks to reach zero. But there’s no time to lose. The UN Space Command top brass decide to launch a joint human-Elite expedition to stop the countdown, which they believe is being orchestrated from the enormous Forerunner installation known as the Ark. Then Earth is attacked by strange craft sent from the Ark, apparently to strip mine Earth for materials with which to repair the Ark, which was badly damaged at the end of the Covenant war. UNSC want to faff around organising a D-Day like expedition to the Ark. The Elites are more impatient, realising that the UNSC way of doing things could lead to catastrophe, and once they have the key human personnel on their vessel they zip off to the Ark.
I’ll say no more about the plot. Obviously, the fact that there are 23 more novels in the series indicates that the expedition is a success, but it is a close-run thing and there are some genuine edge of the seat moments in the novel. I’d recommend this book to Halo fans or anyone who enjoys a bit of science fiction escapism. However, I would recommend trying to read the novels in some kind of chronological order, otherwise it’s easy to get lost in space.
April 5, 2021
Peter David is possibly a hack and definitely used to writing comics. A key problem with his writing is a criticism I got in middle school: He needs to "show, not just tell," and rarely manages that, which makes sense for a comic writer. When you're writing a comic, the artists do a huge portion of the "showing" that you'd have to do yourself in a novel (maybe you still wrote it, but the reader is seeing mostly images rather than reading "and then Batman runs up to Superman and he gives him a hug and the tree looks less evil because Poison Ivy isn't controlling it anymore").
The following rant about how he might be a hack probably isn't as clear as it could be. Basically, this feels like it was written by a high schooler rather than an award-winning writer, and is chock-full of small but grating contradictions of Halo canon. Most shouldn't matter, but many, if you notice, tend to break your immersion and smack of an author that's not even trying. I'll try to find a good example.
It's clear that he has a pretty minimal understanding of how things work in the Halo universe. I feel like a neckbeard pointing out flaws that are often small and unimportant, but they're often the kind that are really distracting if you notice them at all. Some things could easily be picked up by reading any other Halo book, some can be gleaned by playing the games enough, and some are even nerdier. But for most of these details, if you're aware of them, then you're aware of big, clumsy mistakes that make it seem like Peter David had no respect for the source material and no interest in getting things right. I doubt he edited his own work at all, or looked at edits that came back from the publisher or 343's story/continuity/correctness team. "You don't need my consent to fix spelling errors, and you're obviously right if I got something wrong about the universe like the caliber of ammo used in a particular gun or whatever."
But bigger issues than ammo calibers can be inappropriate for editors to fix, and a lot weren't.
The following rant about how he might be a hack probably isn't as clear as it could be. Basically, this feels like it was written by a high schooler rather than an award-winning writer, and is chock-full of small but grating contradictions of Halo canon. Most shouldn't matter, but many, if you notice, tend to break your immersion and smack of an author that's not even trying. I'll try to find a good example.
It's clear that he has a pretty minimal understanding of how things work in the Halo universe. I feel like a neckbeard pointing out flaws that are often small and unimportant, but they're often the kind that are really distracting if you notice them at all. Some things could easily be picked up by reading any other Halo book, some can be gleaned by playing the games enough, and some are even nerdier. But for most of these details, if you're aware of them, then you're aware of big, clumsy mistakes that make it seem like Peter David had no respect for the source material and no interest in getting things right. I doubt he edited his own work at all, or looked at edits that came back from the publisher or 343's story/continuity/correctness team. "You don't need my consent to fix spelling errors, and you're obviously right if I got something wrong about the universe like the caliber of ammo used in a particular gun or whatever."
But bigger issues than ammo calibers can be inappropriate for editors to fix, and a lot weren't.
March 25, 2025
(Synopsis) - It is 2555, more than two years after the Master Chief went MIA following a decisive conflict on Installation 00—the massive Forerunner construct known as the Ark, as part of the final chapter in humanity’s bloody thirty-year struggle against the overwhelming forces of the Covenant. Now, as a tenuous peace exists between the humans and the Elites, a startling scientific discovery is made and the riddle behind its Forerunner origins could very well seal the fate of the entire galaxy within a matter of weeks.
(Review) - The expansion of the Halo rings/ the forerunners/ and the Ark lore I was all here for. As the games do a good enough job but this book not only expands upon that but also continues the story of halo from the events of Halo 3! The Chief is still MIA and the human/elite relations are peaceful BUT war is still possible to break out again between a few pockets of resistance. Until the halo rings activate and a threat far worse then a 30 year squabble! So humanity and sanghili have to come together to fight this new threat! And I was completely here for it. The story even though interesting, for me the biggest take away was the lore expansion and the dialogue between each of the characters it was top notch and what kepted me coming back and wanting to keep reading because it was so interesting! Moments between human and AI logic or human emotion and stoic honourable sanghili way of life! It was all fascinating and definitely the reason why you should read this book! Whether your a halo fan or not just read for the character interaction and you'll love it and if your a halo fan you'll love that it continues the story from Halo 3 one of the best Halos in my opinion.
4/5 Stars GoodReads ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
90/100 GingerPoints 🔥
(Review) - The expansion of the Halo rings/ the forerunners/ and the Ark lore I was all here for. As the games do a good enough job but this book not only expands upon that but also continues the story of halo from the events of Halo 3! The Chief is still MIA and the human/elite relations are peaceful BUT war is still possible to break out again between a few pockets of resistance. Until the halo rings activate and a threat far worse then a 30 year squabble! So humanity and sanghili have to come together to fight this new threat! And I was completely here for it. The story even though interesting, for me the biggest take away was the lore expansion and the dialogue between each of the characters it was top notch and what kepted me coming back and wanting to keep reading because it was so interesting! Moments between human and AI logic or human emotion and stoic honourable sanghili way of life! It was all fascinating and definitely the reason why you should read this book! Whether your a halo fan or not just read for the character interaction and you'll love it and if your a halo fan you'll love that it continues the story from Halo 3 one of the best Halos in my opinion.
4/5 Stars GoodReads ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
90/100 GingerPoints 🔥
February 14, 2022
As many others have said, this book starts off with so much promise. An interesting plot, tension between characters, even a glimpse at Zeta Halo. I breezed through the first third of the book only to realize that all of this had been tossed aside and replaced by a disorganized trek across The Ark.
The plot, that all the Halos have activated and will fire, takes center stage early. Once we arrive at the Ark, the tension is lost. Characters spend half the book walking across various biomes getting attacked by monsters. Once at their destination the solution is basically a flip of a switch. Only a 2-page aside outlines the absolute chaos back on Earth before returning to the Ark where things are far more calm.
Two instances of conflict between specific characters is established quickly: Pair A has one character wanting revenge over the other, Pair B has one character upset because the other ignored orders. The conflict with Pair A is essentially resolved almost as soon as it’s introduced. Pair B’s conflict is nullified when one character is removed from the action almost immediately after arriving at the Ark.
I thought this one was going to go well, and be one of the few Halo books that doesn’t get dull quickly, but that was not the case. As icing on the cake, instead of ending philosophically or mentioning how the galaxy almost got wiped out, it ends with a pitch for another story. It’s the first time I’ve read the last line of a book and just threw my hands up in confusion.
The plot, that all the Halos have activated and will fire, takes center stage early. Once we arrive at the Ark, the tension is lost. Characters spend half the book walking across various biomes getting attacked by monsters. Once at their destination the solution is basically a flip of a switch. Only a 2-page aside outlines the absolute chaos back on Earth before returning to the Ark where things are far more calm.
Two instances of conflict between specific characters is established quickly: Pair A has one character wanting revenge over the other, Pair B has one character upset because the other ignored orders. The conflict with Pair A is essentially resolved almost as soon as it’s introduced. Pair B’s conflict is nullified when one character is removed from the action almost immediately after arriving at the Ark.
I thought this one was going to go well, and be one of the few Halo books that doesn’t get dull quickly, but that was not the case. As icing on the cake, instead of ending philosophically or mentioning how the galaxy almost got wiped out, it ends with a pitch for another story. It’s the first time I’ve read the last line of a book and just threw my hands up in confusion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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