Ghosts of Onyx (Halo) by Eric Nylund
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Book Reviews of Ghosts of Onyx (Halo)
Book Review: The best put together & presented story I've ever read - literally
Summary: 5 Stars
Honestly what can I say that already hasn't been said about this book? The writing is superb. Anybody remotely thinking about passing on this one because its major connection to a videogame property should think twice.
This is exactly the type of book that after you read you wish you are alive long enough for there to be a movie on the exact same subject matter you just finished reading or if that is too out of reach you atleast want as many people to read it as possible so they can (like you) understand just how great a piece of work it truly is. This is coming from someone that has never touched any of the Halo Novels, but I'm thoroughly impressed and because of this I plan to go back and read the previous entries into the series by Eric Nylund.
You get a take on the story from so many different perspectives its the complete package. You get to experience the story from the perspective of the Spartans, various UNSC ships and troops, Covenant, the genius that is Dr. Halsey.. just there is an all around variety to this book that I love. Now after becoming so impressed with what was happening with a specific group of characters naturally you'll be a bit disappointed when they go away from that group and start concentrating on another group, but as you read it becomes more clear as to why the author chose to present you with their perspective and you'll come to appreciate their inclusion.
This book will get you to care about the characters and what is going on the universe. this book firmly puts Halo up there with the best of them if there were any doubts before. The Halo universe can be just as popular if not more so than the likes of Star Wars. It really does feel fresh, interesting and new. When I say this book will get you care about the characters and everything going on around them I really do mean that. Without spoiling too much there is one character in particular that will leave you in awe and command your utmost respect and that is Kurt.
I may have singled him out, but that doesn't mean there wont be many other characters that you find yourself thoroughly impressed by, but Kurt's character will blow you away. This book is vivid, emotional and full of action. If there is anyone out there that is remotely interested in the games they'd be a complete fool to not read this book. I know there are some people that don't like to read, but I firmly believe that after reading this book it will be the catalyst that convinces you that books are just as entertaining if not more so than television.
This in my opinion is a great book and when a book is very well written there are things that you can get from a book that you can't get from a game or television and sometimes its the very simple practice of seeing how a writer describes what is going on in a scene of their book that really sells the vision to you tenfold and its so well done that at so many critical points during your reading you just have to stop and tell someone around you how great this book is or atleast read a specific part of the book to them.
So again let me finish off by saying you WILL care about the universe of this book, you WILL care about the characters and you WILL be tempted more aggressively as you progress through the book to keep on going even when you think its time to stop, but the book is so good that it gripts you and you WILL most certainly want more.
Book Review: Prepare for awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
Ghosts of Onyx competes head-to-head with The Fall of Reach for the title of Nylund's best Halo novel. Ghosts of Onyx is well-written, with great action, and good character development. More than any other Halo book written to date, I really cared about these characters.
Plotwise, there's a lot going on. The main story shifts perspectives around the planet Onyx. Scans of Onyx show a wealth of mineral resources, quickly making it a valuable target. From the start, there are signs that Onyx is no ordinary planet, and that the cause of those scan results is something far beyond anyone's expectations. The Covenant and UNSC battle for control of the planet, while a cast of characters including Dr. Halsey (lead scientist on the Spartan-II program) attempt to unlock the secrets of this mysterious planet.
Nylund does a great job writing complex battles, without losing clarity. Even in the biggest firefights, you still have a good sense of what's going on. More than a lot of other action writers, I feel like I could draw up a diagram of one of Nylund's battles, and it would actually look like everyone else's diagram of the same action. Battles range from tense duck-and-cover affairs with only a few participants, to huge battles between spaceships in orbit. The action is plenty and varied, so nobody's going to be disappointed on this front.
The main character of this story (after a blistering opening prologue) ends up being Kurt, a Spartan-II super-soldier (of the same class as Master Chief from the games). Kurt is often assigned to special operations, and now his leadership potential has him in charge of a portion of the Spartan-III program. The Spartan-III program takes the lessons of the Spartan-IIs, and cuts some dangerous corners to make soldiers that are cheaper and easier to replace. These cuts also make the new soldiers dangerous and potentially unstable. Kurt has to fight his old istrincts from being trained as a superior breed of Spartan, and learn to interact closely with this new group. Kurt's ability to interact with his team will be pushed to the utmost limits during the course of the novel.
Onyx includes a lot of elements. The story has everything from deep scientific mysteries to Hollywood-style big action set pieces. There's a bang of action in the intro, deep development throughout, and more great action especially toward the end. And what an end- the final portions of this book are the most sweeping and epic of any Halo novel written to date. It is no exaggeration to say that I was holding back back equal parts tears and wonder as I read the final pages.
Ghosts of Onyx is highly recommended to all. You do want to be familiar with the Halo universe before diving in, and to that end I'd recommend at least reading Nylund's own The Fall of Reach or playing the original Halo: Combat evolved before picking up this book. For anyone with even a passing familiarity with this universe, Ghosts of Onyx is a must-have.
Book Review: Review of Halo
Summary: 5 Stars
"Spartans never die?" she whispered. Dr. Halsey swiveled out of the contour chair and pushed the monitors out of her way with sudden violence. "If only that was true." For those who have never picked up a Halo book before, Dr. Halsey is the person who made the first Spartans. Spartans are literally the best of the best, because they are genetically cloned and are given very severe military training at a very young age. Did I also forget to mention that after that they go through highly severe surgery to help induce bone density, adolescence, muscle strength, and anything else that can make a warrior better. After that, they are also given chemicals that also help in those areas. The military uses Spartans as elite warriors to help fight the Covenant. The Covenant is a mixture of alien species ruled by their prophets and they are technologically superior and their troops are physically imposing. Also, they are intent to wipe out the human race.
But this book is about how the military took a Spartan out of active duty and sent him to the planet Onyx to train the new generation of Spartans with the help of Chief petty officer Mendez, (he also helped train the original Spartans). After the first wave of candidates finished their training, they were sent on a highly dangerous mission and the mission succeeded but only 2 of the 300 Spartans survived. It was considered a victory. So the Spartan in charge then got those two Spartans to help train the new ones. But the same exact thing happened with the next generation of Spartans and this time there were no survivors. So the Spartan in charge changed the chemical mixture slightly so that the third wave will survive.
I personally considered this book one of the greatest books I've ever read. I mean even the boring parts were good. Also the theme of this book I thought was survival. I think this because there were many parts that talked about war and invasion. There were also many separate kinds of perspectives that made it so that you could see just enough of the big picture to be willing to turn the next page. I think that this was best use of money I've seen in a while (the first was Halo 1 the game). I mean I could see no fault in this book. So I give it a perfect grade, five stars, two thumbs up, A+, and any other symbol that means awesome.
Book Review: Outstanding book
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me preface by saying that I usually do not read books. I never played Halo 1 or 2, but have played Halo 3 and was caught up by the excitement. That being said, I never truely appreciated the story and the need to 'finish the fight'. I decided to buy the 3-pack here at amazon (Fall of reach/flood/First Strike) kind of like a filler to get to $25 to get free shipping. A best buy I have made in a long time. I liked First Strike the best, followed closely by Fall of reach and then The Flood. My suspicion is that since the Flood was a narrative of the 1st game, it followed the flow of the game (lots of fighting) thus perhaps why it was 'not as good'.
I soon got excited to see what happened in Halo 2 (still have not played it), but got Ghosts of the Onyx 1st. This book (again in my opinion) is the best so far. It hardly has Master Chief or Cortana, but fills in a lot of the story (and of course leaves a 'cliff hanger' at the end unrelated to the main Halo story arc, thus having me 'wanting more').
I remember when watching Star Trek, Battlestar galactica, etc. I always wondered what the stories some of the other star ships might of had, or wanting to know what the exploits the 'other' Jedi had in star Wars, as all of them likely had excitig stories. This book is similar in that it follows the 'life' of Kurt as he is the main star. It gives more details on the Spartan program, and particular the Spartan III's. It also re-unites the remaining surviving spartans II's (except for Master Chief and 'Grey team --> Cole Protocol). It also sheds more light on the fore-runners, and the civil war that the covenenant are having.
I know many are 'unhappy' that it is not centered around master chief, but we all know what he is doing in halo 2 and 3. I want to know what else is going on in the Halo Universe and with the rest of the Spartans and this book does a great job in that. I think Cole protocol will be a 'similar' and outstanding book as well giving us stories of the other spartans. I just got Contact harvest in the mail today. can't wait to read it.
Book Review: Simply put, I love these books.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've arrived at my next stop along my reading rampage this summer with the Ghosts of Onyx. After thoroughly enjoying the first 3 books of this series, I read this book once again.
In Ghosts of Onyx, the situation for humanity is a rather bleak one. There are just a handful of John's (The Master Chief) fellow Spartan II's left and they are fighting a losing war on two fronts against the Covenant and a civil war against the Rebel colonies.
Section III, responsible for the original Spartan II's creation, once again devises up a plan to create a new , improved breed of Spartans (Spartan III's), in an effort to somehow balance the tide of the war just a bit.
A top secret operation is underway at Onyx to train these new Spartans using a familiar Spartan II face. The main question is will it be enough to stop the Covenant forces or will it just buy time for another fight, another day? This question is answered in the book and once again Forerunner technology rears its head on, you guessed it, Onyx. This turns into an arms race between humanity and the Covenant both seeking a desperate edge to turn the tide of war against one another.
The ending is a real trip though and of course is a cliffhanger doing what any good book does, making the reader wanting to immediately want a continuation of the story. Unfortunately, the next Halo book I'm reading I'm told has no Spartans in it, so we will all have to eagerly await when the story is hopefully continued in another 5-6 months.