Ghosts of Onyx (Halo) by Eric Nylund
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Book Reviews of Ghosts of Onyx (Halo)
Book Review: Fantastic Read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Please be forewarned, there is very little of Cortana or the Master Chief in this book. The plot deals more with what's going on elsewhere during Halo 2.
With that said, this book was a great read. I find the whole idea of the Forerunner, their technology, and their fate to be very fascinating. Personally, I think the Forerunner are just futuristic versions of us, but that's just me.
Anyway, while the Forerunner are a huge part of the Halo Universe, they seemed to have disappeared entirely, leaving their legacy behind in vast (beautiful) structures and highly-advanced technology.
This book does a little exploring as to what their intentions were, what they were capable of, and what possibly could have happened to them.
Aside from Cortana and MC, most of the characters have returned, or storylines have been tied up for those who haven't. Halsey and Mendez are present, Lord Hood makes a small appearance, and some of the main Spartan IIs are back.
This novel also introduces the new Spartan IIIs, who are almost as bada** as our beloved IIs.
I wasn't too pleased that Cortana and MC weren't present, but once you start reading, you get over that quick.
Think of this book as setting the stage for the final chapter of this story-line, and also some character development for the Forerunner - who will no doubt make an apperance before all is said and done.
Book Review: Another great Nylund Halo novel
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished this book last night... The quick summary: It follows Spartan II Kurt and the creation of the (his) Spartan III program.
I'll be honest, I'm a fan of the Halo video games, but I actually think that Nylund's books step up the story more than the video games ever did, especially 'Onyx'. The Spartan IIs were always going to be limited because of the genetic requirements outlined in the first book. Humanity just doesn't have the ability to make and support many. The Spartan IIIs however, bridge the gap between normal humans and the seeming superhuman Spartan II, laying out what could be, in my opinion, an even more compelling story and/or video game than what we saw with Halos 1-3.
I really hope that Microsoft realizes what a great story Nylund has created here and considers turning it into a game. Just imagine creating your own Spartan III, with the ability to specialize or generalize the character and then play through a post Halo 3 campaign centralizing around fighting the remainders of the Covenant and supressing human colony rebellion, all the while dealing with the side effects of the treatments you willingly subjected yourself to so that you could help humanity. That'd be awesome! :)
Book Review: Further broadening the Halo universe
Summary: 5 Stars
In keeping with the draw of Nylund's other two Halo books, this one is equally difficult to put down. The language, as before, isn't groundbreaking in any sense, but its the story that drives the reader page after page. Some old names from Blue Team and the original Spartan II program resurface, while many new ones are introduced.
One point of note, to avert potential dissapointment, is to realize the story moves away from the Chief to focus on other concurrent events. It only makes references now and then to the Chief's progress in his own corner of the galaxy to set a time reference. That being said, the new protagonists have plenty of their own charisma to make the reader satisfied with minding their plights.
The one quible I have is the length. From the outside, the book's dimensions match those of the previous three. The indside, however, shows text that has been double spaced where they used to be single, in an effort to fluff the book into fulfilling a certain thickness. This gives a sense of being gipped, like delivering a medium size pizza in an extra large box. But no gripes about the pizza itself. Every bite is worth it.
Book Review: more greatness from the Halo universe
Summary: 5 Stars
Here we have the fourth book in the Halo series, based off the popular video game franchise. This book only contains a little bit of a continuation from the previous one. There is no mention of what is going on with Master Chief(although if you played Halo 2 then you know what he's doing). This book is about the story of the next generation Spartans, or Spartan IIIs as they are called. You read about how they are trained and developed. Also they use a new type of armor. The govenment can not afford to buy more Mjolnir armor so these new spartans have to make due with a lesser, albeit different and still somewhat effective, body armor. You also find out what's going on with the other Spartan IIs that are still alive. Remember Fred, Kelly, Linda, and Dan? There is also an interesting mystery with the planet of Onyx that you will discover.(hint: guilty spark makes a little comment about it in Halo 3) So, even if this is not a continuation of Master Chief's story, it is great nonetheless and helps to spread even more knowledge of the Halo universe. There is great material in here that could make for another awesome sequel to Halo.Book Review: Ghosts of Awesomeness
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, Nylund did it again. in my opinion, this is the best Halo book to date. Basically, this book is about Generation III Spartans. Throw in a few Sentinels and your good to go. I won't give away to much of the plot, but I will say this:
The Spartan II project was so successful, Doctor Hasley(not sure if that's the way to spell her name) and company decide to make some more. The UNSC choose the planet Onyx for the training facility, and then realize they're fatal mistake. Again, I'm not gonna give away to much, so I'll just say that their are a lot of Sentinels, Spartan III's, and even a few Spartan II's(no Master Chief however), which makes for quite a few battles. The book has a good plot, and there are a lot of good character study's, new characters, and some very of cinematic-feeling battle scenes.
The end of this book is spectacular, and in my opinion, the best of any Halo book.
I would have liked this book to be longer(its only 3 or 400 pages long), as I read through it in about day, and some of the plot seems squished together,but its still a very worthwhile read.
9.0/10.0