Halo: First Strike - Eric Nylund Book Review

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Review Summaries

"This sequel to both the Halo game and Halo: The Flood, details the events following the destruction of the ancient artifact called Halo. It begins on the planet Reach, which has been attacked and taken by the alien Covenant. Their usual method of conquest is "glassing" the entire world, but on Reach they don't quite finish the job: there is a section they need intact and captured. It is here, in the "Castle", that several Spartan-II soldiers, enhanced genetically and equipped with high tech armour, have managed to survive. The Covenant are looking for something and they mean to find it first. Meanwhile, in Halo's debris field, the Master Chief floats in his escape craft, believing himself to be not only the sole survivor of Halo but the last Spartan as well. With no hyperdrive and no way to escape, all hope seems lost. Then a Covenant fleet arrives carrying a dignitary who was supposed to inspect Halo. At the same time, other survivors are found by the advanced AI named Cortana, the Chief's longtime colleague. They turn out to be a Spartan, held in a cryo chamber, and a dropship full of Marines, hiding behind a piece of wreckage. Using the added resources now available, the Chief and the others use the dropship as a decoy while they enter the alien flagship's cargo bays at high speed. Oddly, the huge ship has almost no warrior-caste on board, and with the help of Cortana's hacking abilities they capture the ship. While fighting off the rest of the fleet, Cortana discovers a new way of making Slipspace jumps, which could turn the tide of the war. Escaping, they fly to Reach. There, they discover masses of alien troops on the ground, and the Chief is encouraged by the chance of seeing some of his fellow Spartans alive again. Using the alien ship as cover, they fly to the surface and manage to penetrate the alien security, entering the Castle. Here they find the Spartans, a fleet Admiral, and Dr. Halsey, who created the Spartan program. They also find a mysterious crystal, which is the goal of the Covenant invasion. It seems to be able to affect gravity, radiation, and other forces yet unknown. They use its power to help them escape to orbit, and they take off with enemy ships in pursuit. After much battling and with help from Covenant Engineers..who are not loyal to their masters..the captured flagship encounters a massive fleet headed for Earth. It has to be stopped!

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. "
tiepilot912, Resident Eric Nylund Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 30%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%

Tone of book - cynical or dry-wit
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
War or Invasion Yes
Major kinds of combat: - guns
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - infantry soldier
Age: - 20's-30's
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - super strength - is very quick
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - killer
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - Invisibility - is very quick
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Terrain - Forests - Space, need spacesuit - Domed/Underground City
Spaceship setting: - alien spaceship
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society
Planet outside solar system? Yes
Takes place in spaceship? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a significant amount of technical jargon
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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