Any fan of Halo knows the story of Reach whether it from the game of the same name or from information gleaned over the years. It does relay the events of the fall of reach but the book contains so much more. This novel is all about the Spartan program from inception to completion, it’s the story of how the war with the covenant began and it tells us all about the legendary Master Chief.For those who’ve played the Halo games you know the story is very good and it evokes a feeling that there’s a larger complex universe in which the characters live. There’s always a sense that there’s more going on than you realise. Still for all its story Halo is a shooter with a great deal of focus on the multiplayer so how far will the story take us? Can it hold up to scrutiny and expansion? Luckily for all of us the answer is yes.Eric Nylund has squeezed a vast amount of information into the book and it comes across very naturally as the story is told in a logical chronological way. It moves from character to character giving us glimpses of different parts of the world to help build up a picture of events. The fall of reach is perhaps why most would come to this book but by far that’s not the most interesting part. All the pre-covenant war parts of the book are incredibly interesting as gives a glimpse of a vast human civilization spread out across space as the only known intelligent life. Though even this pales in comparison to the details the book gives about the Spartan project.We all know that Spartans are a kind of advanced super soldier created to fight the good fight, what isn’t really known is how they were created. I don’t want to give away all the details of the book but there are some things that made me pause for thought. Really I was impressed at how much the book made me think about the ethics involved in Spartan creation and if the actions of Dr Halsey, the lead scientist on the project, were actually deplorable. Granted the Spartans were needed to fight the covenant threat but at the time of inception there was no Covenant.I would’ve liked Fall of Reach to delve into the moral aspects of the story a little more; to be fair the characters question their own actions at certain points and come up with some good reasons but it’s limited. I feel like the book relies too much on the appearance of the Covenant to vindicate their methods rather than having the characters try to grapple with those issues themselves.To be fair a few of the children involved in the Spartan program show signs of embracing what they’ve been chosen for with Master Chief adapting the quickest. From an early age the book shows him as a great hero and the best of all the Spartans and, though his character has great physical and tactical prowess from the start, he goes through a very effective emotional journey that makes you respect him all the more. Following John, Master Chief, from a child up until he becomes an adult, and getting a peek inside his mind, makes him more human and more relatable than the video games ever managed to achieve. This is a strength of the novel, brining new depth to the game’s protagonist, but it’s also a weakness. In Halo Master Chief is a larger than life character, a god among men, a powerful force to be reckoned with. Giving him a real name, telling us his past and letting the reader inside his head dispels all mystery and it’s hard to decide it that’s a good thing or a bad thing.I’ve mentioned once before that the actual Fall of Reach isn’t the best part of the novel and yet it is still vastly interesting to read. The game Halo: Reach focuses on Noble team, which is never mentioned in the book. There are some inconsistencies between the two portrayals but neither denies the other’s existence. This version of events is told from Master Chief’s perspective as he attempts to stop the covenant gaining the location of Earth from a ship’s NAV computer. This involves many other Spartans and is a truly suspense filled mission. In fact the only real question is why Bungie didn’t base their game on these events rather than creating a whole new cast of characters, perhaps they just wanted to do something new? It’s hard to tell. Regardless the eventual fall itself is quite poignant and, though I won’t spoil specific details, there are numerous deaths of characters you’ve come to care about. I really can’t stress enough how effective the end of the Fall of Reach is.Going in to this book I was more than a little sceptical, I love the game and franchise as a whole but how well would it translate to prose? Bungie’s crafted an intricate, well thought out, vast universe that is ripe for storytelling. The Fall of Reach is a solid novel with great characters, universal themes, emotional weight and very interesting events. A good book for anyone to read but an essential piece of mythos that’s a must read for the true Halo fan.
Ha! A book about Halo?! ROFL.I was wrong. Expected this: "Grenade, headshot, headshot. Two grunts down. More grenades. 360 no scoped an Elite." etc. A book about mindlessly shooting things up.Got this: A book that doesn't focus on wars or engagements, but the thoughts and emotions of the Spartan's (yes, they have emotions!). You place yourself in their shoes and they are no longer dudes who are just good at shooting things. You see the painful life of brainwashing and conditioning they've gone through. They are not dumb, they think and feel. Most of all, you see how conflicted they are.The video game never showed this. You never "felt" what happens behind the mask. Eric Nylund did a great job of bringing these characters to life and making you "believe" in what the Spartan's believed. You feel their passion, you want them to win, and are pained by their loss.Instead, it reminded me of Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" and the idea of how you *create*, rather than recruit, elite soldiers. The books were way better than the game. I bought Halo 3 and barely played it because of the Halo book trilogy!To wrap up, the book also takes place before the events in the Halo video game and explains the origins of the character you play. The game made a lot more sense after reading this book. It used lots of Navy jargon and tried to sprinkle military tactics in to most of the battle situations. Verdict: I loved Ender's Game, and I'd place this right along side it. Solid read with some great character development. You will be a Spartan when this is over.Disclaimer: I played Halo 1 before reading this series which may have helped me develop a relationship with the general story and characters. Also, I didn't like the 2nd book as much (The Flood). It was written by a different author who seemed to be more of a scribe for a gamer just playing thru the game. Basically it sounded like he never played the games himself and just watched someone play them and wrote down what they did. I didn't feel the emotion nearly as much. I'd recommend playing the first Halo in place of reading The Flood as it is virtually the exact same story.
What do You think about Halo: The Fall Of Reach (2001)?
I was not expecting to enjoy this book because of the most of the Gaming adaptation like movies,comics have been pure flop.Honestly,this is by far the best Science Fiction I have ever read.They way Eric explained was simple and imaginable,the story about the Spartans was amazing and the main characters like Chief,Halsey,Cortana and Keyes were extremely well written.I wasn't able to put the book down the whole day I got the book.Spaceship battles were one of the key moments in the novel and I am happy to say that "Damn,I was really tensed up during the Sigma Octanus 4 battle".Personally,I think playing at least one of the Halo game is a must before reading this book because then you will be able to perfectly imagine the aliens and other things about Halo.
—Ajay Ramesh
t“Halo: The Fall of Reach” is science fiction novel written by Eric Nylund and is the first book to come out in the Halo series of books. “Halo: The Fall of Reach” tells the story of how the Spartan II’s, Earth’s saviors and super-soldiers, came to be. I have always been a huge fan of the Halo series of video games so I figured I would try out the books and delve a little deeper into the lore of these games.tThe story starts out following Dr. Catherine Halsey, a brilliant scientist at ONI, Office of Naval Intelligence, and a man named Jacob Keyes. They are scouting out prospects for the Spartan II Project. Later on in the story though, all of the six year old prospects are kidnapped and all brought together to be briefed on the program. Among them was John-117, 117 being his prospect number. There were a very few amount of children all hand picked because of their minds, physical capabilities, etc. These were the children that had the PERFECT fit to the Spartan II Program criteria. The goal of this program was to make a race of super-soldiers that could stop the Insurrectionists who had been fighting the UNSC, United Nations Space Command, for years. Later on in the story it becomes very obvious that John is the main character. He is a very lucky child, and is very competitive, he always wins, and if he doesn’t win then he keeps working until he wins. He alone is one of the most persistent characters that I have read about.tThe main theme I see in this book is persistence, The main reason behind the book is to tell the background story of a video game, so it isn’t written with the intention of teaching a lesson. As previously mentioned, John-117 was the most persistent character I’ve ever read about and he is constantly pushing harder and harder just to be the best. That is his main goal and he will do everything he can to achieve it. This story follows the children of the Spartan II Project and the struggles they go through, it takes place mainly on the planet Reach and also comes back to this planet later in the book after a short deviation from this place the year is in the 2400’s.tThis book is one of my personal favorites due to the nostalgia of the Halo video games and I love looking up the back story of my favorite game. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Halo video games or anyone who wants a good science fiction read. I have actually recommended this book to two of my friends and they both loved it and I love seeing people finding as much interest in it as I did and still do.
—Apribbernow
The Halo story is phenomenal. For people who just play the video games, you are missing out on the best part. Gameplay may be fun, but reading about the actual story completes the game.Fall of Reach is a prequel to the original Halo: Combat Evolved story and gives amazing insight on how John 117 came to be. He definitely has more of a personality in the book, so it was good to actually see that.As the title of the book indicates, this story goes into detail about the events leading up to when The Pillar of Autumn jumped into slipspace and escaped literal destruction from the devastation of Reach. Reach is the biggest military base humanity owns, and they fight valiantly, but the Covenant is just too powerful. They come full force at the planet and The Pillar of Autumn narrowly escapes. The book ends with the discovery of the first Halo ring, built by the forerunners.Eric Nylund is actually a decent writer. He keeps things interesting and consistent. I read this book about 6 years ago, but with the recent announcement of Halo: Reach, I wanted to go through the story again. I am glad I did.
—Jesse Booth
