Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A look into why the Covenant war even began and happened. Since this was written after the introduction of several key races and characters it brings them back in spectacular fashion. If perhaps making one character seem somehow connected to the most important events of the entire war.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It wasn’t my favorite book I’ve ever read, but it was still good nonetheless! It took me a bit to get into the story, and I wasn’t the biggest fan of the pov changes in the beginning, but as it continued I got more used to it. I really liked the training scenes.
*Actual Rating - 2.5/5
First Read Rating - 3/5
Second Read Rating - 2.5/5
This Was a Re-read for Me, and the book just didn't click with me the second time around, I found it slow going when I first read It about 6 or 7 years ago. But even though I read it this time in a couple days it still felt slow (which is odd as the story isn't actually slow, it moves relatively fast), and I just wanted to put it down and do other things.
Its not a bad book, its okay, its just not for me. Even though i'm a huge Halo fan (and a Huge Sci-Fi Fan In General), I could have gone without reading it, I don't think it really contributed anything to the Halo story. But that is just my opinion, as other's might find it very important to the story (I did not)
Hardcore Halo Fans, would like it, but if you've not read any of the other books, or played the games, I would not recommend you read this book. Its better to have prior knowledge and experience of the Halo Universe before diving in.
But even then with all my Halo Knowledge, I had trouble enjoying Contact Harvest, and to be honest I can't think why, it just didn't click with me.
*2.5/5
First Read Rating - 3/5
Second Read Rating - 2.5/5
This Was a Re-read for Me, and the book just didn't click with me the second time around, I found it slow going when I first read It about 6 or 7 years ago. But even though I read it this time in a couple days it still felt slow (which is odd as the story isn't actually slow, it moves relatively fast), and I just wanted to put it down and do other things.
Its not a bad book, its okay, its just not for me. Even though i'm a huge Halo fan (and a Huge Sci-Fi Fan In General), I could have gone without reading it, I don't think it really contributed anything to the Halo story. But that is just my opinion, as other's might find it very important to the story (I did not)
Hardcore Halo Fans, would like it, but if you've not read any of the other books, or played the games, I would not recommend you read this book. Its better to have prior knowledge and experience of the Halo Universe before diving in.
But even then with all my Halo Knowledge, I had trouble enjoying Contact Harvest, and to be honest I can't think why, it just didn't click with me.
*2.5/5
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sergeant Johnson’s origin story! What can be more exciting than that? If you’re like me and you want to read the Halo books in chronological order, there’s a couple ways you could do it at this point in the timeline. You can either read The Fall of Reach up through chapter 14, then read Contact Harvest, The Cole Protocol, the Battle Born duology, and then finish The Fall of Reach. Or you could do my preferred method: Contact Harvest first, then The Cole Protocol, the Battle Born duology, and then The Fall of Reach especially because a certain Forerunner relic makes an appearance that was first mentioned in the previous chronological book: Broken Circle, and other appearances in The Fall of Reach after their first mention in Contact Harvest. You could also just read all of The Fall of Reach first and then read the others. It doesn’t really matter. The Fall of Reach mentions what happens at Harvest and Admiral Preston Cole in passing, whom the protocol is named after, so you could just read The Fall of Reach and then those two books and the duology for backstory. It’s up to you.
Anyway, besides Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson’s origin story, this is also the story of Humanity’s first contact with the menagerie of alien religious zealots called the Covenant. So you also gain some new insight into the Covenant’s religion and culture and their side of first contact (which is hardly noble, of course), as well as a couple surprising origin stories. Like most of the early Halo books, there’s a lot of grammatical errors, misprinting, and missing words, but I rate the book based on the merits of the narrative rather than the incompetence of the editors. Otherwise, it’s a really good further look into Sergeant Johnson’s character as well as that of a few others we know from the games.
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sergeant Johnson is overshadowed by a love story between an Unggoy and a Huragok.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Showing how the Human - Covenant war comes in to being, and also Sgt. Johnsons story line; Contact Harvest is a great book. It is the very beginning of the story of halo in terms of the games, and is a great place to start the books.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Joseph Staten’s Contact Harvest is a science fiction novel based on the Halo Universe video games. I, personally, am a massive fan of the Halo Universe. Being able to read deeper into the world that I have grown up with has been amazing. That being said, this novel was not one that flowed easily for me. I started it January 4th and it took a solid three weeks to finish this 393-page book.
Contact Harvest is the beginning of it all. The story follows the battle-weary Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson as he struggles through a human-controlled space locked in the Insurrection, a virulent civil war. Despite the peaceful, agricultural populous that resides on the planet, Harvest, humanity is about to make the first contact with the aggressive, zealous aliens making up the Covenant.
I love having, even more, history into Halo and it’s characters, however, the build up in the book was like slogging through cold molasses. The character building for both the human and the alien individuals was surprisingly thorough. Nevertheless, there was a lot of information to absorb. The book was heavy with detail; even for someone who has read other Halo novels and played most of the Halo video games multiple times, I caught myself rereading several paragraphs just to retain and understand a great deal of the particulars.
Overall, it was a good read and after about 250 pages in, the story really picked up and became a real page turner. I like the fact that I was given more history into a universe that I have loved for a very long time, but I do wish I had been better hooked in the beginning. I give it a 3 out of 5 for great character development and attention to detail, and while I thought the overload of information and details was hard to labor through, it did help provide insight into Halo Universe.
Contact Harvest is a great read and I do recommend it. I also recommend being able to devote quite a bit of time and mental space to the story.
Contact Harvest is the beginning of it all. The story follows the battle-weary Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson as he struggles through a human-controlled space locked in the Insurrection, a virulent civil war. Despite the peaceful, agricultural populous that resides on the planet, Harvest, humanity is about to make the first contact with the aggressive, zealous aliens making up the Covenant.
I love having, even more, history into Halo and it’s characters, however, the build up in the book was like slogging through cold molasses. The character building for both the human and the alien individuals was surprisingly thorough. Nevertheless, there was a lot of information to absorb. The book was heavy with detail; even for someone who has read other Halo novels and played most of the Halo video games multiple times, I caught myself rereading several paragraphs just to retain and understand a great deal of the particulars.
Overall, it was a good read and after about 250 pages in, the story really picked up and became a real page turner. I like the fact that I was given more history into a universe that I have loved for a very long time, but I do wish I had been better hooked in the beginning. I give it a 3 out of 5 for great character development and attention to detail, and while I thought the overload of information and details was hard to labor through, it did help provide insight into Halo Universe.
Contact Harvest is a great read and I do recommend it. I also recommend being able to devote quite a bit of time and mental space to the story.
This book is the origin story of the famous Sergeant Avery Johnson who makes his first debut in the first Halo game, Halo: Combat Evolved. In fact, it is rich in origin stories, as you also read about the Prophet Hierarchs and the Brute named Tartarus from Halo 2. The reader gains insight into Sergeant Johnson’s military career and it also tells the story of humanity’s first, unprecedented contact with the menagerie of religious alien zealots calling themselves the Covenant on the human Outer Colony world, Harvest. Thus, you learn more about the Covenant’s fanaticism as well. You get part of Harvest’s story in the game, Halo Wars, but this book is from Sergeant Johnson’s perspective, in addition to other lore. Here, you learn why Harvest was such a significant loss for humanity as it tells Sergeant Johnson’s role in preventing the Covenant from finding an important Forerunner artefact. In the parts where you read about the Prophet Hierarchs, Truth, Mercy, and Regret, you also learn the reasoning behind their conspiracy that is first unearthed by the “heretic” leader in Halo 2 that will eventually lead to the Covenant Schism and winning the Arbiter over to humanity’s side in that same game.