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robliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Part of my 2021-2022 Halo Timeline-order read-a-thon series.
Greg Bear was a monolith in his own right in the world of science fiction. The Halo franchise was fortunate to have him aboard for not one, not two, but three entries in the franchise. Cryptum is compelling, mysterious, and stands alone from the Halo franchise as a solid work of science fiction. For the first time, we get a look into the apex society of the Forerunners, an advanced and distant relative of human beings. While the book starts as a traditional bildungsroman, it quickly evolves into something other entirely. Bornstellar-makes-eternal-lasting (how's that for a first name?) finds themself embroiled in a conflict longer than any human lifespan and one which meanders towards the eventual reveal of the titular Halo constructs.
A solid read for anyone wishing to dip their toes into a deeper, more complex scifi or for anyone who has ever wanted to read a good Halo book without feeling out of their depth in the Halo franchise.
Greg Bear was a monolith in his own right in the world of science fiction. The Halo franchise was fortunate to have him aboard for not one, not two, but three entries in the franchise. Cryptum is compelling, mysterious, and stands alone from the Halo franchise as a solid work of science fiction. For the first time, we get a look into the apex society of the Forerunners, an advanced and distant relative of human beings. While the book starts as a traditional bildungsroman, it quickly evolves into something other entirely. Bornstellar-makes-eternal-lasting (how's that for a first name?) finds themself embroiled in a conflict longer than any human lifespan and one which meanders towards the eventual reveal of the titular Halo constructs.
A solid read for anyone wishing to dip their toes into a deeper, more complex scifi or for anyone who has ever wanted to read a good Halo book without feeling out of their depth in the Halo franchise.
robliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Part of my 2021-2022 Halo Timeline-order read-a-thon series.
Halo: Silentium is a love letter to the concept of what a "Halo" is and the concept of an apex civilization's sudden, tomb-like disappearance across the breadth of the scifi genre. This book is a treasure from beginning to end, and whenever I have read the Forerunner Trilogy, I am always giddy with the thought of getting to Silentium. Whether you're a world-building lore nut or someone deeply invested in the characters, you are winning with this entry. The revelations are mind-blowing; the action is gripping. The ending genuinely chokes the reader up - it is the perfect balance we are looking for with a bittersweet ending. You're sad for the journey's end, sad for the circumstances, and yet touched by the sheer humanity oozing from the pages as you read the final voyage of the Forerunner era.
Whether you are here because you love the Halo franchise and want to know more or you are a first-time reader who's looking to get more out of scifi, this book has all of the payoff you might want out of a trilogy. Highly recommend!
Halo: Silentium is a love letter to the concept of what a "Halo" is and the concept of an apex civilization's sudden, tomb-like disappearance across the breadth of the scifi genre. This book is a treasure from beginning to end, and whenever I have read the Forerunner Trilogy, I am always giddy with the thought of getting to Silentium. Whether you're a world-building lore nut or someone deeply invested in the characters, you are winning with this entry. The revelations are mind-blowing; the action is gripping. The ending genuinely chokes the reader up - it is the perfect balance we are looking for with a bittersweet ending. You're sad for the journey's end, sad for the circumstances, and yet touched by the sheer humanity oozing from the pages as you read the final voyage of the Forerunner era.
Whether you are here because you love the Halo franchise and want to know more or you are a first-time reader who's looking to get more out of scifi, this book has all of the payoff you might want out of a trilogy. Highly recommend!
sjlee's review against another edition
1.0
The Halo series will always have a soft spot in my heart. I think the novels portray artificial intelligence characters in a really interesting light. The space battles depicted in The Fall of Reach and elsewhere are unlike others I've read before. As a result of my fondness for the series I have picked them up one by one and read them when I could.
I think my appreciation for the series peaked Halo: First Contact, and quickly eroded from there.
I like to think of myself as a fairly sophisticated science fiction reader. When I read the first trilogy of novels in the series and a few of the others, it seemed to me that the talented writers hired for the job fleshed out and created depth for the series. Reading Halo: Cryptum it feels like dense, boring lore and clichés from sci-fi that are well-worn.
The book focuses on the ancient past with the Forerunners. It features humans and Covenant species at the mercy of the god-like aliens that oversee their world. The culture of the Forerunners is not particularly interesting or nuanced. It reads more like an explanation of RPG classes than a functional society.
There is very little to ground the story and pull in the reader. They bounce from location to location, piecing together 'the mystery' and uncovering items that I think are supposed to speak to fans of the later Halo games but mean nothing on their own. Having a stoic race of elder aliens is fine, but it makes them hard to relate to or care about. None of their concerns seem to matter.
The book also feels a bit like a criticism Asimov once made. He said that alien societies would be so different that they would naturally beg to have unique language to adequately describe them. However, writing it for a human audience means translation and bridging. So much of the book just seems like surreal technology-is-magic and breaks plausibility.
I'm sure fans of the series (video game or novelization) may take something away, but this ends my journey with the books.
I think my appreciation for the series peaked Halo: First Contact, and quickly eroded from there.
I like to think of myself as a fairly sophisticated science fiction reader. When I read the first trilogy of novels in the series and a few of the others, it seemed to me that the talented writers hired for the job fleshed out and created depth for the series. Reading Halo: Cryptum it feels like dense, boring lore and clichés from sci-fi that are well-worn.
The book focuses on the ancient past with the Forerunners. It features humans and Covenant species at the mercy of the god-like aliens that oversee their world. The culture of the Forerunners is not particularly interesting or nuanced. It reads more like an explanation of RPG classes than a functional society.
There is very little to ground the story and pull in the reader. They bounce from location to location, piecing together 'the mystery' and uncovering items that I think are supposed to speak to fans of the later Halo games but mean nothing on their own. Having a stoic race of elder aliens is fine, but it makes them hard to relate to or care about. None of their concerns seem to matter.
The book also feels a bit like a criticism Asimov once made. He said that alien societies would be so different that they would naturally beg to have unique language to adequately describe them. However, writing it for a human audience means translation and bridging. So much of the book just seems like surreal technology-is-magic and breaks plausibility.
I'm sure fans of the series (video game or novelization) may take something away, but this ends my journey with the books.
accidentalmuse's review against another edition
4.0
3.75/5
As a huge halo fan, when my boyfriend first mentioned this trilogy to me it sounded incredibly interesting. An opportunity to see a more fleshed out Didact, and just to learn more about the Forerunners, your classic 'ancient mysterious very-advanced race of aliens, that we know nothing about'.
I'll start with some of the main things I liked about this book:
Our main character, Bornstellar, was very likeable. Throughout this book you got to see him really grow and mature as a character, and that was lovely to see. Being with him as he overcame his prejudices, and found out what mattered to him, where his loyalties lay, was something I immensely enjoyed. Sure in the initial chapters he was lacking a bit of personality, I'll put that down to him being a young protagonist.
The setting was also wonderful, I really got the impression of how advanced life was in the Forerunner galaxy, but it was all made understandable enough to visualise.
A third thing I liked about this book was the politics which we began to get into towards the latter half of the novel. Greg Bear doesn't attempt to paint the Forerunners as a perfect society with perfect politics, instead he showed us that these people could still be flawed, especially those with the most power, and it led to an interesting plot.
My last big plus for this book was of course, The Didact. One thing to note, is this trilogy was released before Halo 4 came out, however I played Halo 4 first. If it hadn't been for the time I spent looking at terminals and talking to my bf about the lore, The Didact would've been an incredibly one dimensional character. So, when I heard he was in this trilogy I was really looking for an expansion and a deeper dive into his character. And that's exactly what I got.
The Didact was a really great character in my opinion, we also see growth in him throughout the novel as he spends time with his former enemies, and overcomes some of the harsh opinions he had of them. You can tell he really does care about his people, the Mantle, and the trust he has in his wife. I can't talk too much about the specifics without spoilers, but I just really like the way the Didact was characterised.
There are some things that could have been tweaked or improved about Cryptum so let's get into a few of those:
Firstly, female representation. Now, for the majority of the book our cast of characters is very small. I don't mind at all, that there aren't many women in the book, my problem arises with the way they're written when they are included.
There are effectively two women the main character interacts with outside of family in this novel, and both of them are painted as love interests. These two characters are Glory and The Librarian. I found it frustrating that two strong characters such as these (one a warrior, and one an incredibly respected forerunner) had virtually no descriptions, no meaningful page time, except when Bornstellar was talking about how hot they were/how his body reacted to their presence.
The only other real 'female' presence throughout this book are the ancillas, who are subservient personal AIs. No strong or complex female characters.
The second thing was the treatment of supporting characters. From the beginning of the novel Bornstellar has two companions. While these companions are deemed as 'lesser' in Forerunner society and am surprised by how quickly they disappeared into the background of the story.
We spend quite some time travelling between planets, and for almost the entirely of those sections, the companions are locked in their room, rarely spoken of, rarely spoken to. It just felt like a bit of a shame after we'd spent the early chapters getting to know and love these characters.
Overall I enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading the second. Cryptum has allowed me to solidify my views of The Didact, it has filled in some of the holes left from Halo 4, and it's set up an interesting world and atmosphere leading into book 2.
I'm curious to see where Bear will go with the plot threads he's woven,and if/when our supporting cast will be given more time on the page.
As a huge halo fan, when my boyfriend first mentioned this trilogy to me it sounded incredibly interesting. An opportunity to see a more fleshed out Didact, and just to learn more about the Forerunners, your classic 'ancient mysterious very-advanced race of aliens, that we know nothing about'.
I'll start with some of the main things I liked about this book:
Our main character, Bornstellar, was very likeable. Throughout this book you got to see him really grow and mature as a character, and that was lovely to see. Being with him as he overcame his prejudices, and found out what mattered to him, where his loyalties lay, was something I immensely enjoyed. Sure in the initial chapters he was lacking a bit of personality, I'll put that down to him being a young protagonist.
The setting was also wonderful, I really got the impression of how advanced life was in the Forerunner galaxy, but it was all made understandable enough to visualise.
A third thing I liked about this book was the politics which we began to get into towards the latter half of the novel. Greg Bear doesn't attempt to paint the Forerunners as a perfect society with perfect politics, instead he showed us that these people could still be flawed, especially those with the most power, and it led to an interesting plot.
My last big plus for this book was of course, The Didact. One thing to note, is this trilogy was released before Halo 4 came out, however I played Halo 4 first. If it hadn't been for the time I spent looking at terminals and talking to my bf about the lore, The Didact would've been an incredibly one dimensional character. So, when I heard he was in this trilogy I was really looking for an expansion and a deeper dive into his character. And that's exactly what I got.
The Didact was a really great character in my opinion, we also see growth in him throughout the novel as he spends time with his former enemies, and overcomes some of the harsh opinions he had of them. You can tell he really does care about his people, the Mantle, and the trust he has in his wife. I can't talk too much about the specifics without spoilers, but I just really like the way the Didact was characterised.
There are some things that could have been tweaked or improved about Cryptum so let's get into a few of those:
Firstly, female representation. Now, for the majority of the book our cast of characters is very small. I don't mind at all, that there aren't many women in the book, my problem arises with the way they're written when they are included.
There are effectively two women the main character interacts with outside of family in this novel, and both of them are painted as love interests. These two characters are Glory and The Librarian. I found it frustrating that two strong characters such as these (one a warrior, and one an incredibly respected forerunner) had virtually no descriptions, no meaningful page time, except when Bornstellar was talking about how hot they were/how his body reacted to their presence.
The only other real 'female' presence throughout this book are the ancillas, who are subservient personal AIs. No strong or complex female characters.
The second thing was the treatment of supporting characters. From the beginning of the novel Bornstellar has two companions. While these companions are deemed as 'lesser' in Forerunner society and am surprised by how quickly they disappeared into the background of the story.
We spend quite some time travelling between planets, and for almost the entirely of those sections, the companions are locked in their room, rarely spoken of, rarely spoken to. It just felt like a bit of a shame after we'd spent the early chapters getting to know and love these characters.
Overall I enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading the second. Cryptum has allowed me to solidify my views of The Didact, it has filled in some of the holes left from Halo 4, and it's set up an interesting world and atmosphere leading into book 2.
I'm curious to see where Bear will go with the plot threads he's woven,and if/when our supporting cast will be given more time on the page.
commander_zander's review against another edition
3.0
Surprisingly delightful prose. Didn't expect this to be one of the biggest-vocabulary books i read this year. Fun characters, fun male-male affection. Plot is not tight but the imagery is great. Fast read.
the_slackening's review against another edition
2.0
It was very bland. It felt like an intro to a series that I needed previous knowledge to get on the inside with. Much more do than previous Halo books--i just couldn't get into it, and then there wasn't much action. It finally got interesting about halfway through the book then fizzled again.
roblef's review against another edition
1.0
Couldn't get through it. I don't know if it was the pressing need to read other, more exciting things or my disinterest in his take on the Halo universe (or my disinterest int he Halo universe to be more exact), but I just. couldn't. do. it.
bear's review against another edition
4.0
Well hot damn this turned out better than I expected. One of the twists I saw coming from pretty early on but I feel like an idiot for not seeing the final one coming. Another essential Halo read if you want to properly understand the universe.