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haydol18's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
reverievagabond's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
joehart's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
Greg Bear did not need to make this as interesting as this actually is, but I really liked it.
coopercodes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
The writing is very competent, but the story is just shit.
If I wasn’t reading the whole series I probably wouldn’t have finished it, but it’s a bit depressing I’ve got to read two more of his precursor novels
If I wasn’t reading the whole series I probably wouldn’t have finished it, but it’s a bit depressing I’ve got to read two more of his precursor novels
theshaggyshepherd's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this one up to meet a prompt for a bingo readathon (based on a video game). I’ve been leaning towards more sci-fi lately so I thought this would be fun to try out. Sadly, while having some intriguing parts to the story, overall it didn’t quite work for me. If you are a fan of the games though, this could potentially work much better for you. I myself am not a gamer so I didn’t have that investment beforehand. I do have to say though that I did enjoy the narrator.
panger97's review against another edition
3.0
As a fan of the games already, I thought it was enjoyable. Not amazing by any means but still had some interesting bits. The book is part of I guess what started the new Halo lore, helping contribute to a new perspective on the Forerunners, as the main character himself is one. It is a bit dry at times, and definitely you can tell its the first book in what's to be a trilog. I did find myself missing the overall plot in some parts as a lot was quite expository.
f41c0n1337's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
As a Halo fan, particularly of Halo 4, I was excited to dive into the Forerunner lore. However, I found the prose dry, slow, and generally unengaging. While it’s arguable more of a soft sci-fi narrative with a hard sci-fi shell, I suspect if you are into more technical approaches to storytelling you might find more enjoyment in it.
jmoses's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent book by Bear. Fantastic look at the Forerunner story.
ultimatumman's review against another edition
3.0
It was good but a little confusing. The book is in the 1st person, and the main character never knows what is going on, so therefore, the reader doesn't either. Everything that happens we only figure out after the fact throughout the whole book. This story went a completely different way than I was expecting and I am waiting to see how the next two turn out.
jasonbatt's review against another edition
4.0
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS AGO, the galaxy was populated by a great variety of beings. But one species—eons beyond all the others in both technology and knowledge—achieved dominance. They ruled in peace but met opposition with quick and brutal effectiveness. They were the Forerunners—the keepers of the Mantle, the next stage of life in the Universe’s Living Time. And then they vanished.This is their story.” – from the back cover of Halo: Cryptum
This book has started me on a great reading journey. The embarrassing fact is that I picked this up simply because it was a Halo book by a major science fiction writer. I’ve ever read any Greg Bear material until this book. I knew of his work and knew that he was widely read. Halo Cryptum was a great entry work into a a great writer.
Greg Bear’s ability to frame cosmic level events and actions into a tangible form is stunning. Halo: Cryptum has the forerunners as its primary characters. If you’re not a Halo fan, you should know that the Forerunners presence is ubiquitous in the Halo games but that none of the characters in the games are of that race . . . the Forerunners died out millennium ago and we are just discovering their impact and technology. Halo: Cryptum is the start of this back story. The Forerunners are characters that are nearly immortal and their reach is galactic in scope. Creating a book that has humans as only peripheral elements and that the main characters are immortal and almost god-like makes a major difficulty in establishing story. Story is usually defined around the limits and dangers of humanity . . . death and our inability to actually do much beyond our physical bodies. Greg Bear does a phenomenal effort in bridging this gap and creating a god-like creature of a god-like race and making you care about him. The story is told from a young Forerunner (only a few centuries have passed). Like most youngsters, he’s brash and unsure of his future.
There are significant plot elements that happen early on in the book and it is difficult to discuss the various points of the story without giving away too much. If you want a plot review (full of spoilers), visit Halo Nation’s review. Simply to say, the scope of the story is vast . . . crossing galactic spaces with ease. The events that happen are excellent. Only rarely does Bear seem to falter in explaining such cosmic concepts. He does a remarkable job overall and those few areas with the technical detail begins to build too much are rare.
My one primary issue is the length of the book and the ending point. It is stated early on that this is the first novel of a series. When I put the book down, I was sure that Greg Bear submitted his original manuscript, the publisher wanting some additional income, said, “Hmmm. tell you what — let’s make this three novels, make the font bigger, and make three times as much money. Good job, Mr. Bear.” This book starts and the last page appears before the book has even developed. This isn’t even a first act– it’s the first three scenes of the first act. I’m seeing this trend more and more in books and it concerns me. It’s harder to find the large tomes of Rowling and King length. Instead, publishers are providing the big tomes into multiple novels, creating a serial type reading effect. It’s irritating at the least. I doubt it’s Bear’s fault– the plotting feels distinctly as if it was cut off mid-action and a chopped paragraph to summarize and link to the next novel was inserted at the end as a last second thought.
Knowing this now, I would’ve purchased this as an e-book instead of in the store. It’s a great book but I’m not sure that it’s length justifies the hardcover price. A $9.99 Kindle price seems much more favorable and justifiable. This book was definitely engaging enough that I turned around and picked up Eon by Greg Bear and read that cover to cover in two days. And the journey rolled out from there.
This book has started me on a great reading journey. The embarrassing fact is that I picked this up simply because it was a Halo book by a major science fiction writer. I’ve ever read any Greg Bear material until this book. I knew of his work and knew that he was widely read. Halo Cryptum was a great entry work into a a great writer.
Greg Bear’s ability to frame cosmic level events and actions into a tangible form is stunning. Halo: Cryptum has the forerunners as its primary characters. If you’re not a Halo fan, you should know that the Forerunners presence is ubiquitous in the Halo games but that none of the characters in the games are of that race . . . the Forerunners died out millennium ago and we are just discovering their impact and technology. Halo: Cryptum is the start of this back story. The Forerunners are characters that are nearly immortal and their reach is galactic in scope. Creating a book that has humans as only peripheral elements and that the main characters are immortal and almost god-like makes a major difficulty in establishing story. Story is usually defined around the limits and dangers of humanity . . . death and our inability to actually do much beyond our physical bodies. Greg Bear does a phenomenal effort in bridging this gap and creating a god-like creature of a god-like race and making you care about him. The story is told from a young Forerunner (only a few centuries have passed). Like most youngsters, he’s brash and unsure of his future.
There are significant plot elements that happen early on in the book and it is difficult to discuss the various points of the story without giving away too much. If you want a plot review (full of spoilers), visit Halo Nation’s review. Simply to say, the scope of the story is vast . . . crossing galactic spaces with ease. The events that happen are excellent. Only rarely does Bear seem to falter in explaining such cosmic concepts. He does a remarkable job overall and those few areas with the technical detail begins to build too much are rare.
My one primary issue is the length of the book and the ending point. It is stated early on that this is the first novel of a series. When I put the book down, I was sure that Greg Bear submitted his original manuscript, the publisher wanting some additional income, said, “Hmmm. tell you what — let’s make this three novels, make the font bigger, and make three times as much money. Good job, Mr. Bear.” This book starts and the last page appears before the book has even developed. This isn’t even a first act– it’s the first three scenes of the first act. I’m seeing this trend more and more in books and it concerns me. It’s harder to find the large tomes of Rowling and King length. Instead, publishers are providing the big tomes into multiple novels, creating a serial type reading effect. It’s irritating at the least. I doubt it’s Bear’s fault– the plotting feels distinctly as if it was cut off mid-action and a chopped paragraph to summarize and link to the next novel was inserted at the end as a last second thought.
Knowing this now, I would’ve purchased this as an e-book instead of in the store. It’s a great book but I’m not sure that it’s length justifies the hardcover price. A $9.99 Kindle price seems much more favorable and justifiable. This book was definitely engaging enough that I turned around and picked up Eon by Greg Bear and read that cover to cover in two days. And the journey rolled out from there.