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revbeckett's review against another edition
4.0
Probably the first question every gamer asked at the beginning of Halo 2 was: how the heck did Sergeant Johnson survive the Flood AND the utter annihilation of the Halo ring, Installation 04? Open this book to find out! The answer within surprisingly connects this part of Halo’s story to the Forerunner trilogy written by Greg Bear (reviews coming soon), thus bringing some continuity to the lore of Halo. Besides this, ‘First Strike’ also gives us further insight into the formidability of Spartans in their MJOLNIR suits, including an understanding of their humanity. In the books, other characters like nameless Marines and significant officers view the Spartans as robots, mainly because they’re faceless warriors with their helmets on all the time as well as their superhuman resilience (literally). Yet here, in ‘First Strike,’ we see they are just as human as the rest of us, supersoldier though they may be. Unfortunately, this book also has an over abundance of grammatical and spelling errors like its prequel, which seems to be a hallmark of the Halo books so far. Because of this, I give it 4 stars.
cisco's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
thebookslayer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A great edition to the halo book series that ties together fall of reach and the flood. Finishing with the lead up to halo 2 the game.
minimatt233's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
This was amazing! After putting down "The Flood" it was great to see Nylund's writing again which pulled me into the story so much more. This book was just so fun and honestly could have been a game considering the epic events that occur.
rightfulruler's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
tyboarder's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
spike_b's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely an interesting read for the fans of Halo series. Fills the gap between Halo: CE and Halo 2 as well as explains why The Fall of Reach ended the way it did.
sonofthunder's review against another edition
3.0
The third book in the Halo trilogy! I am pretty sure there are lots more Halo books than these three I've just finished, but I must confess I'm not invested enough in the Halo universe to desire to get more. The three are good enough for me. And this one, First Strike, is a fine conclusion. Thankfully this book isn't based directly on the plot of a video game, so Nylund has plenty of space to weave his own story. And this story much benefits from returning favourites - namely, some of the other Spartans! Probably my favourite parts were seeing the other Spartans interact both with each other and Dr. Halsey. The middle portion of the book, with the Spartans and Halsey exploring a vast previously unknown underground complex, is definitely a highlight for me. I'm always excited for this part. The mythic unknown. The sublime teamwork of the Spartans. Everything in this section just sings! The rest of the book is...fine? Honestly, this may sound heretical but I didn't really care for the Master Chief's sections quite as much in this book. Yes some of the early parts were engaging - good to see him work with others! - but I've seen him in two books now and this third one didn't really seem to develop him much further. Alas. Anyway, still a fun story!