Reviews

Halo: First Strike by Eric S. Nylund

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thurminator's review

5.0

Eric Nylund is an absolutely incredible author. This and The Fall of Reach are not just interesting Halo books, but phenomenal works of fiction that could easily interest someone who has never even heard of Halo. This was no exception, answering every question I had about the events between Halo 1 and 2. The characters were awesome, the plot was compelling, and I have no complaints whatsoever. This book, written in 2003, sets up plot elements for the series up to 8 years later. Easy 5 stars.

chogangoof's review

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4.0

This book was absolutely amazing. I don't think it's quite at a "masterpiece" level, but it's very impressive. This book isn't all that action-based like the last one and has a lot of cool narrative things going on. This book tells a really well handled dual-narrative that works wonderfully. It's also nice that this isn't just a page adaptation is Halo 2 like how The Flood was to Halo: CE. The character work was also shockingly good. This is a great book that will keep you invested the whole way through.

damreader's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

velvetyaverage's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

4.0

charlieglynn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

revbeckett's review

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adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

This book takes place between the events of the first two games, ‘Halo: Combat Evolved’ and ‘Halo 2.’ It answers some questions for us: How did the Master Chief get back to Earth? How did Sergeant Johnson survive the Flood infection and the destruction of Halo Installation 04? How did Blue Team survive the glassing of Reach? And how did the Covenant discover the location of Earth? After the end of the first game’s events, we assume the Master Chief was able to lean back and relax as he returned to Earth. But unfortunately, he was quickly back in the saddle to survive the Covenant and to protect Humanity from their impending invasion of Earth.

Content Warnings