Reviews

Halo: Broken Circle by John Shirley

fieldofhats's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“‘As you well know, Alpha Halo has been destroyed,’ Zo Resken said glumly as they paused by a pond. Something finned and golden wriggled in the water, like a bright thought in a dark mind.”

Unlike most Halo novels, this book spends much more time on political intrigue and world building, which is a very nice change of pace. If you’re looking for an action-packed, high-stakes story of super soldiers and aliens, this is not the book for you. This book is for the Halo fans who love world building, particularly when it relates to the aliens. It can get rather confusing at times, but it’s so worth it. It’s much more reminiscent of hard science fiction, as opposed to the action military sci-fi that most Halo novels are. That’s not a dis on traditional Halo novels by any means, I love the character work and themes that they bring to the literary canon of the universe, but Broken Circle brings something different and unique, which is nice.

I rather enjoyed the dual perspectives of Ussa and M’Ken

in the first half of the novel

and how they each dealt with the politics of their respective factions. They were also fantastic foils; both dedicated to honor, truth, and faith, with differing perspectives on faith and subsequently truth. Their ideologies aligned when it came to honor, though, making them great opposing foils.

The book spends more than half of the time with Ussa and M’Ken, and when their story ends, it feels complete. I felt like Shirley spent just enough time with them and ended that story right where it should have ended.

Speaking of the time jump, I loved Zo Resken and seeing his part in the Great Schism. I loved how Zo did what M’Ken couldn’t by siding completely with the Sanghili and doing what he knew was right, and I love that he found the courage to do that through M’Ken’s writings.

The theme of finding home is a very strong one in this novel, arguably the main thematic point of the novel. Every character is searching for either a home or somewhere to belong,

and while some don’t get the home they want, they find a place that accepts them. I loved the arc of Ussa and the colony being broken, then to be reforged millennia later with the help of M’Ken’s ancestor. And it was a very nice touch that the reforged colony resembled a Halo ring, reaffirming the thematic sacredness of home. And even though Bal’Tol wasn’t able to go back to Sanghelios, many of his people did, and they carried the message of Ussa with them.

The main characters of this book are those who have doubts about the Covenant. Of course the rebel factions of Ussa and his descendants, but also M’Ken and Zo. Both of the main San’Shyuum characters believe in the religion, but hate how the hierarchs are going about the doctrine. I don’t believe the intention of Shirley was allegorical, but it feels very much like people being driven away from a fundamentalist religion due to the church’s actions, but still believing in the spirituality of it.

One thing I’ve noticed in other Halo books which have Covenant perspectives is the uncanny parallel between the Covenant and fundamentalist christianity, and that’s still very much prevalent here, as is apparent with the point directly above. While this book doesn’t dive into the social politics of their system all too much, we know that the San’Shyuum and Sanghili culture are very patriarchal and structuralist, so it’s nice to see the main characters break away from that system, be it in action (like Ussa) or in thought (like M’Ken or Zo).

Overall, this is the best Halo book I have read so far. It’s so incredibly deep in its world building, themes, and characters. While it was confusing at times, the wiki was a great tool for a quick summary. If you’re a fan of political science fiction and themes of finding home, you’ll love this. If you’re intrigued by the aliens of Halo and how they function, this is the book for you.

deandingus1078's review against another edition

3.0

Rating: B

chasep's review

adventurous challenging dark 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? No

4.25

jacobstraub's review against another edition

3.0

Very Different from most of the other Halo Books. Focuses on the covenant. Somewhat predictable.

wyrmbergmalcolm's review

4.0

Set way before the games, this was a little hard to get into, but once I did, I found this to be an engrossing origin story of the Covenant and just how the Prophets wheedled their way into power. It was nice to see that there were characters who had their individuality outside of their species' generic traits. The time jump to the close of Halo 3 was a bit of a surprise, meaning I had to get to know a whole bunch of new characters, but it did make the book feel like two novellas with a common theme.

thebadishradish's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Was not expecting the

time jump

or the depth of the message and was very pleasantly surprised.

stadarooni's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

revbeckett's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful 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

5.0

‘Broken Circle’ tells the story of the war between the Sangheili and the San’Shyuum—or the Elites and the Prophets as we know them by, respectively—a few thousand years before the events of the first Halo game, starting in the year 865 B.C. on the human timeline. As you might be able to guess, what starts the conflict is the San’Shyuum’s search for Forerunner relics on the Sangheili home world, Sanghelios. If you’re a Halo veteran, then you already know the Elites and Prophets are allies in the first game and partway through Halo 2. This book tells the tale of how they joined forces and formed the Covenant. 

 

You follow the tale of an Elite named Ussa ‘Xellus who still fights and refuses to join the Covenant after a decade of most Elites joining them through an oath of service called the Writ of Union. If you remember the Shield Worlds from the Forerunner saga before this, Ussa is led to one of them and aims to move his fellow rebels there as refuge from the Covenant. 

 

You also gain some neat insights into Sangheili and San’Shyuum cultures. My favourite thing about this book is that it shows you that the Sangheili are not mindless monsters, contrary to our first encounter with them in the first game, Halo: Combat Evolved, but that they are a people. They are a people with their own culture, custom, and liturgies who didn’t just blindly join the Covenant like we’ve thought but experienced their own divisions about the matter. There are even divisions within the San’Shyuum race. What is perhaps most interesting is that there were already doubts about the so-called Great Journey both within and without the Covenant early on in their history. 

 

On the San’Shyuum end, you also follow the story of a San’Shyuum named Mken ‘Scre’ah’ben, aka the Prophet of Inner Conviction, who is tasked to bring females back to High Charity and to find a particular Forerunner relic on their home world, Janjur Qom, which none of them have been to for over a millennium because of their space ventures in search of “holy” relics to embark on the Great Journey utilising the notorious Halo Array as well as the divisions mentioned earlier. Both sides—Ussa among the Sangheili rebels and Inner Conviction as he searched for the Luminary artefact—meet betrayals that lead to intense events between the rebels and the Covenant. 

 

The latter part of the book surprisingly jumps thousands of years into the future during the more familiar time period of the games. But it makes sense that it does this after telling the story of the conflicts between the San’Shyuum and the Sangheili and it serves a purpose, which is to tell the ramifications of the end of that conflict. You also read some interesting revelations about the beginnings of the Great Schism that took place within the Covenant during Halo 2. 

 

I only have one minor complaint: the author writes that the Elites’ blood is dark blue or “purple-blue,” but everyone who’s played Halo knows their blood is just purple—a dark purple. Another time he describes a character wearing a blue uniform that symbolises Sangheili blood, but it’s not; it’s just purple! He actually describes their blood as being just purple only one time, so there’s inconsistency. This isn’t the only Halo book that makes that mistake. The editors of these books don’t do their job very well. This error isn’t enough to knock down my rating; it’s just an annoying lore inaccuracy. 

 

The book has a satisfying ending and John Shirley did a really good job with combining all the events from the far past to the future. I’d say this is one of the best Halo books in the series. 

itcamefromthepage's review against another edition

4.0

Really compelling stuff if you are a nerd that people don't like speaking to at parties.

Thankfully, I am one such nerd.

david_agranoff's review against another edition

3.0

I know I should have no business reviewing a video game novel but here is the deal. The most modern video I have played is Galaga. John Shirley is my favorite author currently calling planet earth home, so I just looked at this as a space opera by an author who doesn’t normally write in that genre. Shirley has written Video game tie-ins before, he is a gamer after all. I read his Borderlands and Bioshock novels as well. (on a side note Brian Evenson has deadspace novel I’d like to read too.)

Of the three franchises his Bioshock novel worked the best as a stand alone novel. That said I did enjoy this novel despite my total ignorance of the Halo universe. The first half of the novel takes place 1,000 years before the events of the game. The second shoot ahead A thousand years and I had the feeling this was the part of the book that tied to the game.

Mostly the first half was about the building of the last forerunner shield world, which seems directly influenced by Larry Niven’s classic Ringworld. Interesting aspect is the fact that the novel lacks a single human character. I pretty sure that is a first for Shirley. This has a much more space fantasy feel than anything he has ever written before.

Shirley does a strong job of building up the factions and breathing life into the characters. It has excellently realized action and it has made me a little more interested in the Halo universe. Must read for Halo fans and Shirley die-hards like me.