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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I dragged myself through these books, I do not like the story.
5 stars for the Halo fans that like the universe. 3.5-4 stars for the general Sci-Fi fans. It feels more like a history book when reading it, but it is very interesting to Halo fans.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My favorite in the whole trilogy, diving more into the history that got the characters to this point juxtaposed with the actions they were in the midst of taking. I felt like I was able to really connect with the characters for the first time in the whole trilogy. I particularly enjoyed the approach to storytelling through different perspectives and a mix of reporting mediums.
Is the Forerunner Saga great literature? Not nearly. Is it a fascinating read for Halo diehards? Absolutely! Silentium was my favorite of three. I enjoyed the log-like style of the prose and expansion of the Diadact and Librarian’s story. It also fills on some interesting holes in Halo lore. I can’t wait to get back to replaying the series armed with this backstory!
This whole trilogy was quite the convoluted journey. I wanted to like it a lot, and there were certainly many standout parts, but overall I don't think it does a great job of landing well as a standalone story, including this book. These books try to cover so much ground in order to provide a reason to exist on their own as a story, not just in the context of the Halo universe. I was able to get immersed in the world as a result of that and think of it as something separate, but it didn't do a good enough job for me to think it'd be any good if I didn't understand the references and foundations of the rest of the Halo universe at its core. It's hard to call these books a trilogy even, because all three are so completely unrelated except for at a macro level.
I liked most of the characters, and I enjoyed seeing the events of the Halo games set up, but those specific references were covered in about 30 pages, exclusively in this book - I think I expected the entire trilogy to be more of that, not mostly weird subspecies of furry humans and an angsty teenage Forerunner who turns into a nicer version of the villain from Halo 4 interacting with each other and walking across Halos and having weird fever dreams because the Librarian had implanted voices in all of the humans' minds while Forerunners make vague references to Precursors and go around having Ent-level thousand year conversations and investigations to discuss their plans to deal with the Flood. Don't get me wrong, I like Halo because it isn't just a story about the "Green Guy" shooting aliens. There's a lot to it, and these books, especially Silentium, convey that well. I was very interested to learn more about Forerunner culture and politics, but I was left with only a vague, confusing blur where I wanted concrete answers and a tragic story I already knew the ending to. I think that there was a lot of interesting backstory that I'll come to appreciate more in time, but for now, I'd only recommend this series to the most dedicated of Halo fans who want to take as deep a dive into the lore as possible.
I liked most of the characters, and I enjoyed seeing the events of the Halo games set up, but those specific references were covered in about 30 pages, exclusively in this book - I think I expected the entire trilogy to be more of that, not mostly weird subspecies of furry humans and an angsty teenage Forerunner who turns into a nicer version of the villain from Halo 4 interacting with each other and walking across Halos and having weird fever dreams because the Librarian had implanted voices in all of the humans' minds while Forerunners make vague references to Precursors and go around having Ent-level thousand year conversations and investigations to discuss their plans to deal with the Flood. Don't get me wrong, I like Halo because it isn't just a story about the "Green Guy" shooting aliens. There's a lot to it, and these books, especially Silentium, convey that well. I was very interested to learn more about Forerunner culture and politics, but I was left with only a vague, confusing blur where I wanted concrete answers and a tragic story I already knew the ending to. I think that there was a lot of interesting backstory that I'll come to appreciate more in time, but for now, I'd only recommend this series to the most dedicated of Halo fans who want to take as deep a dive into the lore as possible.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Flood! Didact! 343 Guilty Spark! It all adds up. Ring composition at its finest (because they’ve made these Halo rings, you see...).
But really, it ends this trilogy well and gives good backstory to the games without being too expository. I can’t imagine reading these without game-knowledge but I doubt many people have tried.
But really, it ends this trilogy well and gives good backstory to the games without being too expository. I can’t imagine reading these without game-knowledge but I doubt many people have tried.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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