Reviews

Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by Eric S. Nylund

jrod_62's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Wow. This was easily my favorite of the original Halo saga (I skipped The Flood). Being away from the story of Master Chief more brought more intensity because there was more room for character growth and more ability to actually fear for characters' outcomes. The last third of the book was absolutely gripping. And the intrigue of Onyx and the Spartan III's added to what the other two books lacked: the unknown (for me, digging deeper into Halo lore for the first time). 

marcelozanca's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

3.5

bhall237's review against another edition

4.0

“In the years to come, Tom would reflect on Lucy's last question every day. "How are you sure we're alive?" Something had died for every Spartan that day.”

Another stellar book from Nylud, and unfortunately the last full length Halo novel written by the author, but the trilogy he contributed was damn near perfect from beginning to end. I would say I enjoyed this book just a bit less than First Strike, but still loved every moment of this book.

It was interesting reading something set in this universe that only featured Master Chief for only a brief moment, with the rest of the story following other Spartans, either new or pre-established in previous books. I very much enjoyed the camaraderie of the Spartans throughout the book, and continue to wish that the fellowship of Spartans seen in these books were seeing in the video games. The only short coming of this book that really stuck with me was the overall threat of the forerunner technology. I just felt wasn’t explored in as interesting a manner as the villains of the other books, but the whole explanation of the technology and lore was fascinating.

I do look forward to reading more Halo books after this one, there are countless more after this, but curious so see how the writing style and the word building established by Nylund is continued.

sverremikael's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.5

minimatt233's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A

5.0

Kurt is amazing. Nylund knows how to write amazing action scenes, especially in space.

drblockbooks's review against another edition

Fun and exciting, but Master Chief isn't in this book, so I didn't like it as much as Fall of Reach and First Strike. The writing was great and the action was exciting, even without Master Chief.

afesant's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jonsciandra's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

xeno2318's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

graff_fuller's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. It told a separate story from Master Chief, but revealed a character that I fell in love with, too. Kurt is sort of a mixture of Master Chief and Dr. Halsey (the good parts).

Spartan IIIs are now in use. 

The arc that Kurt had was incredible. 

The end scenes were/are something I'm trying to wrap my head around. I wonder how the story will proceed from here...for this not an end or a place of rest (not for Spartans).

Colonel Ackerson is NOT as an ass, as he is in the New TV series on Paramount+ Season 2. BUT, I can see him getting there.

Also, an interesting arc for the Covenant. It truly does make a HUGE difference for our characters, but HOW it complicates their future decisions is the real question.

Still having fun with this series.