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charlieglynn's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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? No
4.0
gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
3.75
I don't think I enjoyed the Spartan III's as much as the Spartan II's in this book. I did enjoy them in scenes they were in and I wasn't annoyed when they were on page but something about how Kurt acted about them and in general made me hesitant towards them.
I think I would have liked Kurt to address the death of the whole Alpha and Beta companies and where the rest of Gamma company went. Instead we have him saying how much he cares for his Spartans but with little actions to back it up.
I did think it was strange that the Spartan III's were on the same level as the Spartans II's. Yea they are super soldiers and have been training their wholes lives to be soldiers, but so have the Spartan's II with more experience and stronger armor albeit with less advancements.
I will be interested to see if this plot gets followed in any of the other books considering how it ended.
I did think it was strange that the Spartan III's were on the same level as the Spartans II's. Yea they are super soldiers and have been training their wholes lives to be soldiers, but so have the Spartan's II with more experience and stronger armor albeit with less advancements.
I will be interested to see if this plot gets followed in any of the other books considering how it ended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Death, and Violence
imsam's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastically fun Halo book that is just as good as First Strike. Picks up where it left off and is a lot of fun.
xerosolar's review against another edition
4.0
Still very enjoyable as a re-read (I read this first 10 years ago), it packs a punch and delivers an enjoyable story behind the Spartan-IIIs and Blue team, of course, maybe only enjoyable for Halo fans, but for such audience, this is a must read
billyhopscotch's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book the most out of the Halo novelizations so far. The characters and moral dilemmas seem real and important, and Nylund's style fits the pacing and tone of the Halo universe.
chasep's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.5
rosebrooklynn21's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thebadishradish's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
Brainwashing kids is okay as long as they don’t have parents anymore.
revbeckett's review against another edition
3.0
If the reader is familiar with the game, Halo: Reach, they are aware that Noble team consisted of SPARTAN-IIIs but are left confused as to where the heck they came from if they haven’t read this book. ‘Ghosts of Onyx’ was published four years before the release of Halo: Reach and tells the tale of the SPARTAN-III programme. We come across Blue Team again, Dr. Catherine Halsey makes an appearance again, and an old, familiar character returns: Chief Mendez, whom we haven’t seen since the first (published) book, ‘Halo: The Fall of Reach,’ the man who trained the notorious SPARTAN-IIs, including the Master Chief.
There are a LOT of spelling and grammatical errors, which seems to be the hallmark of almost every Halo book. Maybe it’s at the fault of the publishers for wanting to push out these books so quickly, so the editors do a poor job of doing what they’re hired to do. I don’t know. But because of these errors and the anticlimactic ending, it makes it quite difficult to read at times, making it a lukewarm read despite the appearances of beloved characters like Mendez and Blue Team. If you can suffer through all this, it is still worth reading about the origins of the SPARTAN-IIIs as well as the emergence of “shield worlds” that I found to be confusing in the game, Halo 3.
There are a LOT of spelling and grammatical errors, which seems to be the hallmark of almost every Halo book. Maybe it’s at the fault of the publishers for wanting to push out these books so quickly, so the editors do a poor job of doing what they’re hired to do. I don’t know. But because of these errors and the anticlimactic ending, it makes it quite difficult to read at times, making it a lukewarm read despite the appearances of beloved characters like Mendez and Blue Team. If you can suffer through all this, it is still worth reading about the origins of the SPARTAN-IIIs as well as the emergence of “shield worlds” that I found to be confusing in the game, Halo 3.