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A review by ianpauljones
Halo: The Cole Protocol by Tobias S. Buckell
5.0
This is the sixth novel in the Halo series and it takes place several years after the action in the fifth novel, which saw the first contact with the Covenant and the fall of the first human colony on the planet Harvest. In the intervening years the Covenant has destroyed several human colonies and most of the action in this volume takes place in a string of asteroids known as The Rubble, inhabited by Insurrectionists and refugees from the obliterated colony of Madrigal.
Like the fifth novel, this volume adds more layers to the Halo universe. On the human side we have the Navy, the Marines and the Spartans’ Grey Team. The main Navy character is Lieutenant Jacob Keyes, who has appeared in several of the earlier novels. I say earlier but remember some of them are set after this one and we already know Keyes’ fate. We also have Insurrectionists and civilians and refugees and people who are trading with the Kig-Yar (Jackals). They are one of the Covenant races, but a race who have human-like characteristics, namely a passion for trade, piracy and making a profit. There is a risk that Insurrectionists will hand over navigation data to the Kig-Yar for them to pass on to the Prophets, who will then be able to locate Earth and the inner colonies.
So there is treachery (or freedom fighting) on the human side, but on the Covenant side there is also conflict. Two of the three senior Prophets (the Hierarchs) are plotting and conniving against each other. There is conflict between the Kig-Yar and the Sangheili (Elites). And all of them are hapy to use the poor old Unggoy (Grunts) as cannon fodder. We learn more about the cultures and characteristics of these races. Some others don’t appear at all in this volume or are only in the background in this novel (the Hunters, the Engineers and the Jiralhanae). I still need to sit down and work out who they all are.
This novel has plenty of combat but also more plot and character development than some of the earlier novels. It is written by Tobias Buckell, who has written one other Halo novel. I’d recommend it to anyone who plays Halo, or anyone who likes a bit of sci-fi escapism, but it’s best to try to read the Halo novels in the correct order, otherwise you’re liable to end up lost in a parallel universe.
Like the fifth novel, this volume adds more layers to the Halo universe. On the human side we have the Navy, the Marines and the Spartans’ Grey Team. The main Navy character is Lieutenant Jacob Keyes, who has appeared in several of the earlier novels. I say earlier but remember some of them are set after this one and we already know Keyes’ fate. We also have Insurrectionists and civilians and refugees and people who are trading with the Kig-Yar (Jackals). They are one of the Covenant races, but a race who have human-like characteristics, namely a passion for trade, piracy and making a profit. There is a risk that Insurrectionists will hand over navigation data to the Kig-Yar for them to pass on to the Prophets, who will then be able to locate Earth and the inner colonies.
So there is treachery (or freedom fighting) on the human side, but on the Covenant side there is also conflict. Two of the three senior Prophets (the Hierarchs) are plotting and conniving against each other. There is conflict between the Kig-Yar and the Sangheili (Elites). And all of them are hapy to use the poor old Unggoy (Grunts) as cannon fodder. We learn more about the cultures and characteristics of these races. Some others don’t appear at all in this volume or are only in the background in this novel (the Hunters, the Engineers and the Jiralhanae). I still need to sit down and work out who they all are.
This novel has plenty of combat but also more plot and character development than some of the earlier novels. It is written by Tobias Buckell, who has written one other Halo novel. I’d recommend it to anyone who plays Halo, or anyone who likes a bit of sci-fi escapism, but it’s best to try to read the Halo novels in the correct order, otherwise you’re liable to end up lost in a parallel universe.