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A review by scopique
Halo: Cryptum by Greg Bear
3.0
I picked this up because reviews on the upcoming Halo 4 mentioned that the narrative was a little dense if one wasn't well versed in the particular back story of the Forerunners. The Forerunner Saga (trilogy) was mentioned specifically.
The Forerunners were one of the many species created by the Precursors (along with the humans), but at some point, the Forerunners wiped out the Precursor civilization. When the story opens, we learn that 10,000 years prior, the humans lost a war with the Forerunners, and had been "devolved" into two different species, sharing a sort of aboriginal lifestyle on what will later be known as Earth. Two of these proto-humans are hired by a Forerunner named Bornstellar (who's "seeking himself" through adventure) to guide him to some Precursor ruins on Earth, which turns out to be an ancient isolation chamber called a cryptum. Inside is a suspended Forerunner called the Didact, who was responsible for the defeat of the human race.
The story is actually about the introduction of the Halos when they were "new", as Forerunner weapons built to defend against the Flood. The humans had initially encountered the Flood, and had actually defeated it during their war with the Forerunners, but the remaining humans refused to give up their secrets to their conquerors out of spite, and in the hopes that the Flood infection would wipe out the Forerunner race. The two humans, Bornstellar, and the Didact, are lead across the universe by a mysterious purpose, which eventually leads to the downfall of the Forerunners.
This is a very "un-Halo" series. If a Halo fan is looking for a lot of shooting and bro-fisting action like in the games, they'll be sorely disappointed. The style is rather dense, evoking a different way of thinking that's fairly alien...which is perfect for a story told from the perspective of the Forerunner Bornstellar. We get a look at the civilization of the Forerunners, which I found to be very alien in itself. Although it falls into some typical sci-fi traps (society organized by caste, with each caste dedicated to s single task in society), a lot of the technology seemed to be a little on the deux ex machina side: star ships that form themselves, chairs and control panels that just form out of the ground...a lot of conveniently present materials. Considering how this advanced technology belonged to the Forerunners, who lived for thousands of each, who created the Halos, and who could devolve living beings, I gave it a pass. The Forerunner culture was presented as very powerful, very old, and as one might expect, very conflicted.
Anyone familiar with the Halo universe will find some touchstones here, but a good portion of the book felt like "10,000 BC" mashed up with Halo. There was a distinct primal bent to the narrative, which I found was pretty necessary to set up the second book in the series.
I gave it 3 stars for being a Halo book (not necessarily accessible to everyone), and for being just alien enough in a lot of places that my eyes glazed over out of sheer overwhelming "alienness". I suspect that it'll pay off, though, once I get into Halo 4.
The Forerunners were one of the many species created by the Precursors (along with the humans), but at some point, the Forerunners wiped out the Precursor civilization. When the story opens, we learn that 10,000 years prior, the humans lost a war with the Forerunners, and had been "devolved" into two different species, sharing a sort of aboriginal lifestyle on what will later be known as Earth. Two of these proto-humans are hired by a Forerunner named Bornstellar (who's "seeking himself" through adventure) to guide him to some Precursor ruins on Earth, which turns out to be an ancient isolation chamber called a cryptum. Inside is a suspended Forerunner called the Didact, who was responsible for the defeat of the human race.
The story is actually about the introduction of the Halos when they were "new", as Forerunner weapons built to defend against the Flood. The humans had initially encountered the Flood, and had actually defeated it during their war with the Forerunners, but the remaining humans refused to give up their secrets to their conquerors out of spite, and in the hopes that the Flood infection would wipe out the Forerunner race. The two humans, Bornstellar, and the Didact, are lead across the universe by a mysterious purpose, which eventually leads to the downfall of the Forerunners.
This is a very "un-Halo" series. If a Halo fan is looking for a lot of shooting and bro-fisting action like in the games, they'll be sorely disappointed. The style is rather dense, evoking a different way of thinking that's fairly alien...which is perfect for a story told from the perspective of the Forerunner Bornstellar. We get a look at the civilization of the Forerunners, which I found to be very alien in itself. Although it falls into some typical sci-fi traps (society organized by caste, with each caste dedicated to s single task in society), a lot of the technology seemed to be a little on the deux ex machina side: star ships that form themselves, chairs and control panels that just form out of the ground...a lot of conveniently present materials. Considering how this advanced technology belonged to the Forerunners, who lived for thousands of each, who created the Halos, and who could devolve living beings, I gave it a pass. The Forerunner culture was presented as very powerful, very old, and as one might expect, very conflicted.
Anyone familiar with the Halo universe will find some touchstones here, but a good portion of the book felt like "10,000 BC" mashed up with Halo. There was a distinct primal bent to the narrative, which I found was pretty necessary to set up the second book in the series.
I gave it 3 stars for being a Halo book (not necessarily accessible to everyone), and for being just alien enough in a lot of places that my eyes glazed over out of sheer overwhelming "alienness". I suspect that it'll pay off, though, once I get into Halo 4.