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A review by jasonbatt
Halo: Cryptum by Greg Bear
4.0
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS AGO, the galaxy was populated by a great variety of beings. But one species—eons beyond all the others in both technology and knowledge—achieved dominance. They ruled in peace but met opposition with quick and brutal effectiveness. They were the Forerunners—the keepers of the Mantle, the next stage of life in the Universe’s Living Time. And then they vanished.This is their story.” – from the back cover of Halo: Cryptum
This book has started me on a great reading journey. The embarrassing fact is that I picked this up simply because it was a Halo book by a major science fiction writer. I’ve ever read any Greg Bear material until this book. I knew of his work and knew that he was widely read. Halo Cryptum was a great entry work into a a great writer.
Greg Bear’s ability to frame cosmic level events and actions into a tangible form is stunning. Halo: Cryptum has the forerunners as its primary characters. If you’re not a Halo fan, you should know that the Forerunners presence is ubiquitous in the Halo games but that none of the characters in the games are of that race . . . the Forerunners died out millennium ago and we are just discovering their impact and technology. Halo: Cryptum is the start of this back story. The Forerunners are characters that are nearly immortal and their reach is galactic in scope. Creating a book that has humans as only peripheral elements and that the main characters are immortal and almost god-like makes a major difficulty in establishing story. Story is usually defined around the limits and dangers of humanity . . . death and our inability to actually do much beyond our physical bodies. Greg Bear does a phenomenal effort in bridging this gap and creating a god-like creature of a god-like race and making you care about him. The story is told from a young Forerunner (only a few centuries have passed). Like most youngsters, he’s brash and unsure of his future.
There are significant plot elements that happen early on in the book and it is difficult to discuss the various points of the story without giving away too much. If you want a plot review (full of spoilers), visit Halo Nation’s review. Simply to say, the scope of the story is vast . . . crossing galactic spaces with ease. The events that happen are excellent. Only rarely does Bear seem to falter in explaining such cosmic concepts. He does a remarkable job overall and those few areas with the technical detail begins to build too much are rare.
My one primary issue is the length of the book and the ending point. It is stated early on that this is the first novel of a series. When I put the book down, I was sure that Greg Bear submitted his original manuscript, the publisher wanting some additional income, said, “Hmmm. tell you what — let’s make this three novels, make the font bigger, and make three times as much money. Good job, Mr. Bear.” This book starts and the last page appears before the book has even developed. This isn’t even a first act– it’s the first three scenes of the first act. I’m seeing this trend more and more in books and it concerns me. It’s harder to find the large tomes of Rowling and King length. Instead, publishers are providing the big tomes into multiple novels, creating a serial type reading effect. It’s irritating at the least. I doubt it’s Bear’s fault– the plotting feels distinctly as if it was cut off mid-action and a chopped paragraph to summarize and link to the next novel was inserted at the end as a last second thought.
Knowing this now, I would’ve purchased this as an e-book instead of in the store. It’s a great book but I’m not sure that it’s length justifies the hardcover price. A $9.99 Kindle price seems much more favorable and justifiable. This book was definitely engaging enough that I turned around and picked up Eon by Greg Bear and read that cover to cover in two days. And the journey rolled out from there.
This book has started me on a great reading journey. The embarrassing fact is that I picked this up simply because it was a Halo book by a major science fiction writer. I’ve ever read any Greg Bear material until this book. I knew of his work and knew that he was widely read. Halo Cryptum was a great entry work into a a great writer.
Greg Bear’s ability to frame cosmic level events and actions into a tangible form is stunning. Halo: Cryptum has the forerunners as its primary characters. If you’re not a Halo fan, you should know that the Forerunners presence is ubiquitous in the Halo games but that none of the characters in the games are of that race . . . the Forerunners died out millennium ago and we are just discovering their impact and technology. Halo: Cryptum is the start of this back story. The Forerunners are characters that are nearly immortal and their reach is galactic in scope. Creating a book that has humans as only peripheral elements and that the main characters are immortal and almost god-like makes a major difficulty in establishing story. Story is usually defined around the limits and dangers of humanity . . . death and our inability to actually do much beyond our physical bodies. Greg Bear does a phenomenal effort in bridging this gap and creating a god-like creature of a god-like race and making you care about him. The story is told from a young Forerunner (only a few centuries have passed). Like most youngsters, he’s brash and unsure of his future.
There are significant plot elements that happen early on in the book and it is difficult to discuss the various points of the story without giving away too much. If you want a plot review (full of spoilers), visit Halo Nation’s review. Simply to say, the scope of the story is vast . . . crossing galactic spaces with ease. The events that happen are excellent. Only rarely does Bear seem to falter in explaining such cosmic concepts. He does a remarkable job overall and those few areas with the technical detail begins to build too much are rare.
My one primary issue is the length of the book and the ending point. It is stated early on that this is the first novel of a series. When I put the book down, I was sure that Greg Bear submitted his original manuscript, the publisher wanting some additional income, said, “Hmmm. tell you what — let’s make this three novels, make the font bigger, and make three times as much money. Good job, Mr. Bear.” This book starts and the last page appears before the book has even developed. This isn’t even a first act– it’s the first three scenes of the first act. I’m seeing this trend more and more in books and it concerns me. It’s harder to find the large tomes of Rowling and King length. Instead, publishers are providing the big tomes into multiple novels, creating a serial type reading effect. It’s irritating at the least. I doubt it’s Bear’s fault– the plotting feels distinctly as if it was cut off mid-action and a chopped paragraph to summarize and link to the next novel was inserted at the end as a last second thought.
Knowing this now, I would’ve purchased this as an e-book instead of in the store. It’s a great book but I’m not sure that it’s length justifies the hardcover price. A $9.99 Kindle price seems much more favorable and justifiable. This book was definitely engaging enough that I turned around and picked up Eon by Greg Bear and read that cover to cover in two days. And the journey rolled out from there.