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fieldofhats 's review for:
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
by Eric Nylund
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In this novel, Eric Nylund attempts to tell two stories: the creation and development of the Spartan III program at the hands of Kurt and Mendez, and the discovery of the forerunner Shield World and all the weirdness that comes with it. Separately, these two plots are fantastic premises for a Halo novel, but they don’t work as well when being forced together. It felt like Nylund abandoned the already rushed Spartan III plot the moment Halsey came into the picture, and from that point on the narrative focused on a rushed plot focused on the forerunners. All in all, it would have been better if this book was split into two.
There are a few things I really liked, though, Kurt’s character was so well done. He’s a much more approachable Spartan than John, and he’s far more amiable. He’s wily, but still maintains the Spartan sense of honor. And it was a brilliant move to make him in charge of the Spartan III program; as a Spartan himself, he easily becomes invested in their wellbeing. This all makes him a very interesting foil to Halsey and the Spartan IIs.
I love that we get to see the Great Schism from every angle. We see it from the Arbiter’s perspective in Halo 2, but now we’re seeing it not only from the UNSC’s perspective but also random Sangheili commanders.
One thing I loved about The Fall of Reach is the connection of the story to the realm of myth. Likewise, I thought having nods to human history within the UNSC (like ship names and such) was cool, but Nylund takes things a little too far with this novel. Everything is very Eurocentric. This, to me, is proved completely when Whitcomb messages to the Sangheili that they “have a few seconds to pray to your damned heathen gods.” The Covenant is supposed to represent fundamentalism, not the evils of heathenism and polytheism. That does the exact opposite of what Halo’s themes set up — it makes it look like the UNSC is a monocultural monolith who can’t get over specific prejudices. It’s extremely short-sighted for a future society where humanity has hundreds of inhabited planets, and thus likely thousands of different religions, most of which are probably not monotheistic. I have a personal stake in this as a polytheist, but I do think it undermines the themes that Nylund had already previously set up.
Overall it was a very meh Halo novel. Nothing extraordinary, but it still had some great characters and good moments. Like with the last one, I skipped almost all the action, and there’s quite a bit of it in this one. So if you love action, you’ll probably like this one.
Read most notably while brushing my teeth in the bathroom at Stu East.
There are a few things I really liked, though, Kurt’s character was so well done. He’s a much more approachable Spartan than John, and he’s far more amiable. He’s wily, but still maintains the Spartan sense of honor. And it was a brilliant move to make him in charge of the Spartan III program; as a Spartan himself, he easily becomes invested in their wellbeing. This all makes him a very interesting foil to Halsey and the Spartan IIs.
I love that we get to see the Great Schism from every angle. We see it from the Arbiter’s perspective in Halo 2, but now we’re seeing it not only from the UNSC’s perspective but also random Sangheili commanders.
One thing I loved about The Fall of Reach is the connection of the story to the realm of myth. Likewise, I thought having nods to human history within the UNSC (like ship names and such) was cool, but Nylund takes things a little too far with this novel. Everything is very Eurocentric. This, to me, is proved completely when Whitcomb messages to the Sangheili that they “have a few seconds to pray to your damned heathen gods.” The Covenant is supposed to represent fundamentalism, not the evils of heathenism and polytheism. That does the exact opposite of what Halo’s themes set up — it makes it look like the UNSC is a monocultural monolith who can’t get over specific prejudices. It’s extremely short-sighted for a future society where humanity has hundreds of inhabited planets, and thus likely thousands of different religions, most of which are probably not monotheistic. I have a personal stake in this as a polytheist, but I do think it undermines the themes that Nylund had already previously set up.
Overall it was a very meh Halo novel. Nothing extraordinary, but it still had some great characters and good moments. Like with the last one, I skipped almost all the action, and there’s quite a bit of it in this one. So if you love action, you’ll probably like this one.
Read most notably while brushing my teeth in the bathroom at Stu East.