A review by revbeckett
Halo: Contact Harvest by Joseph Staten

5.0

This book is the origin story of the famous Sergeant Avery Johnson who makes his first debut in the first Halo game, Halo: Combat Evolved. In fact, it is rich in origin stories, as you also read about the Prophet Hierarchs and the Brute named Tartarus from Halo 2. The reader gains insight into Sergeant Johnson’s military career and it also tells the story of humanity’s first, unprecedented contact with the menagerie of religious alien zealots calling themselves the Covenant on the human Outer Colony world, Harvest. Thus, you learn more about the Covenant’s fanaticism as well. You get part of Harvest’s story in the game, Halo Wars, but this book is from Sergeant Johnson’s perspective, in addition to other lore. Here, you learn why Harvest was such a significant loss for humanity as it tells Sergeant Johnson’s role in preventing the Covenant from finding an important Forerunner artefact. In the parts where you read about the Prophet Hierarchs, Truth, Mercy, and Regret, you also learn the reasoning behind their conspiracy that is first unearthed by the “heretic” leader in Halo 2 that will eventually lead to the Covenant Schism and winning the Arbiter over to humanity’s side in that same game.