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streetwrites 's review for:
Halo: Battle Born
by Cassandra Rose Clarke
I enjoyed this one pretty well. I have to say, as a huge fan of Halo, I was not disappointed with the way familiar elements were portrayed in book form. The author was clearly knowledgeable about the series, and I didn’t really see anything that came into contradiction with established canon. If anything, the book made the Halo universe feel more intact, more real.
My only real gripes with the book are from a craft standpoint. I love that there’s now a YA series set in this world, but I almost felt the book was written with more of a middle-grade audience in mind. The plot was very straightforward, with lots of action pieces. And that’s fine, but what it lacked for me was enough subplots to make its characters really come alive. Saskia has the most potential as a complex, evolving character, and Dorian had a semblance of uniqueness. But the other two POV characters, as well as the SPARTAN Owen were almost lost in the mixture.
I just think the story was a bit too careful in terms of not trusting its audience to handle a more in-depth character study of our leads, not to mention a plot that doesn’t rely on the redundant pattern of “go on mission, regroup at house, repeat.”
Still, this was an enjoyable first entry, and I am definitely excited for the obvious sequel that will have to follow after that ending (the entire last third of the book was the most enjoyable part, with a satisfying ending that left me wanting more). I just hope all of the characters have more to lean on in the next one that just running around shooting guns and trying to keep from dying. I want to know more about who they are...both to themselves and to each other.
My only real gripes with the book are from a craft standpoint. I love that there’s now a YA series set in this world, but I almost felt the book was written with more of a middle-grade audience in mind. The plot was very straightforward, with lots of action pieces. And that’s fine, but what it lacked for me was enough subplots to make its characters really come alive. Saskia has the most potential as a complex, evolving character, and Dorian had a semblance of uniqueness. But the other two POV characters, as well as the SPARTAN Owen were almost lost in the mixture.
I just think the story was a bit too careful in terms of not trusting its audience to handle a more in-depth character study of our leads, not to mention a plot that doesn’t rely on the redundant pattern of “go on mission, regroup at house, repeat.”
Still, this was an enjoyable first entry, and I am definitely excited for the obvious sequel that will have to follow after that ending (the entire last third of the book was the most enjoyable part, with a satisfying ending that left me wanting more). I just hope all of the characters have more to lean on in the next one that just running around shooting guns and trying to keep from dying. I want to know more about who they are...both to themselves and to each other.