So...when Halo came out in 2001 I hated it.
Fast Forward to Halo 3 comes out in 2007 and it's one of my all time favorite games.
Fast Forward again to now, with all 5 halo games on my shelf, accompanied by 4 of the 6 books, and an extensive data bank of Halo lore taking up valuable space in my head.
These books are Awesome.
I'll be the first to admit that when the first ones came out years ago, I scoffed at the concept. Books based on video games? Come on. But then again, why not? Books based on movies worked. Look at the Star Wars expanded universe. So earlier this year when I really got into the Halo story (beyond the scope of the games) I started grabbing up all the books. I powered through two of them, and am now on my way out of the third one, and going to be moving on to the rest. I can never put them down.
It's a funny thing about these books, all of them take place before Halo 2, with all but one taking place before Halo 1 (and one being the novelized version of that game) so from the very beginning, you know how the story ends, and which characters make it and which die.
For instance, you know that by Halo, Master Chief is the only SPARTAN left alive. But here I am, reading Halo: First Strike (taking place between Halo and Halo 2) and rooting for these last couple SPARTANS to make it out alive.
It's a testament to how well these characters have been developed. And that is what has shocked me most about these books, the quality of writing. Now given that the game series as a very enticing and at times emotional story, it should be no surprise that Bungie would make sure they books carry on in the same way. But I never really expected them to be so good. Characters developed and well drawn out, battle and actions scenes riveting and keeping you on the edge of your seat, well worded and plausible explanations for sciences thousands of years in the future. It all works so well.
If you share an interest in the Halo series, and Reading, I suggest you start giving these books a look. Also, read them in chronoligcal order for the story, not the order they are released in. I'll post that:
Halo: Contact Harvest
Halo: The Cole Protocol
Halo: The Fall of Reach
Halo: The Flood (Halo 1)
Halo: First Strike
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
I realize I basically just wrote a big add for these books but oh well. They are good, and I'm bored.
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