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37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you are a Halo fan, how can you miss how it all started?, November 8, 2007
This review is from: Contact Harvest (Halo) (Paperback)
Exactly why are the Covenant so pissed off at humans, anyway? They were very successful at pulling other species into the fold. Why not attempt this with humans?
Contact Harvest, by Joseph Staten, tells you why.
A UNSC Marine Staff Sergeant named Avery Johnson, physically and mentally weary after battling insurrectionists, gets the cake walk position of training new recruits for a militia on the planet Harvest, a major food production world.
Guess where First Contact occurs?
This story goes deep into the founding Covenant politics, and describes in great detail the accident of First Contact and the subsequent beginnings of a war of extermination. The Forerunners and their technology are still a mystery, but the Covenant leaders don't like what they learn. In the meantime, Staff Sergeant Johnson takes his raw recruits, and with the help of the planetary AI, battles Covenant technology and attempts to save the colonists on Harvest.
Can David slay Goliath?
The Cole Protocol occurs sometime after this book, but you can "see" it coming. You get a much better insight into the psychology and culture of some of the Covenant species. Now I'm curious what it would be like to reread the other Halo books with this story as background.
And if you are not a Halo fan? I think this is still an interesting, stand-alone sci-fi tale.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good Premise, Poor Execution, December 2, 2007
This review is from: Contact Harvest (Halo) (Paperback)
Having enjoyed the previous books in the series, I picked this up first chance I could. The premise is good. The first battle between the Covenant and humanity and the introduction of Halo fan favorite Sergeant Johnson, what's not to like?
Unfortunately the execution of this premise falls considerably short. There was way too much exposition in my opinion. At times it felt more like a primer than a novel. A whole lot of set-up without enough pay-off that left me rather cold and struggling to keep interest.
The actual invasion of Harvest felt rather underwhelming partly because it takes a good two thirds of the book to get there (again too much exposition) in part due to the emphasis on Covenant internal politics. Furthermore the book Johnson lacks quite a bit of the humor of his video game counterpart. No outrageous inspirational speeches here, instead we get a whole lot of angst. The difference is a bit off-putting and the book fails to develop Johnson where such a change of character is possible.
If I had to pick one part of the book I could have done without, it would have been the sex-scene. I'm not a prude, but it was so out of the blue, out of place, involving two characters I had not a whiff of romantic or sensual development that it was jarring. I guess the author thought he "needed" that scene somewhere in the book. Which ironically sums up this book in a nutshell.
Hopefully they'll bring back Eric Nuyland for the next installments.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Different, November 20, 2007
This review is from: Contact Harvest (Halo) (Paperback)
This book is good and it clearly shows the potential of Mr. Staten's writing. The first thing you will notice is the excellent amount of description that really helps you imagine planet Harvest and its inhabitants. And as a prequel of the already-released prequel "The Fall of Reach," it works and helps explain details of the Forerunners, and the Prophet's knowledge and convictions.
While "The Chief" does not make an appearance in the book as he is probably still wearing diapers, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson steps in as the protagonist of the story. He is the hero in the making and here we learn how he earns his place in this wonderful universe.
This book really emphasizes the theme of friendship and not only in the human perspective. And a major difference between this and the previous books is a slight sense of humor. There are a few parts where it had me laughing out loud - something I never experienced with the previous novels.
Compared to the previous books I believe Eric Nylund still has the edge in terms of story telling. For example, the epic quality of the previous books is sadly missing here. There are no major battles ala 300 Spartan III's charging a battlefield seen on "Ghost of Onyx" or as Master Chief single handedly taking over a Covenant Cruiser on "1st Strike." It does have plenty of action but not on a huge scale.
As Joseph Staten's first effort this is a great start, and I'm sure given some more novels he will only get better. To all those of you wanting a good read I definitely recommend "Halo: Contact Harvest," but do take in mind that it does have its own unique flavor.
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