First Strike (Halo #3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Eric Nylund (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2003

The Human-Covenant war rages on as the alien juggernaut sweeps inexorably toward its final goal: destruction of all human life!

Halo has been destroyed, and the threat it posed to sentient life, neutralized. But victory has come at a terrible cost for the UNSC. Thousands of valiant soldiers fell in the battle to prevent the alien construct from falling into the enemy’s clutches.

Now, everything depends on the Spartan known as the “Master Chief.” Yet even with the aid of the artificial intelligence Cortana, the Master Chief will be hard-pressed to rescue survivors and evade the Covenant ships patrolling the remains of Halo in debris-strewn space.

Ahead lies a dangerous voyage home, through a gauntlet of Covenant forces. For the sake of all, the Master Chief and his war-torn squad must not only survive, but take the fight to the enemy with a decisive first strike.

This novel is based on a Mature-rated video game.

Bungie, Halo, Xbox, the Microsoft Game Studios logo and the Xbox Logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Used under license. © 2003 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The Human-Covenant war rages on as the alien juggernaut sweeps inexorably toward its final goal: destruction of all human life!

Halo has been destroyed, and the threat it posed to sentient life, neutralized. But victory has come at a terrible cost for the UNSC. Thousands of valiant soldiers fell in the battle to prevent the alien construct from falling into the enemy?s clutches.

Now, everything depends on the Spartan known as the Master Chief. Yet even with the aid of the artificial intelligence Cortana, the Master Chief will be hard-pressed to rescue survivors and evade the Covenant ships patrolling the remains of Halo in debris-strewn space.

Ahead lies a dangerous voyage home, through a gauntlet of Covenant forces. For the sake of all, the Master Chief and his war-torn squad must not only survive, but take the fight to the enemy with a decisive first strike.

This novel is based on a Mature-rated video game.

Bungie, Halo, Xbox, the Microsoft Game Studios logo and the Xbox Logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Used under license. © 2003 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

Eric Nylund is the author of many novels, including A Signal Shattered, Signal to Noise, Pawn’s Dream, Dry Water (a World Fantasy Award nominee), A Game of Universe, Crimson Skies, and Halo: The Fall of Reach, the official prequel novelization of the Xbox game. He has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in chemical physics. A graduate of the Clarion West Writer’s Workshop, he lives near Seattle with his wife, Syne Mitchell.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1st, First Edition edition (December 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345467817
• ISBN-13: 978-0345467812
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #455,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Nylund is a New York Times bestselling and World Fantasy Award nominated author of several novels (including HALO: GHOSTS OF ONYX and DRY WATER) which have sold over two million copies.

THE RESISTERS, his latest novel for Middle Readers, is out April 2011.

Nylund is Head Writer for Microsoft Game Studios where he helps shape the intellectual property for some the world's best videogame developers.

Nylund attended the 1994 Clarion West Writer's Workshop and has a Bachelor's degree in chemistry and a Master's degree in theoretical chemical physics.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far Exceeds My Expectations, February 4, 2004

By 

Nicholas Bromley (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Strike (Halo #3) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Halo series had a great first two books. The Fall of Reach was an excellent introduction, and The Flood, while a bit on the repetitive side, brought great character and story development to the MC/Cortana duo. First Strike, however, exceeds everything from the first two books, with a much deeper plot and brilliantly thought-out action sequences. It's amazing that Eric Nylund was able to pull this off so successfully. Before I started reading the book, I wondered how the story was going to progress, considering where The Flood left everything off at. But reading the first two chapters quickly silences any doubts. An amazing and captivatingly resonant read.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeline - What goes where, January 8, 2004

By 

Noob_In_a_Can (charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: First Strike (Halo #3) (Mass Market Paperback)

Here is a quick timeline on where First Strike fits in:
The Fall of Reach >>> HALO [+] >>> The Flood >>>First Strike >>> HALO 2
__________
The Fall of Reach: Planet Reach has fallen and the Human Covenant WAR rages on. This books introduces most of the terms and charachters, so is a must read. sort of "read this first"
__________
HALO (Xbox game): you have to play the game to find out what happens. Believe it or not the game has a very strong storyline to it.
__________
The Flood: Ok, you cannot play the game because you don't have $200 to invest, read all about it in "The Flood". This one tells you what really happens on HALO.
___________
First Strike: After you have played the game or read "The Flood" you would want to know what happens before HALO 2. So "First Strike" fills the gap.
___________
HALO 2 (Xbox game): we will all have to wait and see what HALO 2 has in store for us.
Hope this helps

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nylund does it again with First Strike!, June 30, 2004

By 

Travis Stein (Houston, TX (USA)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: First Strike (Halo #3) (Mass Market Paperback)

For some, the Halo Series has been at it's best when written by Eric Nylund. While the Flood certainly wasn't bad, combined with the fact that it was written by a different author with a plot that most of us knew, made it a little boring but nonetheless a more indepth version of Halo.

However, Nylund is back and so is his brilliant style of writing and conveying scenes of non-stop acting in First Strike.
Those who have loved the series so far will continue to be impressed with the newest novel until the one which will tell the story of Halo 2.

First Strike, picks up pretty much right where Halo (The Flood) leaves off with John and Cortana floating in space in the hope of finding survivors. They find survivors and embark on a quest to find Reach and possibly any Spartan's left on it. Without spoiling the book too much, John will have some backup for the upcoming war with the Covenant.

Overall, if you haven't read this book you're missing out on a great preview to Halo 2 and a great read for any science fiction fan as well.