Customer Reviews

First Strike (Halo #3)

5 star:		(98)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

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.

Star Wars. The Forever War. The Golden Age. Starship Troopers. Halo: The Fall of Reach.

What do these have in common? They are among the SF stories (or franchises) that have had the greatest impact on me. And I can say with certainty that Nylund's "Fall of Reach" was at the top of my list. Until Halo: First Strike.

I borrowed FoR from a friend. I read it 6 times before he made me give it back and buy my own copy (a decision I have not regretted yet). I then read it at least a dozen more times. It is the reason I am a Halo fan. It was that good.

When The Flood came out, I was both excited and dismayed- excited because there was more Halo for my insatiable mind to absorb, but disappointed because Nylund was not the author. (I have nothing against Dietz, but he needs to stick to books in universes of his own creation. He's too by-the-book for Halo, especially for a pre-established plot.) I read it and was inevitably disappointed- it was good, but by no means did it live up to FoR's legacy.

I was among the first to find out about the release of First Strike, and I was excited to hear that Nylund was writing it. I was also happy to hear that it would not take place as part of the plot of either game, but as its own unique story, which is part of what made FoR really shine. I had high hopes for this book.

I was not disappointed.

Halo: First Strike surpasses FoR in every conceivable way. The characterization is incredible, the action is mind-blowing, the plot twists stunning. It will answer questions about Halo you have not even thought of. It takes place between Halo and Halo 2, but goes deeper than even I could have imagined. And over it all, there are subtle hints that something bigger is going on. It is the same mysterious sense of majesty that made Halo so incredible. The atmosphere, the mood, the wonder of it-this is a book every Halo fan should read. But First Strike, like FoR, is not just for fanboys. It is not just the best of the three Halo books, but it is among the best SF I have ever read. And I've read a whole freaking lot.

First Strike was satisfying in the same way FoR was: when I turned the last page, the only thing on my mind was "Wow." Immediately followed by "I gotta read that again." The only disappointing thing is that like its predecessor, it will be vastly under-publicized. As a serial paperback, it will receive no media attention, no appreciative comments by fellow authors printed on the back, no chance of becoming a hardcover. Just the fact that it is a video-game novel will prevent most people I know from picking it up. But none of that prevents First Strike from being one incredible piece of work. Even flawless. Nylund has an incredible gift, and I am truly inspired.

After I finish this review, and after finishing my third read, I'm going to go shove this book in the faces of everyone I know and scream "READ THIS!!!" Then I'm going to sit down and finish my own SF classic, which I will dedicate to Eric Nylund. And then... I'll read it a couple dozen more times.

It's just that good.

First Strike is the third novel in the Halo series, following The Flood. In the previous volume, the Master Chief and Cortana manage to set the Pillar of Autumn to blow her engines after she is taken by the Covenant forces. The explosion blew a sector out of the ringworld, knocking out most of the alien systems. Meanwhile the Helljumpers capture the Covenant command ship, but it is already overrun with Flood carrier and combat forms, so the marines crash the ship into Halo and take out all onboard.

In this novel, the Master Chief and Cortana are lurking in the vicinity of Halo in a Longsword attack craft. They have repeatedly scanned the volume for other survivors, but none have been found. However, they do discover an oversized Covenant ship coming out of slipspace. Quickly powering down most systems to avoid detection, they discover that the Covenant flagship is using the same frequency bands as their equipment and Cortana manages to analyze the scattered returns sufficiently to register an object that they find to be a trio of cyropods.

Using thrusters only, they maneuver the Longsword near the cyropods and the Master Chief goes EVA to bring them back inside. Two Covenant cruisers enter the vicinity and start to move toward them. However, a previously unnoticed Pelican drop ship hidden on an asteroid fires three missiles at the Covenanters and the cruisers turn to chase the Pelican. The Master Chief hustles the pods onboard and Cortana seals the hatch and fires their engines. As the Covenant ships lose the Pelican in the surrounding debris, the Master Chief takes the cruisers under fire and Cortana starts an evasion run.

The Master Chief, Cortana and those on the Pelican are at large, but unable to escape, since neither craft has a Shaw-Fujikawa drive. In fact, the only slipspace capable vessels in the system are Covenant. The Master Chief starts making plans to take over the Covenant flagship.

Meanwhile, in a flashback to the fall of Reach, it appears that the Covenant forces didn't glass the whole planet with plasma fire. The area occupied by the top secret ONI facility, Castlebase, was not hit from orbit, but Covenant ground forces were starting to dig their way into the underground facility. Several SPARTAN survivors from the orbital generator facility battle rally nearby, infiltrate the enemy, hijack two Wraith tanks, destroy the digging equipment, and then slip inside the base through another entrance.

In this story, the Master Chief and a few other survivors from Halo return to Reach in the captured Covenant flagship. Cortana has gathered valuable information on Covenant weapons and slipspace technology. Moreover, she has determined that the local Covenant forces are gathering ships to attack Earth in the very near future. Somehow, they have to get all this critical data back to Earth as soon as possible.

This story is typical of the series, in that a lot of 7.62mm ammo is expended to take out an unbelievable number of Covenant troops. How they carry all that ammo and other munitions is a puzzler. However, there is a semblance of a plot and a higher mission. Best of all, some of the characters that were thought to be lost with the fall of Reach are now discovered to be alive and shooting, but the list of MIAs and KIAs is still long.

The story also displays aspects of Covenant society that were not mentioned in the previous books and gives more hints about the forerunners. However, this installment ends with humanity on the edge of destruction. The last scene hints of at least one more volume.

Highly recommended for Halo fans and for anyone else who enjoys nonstop firefights with a variety of horrifying and powerful opponents.

This book is a work of art. I've read Fall of Reach and Halo: The Flood (Fall of Reach being the better of the two) but this one surpasses both by far. I'm a big fan of Fall of Reach but there were no twists in the plot because you knew, obviously, that Reach would fall. This book kept you guessing at every turn and the final ending was a huge surprise. And if you're like me, you will grow attached to the characters that are so well profiled in this book. This time, the Master Chief shows some emotion and faces a moral dilemma, unlike the previous books. I sat down and read this book for hours, and when I realized I was close to the end, I was dismayed. You get a more in-depth look at Covenent culture and religion and their links to the mysterious Forerunners. Also there's some friggin awesome battle scenes. If you've played Halo or bought any of the other books, buy this now.

This novel is a must for Sci-Fi literature and Halo fans alike.

Eric Nylund is one of the best authors whom's books I have ever read. His vocabulary is impressive, the story is very original, and it will keep you hooked to the book reading it for hours. Nylund's characterization of the different figures, new ones to the novel and old ones from the game, is perfect. The characters in the novel seem as though they could exist in the real world. The novel is touching to the heart because of the hardships the team must endure in the face of death from their alien enemies, the Covenant. For those who have read Halo: The Fall of Reach, and enjoyed Nylund's work on that book, Halo: First Strike is at LEAST five times better.

I rate it a 5-stars out of 5, because it cannot be rated 10 out of 5.

My short summary (hopefully non-spoiled):

After Halo has been destroyed, the Master Chief ends up in the middle of space with nothing but a fighter with no Slipspace drive, and an AI who cannot help very much given the situation. However, the grim situation is soon turned around for the better when the Master Chief discovers that there was a handful of survivors that made it off of Halo, as well as some other unexpected, but pleasant, company. Together, the squad moves on to plan a way to make it back to Earth, to take over Covenant ships, and survive alone in space while Covenant ships float in every direction, danger lurks everywhere.

As with Halo: The Fall of Reach, and the XBOX/PC Game, Halo, expect many twists in the storyline, expect to be shocked, and expect to be hooked to read this book in one night, to want to re-read it, and anxiously await the next book's release.

God-willing that Nylund writes the next books. Eric Nylund is such a talented author with his latest works on the Halo books. He should continue writing the stories for the Halo series.

Eric Nylund's Halo: First Strike is the perfect addition to the Halo series. The story is very exciting and never before have I felt so involved with the characters and the world they live in.

The book takes place more then 500 years into the future, when mankind is on the brink of exinction after facing off against the ruthless fanatic collective of eight different alien races called the Covenant. In order to face the Covenant's threat, the United Nations Space Command has initiated the SPARTAN project, with the intention to create the most powerful soldiers the galaxy has ever seen. John (Spartan #117) is the main character of the book, who through many battles with the Covenant, has become one of the small handful of surviving Spartans.
Nylund discusses the morals of genetic engineering and war with his depictions of John and the rest of the Spartans. They act like machines, with personalities not shining through, and are treaed with disgust by the rest of the Earth military.
After a battle on the artificial Covenant world known as Halo, John and a handful of survivors from that legendary conflict embark on an Odessey back to Earth in this third installment of the series. Along the way they encounter vicious Covenenat soldiers, desperate fighters from Earth, secrets of the Covenant's past, and discover that the Covenant are now planning a full frontal assault on Earth.
In order to combat this threat, John and his squad make a last ditch effort to hinder the Covenant forces before returning to Earth. This mission is called Operation: First Strike by John, and fits with the idea of the entire plot, The humans first effective realiation against the Covenant.

Although if one hasn't read the first two book installments of the series, this book not only adds a new layer of depth and excitment to the Halo universe, but to the Sci- Fi genre in general. I strongly recommend this book if you are a fan of the series and wish to get a bridge between the stories of the two videogames, or a fan of action books itching for some of the best described fighting and war. This book has its insightful moments, too, and asks the reader to make his opinion on genetic engineering and war itself.

I know you read this a lot, but this is a great book for any Halo fan. I mean, it's one thing to immerse yourself in the game, a fun thing that is, but to immerse yourself in the story is great too. In this book Nylund is bridging the gap between Master Chief's defeat of the Covenant on Halo itself and the return to Earth that is Halo II. This book is not just about picking up fallen remnants of what happened previously, but it also takes new twists of its own. Other than the fact that this is a Halo book, it is just also a good little story to read and I recommended it. Oh, and don't forget to read the other two first.

I read The Fall of Reach after I had beaten the game and was very impressed with the book. I skipped over The Flood after reading some pretty crappy reviews on it, but when I saw that First Strike was coming out I was really excited and made sure that I got out and bought it ASAP.

I may sound like a freak, and I probably am, but I just could not set this book down, and continued to read for countless hours....I finished it in 2 days. It had a great plot with lots of action, and great dialogue. You also get to learn a bit more about the Covenant and their lifestyle. One thing I noticed though, correct me if I'm wrong, but did the Longsword they flew in on turn into a Pelican later on in the book or did I read something wrong? Also in a review below this, somebody mentions that parts are repeated, I do not think that is an error, I believe it was done on purpose so that you could tell what point in time that particular chapter/section picked up at in that characters POV.

This book was EXCELLENT, much better than the previous 2, and a MUST read.