Halo: Last Light follows the story of Special Investigator Veta Lopis as she tries to find a serial killer that has been murdering civilians in Gao's underground healing caverns. At the same time Fred-104, Olivia-G291, Ash-G099, Mark-G313, and the rest of Blue Team, along with a UNSC Marine research battalion have been sent to investigate the caverns, suspecting a Forerunner AI hidden underneath the earth. However, with Gao being an independent colony, there are people who would see the UNSC's very presence as an act of war and would do anything to remove the UNSC from their planet - at any costs.
I have to say, out of the three novels that has been so far released, I find Last Light to be the best. New Blood suffered from the retelling of the events of ODST, slowing the pace of the story and adding nothing to the events while Hunters in the Dark suffered from, in my opinion, a rushed second half that was too repetitive in its physical conflict. Last Light doesn't suffer from such pacing problems. It keeps its pace and never falters.
The relationship between Lopis, the Gamma trio, and Fred is the best part of the book. I was indifferent to the trio in Ghosts of Onyx*, though it's been years since I last read it in Jr. High, so opinion could change upon reread. Here, they were a blast to read and their teasing of Veta was endearing. Fred and Veta were basically acting like parents. Really, the only thing I didn't like about any of the five was the occasional mention of Lopis's kidnapping at seventeen and the reason she is claustrophobic. There was times throughout the book where the narration would mention it, feeling like it was only doing it to remind the reader of such fact. It felt unnecessary at times.
Kelly-087, Linda-058, Tom-B292, and Lucy-B091 aren't in the story much. They have small appearances in the beginning and middle, only playing a bigger role in the last third and even then it is still small compared to Veta, Fred, and the Gammas. For Linda and Kelly, I don't really mind this. They had bigger roles in several previous novels and are to appear in Halo 5. Sidelining allows for others to take the spotlight for a change. Tom and Lucy, however, I feel got the short end of the stick, but from the onset it was obvious the story was written to explain the Gammas' status as KIA that was mentioned in a Catalog post on the Waypoint forums. And yes, they do explain the Gammas' status and do a decent job at it.
Last Light also introduces Castor and Arlo Casille. Castor is a Jiralhanae who leads a religious order called the Keepers of the One Freedom, a religion that still believe the Forerunners are gods and is open to all species, including humans. Casille is the Gao Minister of Protection and Veta's boss. I liked Castor. Despite being a Jiralhanae, Castor is quite reasonable. He might be an antagonist, but I didn't hate and would welcome more stories involving him. It's also hinted at that he might be the Army Commander from Halo Wars multiplayer and the Jiralhanae from the Halo Wars 2 announcement trailer. Casille...I hope Castor rips his head off in a future story. I hated Casille. When he was introduced, I didn't mind Casille. However, every time he showed up afterwards only made me hate him with every second. "If we let the UNSC on Gao, they'll use it to make a beachhead and invade, so I well do every thing to drive them off. However, I don't want a war. A war would only cause a second Insurrection and bring about Gao's downfall. So I'm going to do every thing that, should it be discovered, bring about a war. I smart." Burn in Hell, Casille!
Overall, Last Light felt like filler, but it was an enjoyable filler. Returning characters were respected and handled properly and the new characters were a mostly welcome addition to the universe. I found little faults with the story and the faults I did found did little to weaken the story. I wouldn't mind another book from Denning. After all, the ending leaves open a lot of potential for future stories.
*I have not read the Kilo-Five Trilogy yet, so my only experience with Ash, Olivia, Mark, Tom, and Lucy is from Ghosts of Onyx.
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Top reviews from other countries
Abigaíl H.
Excelente libro
Reviewed in Mexico on January 22, 2022
Abigaíl H.
Reviewed in Mexico on January 22, 2022
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Cristiano B.
Spartan III Spartan II
Reviewed in Italy on September 8, 2017
Cristiano B.
Reviewed in Italy on September 8, 2017
il libro è in inglese e visto che negli ultimi anni non è stato più tradotto nessun libro di halo l'unica soluzione è acquistarli in inglese è inutile aspettare.
quindi se avete una buona conoscenza della lingua inglese e se siete fan di halo prendetelo subito.
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Corey
Overall good book with good writing and plot, but vears from traditional Halo plots. Rec for Halo fans who don't mind variation
Reviewed in Canada on November 24, 2016Amazon Customer
Best Halo novel by far
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2017Mr Alaux Anthony
Enfin un auteur... à la hauteur
Reviewed in France on August 21, 2016