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The Forerunner Saga #3
Halo: Silentium: Book Three of the Forerunner Saga
The final novel of the Forerunner Saga trilogy by science fiction legend Greg Bear—set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series!
One hundred thousand years ago. Chaos rules the final days of the Forerunner empire. The Flood—a horrifying, shape-changing, and unstoppable parasite—has arrived in force, aided by unexpected allies, and internal strife has desperately weakened Forerunner defenses. Facing the imminent collapse of their civilization, the Forerunners known as the Ur-Didact and the Librarian reveal what they know about the relationship between the long-vanished race of the Precursors and the Flood. While the Precursors created many technological species, including those of the Forerunners and humanity itself, the roots of the Flood may be found in an act of enormous barbarity, carried out beyond our galaxy ten million years before. Because of that savagery, a greater evil looms. Only the Ur-Didact and the Librarian—husband and wife pushed into desperate conflict—hold the keys to a solution. As they face the consequences of a mythic tragedy, one of them must now commit the greatest atrocity of all time—a shocking act designed to prevent an insane abomination from dominating the entire galaxy…
One hundred thousand years ago. Chaos rules the final days of the Forerunner empire. The Flood—a horrifying, shape-changing, and unstoppable parasite—has arrived in force, aided by unexpected allies, and internal strife has desperately weakened Forerunner defenses. Facing the imminent collapse of their civilization, the Forerunners known as the Ur-Didact and the Librarian reveal what they know about the relationship between the long-vanished race of the Precursors and the Flood. While the Precursors created many technological species, including those of the Forerunners and humanity itself, the roots of the Flood may be found in an act of enormous barbarity, carried out beyond our galaxy ten million years before. Because of that savagery, a greater evil looms. Only the Ur-Didact and the Librarian—husband and wife pushed into desperate conflict—hold the keys to a solution. As they face the consequences of a mythic tragedy, one of them must now commit the greatest atrocity of all time—a shocking act designed to prevent an insane abomination from dominating the entire galaxy…
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
179 people are currently reading
3754 people want to read
About the author
Greg Bear
225 books2,074 followersGreg Bear was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict (Forge of God books), parallel universes (The Way series), consciousness and cultural practices (Queen of Angels), and accelerated evolution (Blood Music, Darwin’s Radio, and Darwin’s Children). His last work was the 2021 novel The Unfinished Land. Greg Bear wrote over 50 books in total.
(For a more complete biography, see Wikipedia.)
(For a more complete biography, see Wikipedia.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
April 10, 2013
Greg Bear's Forerunner trilogy was always quite unlike the other books, and games, in the Halo franchise. It felt to me very much like "big" sci-fi, highly evocative, dealing with technologies and concepts so advanced as to be akin to magic. The games, and other books, have always focused on humanity in the not-entirely distant future, and thus have felt quite familiar, as if contemporary man was given the ability to colonise the stars and a few very smart AIs. The Forerunner that Bear's books focus on, however, are a different story entirely.
The first book was interesting, and relatively straightforward in the way it was written. The second book introduced a new framing device that tied it more closely to the "present" of the Halo series, but was also from the perspective of a different character, a primitive human, and thus a lot of what happened was extremely, deliberately confused and confusing, seen through the eyes of someone who themselves did not understand what was happening around them. The third book again introduces a new framing device that is both much easier to follow, but also much broader in scope, and is by far the strongest in the trilogy and most likely the strongest Halo book to date.
If nothing else, Bear has done a magnificent job consolidating the various bits of contradictory lore and history that had already appeared in past Halo games and books, creating a logical - albeit complex - backstory for the Forerunner and the Halo installations themselves. Though all three books dealt with the encroaching Flood and the war the Forerunner fought against it, Silentium . The tension ratchets up throughout as the inevitable approaches, all the while shedding new light on why the Halo rings were created and were so necessary, and the desperate extent to which the Forerunner battled against the Flood. It also does much to elaborate upon the characters of the Didact and the Librarian, so fundamental to the plot of Halo 4 (at time of my writing this review, the most recent Halo game).
I don't know to what degree Bear might be a fan of the games or just a hired gun for 343 Studios, but he has produced an overall excellent trilogy (middle chapter aside, though it is important to the full arc of the story). My favourite aspect of it is that it draws upon snippets of history from earlier games: the Domain terminals of Halo 4, of course, but also the quite contradictory terminals found in Halo 3. Perhaps most poignantly, after all that is revealed over the course of the trilogy, it recalls
The first book was interesting, and relatively straightforward in the way it was written. The second book introduced a new framing device that tied it more closely to the "present" of the Halo series, but was also from the perspective of a different character, a primitive human, and thus a lot of what happened was extremely, deliberately confused and confusing, seen through the eyes of someone who themselves did not understand what was happening around them. The third book again introduces a new framing device that is both much easier to follow, but also much broader in scope, and is by far the strongest in the trilogy and most likely the strongest Halo book to date.
If nothing else, Bear has done a magnificent job consolidating the various bits of contradictory lore and history that had already appeared in past Halo games and books, creating a logical - albeit complex - backstory for the Forerunner and the Halo installations themselves. Though all three books dealt with the encroaching Flood and the war the Forerunner fought against it, Silentium . The tension ratchets up throughout as the inevitable approaches, all the while shedding new light on why the Halo rings were created and were so necessary, and the desperate extent to which the Forerunner battled against the Flood. It also does much to elaborate upon the characters of the Didact and the Librarian, so fundamental to the plot of Halo 4 (at time of my writing this review, the most recent Halo game).
I don't know to what degree Bear might be a fan of the games or just a hired gun for 343 Studios, but he has produced an overall excellent trilogy (middle chapter aside, though it is important to the full arc of the story). My favourite aspect of it is that it draws upon snippets of history from earlier games: the Domain terminals of Halo 4, of course, but also the quite contradictory terminals found in Halo 3. Perhaps most poignantly, after all that is revealed over the course of the trilogy, it recalls
July 13, 2021
Brilliant once again. This book perfectly sets up the events of Halo 4, and it even makes the original trilogy more enjoyable as well. So much depth was added to the franchise thanks to this series of books. I'm honestly in awe. I can't even imagine being a Halo fan and NOT reading the books at this point. You'd be getting only 50% of the overall experience. I pity them.
May 2, 2023
This book vastly expands the story of Halo 4 and even the original trilogy of Halo games. But, it reads like a wikipedia page.
January 3, 2023
First book of 2023!!!
Closer to 5 than 4 stars, and it sorta makes me want to give the last book 2 instead of 3. Why was the last one so unclear with bad characterization 😭😭. He did so well with this one. Even the characters.
Anyway.
Librarian was the best pov in this trilogy by far. Felt bad for ur-didact, felt meh about the iso-didact. Uhhh chakas monitor was cool, glad we finally got to see him named 343 guilty spark because that confused me a bit in the last book. I rly liked the Catalog povs, he did a good job making them all feel the same even tho they were different people technically (or maybe hes just bad at that normally but hey he gets benefit of the doubt here). Literally thats all i have to say about the characters 😭
I loved the librarian’s journey outside the galaxy to find the million-plus warship graveyard, and the little planet of forerunners that remained. The concept of a group being forced to use their own dna to seed a planet with plants and animals (to eat 🤢) was sooo cool. The living moss wall domain was also good but not exactly what i was expecting. I liked it when they were arguing which one of them the farm animals looked most like. The sparse humor worked a lot better in this book than the other two. Everyone was always so serious before. Ancilla-germs was a cool idea
I adored the few chapters where we just read reports showing the flood slowly infecting more and more systems, using the repurposed star roads to “chop up and burn planets apart to be infected” (thats a paraphrase im not going back to find the quote). Idk i just rly like hard sci-fi that reads like an alternate history textbook (why i only liked the first foundation book).
Author did a good job tieing up loose ends with greater ark being destroyed, putting 343 GS on installation 4, having librarian planting ark portal in africa, ur-didact beinf sealed and making his army of knights from halo 5. just stuff from the games that i was wondering how they’d address.
Fuck the master builder, even if he was kinda right at the end
If i was there im just saying i would not have let the Flood do that. I would have stepped in.
Still kinda confused what happened to forerunners on lesser ark. Im guessing they just couldnt sustain their populations, but like, i was under the impression that the ark was outside the halo blast. Did they just give up? Assume their time had come and gone, and it was time for other species to rise up and thrive? Seed the universe and die of old age, no more kids? Idk. The wiki had nothing to say about it
Rotting Forthencho and his soldiers dying again at the librarian’s feet was…. Unexpected? Weird? Why? Idk it was kinda cool tho.
One more thing the librarian had a tangent where she talked about civilizations that lived deep underground, underwater, that never imagined the sky, never dreamed of ruling the stars. She took some out and showed them forerunner tech and society, and they always refused it, went back to their tunnels, and forced themselves to forget it.
I liked that tangent a lot
One final final thing. The last chapter, when 343 GS heard one final transmission. He thought it might have been a new species, a new civilization, sending out their first messages to the stars, hoping to be heard, only to immediately be burned away as the halo radiation reached them.
Idk. It was haunting.
I need to play halo 4 now
Closer to 5 than 4 stars, and it sorta makes me want to give the last book 2 instead of 3. Why was the last one so unclear with bad characterization 😭😭. He did so well with this one. Even the characters.
Anyway.
Librarian was the best pov in this trilogy by far. Felt bad for ur-didact, felt meh about the iso-didact. Uhhh chakas monitor was cool, glad we finally got to see him named 343 guilty spark because that confused me a bit in the last book. I rly liked the Catalog povs, he did a good job making them all feel the same even tho they were different people technically (or maybe hes just bad at that normally but hey he gets benefit of the doubt here). Literally thats all i have to say about the characters 😭
I loved the librarian’s journey outside the galaxy to find the million-plus warship graveyard, and the little planet of forerunners that remained. The concept of a group being forced to use their own dna to seed a planet with plants and animals (to eat 🤢) was sooo cool. The living moss wall domain was also good but not exactly what i was expecting. I liked it when they were arguing which one of them the farm animals looked most like. The sparse humor worked a lot better in this book than the other two. Everyone was always so serious before. Ancilla-germs was a cool idea
I adored the few chapters where we just read reports showing the flood slowly infecting more and more systems, using the repurposed star roads to “chop up and burn planets apart to be infected” (thats a paraphrase im not going back to find the quote). Idk i just rly like hard sci-fi that reads like an alternate history textbook (why i only liked the first foundation book).
Author did a good job tieing up loose ends with greater ark being destroyed, putting 343 GS on installation 4, having librarian planting ark portal in africa, ur-didact beinf sealed and making his army of knights from halo 5. just stuff from the games that i was wondering how they’d address.
Fuck the master builder, even if he was kinda right at the end
If i was there im just saying i would not have let the Flood do that. I would have stepped in.
Still kinda confused what happened to forerunners on lesser ark. Im guessing they just couldnt sustain their populations, but like, i was under the impression that the ark was outside the halo blast. Did they just give up? Assume their time had come and gone, and it was time for other species to rise up and thrive? Seed the universe and die of old age, no more kids? Idk. The wiki had nothing to say about it
Rotting Forthencho and his soldiers dying again at the librarian’s feet was…. Unexpected? Weird? Why? Idk it was kinda cool tho.
One more thing the librarian had a tangent where she talked about civilizations that lived deep underground, underwater, that never imagined the sky, never dreamed of ruling the stars. She took some out and showed them forerunner tech and society, and they always refused it, went back to their tunnels, and forced themselves to forget it.
I liked that tangent a lot
One final final thing. The last chapter, when 343 GS heard one final transmission. He thought it might have been a new species, a new civilization, sending out their first messages to the stars, hoping to be heard, only to immediately be burned away as the halo radiation reached them.
Idk. It was haunting.
I need to play halo 4 now
January 16, 2013
Having met, in the first book of this series called “Cryptum”, the Didact: who is a Forerunner warrier frozen in the Cryptum, Bornstelllar: the inquisitive young Forerunner who releases him, and Chakas and Riser: two human variations on the planet Erde-Tyrene this book carries on with the discovery of an Autonomous Mechanical Intelligence (Forerunner Monitor) device by a science team.
The monitor contains Chakas’ memories and proceeds to describe Chakas memories of his life and what happened to him after the battle at the end of book one.
Along the way the device tells a story that at times the science team finds hard to believe except that some key pieces of information match that from other sources
In this the final book in the trilogy we are again privy to thirty-nine strings of Forerunner data. This is a great way to tell a story and engage the reader as itis a different perspective.
In this volume I found that without the benefit of the first two stories it could be confusing. So best to read volumes one and two. Theye are both great stories so that’s a benefit.
The Flood is taking over the entire galaxy and the Master Builder is brought back, put in charge, and ordered to end the war with the Flood. Unfortunately the only way to do that is with a secret weapon hidden away and with a really bad side effect.
It appears that the Flood is going to take over the galaxy but the mater builder still has that secret weapon available.
Dense reading at times it is none the less a get a story and addition to the HALO series.
Recommended
The monitor contains Chakas’ memories and proceeds to describe Chakas memories of his life and what happened to him after the battle at the end of book one.
Along the way the device tells a story that at times the science team finds hard to believe except that some key pieces of information match that from other sources
In this the final book in the trilogy we are again privy to thirty-nine strings of Forerunner data. This is a great way to tell a story and engage the reader as itis a different perspective.
In this volume I found that without the benefit of the first two stories it could be confusing. So best to read volumes one and two. Theye are both great stories so that’s a benefit.
The Flood is taking over the entire galaxy and the Master Builder is brought back, put in charge, and ordered to end the war with the Flood. Unfortunately the only way to do that is with a secret weapon hidden away and with a really bad side effect.
It appears that the Flood is going to take over the galaxy but the mater builder still has that secret weapon available.
Dense reading at times it is none the less a get a story and addition to the HALO series.
Recommended
April 8, 2013
This is an incredible book. If you struggled through the first 2, don't cast this book aside. It will answer many questions you have, and reveal the devastating end of the Forerunners.
Instead of chapters, this book uses "Strings." Essentially, it jumps from important character to important character in the first person. You get to be in the head of the Librarian, the Ur Didact, the Iso Didact (Bornstellar), and even Chakas (343 Guilty Spark). It is beautifully connected to the Halo games, as you learn about the ark and how it's portal was created on Earth by the Librarian, how Chakas was assigned to Installation 04, and why the Didact ends up hating the human race so passionately, as he does in Halo 4.
Greg Bear did a fantastic job. I cruised through the book, eating up every word of every chapter.
This series was phenomenal. The Sci-Fi elements used are amazing, and this trilogy proves that it belongs in the spectacular Halo lore.
Instead of chapters, this book uses "Strings." Essentially, it jumps from important character to important character in the first person. You get to be in the head of the Librarian, the Ur Didact, the Iso Didact (Bornstellar), and even Chakas (343 Guilty Spark). It is beautifully connected to the Halo games, as you learn about the ark and how it's portal was created on Earth by the Librarian, how Chakas was assigned to Installation 04, and why the Didact ends up hating the human race so passionately, as he does in Halo 4.
Greg Bear did a fantastic job. I cruised through the book, eating up every word of every chapter.
This series was phenomenal. The Sci-Fi elements used are amazing, and this trilogy proves that it belongs in the spectacular Halo lore.
August 12, 2023
PORCA MERDA
April 18, 2013
This is the conclusion to the Forerunner Saga in the Halo universe. I must say that it's a very good read for serious science fiction fans with the prerequisite that you read the prequels.
The Forerunner Saga is truly an epic tale with a grand vista of culture, heroes, pride, atrocity, loss, and love that hearkens to a time approximately some 100,000 years ago with mention of events going back several million years.
Silentium continues the story of the forerunner hero Didact as he struggles with loss, betrayal and treachery to fight for his very survival and find a final defense against the indomitable and all consuming galactic scourge known as the Flood. The story compasses the journey of Librarian aka Lifeshaper who leaves our Milky Way galaxy and travels to Path Kethona(Small Magellanic Cloud) in hopes of finding clues of Flood origins. Librarian learns that it was Forerunners who annihilated their Precursor makers in pride, anger and jealousy when it was revealed that the Mantle of responsibilty for the upkeep and nurturing of life was to be passed to Humanity. It was Humans who waged a galactic war that possibly could have destroyed Forerunners. Forerunner victory was only certain because mankind was severely weakened after fighting and defeating Flood in a full-scale war. After genocide the Mantle was kept by Forerunners for millions of years with all previous circumstantial memory erased. The Flood is revealed to be one of the final forms taken by the last vestiges of Precursor culture, mis-shapen and twisted, an amalgam of mutation, death and a perversion of life and yet a brilliant intellect with powers and technological prowess beyond the understanding of the greatest minds known.
This is also the tale of the end of the Forerunner race and the sad but heroic attempts by Librarian as she attempts to thwart Flood incursion and save the last remnants of the human race despite the madness of Didact’s mental state after being infected by a Flood meme. Didact attempts to use the last humans as a final countermeasure while Librarian comes to the knowledge that activation of the Halo arrays would not just destroy Flood, Human, Forerunner and organic intelligence. Halo activation would destroy all neural physics which is the implacable technology employed by precursors and the substrate of Domain. Domain was but the greatest repository of wisdom ever created by Precursors and stored in a quantum state and to be accessed by all intelligence capable of the Mantle.
The story ends with the sacrifice of Librarian and remaining forerunners in the attempt to save a few remaining intelligent species(humans foremost) and the seeming eradication of Flood. Ultimately this story ends on a sad and poignant note with the revelation that most if not all achievements of grand ages past would be relegated to rumor and legend. It certainly fills the void and answers questions raised by readers of the previous Halo books and the gamers who play single player campaign.
The Forerunner Saga is truly an epic tale with a grand vista of culture, heroes, pride, atrocity, loss, and love that hearkens to a time approximately some 100,000 years ago with mention of events going back several million years.
Silentium continues the story of the forerunner hero Didact as he struggles with loss, betrayal and treachery to fight for his very survival and find a final defense against the indomitable and all consuming galactic scourge known as the Flood. The story compasses the journey of Librarian aka Lifeshaper who leaves our Milky Way galaxy and travels to Path Kethona(Small Magellanic Cloud) in hopes of finding clues of Flood origins. Librarian learns that it was Forerunners who annihilated their Precursor makers in pride, anger and jealousy when it was revealed that the Mantle of responsibilty for the upkeep and nurturing of life was to be passed to Humanity. It was Humans who waged a galactic war that possibly could have destroyed Forerunners. Forerunner victory was only certain because mankind was severely weakened after fighting and defeating Flood in a full-scale war. After genocide the Mantle was kept by Forerunners for millions of years with all previous circumstantial memory erased. The Flood is revealed to be one of the final forms taken by the last vestiges of Precursor culture, mis-shapen and twisted, an amalgam of mutation, death and a perversion of life and yet a brilliant intellect with powers and technological prowess beyond the understanding of the greatest minds known.
This is also the tale of the end of the Forerunner race and the sad but heroic attempts by Librarian as she attempts to thwart Flood incursion and save the last remnants of the human race despite the madness of Didact’s mental state after being infected by a Flood meme. Didact attempts to use the last humans as a final countermeasure while Librarian comes to the knowledge that activation of the Halo arrays would not just destroy Flood, Human, Forerunner and organic intelligence. Halo activation would destroy all neural physics which is the implacable technology employed by precursors and the substrate of Domain. Domain was but the greatest repository of wisdom ever created by Precursors and stored in a quantum state and to be accessed by all intelligence capable of the Mantle.
The story ends with the sacrifice of Librarian and remaining forerunners in the attempt to save a few remaining intelligent species(humans foremost) and the seeming eradication of Flood. Ultimately this story ends on a sad and poignant note with the revelation that most if not all achievements of grand ages past would be relegated to rumor and legend. It certainly fills the void and answers questions raised by readers of the previous Halo books and the gamers who play single player campaign.
March 17, 2021
Take all of the problems I had with the last two books and transplant them here. The book is very poorly described, to the point that I was constantly flipping back to reread previous pages, or looking to see if I flipped two pages at once, in order to try and figure out exactly what was happening. The book is very, very lore breaking, going off in a completely weird direction from the original Bungie supervised stories. And to top it off, a large portion of this book is written in present tense, which is something I completely and utterly despise in books. At the end of the day, I just didn't care about any of the characters, I was constantly lost and frustrated because the author just cannot write action, like AT ALL, and I was also constantly saying, "what? Oh come on. Did you even play the Bungie Halo games!?!?!"
Also, this book falls into the same problem that all prequels do. We already know what's going to happen at the end. So there's really no suspense or drama to be had there. We already know the outcome, and the author keeps trying to play it up like we don't. It comes off as hollow, and patronizing.
All in all, this isn't the worst of the three, but it's definitely not the best. I feel that my time was thoroughly wasted by this trilogy, and I'm going to have to go kick my brother for suggesting them to me. I'm also pretty wary of Greg Bear now. I remember reading and liking some of his non-Halo/non-Star Wars books, but the sheer ineptitude that he has displayed in the writing of this trilogy has put me off of him.
Also, this book falls into the same problem that all prequels do. We already know what's going to happen at the end. So there's really no suspense or drama to be had there. We already know the outcome, and the author keeps trying to play it up like we don't. It comes off as hollow, and patronizing.
All in all, this isn't the worst of the three, but it's definitely not the best. I feel that my time was thoroughly wasted by this trilogy, and I'm going to have to go kick my brother for suggesting them to me. I'm also pretty wary of Greg Bear now. I remember reading and liking some of his non-Halo/non-Star Wars books, but the sheer ineptitude that he has displayed in the writing of this trilogy has put me off of him.
March 23, 2013
Worst of the series.
March 29, 2013
This may be a licensed title but Bear has created a tale of inter-galactic scale war that stands on it's own. Ancient and spectacularly technically advanced cultures war over who will control the Milky Way many millennia ago, setting the stage for the Halo games. While there are some references to "present day" that only a Halo fan will get, this trilogy is solidly built hard-sf with complete cultures and worlds, epic scale betrayals, greed, tragedy and love.
I particularly liked that so much of this book of the trilogy was told in the voice of the Librarian: the mysterious mother figure who did all she could to save humanity from extinction. Her voice was as melodic and poetic, yet strong and scheming as one would expect from a woman revered as a goddess by all whom she saved. The strong, smart, interesting female characters are what keep me hooked on this universe.
I particularly liked that so much of this book of the trilogy was told in the voice of the Librarian: the mysterious mother figure who did all she could to save humanity from extinction. Her voice was as melodic and poetic, yet strong and scheming as one would expect from a woman revered as a goddess by all whom she saved. The strong, smart, interesting female characters are what keep me hooked on this universe.
May 25, 2015
For any true Halo fan this book is the one against which the rest will be judged.
This storyline further builds on the solid foundation of Forerunners history put in place by Greg Bear. The storyline continues on from the second book in the trilogy, however this one is fast paced and keeps your attention from start to finish. It is brimming with political intrigue and conflict on a universe scale.
This storyline further builds on the solid foundation of Forerunners history put in place by Greg Bear. The storyline continues on from the second book in the trilogy, however this one is fast paced and keeps your attention from start to finish. It is brimming with political intrigue and conflict on a universe scale.
December 4, 2024
ITS DONE! I slogged through some of the nerdiest Sci-fi possible to reach a climactic ending that was well worth the time I invested. The ending was extremely depressing, but I knew what I signed up for when I started the series.
January 22, 2024
5 stars for the Halo fans that like the universe. 3.5-4 stars for the general Sci-Fi fans. It feels more like a history book when reading it, but it is very interesting to Halo fans.
November 20, 2021
With this book I complete the Forerunner Saga as well as every Halo-related media available from 2001 to 2013. As a Halo completionist, I'm happy with the outcome of this book and its precursors (pun intended), but not entirely fascinated.
On the one hand, that sluggish narrative found mid-book from the past 2 books of the trilogy is back. It definitely turns the book into a harder read once the depth of the lore gets too thick and stalls until the later chapters (after all it's a Halo book with a massive universe). If you are not willing to know more about the mysterious Forerunners you wouldn't have made it past the second book. The same applies to the 2nd third of this book.
On the other hand, it is thanks to this trilogy that we know most things about the Forerunners, the Precursors, the Didact and the Librarian, the ancient humans, the flood, and their respective characteristics like culture, languages and origins. Other than the terminals found in Halo CEA, 2A, 3 and 4 we wouldn't have a lot to talk about the Forerunners or build their lore upon.
I'm satisfied with how the overall story of Halo developed after Halo 3 and how rich this franchise has become. Halo 4 definitely left a lot to the imagination of the players to fill in the gaps of the story, but thanks to those gaps we got more content and Halo kept growing. From here on, the Halo 5 era begins for me (book-wise) and I hope it's at least as enjoyable as these past 3 books.
On the one hand, that sluggish narrative found mid-book from the past 2 books of the trilogy is back. It definitely turns the book into a harder read once the depth of the lore gets too thick and stalls until the later chapters (after all it's a Halo book with a massive universe). If you are not willing to know more about the mysterious Forerunners you wouldn't have made it past the second book. The same applies to the 2nd third of this book.
On the other hand, it is thanks to this trilogy that we know most things about the Forerunners, the Precursors, the Didact and the Librarian, the ancient humans, the flood, and their respective characteristics like culture, languages and origins. Other than the terminals found in Halo CEA, 2A, 3 and 4 we wouldn't have a lot to talk about the Forerunners or build their lore upon.
I'm satisfied with how the overall story of Halo developed after Halo 3 and how rich this franchise has become. Halo 4 definitely left a lot to the imagination of the players to fill in the gaps of the story, but thanks to those gaps we got more content and Halo kept growing. From here on, the Halo 5 era begins for me (book-wise) and I hope it's at least as enjoyable as these past 3 books.
October 15, 2024
Definitely a really cool ending to the Forerunner saga, but it just doesn’t do it for me as much as I wanted it to.
A more enjoyable story than the previous book for sure, I think the perspective of the first half of the book with Catalog was so cool, it read like the narrator found all this information after the fact. But then the second half starts to jump perspectives and it loses a lot of its immersion hopping back and forth so much.
The scale of the Forerunner and Precursor technology was really awesome to see, I just wish we got more time with it.
The Librarian and Didact are such interesting and powerful characters, I really enjoyed their story throughout this trilogy. Seeing the consequences of their story in the games and other novels provides really fun continuity and appreciation.
Overall it could’ve ended better than this, but for what it is I appreciate it.
A more enjoyable story than the previous book for sure, I think the perspective of the first half of the book with Catalog was so cool, it read like the narrator found all this information after the fact. But then the second half starts to jump perspectives and it loses a lot of its immersion hopping back and forth so much.
The scale of the Forerunner and Precursor technology was really awesome to see, I just wish we got more time with it.
The Librarian and Didact are such interesting and powerful characters, I really enjoyed their story throughout this trilogy. Seeing the consequences of their story in the games and other novels provides really fun continuity and appreciation.
Overall it could’ve ended better than this, but for what it is I appreciate it.
May 6, 2021
Yeah i mean i read it i guess?
April 11, 2024
OMG thank god that’s over
August 16, 2025
It was still a bit confusing at points but it wrapped up the trilogy well and set up good lore for the rest of the universe. It was written well compared to other halo books
January 20, 2021
I'm actually gonna give it a 3,5. It's a nice way to end the Forerunner Saga, but the whole book overall is not that interesting besides some really awesome parts. It's slow to read, but, like the others in this Trilogy, it is a nice companion to Halo 4.
November 2, 2020
After how difficult the first two books were to get through, I actually enjoyed this one as it finally began connecting the dots and providing more insight into what caused the demise of the Forerunners. I didn’t expect much with this book, and really had no clue where it would go after how bad the second book was, but I enjoyed the lore tie-in to the games and more detail in the relationship between Faber, Didact and the Librarian. This was the only satisfying book of the trilogy for me. The trilogy was overall a disappointment for me as I believe there were so many other things I wanted to know about the Forerunners that weren’t ever touched on.
Plot Notes:
Recap of history. Humans fought against flood first (originally a powder that mutated with a human pet species) and then forerunners. Humans seemed to find a cure against the flood as they controlled them much more effectively than forerunners. Forerunners defeated the humans at Charum Hakkur and used the composer to extract memories of the last human commanders. Humans were devolved at Erde Tyrene and implanted with old human memories as perhaps the flood cure would come up again as they were studied. To control humans and the flood, Didact wanted shield worlds as a refuge in each part of the galaxy. Faber wanted Halo rings as an offensive option. Builders played politics better than the warrior servants, creating the Arks as they could serve as a population refuge, and Didact lost out eventually being exiled. Librarian originally agreed with the plan to eradicate humans, but mind was changed after she saw the value in their race and the secrets to the flood they may contain. She and Didact also knew the Primordial said the time of forerunners is done and the humans will be tested next. Librarian worked to catalogue species as quickly as possible and also set up research facilities for the flood. Juridicals are a judicial species that help uphold the mantle? Catalog are evidence-gathering agents.
After Didact enters Cryptum, Librarian challenges the builders to create a ship to go to Path Kethona, suspected birthplace of the flood/precursors. The Audacity is created and she embarks with a team of 7, builders, miners and life workers. Ur-Didact (original) wakes up on a ship in Uthera, which is a flood-invested forerunner systems. He meets another warrior servant who claims Master Builder attacked his crew while escaping the forerunner capital during the Halo attack. Didact and Sharp wake up Maker (exiled builder whose dad was executed for protecting her after she felt the Halos were being constructed too large to transport safely, also helped exile Didact), and a catalog. They discover a precursor ship approaching them.
Librarian and Audacity crew continue searching Path Kethona. They find thousands of ancient forerunner ships unresponsive on one side of a planet, noticing star roads between planets, possibly suggesting precursor and ancient forerunner cooperation. Librarian’s AI makes mention of life on only one planet in the system.
We learn Juridicals are chosen from those who have done wrong. They and Catalog serve. Catalog admits he used to be a miner and blew up a planet prematurely to kill a guy that was marrying into a wealthy family unjustly. Catalog recognizes the shape in front of them as he is connected to Domain and has librarians’s report.
Librarian lands on the Orange planet with life in the system. They find primitive forerunners, perhaps descendants of those who abandoned the ships millions of years ago. She gets bit by an elder, which helps her see their culture and language. Librarian learns to speak with the seers. One lady, Glow, takes her to a place of biological moss that records their whole history, a biological domain. They are able to pass down information this way. The moss carves their story in the valley.
Ur Didact gets captured by someone, ordering the ship to explode and send out the other passengers in stasis to space to eventually be found. The primordial communicates directly to his brain asking for a moment to speak. It appears that the being ISO Didact killed on rogue Halo was a gravemind with the same thoughts and motives as the Primordial, but not the primordial itself. Didact explains that there were infected forerunners on an advanced forerunner ship. He realizes that the flood had chosen not to infect humans any longer, to preserve humanity and target the forerunners. He suspects Librarian sealed him away since he just wanted the destruction of the humans. He was brought before a gravemind of sorts on the forerunner ship.
Librarian comes to understand that the ancient forerunners went to path kedona to finish what they started - completely annihilate the precursors after they determined forerunners would no longer uphold the mantle. They couldn’t yet eliminate all traces of the precursor, so they left one alive to live out dreams of vengeance which came to fruition.
We learn corrupted ships and monitors were at the heart of the forerunner implosion. We also learn the flood is developing Key Minds, capable of advanced communication, coordination and planning for the flood. Precursor technology and artifacts appear to be awakening all over the galaxy. As the flood spreads, the juridical network was shut down and all legal proceedings (pretty much the entire forerunner race) were put on hold.
We learn iso Didact actually killed the last of the precursors, but the flood are their heir. The Forerunner fleet led by Flachion gets pushed further and further back, with the only governance remaining being at the Ark. precursor artifacts slowly cripple and infect the remaining forerunner fleets.
On Ur Didact home planet, he awaits librarian and iso Didact. Supposedly he was saved by master builder before being delivered to the gravemind? There is tension between ur and iso. Ur wants to resist the flood but iso and librarian want to fire the rings. Flood Spores begin raining down on the planet, and they are forced to retreat.
They arrive at greater ark, where omega halo, the last halo created is on the perimeter. Master builder is in control and this is the last stronghold of the forerunners. The lesser ark has the other 7 halo rings as a backup. Master Builder admits he fired the halo at Charum Hakkur as a test, but discovered in has a neural impact and destroys precursor artifacts as well. He also released the primordial and put in a stasis field, but he escaped and perverted mendicant bias against the capital. Also, Faber says the gravemind deliberately returned ur Didact to him, to deliver a message from his consumed wives and children that taunts the master builder. If greater ark fails, someone must disperse the rings at lesser ark to bring destruction to the flood, precursors and the galaxy. We learn the primordial transferred its conscious to the gravemind and is synonymous with the flood. Ur Didact only returned to the ecumene as a taunt and to be demoralizing to the remaining forerunners. Star roads begin materializing near the greater ark, and ur Didact tells librarian she must leave immediately. Librarian witnesses ur Didact use the composer to kill all remaining humans on omega halo, and depart.
Librarian ordered monitor Chakas to take all remaining specimens from the ark and transport to omega halo. Librarian follows Didact to requiem as iso Didact is rescued by monitor Chakas at greater ark. Librarian meets endurance - a strong promethean with rich history. Librarian is informed that Didact intends to rid the galaxy of anyone who would challenge the forerunners again. He is using the composer to create machines to fight, both from forerunner and human lives. Librarian is appalled. She tried to convince Endurance that Didact must be returned to his crypt for the good of the mantle.
Librarian succeeds in stunning the Didact and sealing him in a Cryptum. Endurance is ordered to protect Requiem until she hears news of the species repopulation or from one of the arks. Librarian then devises a plan to draw all remaining forerunner and flood ships to Erde Tyrene in order to give the lesser ark time to position the halo rings.
Iso Didact awakens on the cruiser secured by monitor Chakas. Iso Didact gives the coordinates to lesser ark, and informs iso that librarian is headed to Erde Tyrene. Chakas is ordered to disperse the halos quickly. Chakas is renamed 343 guilty spark as protector of installation 04. Other monitors are dispersed as well. Offensive Bias joins Didact as they work to disperse the rings, and refuses an offer from Mendicant Bias to join it.
On Erde Tyrene, librarian sees the last few hundred humans evacuated by Chant as she is tasked with returning them to the ark. Librarian gives her title of life shaper to Chant. Librarian chooses to stay on Erde as she wants to construct a portal to the ark that may be used by humans to learn all about the forerunners. Librarian speaks to forthencho and receives a message from the gravemind that the Domain is a precursor creation, and the firing of the rings will destroy their history. One last jab. The librarian accepts this fate and allows the ship from monitor Chakas to begin building a portal on the planet that may take hundreds of years.
The story finishes with iso Didact commanding the last forerunner forces to repel mendicant bias as the final halos fire. 343 guilty spark begins to lose his memory, and become the monitor of installation 04.
Plot Notes:
Recap of history. Humans fought against flood first (originally a powder that mutated with a human pet species) and then forerunners. Humans seemed to find a cure against the flood as they controlled them much more effectively than forerunners. Forerunners defeated the humans at Charum Hakkur and used the composer to extract memories of the last human commanders. Humans were devolved at Erde Tyrene and implanted with old human memories as perhaps the flood cure would come up again as they were studied. To control humans and the flood, Didact wanted shield worlds as a refuge in each part of the galaxy. Faber wanted Halo rings as an offensive option. Builders played politics better than the warrior servants, creating the Arks as they could serve as a population refuge, and Didact lost out eventually being exiled. Librarian originally agreed with the plan to eradicate humans, but mind was changed after she saw the value in their race and the secrets to the flood they may contain. She and Didact also knew the Primordial said the time of forerunners is done and the humans will be tested next. Librarian worked to catalogue species as quickly as possible and also set up research facilities for the flood. Juridicals are a judicial species that help uphold the mantle? Catalog are evidence-gathering agents.
After Didact enters Cryptum, Librarian challenges the builders to create a ship to go to Path Kethona, suspected birthplace of the flood/precursors. The Audacity is created and she embarks with a team of 7, builders, miners and life workers. Ur-Didact (original) wakes up on a ship in Uthera, which is a flood-invested forerunner systems. He meets another warrior servant who claims Master Builder attacked his crew while escaping the forerunner capital during the Halo attack. Didact and Sharp wake up Maker (exiled builder whose dad was executed for protecting her after she felt the Halos were being constructed too large to transport safely, also helped exile Didact), and a catalog. They discover a precursor ship approaching them.
Librarian and Audacity crew continue searching Path Kethona. They find thousands of ancient forerunner ships unresponsive on one side of a planet, noticing star roads between planets, possibly suggesting precursor and ancient forerunner cooperation. Librarian’s AI makes mention of life on only one planet in the system.
We learn Juridicals are chosen from those who have done wrong. They and Catalog serve. Catalog admits he used to be a miner and blew up a planet prematurely to kill a guy that was marrying into a wealthy family unjustly. Catalog recognizes the shape in front of them as he is connected to Domain and has librarians’s report.
Librarian lands on the Orange planet with life in the system. They find primitive forerunners, perhaps descendants of those who abandoned the ships millions of years ago. She gets bit by an elder, which helps her see their culture and language. Librarian learns to speak with the seers. One lady, Glow, takes her to a place of biological moss that records their whole history, a biological domain. They are able to pass down information this way. The moss carves their story in the valley.
Ur Didact gets captured by someone, ordering the ship to explode and send out the other passengers in stasis to space to eventually be found. The primordial communicates directly to his brain asking for a moment to speak. It appears that the being ISO Didact killed on rogue Halo was a gravemind with the same thoughts and motives as the Primordial, but not the primordial itself. Didact explains that there were infected forerunners on an advanced forerunner ship. He realizes that the flood had chosen not to infect humans any longer, to preserve humanity and target the forerunners. He suspects Librarian sealed him away since he just wanted the destruction of the humans. He was brought before a gravemind of sorts on the forerunner ship.
Librarian comes to understand that the ancient forerunners went to path kedona to finish what they started - completely annihilate the precursors after they determined forerunners would no longer uphold the mantle. They couldn’t yet eliminate all traces of the precursor, so they left one alive to live out dreams of vengeance which came to fruition.
We learn corrupted ships and monitors were at the heart of the forerunner implosion. We also learn the flood is developing Key Minds, capable of advanced communication, coordination and planning for the flood. Precursor technology and artifacts appear to be awakening all over the galaxy. As the flood spreads, the juridical network was shut down and all legal proceedings (pretty much the entire forerunner race) were put on hold.
We learn iso Didact actually killed the last of the precursors, but the flood are their heir. The Forerunner fleet led by Flachion gets pushed further and further back, with the only governance remaining being at the Ark. precursor artifacts slowly cripple and infect the remaining forerunner fleets.
On Ur Didact home planet, he awaits librarian and iso Didact. Supposedly he was saved by master builder before being delivered to the gravemind? There is tension between ur and iso. Ur wants to resist the flood but iso and librarian want to fire the rings. Flood Spores begin raining down on the planet, and they are forced to retreat.
They arrive at greater ark, where omega halo, the last halo created is on the perimeter. Master builder is in control and this is the last stronghold of the forerunners. The lesser ark has the other 7 halo rings as a backup. Master Builder admits he fired the halo at Charum Hakkur as a test, but discovered in has a neural impact and destroys precursor artifacts as well. He also released the primordial and put in a stasis field, but he escaped and perverted mendicant bias against the capital. Also, Faber says the gravemind deliberately returned ur Didact to him, to deliver a message from his consumed wives and children that taunts the master builder. If greater ark fails, someone must disperse the rings at lesser ark to bring destruction to the flood, precursors and the galaxy. We learn the primordial transferred its conscious to the gravemind and is synonymous with the flood. Ur Didact only returned to the ecumene as a taunt and to be demoralizing to the remaining forerunners. Star roads begin materializing near the greater ark, and ur Didact tells librarian she must leave immediately. Librarian witnesses ur Didact use the composer to kill all remaining humans on omega halo, and depart.
Librarian ordered monitor Chakas to take all remaining specimens from the ark and transport to omega halo. Librarian follows Didact to requiem as iso Didact is rescued by monitor Chakas at greater ark. Librarian meets endurance - a strong promethean with rich history. Librarian is informed that Didact intends to rid the galaxy of anyone who would challenge the forerunners again. He is using the composer to create machines to fight, both from forerunner and human lives. Librarian is appalled. She tried to convince Endurance that Didact must be returned to his crypt for the good of the mantle.
Librarian succeeds in stunning the Didact and sealing him in a Cryptum. Endurance is ordered to protect Requiem until she hears news of the species repopulation or from one of the arks. Librarian then devises a plan to draw all remaining forerunner and flood ships to Erde Tyrene in order to give the lesser ark time to position the halo rings.
Iso Didact awakens on the cruiser secured by monitor Chakas. Iso Didact gives the coordinates to lesser ark, and informs iso that librarian is headed to Erde Tyrene. Chakas is ordered to disperse the halos quickly. Chakas is renamed 343 guilty spark as protector of installation 04. Other monitors are dispersed as well. Offensive Bias joins Didact as they work to disperse the rings, and refuses an offer from Mendicant Bias to join it.
On Erde Tyrene, librarian sees the last few hundred humans evacuated by Chant as she is tasked with returning them to the ark. Librarian gives her title of life shaper to Chant. Librarian chooses to stay on Erde as she wants to construct a portal to the ark that may be used by humans to learn all about the forerunners. Librarian speaks to forthencho and receives a message from the gravemind that the Domain is a precursor creation, and the firing of the rings will destroy their history. One last jab. The librarian accepts this fate and allows the ship from monitor Chakas to begin building a portal on the planet that may take hundreds of years.
The story finishes with iso Didact commanding the last forerunner forces to repel mendicant bias as the final halos fire. 343 guilty spark begins to lose his memory, and become the monitor of installation 04.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2015
If you're not familiar with the Halo lore I suggest you skip the spoiler part of this review
The focus of this book is on key Forerunner characters and their political roles in securing a future for all sentient life against their fight with the flood. I enjoyed the different, and sometimes contradicting, views the story was told from the vantage point of each of these characters based on their ideologies and beliefs and how their, well, character drove them into different adventures and acts to serve their ultimate purpose.
The narration of the book was mediocre, the narrator tried to change his tone and voice to distinguish each character, and to a degree he succeeded, but it felt as if he had a handful of impressions that he cycles through as the number of characters in the story grew.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the Halo lore, it did link to a lot of the events in the Halo games and I bet it would bring a lot of nostalgic feelings of gameplay moments. For those who got bored from the 2nd book in the series, I urge you to continue with this one, it is really worth it. Finally, those who appreciate a good sci-fi may also appreciate this book, but it may require some background info on the Halo lore before delving into this series.
The focus of this book is on key Forerunner characters and their political roles in securing a future for all sentient life against their fight with the flood. I enjoyed the different, and sometimes contradicting, views the story was told from the vantage point of each of these characters based on their ideologies and beliefs and how their, well, character drove them into different adventures and acts to serve their ultimate purpose.
The narration of the book was mediocre, the narrator tried to change his tone and voice to distinguish each character, and to a degree he succeeded, but it felt as if he had a handful of impressions that he cycles through as the number of characters in the story grew.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the Halo lore, it did link to a lot of the events in the Halo games and I bet it would bring a lot of nostalgic feelings of gameplay moments. For those who got bored from the 2nd book in the series, I urge you to continue with this one, it is really worth it. Finally, those who appreciate a good sci-fi may also appreciate this book, but it may require some background info on the Halo lore before delving into this series.
March 27, 2013
Halo: Silentium is the final book in Greg Bear's Forerunner trilogy, set millennia before the events of the games. It continues the story of the Didact and Librarian, as well as several other familiar characters from the first two books.
Similarly to Primordium, Silentium is a bit of a framed narrative - ONI has discovered some Forerunner artifacts and has extracted information from them and put it together in a way that tells the story. Since not everything is necessarily in chronological order or continuous, there are some jumps and abrupt transitions, but there's a purpose and meaning to each thread.
Some things that were hinted at in previous works are explained outright and in more depth, and new secrets about the Precursors, the Forerunners, the Humans, and the Flood are revealed. If you're a fan of the Halo universe, you know how the story is going to end. This only makes it more powerful though, in my mind, as you see the possible choices slowly focus down to one inevitable course of events.
The end left some things open and was a slight letdown, but shortly after the book was published it was revealed that there is actually a coda that expands upon the ending, making it more satisfactory. You can find out about that by going here. I don't think it's necessary for enjoying the story, but it certainly helps but a bow on things. There are still a few questions I'd like answered, however, and I look forward to finding out more in future stories.
In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed Silentium and tore through it in two sittings. By the last fifty pages or so I couldn't even put it down. If you're a Halo fan, this entire series is a must-read. Science fiction fans will certainly appreciate it as well.
Similarly to Primordium, Silentium is a bit of a framed narrative - ONI has discovered some Forerunner artifacts and has extracted information from them and put it together in a way that tells the story. Since not everything is necessarily in chronological order or continuous, there are some jumps and abrupt transitions, but there's a purpose and meaning to each thread.
Some things that were hinted at in previous works are explained outright and in more depth, and new secrets about the Precursors, the Forerunners, the Humans, and the Flood are revealed. If you're a fan of the Halo universe, you know how the story is going to end. This only makes it more powerful though, in my mind, as you see the possible choices slowly focus down to one inevitable course of events.
The end left some things open and was a slight letdown, but shortly after the book was published it was revealed that there is actually a coda that expands upon the ending, making it more satisfactory. You can find out about that by going here. I don't think it's necessary for enjoying the story, but it certainly helps but a bow on things. There are still a few questions I'd like answered, however, and I look forward to finding out more in future stories.
In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed Silentium and tore through it in two sittings. By the last fifty pages or so I couldn't even put it down. If you're a Halo fan, this entire series is a must-read. Science fiction fans will certainly appreciate it as well.
April 25, 2013
Greg Bear has brought a new level of awesome to the Halo novel franchise. The three books chronicling the Forerunner struggle against ancient humans and the Flood are separate from the main Halo series but live within a context that adds an ominous tone to these tales that is indispensable. Bear is able to bring together strong, alien characters with an epic intergalactic struggle for the fate of life as we know it reminiscent of Asimov's works.
For the Halo fan, this novel specifically adds a new dimension to the Flood's history that is pretty startling. One piece of the Forerunner history that always sat poorly with me was that the Forerunners could have been so easily overrun by these rotting creatures; that they would actually have to resort to the Halo weapons seemed like a stretch. But you will find that there is a lot more to the Flood than I previously thought, and once upon a time they had much more powerful resources at their disposal which did not survive the firing of the Halo array.
For the Halo fan, this novel specifically adds a new dimension to the Flood's history that is pretty startling. One piece of the Forerunner history that always sat poorly with me was that the Forerunners could have been so easily overrun by these rotting creatures; that they would actually have to resort to the Halo weapons seemed like a stretch. But you will find that there is a lot more to the Flood than I previously thought, and once upon a time they had much more powerful resources at their disposal which did not survive the firing of the Halo array.
March 29, 2013
I feel like this is a perfect conclusion to the series. It tied up most, if not all of the loose ends left in the other books, and really gives you a since of closing, finally knowing more about the Precursors, the origin of the Flood, and the final days of the Forerunner Empire.
It also gives a perfect reason for why the Didact is who he is in the video game series, and not more like the IsoDidact or even the Didact in the previous books for that matter.
I would recommend the book to all science fiction lovers!
Thanks for a superb wrap up, Mr. Bear.
It also gives a perfect reason for why the Didact is who he is in the video game series, and not more like the IsoDidact or even the Didact in the previous books for that matter.
I would recommend the book to all science fiction lovers!
Thanks for a superb wrap up, Mr. Bear.
March 22, 2013
The last book in the Forerunner trilogy doesn't hold back. It closes most if not all the storylines started in the first two books. A must read for Halo fans.
April 1, 2013
I guess you really need to read the first two books before this one.
December 17, 2021
Halo: Silentium by Greg Bear is a video game tie-in novel based off the Halo video game franchise, and the final novel in “The Forerunner Saga” trilogy
Halo: Silentium introduces a new class of Forerunners, the Juridicals. Essentially investigators and keepers of justice, the Juridicals gather and judge testimony through agents called Catalog. Halo: Silentium, generally speaking, is one large collection of testimony, as Catalogue interviews and records the accounts of the Librarian, the IsoDidact, the Master Builder, and, surprisingly, the Ur-Didact during the final days of the Forerunner empire, and the firing of the Halo weapon.
The novel opens sometime after Halo: Primoridum concludes, and the the alien parasite known as The Flood has made great in-roads into the heart of Forerunner society; the war continues and the Forerunners are loosing.Through the accounts Catalog collects, we learn the true origin of the Flood, the horrible crime Forerunners committed long ago, and the reason the Flood seeks to consume all life. We know how the novel and the war ends, of course, as the Halo Array is fired, but the details leading up to that point is one of desperate struggle, hope, and ultimately love.
Believing the Ur-Didact to be dead, the Librarian has taken the IsoDidact as her husband and supports him in the war effort. Yet the Ur-Didact was not executed by the Master Builder after all, and he returns to aide his people in their time of greatest need, yet something has changed about him, some dark taint lies over him that may undo all the Forerunner's plans, and the Librarian's specifically. She is ultimately forced to confine her original husband as seen in the Halo 4 terminals, setting the stage for the events of Halo 4, and leaving the IsoDidact to do what must be done firing the Halo Array to save the galaxy from the Flood.
As the final book in the Forerunner saga, I cannot imagine a more worthy conclusion to the end of the series. The plot was compelling and many of the questions that long plagued me were finally resolved in the pages of this book.
The origins of the Flood are revealed, more light is shed on the still enigmatic Precursor species and we learn why the Ur-Didact seemed to be completely mad in Halo 4. Still, there are questions that are left unanswered.
We don’t know how the Precursors, a Tier 0 civilization, lost to the ancient Forerunners. Nor do the novel disclose any more on the relationship between Forerunners and Humanity; we know they are similar genetically and both products of the Precursors, but that’s about it.
Unlike the previous two books in the Forerunner saga, Cryptum and Primordium, Silentium has a considerably different narrative style. In lieu of using one or two characters to tell Silentium’s story, he uses many different perspectives to spin this tale. Personally, I found it a little difficult to keep track of everything that was going on, with all the different perspectives.
Aside from that, I don’t have many other major complaints. The pacing was excellent in this book. I never found myself bored while reading or utterly overwhelmed with new knowledge. Flipping through the pages, you can almost feel the heightened sense of urgency and suspense of the Forerunners as the Flood slowly closed in; the twilight of their civilization.
Silentium is an intense read; clocking in at 330 pages, it’s a tad shorter than its two predecessors. However, it forces you to read slowly and carefully; there are many small, yet important details hidden in the pages that are easily overlooked.
If there’s anything that could have been improved upon, it was definitely the ending. There was absolutely no tie in with Halo: Primordium, where 343 Guilty Spark takes control of the ONI prowler in search of the Librarian. In comparison, Silentium’s ending felt weak and ineffectual.
All in all, Halo: Silentium is a grand conclusion to Bear's masterful trilogy, filled with the sadness and regret of a once great species that ruled the galaxy. It demonstrates both the genius and tragedy of the Forerunners, their empire, and the technology they left behind to influence the galaxy after they were gone. Most importantly, it provides essential backstory to Halo 4 itself, helping players gain even more insight into the Halo universe. For fans of the franchise, the Forerunner Saga should not be missed.
Halo: Silentium introduces a new class of Forerunners, the Juridicals. Essentially investigators and keepers of justice, the Juridicals gather and judge testimony through agents called Catalog. Halo: Silentium, generally speaking, is one large collection of testimony, as Catalogue interviews and records the accounts of the Librarian, the IsoDidact, the Master Builder, and, surprisingly, the Ur-Didact during the final days of the Forerunner empire, and the firing of the Halo weapon.
The novel opens sometime after Halo: Primoridum concludes, and the the alien parasite known as The Flood has made great in-roads into the heart of Forerunner society; the war continues and the Forerunners are loosing.Through the accounts Catalog collects, we learn the true origin of the Flood, the horrible crime Forerunners committed long ago, and the reason the Flood seeks to consume all life. We know how the novel and the war ends, of course, as the Halo Array is fired, but the details leading up to that point is one of desperate struggle, hope, and ultimately love.
Believing the Ur-Didact to be dead, the Librarian has taken the IsoDidact as her husband and supports him in the war effort. Yet the Ur-Didact was not executed by the Master Builder after all, and he returns to aide his people in their time of greatest need, yet something has changed about him, some dark taint lies over him that may undo all the Forerunner's plans, and the Librarian's specifically. She is ultimately forced to confine her original husband as seen in the Halo 4 terminals, setting the stage for the events of Halo 4, and leaving the IsoDidact to do what must be done firing the Halo Array to save the galaxy from the Flood.
As the final book in the Forerunner saga, I cannot imagine a more worthy conclusion to the end of the series. The plot was compelling and many of the questions that long plagued me were finally resolved in the pages of this book.
The origins of the Flood are revealed, more light is shed on the still enigmatic Precursor species and we learn why the Ur-Didact seemed to be completely mad in Halo 4. Still, there are questions that are left unanswered.
We don’t know how the Precursors, a Tier 0 civilization, lost to the ancient Forerunners. Nor do the novel disclose any more on the relationship between Forerunners and Humanity; we know they are similar genetically and both products of the Precursors, but that’s about it.
Unlike the previous two books in the Forerunner saga, Cryptum and Primordium, Silentium has a considerably different narrative style. In lieu of using one or two characters to tell Silentium’s story, he uses many different perspectives to spin this tale. Personally, I found it a little difficult to keep track of everything that was going on, with all the different perspectives.
Aside from that, I don’t have many other major complaints. The pacing was excellent in this book. I never found myself bored while reading or utterly overwhelmed with new knowledge. Flipping through the pages, you can almost feel the heightened sense of urgency and suspense of the Forerunners as the Flood slowly closed in; the twilight of their civilization.
Silentium is an intense read; clocking in at 330 pages, it’s a tad shorter than its two predecessors. However, it forces you to read slowly and carefully; there are many small, yet important details hidden in the pages that are easily overlooked.
If there’s anything that could have been improved upon, it was definitely the ending. There was absolutely no tie in with Halo: Primordium, where 343 Guilty Spark takes control of the ONI prowler in search of the Librarian. In comparison, Silentium’s ending felt weak and ineffectual.
All in all, Halo: Silentium is a grand conclusion to Bear's masterful trilogy, filled with the sadness and regret of a once great species that ruled the galaxy. It demonstrates both the genius and tragedy of the Forerunners, their empire, and the technology they left behind to influence the galaxy after they were gone. Most importantly, it provides essential backstory to Halo 4 itself, helping players gain even more insight into the Halo universe. For fans of the franchise, the Forerunner Saga should not be missed.
October 8, 2024
'This is not irony; it is echo.'
The third and final entry in The Forerunner Saga, Greg Bear's vision for this game-series tie-in succeeds in fleshing out (or in many cases, creating) a rich lore that acts now as canonical tapestry for the expansive Halo universe. Further though, Silentium and the rest of the trilogy stand triumphant as discrete works of simply excellent science fiction. Bear brings a grandeur and depth to the overall series, recapturing a sense of wonderment and mystery that is reminiscent of the original video game but does so whilst revealing a satisfying explanation (particularly with this last novel) for the actions, motivations, histories and ultimately the fates of the peoples and races of the Halo universe.
In summary, Silentium traverses millennia in a sweeping narrative that brings together the arcs of the main cast of the trilogy; the final actions of the Ur-Didact, Iso-Didact, Librarian, Master Builder and Chakas - as well as detailed accounts of pivotal events from their pasts - are cleverly characterised not as an exhaustive encyclopaedia of events but through the point of view of Catalog, a narrative voice/characterisation device in the form of a collective mind of 'Juridical' beings, somewhere between AI and humanoid, that serve the ecumene by documenting 'testimony' for the preservation of just rule under the guidance of the Mantle.
Through this unique lens the audience learn primarily of the events that led to the present-time (in the novel) motivations of the Lifeshaper and the Didact for their experiences and what they witness through their interactions with, respectively, an ancient Forerunner colony refusing to evolve given the grievous sins of their collective past, and the Precursors themselves in the form of ancient Gravemind, The Timeless One. The worlds, events and character interactions are terrifying and haunting in their exploration of themes of malice, sin, the destructive power of fear, greed and exploitation and, simply, death and decay. Although this is frequently tempered, in particular with the story of the Lifeshaper and the ancient Forerunners but also through the Bornstellar-Didact, with an appreciation for beauty in all things, sacrifice and courage, and in the virtue of preservation of life in the face of manipulation, despair and futility.
At times, certainly in comparison to the latter two entries in the trilogy, the direction feels much more like a traditional tie-in rather than standalone storytelling, in that although still a delight, studio fact-checking over novelisation with free-flowing author input is evident. That said, with the trilogy's inception and development conceived around the development and release of a new direction for the game franchise, it is easy to forgive the more 'tidying-up' aspect of character arcs and pacing towards the end: it is still outstanding, uncompromising writing.
In short the trilogy is essential reading for Halo lore fans but excellent, fully-realised sci-fi perfectly appropriate for any fans of the genre as a whole. In particular, Silentium over its two predecessors really nails down the atmosphere of the entire franchise like nothing else I have read so far: a grand vision of a sprawling space adventure but with a keen balance between humanised struggles and hard sci-fi concepts. Personally, it revealed finally what in many ways was an obscured piece of the Halo narrative puzzle: the boundless hatred that ultimately evolved the Precursors, the creators of us and our adversaries, into the all-consuming Flood, a hive-mind being of a singular, corruptive, complete evil, is locked in an endless battle, despite it's utter dominance and superiority at every turn, with a solace; the Lifeshaper best describes this as a beautiful force of inner workings in living things being involved in the whole, grander picture, that ultimately always finds a way:
'My love and expertise lies in the immensity within - the unbounded inner roil of a cell, the tight-packed jostling of hundreds of thousands of molecules cooperating and competing at once, all unaware that their activities, massed together, open doorways to even greater immensities: you, me, all living things.
The greatest galaxies are nothing without our inner immensity, which opens our eyes to the light, our senses to their warmth, and our minds to their challenge.'
The third and final entry in The Forerunner Saga, Greg Bear's vision for this game-series tie-in succeeds in fleshing out (or in many cases, creating) a rich lore that acts now as canonical tapestry for the expansive Halo universe. Further though, Silentium and the rest of the trilogy stand triumphant as discrete works of simply excellent science fiction. Bear brings a grandeur and depth to the overall series, recapturing a sense of wonderment and mystery that is reminiscent of the original video game but does so whilst revealing a satisfying explanation (particularly with this last novel) for the actions, motivations, histories and ultimately the fates of the peoples and races of the Halo universe.
In summary, Silentium traverses millennia in a sweeping narrative that brings together the arcs of the main cast of the trilogy; the final actions of the Ur-Didact, Iso-Didact, Librarian, Master Builder and Chakas - as well as detailed accounts of pivotal events from their pasts - are cleverly characterised not as an exhaustive encyclopaedia of events but through the point of view of Catalog, a narrative voice/characterisation device in the form of a collective mind of 'Juridical' beings, somewhere between AI and humanoid, that serve the ecumene by documenting 'testimony' for the preservation of just rule under the guidance of the Mantle.
Through this unique lens the audience learn primarily of the events that led to the present-time (in the novel) motivations of the Lifeshaper and the Didact for their experiences and what they witness through their interactions with, respectively, an ancient Forerunner colony refusing to evolve given the grievous sins of their collective past, and the Precursors themselves in the form of ancient Gravemind, The Timeless One. The worlds, events and character interactions are terrifying and haunting in their exploration of themes of malice, sin, the destructive power of fear, greed and exploitation and, simply, death and decay. Although this is frequently tempered, in particular with the story of the Lifeshaper and the ancient Forerunners but also through the Bornstellar-Didact, with an appreciation for beauty in all things, sacrifice and courage, and in the virtue of preservation of life in the face of manipulation, despair and futility.
At times, certainly in comparison to the latter two entries in the trilogy, the direction feels much more like a traditional tie-in rather than standalone storytelling, in that although still a delight, studio fact-checking over novelisation with free-flowing author input is evident. That said, with the trilogy's inception and development conceived around the development and release of a new direction for the game franchise, it is easy to forgive the more 'tidying-up' aspect of character arcs and pacing towards the end: it is still outstanding, uncompromising writing.
In short the trilogy is essential reading for Halo lore fans but excellent, fully-realised sci-fi perfectly appropriate for any fans of the genre as a whole. In particular, Silentium over its two predecessors really nails down the atmosphere of the entire franchise like nothing else I have read so far: a grand vision of a sprawling space adventure but with a keen balance between humanised struggles and hard sci-fi concepts. Personally, it revealed finally what in many ways was an obscured piece of the Halo narrative puzzle: the boundless hatred that ultimately evolved the Precursors, the creators of us and our adversaries, into the all-consuming Flood, a hive-mind being of a singular, corruptive, complete evil, is locked in an endless battle, despite it's utter dominance and superiority at every turn, with a solace; the Lifeshaper best describes this as a beautiful force of inner workings in living things being involved in the whole, grander picture, that ultimately always finds a way:
'My love and expertise lies in the immensity within - the unbounded inner roil of a cell, the tight-packed jostling of hundreds of thousands of molecules cooperating and competing at once, all unaware that their activities, massed together, open doorways to even greater immensities: you, me, all living things.
The greatest galaxies are nothing without our inner immensity, which opens our eyes to the light, our senses to their warmth, and our minds to their challenge.'
September 6, 2013
When all is said and done, what will be remembered of the United States? Will it be our national monuments, leaving our descendants wondering why we might have built such a thing? Will it be our enduring legal codes, as an example for how to run--and preserve--republics and democracies? Or will it be the trillions of hours of multi-media recordings we have saved in every nook and cranny? Lonely monuments litter the Halo games, as both set pieces and entire self-contained sets, but they tell us little of those aloof ancestors. Rather, it is the enduring final moments, presented first in elusive, enigmatic terminals scattered throughout the games that tell us who the builders truly were. Greg Bear’s final book in the Forerunner trilogy, Halo: Silentium, takes those loose strings and weaves a strange, imperfect, and beautiful web from them. The question that should be on every Halo fan’s mind is, how does the world end? With a bang, or with a whisper?
Halo: Cryptum (review) and Halo: Primordium (review) have distinctly different tones and identities from one another, while sharing the common themes of duty and responsibility; Silentium is no different. It presents a totally different narrative structure to its precursors, while retaining much of the same cast. Present are both Didacts, the original and Bornstellar, as well as the Librarian, Chakas, the Master Builder, and the bad guys. Primordium left off at a very bad spot in the war between Forerunner and Flood, with the scorpion-headed beast in control of one of the Halo rings and the Forerunner civilization rapidly crumbling. Bear avoids jumping straight into the action by construction a curios narrative structure that will stand out more than any of the true content of the novel.
It begins with the questioning by a Senior Juridical (judge) trying to access information in the “Mantle,” the Forerunner’s telepathic internet. The unavailability of information--and the strange inhabitant intelligence that communicates with the Juridical--alerts us to the severity of the situation. The juridical’s perspective is an odd one to choose, since it is unfamiliar and necessitates more of the jargon-slinging that dragged the first book down like a lead balloon. However, since Bear is writing about a civilization in its death throes, it makes a lot of sense to get a legal perspective--and we get a lot of that throughout the book. In bad times, a society defines itself by the actions it does and does not take; these are all-too-often definitions of legal and illegal, and, knowing the pending annihilation of the Forerunner, it’s all the more poignant to see their supreme legal figures failing to act.
A second character quickly introduced is Catalog. Catalog was easily the most interesting character I encountered, perhaps because of its unfamiliarity, but also because it felt like a genuinely “sci-fi” idea established by bear. In brief, Catalog is a collective union of individuals who suppress their personalities in favor of objective observation; in order to become Catalog (it’s a plural), you must “know guilt,” lest you cannot recognize and properly report it. In short, these strange individuals tote recording gear and stay as neutral as possible, going so far into their strange dictum as to efface all instances of the individual; the entire Forerunner civilization’s history is recorded by its worst felons. How interesting! Several individual Catalogs are examined throughout the book, and it was always a pleasure to see the well-established characters interacting with them, especially as time went on. They’re likely a stand-in for the media, which the Forerunner appear to lack, but an effective analogue; when a character is in dire straits, they reach out to Catalog, only to be observed and cataloged as they fail.. When they’re angry, they take it out on Catalog. When they’re happy, they forget that catalog is not a friend, but a recording mechanism; Bear captured with deft clarity the insane relationship we have with our media today, and its obsession with chronicling every waking moment.
The Juridicals and Catalog form two of a many-pronged narrative web. Also serving as foci are both Didacts and the Librarian, among others. With the exception of the Bornstellar-Didact, each other narrative takes place in different time periods (until the end when they come together); the original Didact’s narrative examines his time between the end of Cryptum and during Primordium, as well as chronicling his dissent into despairing insanity. The Librarian’s narrative thread jumps back a thousand years to her trip out of the galaxy (literally) to investigate the fate of the Precursors.
Indeed, that narrative thread, the Librarian’s investigation, was perhaps the most meaningful of all because it served to characterize the Forerunners and explain their stuffy, law-bound selves more than the previous two novels. I won’t spoil the reasoning for you, but I felt that it cumulated nicely, however unpredictable it was. Motivation is great characterization, and guilt is even better; her trip validates the decisions made at the end of the novel.
This hydra-structure will be distinctly unfamiliar to many Halo readers; for the most part, the books are fairly chronological and entirely sequential in their structures. Bear’s willingness to break the mold to tell a bigger story is appreciated and understood. Though it might bow a bit under its own mass, it effectively answers the major hanging questions and drives the novel towards its inevitable conclusion; I can’t say I was a huge fan of how “montage” it became towards the end (emulating The Dark Knight Rises), but there is a certain limit to how much space can be afforded wallowing loss. Instead, Bear gives us insight into the Didact’s drop into insanity, the Librarian’s edging hopelessness, and the Master Builder’s final push to seize power and cauterize the Forerunner’s sins, all of which are accounted during the course of the novel. And it is horrific.
My one strong complaint is that the book feels very much a “lead-in” to Halo 4; Requiem, the planet-fortress, is name-dropped as often as possible. The Prometheans, warrior-servants to the Didact, are a frequent mention; indeed, even the Librarian’s “geas” technology, which inscribes the personalities of long-dead humans, is brought up as control of the Composer is lost and regained and lost again; it feels very much like a surreal prequel to Halo 4, rather than a direct conclusion of a trilogy. With that in mind it’s almost a shame that this novel didn’t come out before Halo 4, since, you know, a ton of the poorly answered or unaddressed questions are all answered in Silentium.
However, that doesn’t qualify it as a “bad” novel. I’m a huge fan of the experimental structure of the novel; many of the best sci-fi novels don’t have strictly linear, chronological guts. In fact, the best don’t. If Halo is moving towards a more mature, artistic plane, than this is what needs to happen; authors need to be given the freedom to experiment and shuffle the plot into attractive, challenging forms. Indeed, had Bear not been able to structure Silentium so haphazardly, its media-criticizing analogy would fall flat. The novel reads almost like the sloppy 24-hour coverage of some major catastrophe, with slightly contradicting statements, high bias, and the rough outline of too little information; I like that it reads like that, genuinely. I don’t expect an even, level-headed chronicle of the collapse of a civilization when they’re the only ones left to record it.
Halo: Silentium is the best book in the trilogy. It’s the one that validates reading the first two, ties them up and makes a complete picture of the puzzle. I was a fan of the Ringworld-lite aspects of Halo: Primordium, and I liked the earnest camaraderie in Halo: Cryptum, but the third and final book in Bear’s trilogy pushes the envelope for what Halo can be, and it includes serious social awareness of the caliber that makes me respect the Halo fiction as something more than your run-of-the-mill contract novel. I loved that such strong characters--and so integral to the universe--can be represented as flawed, three dimensional beings whose feelings can be hurt and hearts broke, whose tempers can spiral out of control, and whose spiteful, vindictive egos can ruin entire civilizations. If they began as nebulous demigods playing politics with galaxies, the Forerunner ended as flesh-and-blood children squabbling to the last over how to hide from the things that go bump in the night.
At the beginning of this review, I posed a question: Does the world end with a bang or a whisper? The answer is that it doesn’t matter, when only cold dead monuments remain to bear witness. Fans of Halo have little excuse to skip this entry; it’s a clear signal of the maturation of the universe we love so dearly.
Halo: Cryptum (review) and Halo: Primordium (review) have distinctly different tones and identities from one another, while sharing the common themes of duty and responsibility; Silentium is no different. It presents a totally different narrative structure to its precursors, while retaining much of the same cast. Present are both Didacts, the original and Bornstellar, as well as the Librarian, Chakas, the Master Builder, and the bad guys. Primordium left off at a very bad spot in the war between Forerunner and Flood, with the scorpion-headed beast in control of one of the Halo rings and the Forerunner civilization rapidly crumbling. Bear avoids jumping straight into the action by construction a curios narrative structure that will stand out more than any of the true content of the novel.
It begins with the questioning by a Senior Juridical (judge) trying to access information in the “Mantle,” the Forerunner’s telepathic internet. The unavailability of information--and the strange inhabitant intelligence that communicates with the Juridical--alerts us to the severity of the situation. The juridical’s perspective is an odd one to choose, since it is unfamiliar and necessitates more of the jargon-slinging that dragged the first book down like a lead balloon. However, since Bear is writing about a civilization in its death throes, it makes a lot of sense to get a legal perspective--and we get a lot of that throughout the book. In bad times, a society defines itself by the actions it does and does not take; these are all-too-often definitions of legal and illegal, and, knowing the pending annihilation of the Forerunner, it’s all the more poignant to see their supreme legal figures failing to act.
A second character quickly introduced is Catalog. Catalog was easily the most interesting character I encountered, perhaps because of its unfamiliarity, but also because it felt like a genuinely “sci-fi” idea established by bear. In brief, Catalog is a collective union of individuals who suppress their personalities in favor of objective observation; in order to become Catalog (it’s a plural), you must “know guilt,” lest you cannot recognize and properly report it. In short, these strange individuals tote recording gear and stay as neutral as possible, going so far into their strange dictum as to efface all instances of the individual; the entire Forerunner civilization’s history is recorded by its worst felons. How interesting! Several individual Catalogs are examined throughout the book, and it was always a pleasure to see the well-established characters interacting with them, especially as time went on. They’re likely a stand-in for the media, which the Forerunner appear to lack, but an effective analogue; when a character is in dire straits, they reach out to Catalog, only to be observed and cataloged as they fail.. When they’re angry, they take it out on Catalog. When they’re happy, they forget that catalog is not a friend, but a recording mechanism; Bear captured with deft clarity the insane relationship we have with our media today, and its obsession with chronicling every waking moment.
The Juridicals and Catalog form two of a many-pronged narrative web. Also serving as foci are both Didacts and the Librarian, among others. With the exception of the Bornstellar-Didact, each other narrative takes place in different time periods (until the end when they come together); the original Didact’s narrative examines his time between the end of Cryptum and during Primordium, as well as chronicling his dissent into despairing insanity. The Librarian’s narrative thread jumps back a thousand years to her trip out of the galaxy (literally) to investigate the fate of the Precursors.
Indeed, that narrative thread, the Librarian’s investigation, was perhaps the most meaningful of all because it served to characterize the Forerunners and explain their stuffy, law-bound selves more than the previous two novels. I won’t spoil the reasoning for you, but I felt that it cumulated nicely, however unpredictable it was. Motivation is great characterization, and guilt is even better; her trip validates the decisions made at the end of the novel.
This hydra-structure will be distinctly unfamiliar to many Halo readers; for the most part, the books are fairly chronological and entirely sequential in their structures. Bear’s willingness to break the mold to tell a bigger story is appreciated and understood. Though it might bow a bit under its own mass, it effectively answers the major hanging questions and drives the novel towards its inevitable conclusion; I can’t say I was a huge fan of how “montage” it became towards the end (emulating The Dark Knight Rises), but there is a certain limit to how much space can be afforded wallowing loss. Instead, Bear gives us insight into the Didact’s drop into insanity, the Librarian’s edging hopelessness, and the Master Builder’s final push to seize power and cauterize the Forerunner’s sins, all of which are accounted during the course of the novel. And it is horrific.
My one strong complaint is that the book feels very much a “lead-in” to Halo 4; Requiem, the planet-fortress, is name-dropped as often as possible. The Prometheans, warrior-servants to the Didact, are a frequent mention; indeed, even the Librarian’s “geas” technology, which inscribes the personalities of long-dead humans, is brought up as control of the Composer is lost and regained and lost again; it feels very much like a surreal prequel to Halo 4, rather than a direct conclusion of a trilogy. With that in mind it’s almost a shame that this novel didn’t come out before Halo 4, since, you know, a ton of the poorly answered or unaddressed questions are all answered in Silentium.
However, that doesn’t qualify it as a “bad” novel. I’m a huge fan of the experimental structure of the novel; many of the best sci-fi novels don’t have strictly linear, chronological guts. In fact, the best don’t. If Halo is moving towards a more mature, artistic plane, than this is what needs to happen; authors need to be given the freedom to experiment and shuffle the plot into attractive, challenging forms. Indeed, had Bear not been able to structure Silentium so haphazardly, its media-criticizing analogy would fall flat. The novel reads almost like the sloppy 24-hour coverage of some major catastrophe, with slightly contradicting statements, high bias, and the rough outline of too little information; I like that it reads like that, genuinely. I don’t expect an even, level-headed chronicle of the collapse of a civilization when they’re the only ones left to record it.
Halo: Silentium is the best book in the trilogy. It’s the one that validates reading the first two, ties them up and makes a complete picture of the puzzle. I was a fan of the Ringworld-lite aspects of Halo: Primordium, and I liked the earnest camaraderie in Halo: Cryptum, but the third and final book in Bear’s trilogy pushes the envelope for what Halo can be, and it includes serious social awareness of the caliber that makes me respect the Halo fiction as something more than your run-of-the-mill contract novel. I loved that such strong characters--and so integral to the universe--can be represented as flawed, three dimensional beings whose feelings can be hurt and hearts broke, whose tempers can spiral out of control, and whose spiteful, vindictive egos can ruin entire civilizations. If they began as nebulous demigods playing politics with galaxies, the Forerunner ended as flesh-and-blood children squabbling to the last over how to hide from the things that go bump in the night.
At the beginning of this review, I posed a question: Does the world end with a bang or a whisper? The answer is that it doesn’t matter, when only cold dead monuments remain to bear witness. Fans of Halo have little excuse to skip this entry; it’s a clear signal of the maturation of the universe we love so dearly.
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