Halo: Oblivion: A Master Chief Story

by Troy Denning

A Master Chief story and original full-length novel set in the Halo universe—based on the New York Times bestselling video game series!

2526. It has been more than a year since humanity first encountered the hostile military alliance of alien races known as the Covenant, and several weeks after the United Nations Space Command’s devastating counterattack of SILENT STORM was deemed an overwhelming success. The UNSC has put its faith in the hands of the Spartans, led by the legendary Master Chief, enhanced super-soldiers raised and trained from childhood via a clandestine black ops project to be living weapons. But the Covenant—enraged and fearful of their enemy’s unexpected strategies and prowess—is not taking its recent defeat lightly, and is now fully determined to eradicate humanity from existence, brutally overrunning the ill-fated planets of the Outer Colonies faster than retreats can be ordered.

If the UNSC has any chance of stemming the tide of the war, the Master Chief and Blue Team must drop onto an empty, hellish world in order to capture a disabled Covenant frigate filled with valuable technology. It has all the makings of a trap, but the bait is far too tempting to ignore—and this tantalizing prize is being offered by a disgraced and vengeful Covenant fleetmaster, whose sole opportunity for redemption lies in extinguishing humanity’s only hope of survival…

Audible Audio

Published September 24, 2019

About the author

Also known as Richard Awlinson.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Den...

Reviews

[Shaun Briers · Rating 3 out of 5]

FYI to anyone who plans to read this book for Master Chief purposes only, you NEED to read Silent Storm first or you won't have any context regarding what happens in this book as it is a direct sequel. Now that's out of the way, I think I need to caveat that, although Troy Denning is clearly a fantastic author who writes with consistent quality and immaculate detail, the latter really isn't needed here. Denning's Halo books tend to be slower-paced and less character-focused than others, and this is sadly to Oblivion's detriment. Denning's relentless description of military justifications for very minor events and even movements within the book was, for me, too tiring to read in a book where the vast majority of it is spent accompanying Master Chief and Blue Team wandering around a planet that is so hot that it's presumed to be inhospitable and uninhabited, and we are constantly reminded of this throughout the book (you'll never guess what they discover following these assumptions). Like the best Halo books, Oblivion takes from and adds to the lore, but it doesn't contain the seismic events to outweigh how much it trundles between its plot points. Read it if you want to know what happens after Silent Storm or if you're a massive Halo nerd (like me), otherwise I'd find my Halo fix elsewhere. An objectively above average book, but perhaps the military historians (enthusiasts?) would appreciate this one more than I.

[Valerie Caro-Beltran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Troy Denning strikes again.
And unfortunately, not in a good way.

This book is muddled. So muddled that at several points it feels like the author himself isn’t sure what’s happening.

To be clear: I love John and Blue Team. Their bond, their loyalty, their found-family dynamic? That stuff works. It always does. Frankly, it writes itself.

Everything else? Hard pass.

Nothing of real consequence happens in this story. The big “payoff” is the acquisition of Elite power armor, which conveniently explains how Spartans get energy shields. That’s it. That’s the contribution. Whoop-de-doo.

The rest of the novel is padding:
• John trudging through a jungle for eight chapters as the opening act (yes, eight)
• Followed by what feels like ten chapters of Blue Team climbing a mountain

I wish I were exaggerating. I’m not.

This book confuses motion with momentum and length with substance. If you cut half of it, you’d lose nothing of value.

Skip this one. There are far better Halo novels that respect your time — and your patience.

[Marc Pagliuca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was interesting and I like getting more details about the Spartans early on in the war with the Covenant, but the last two books have failed to deliver any real stakes. The supporting characters need to be a little more compelling, and in this book they almost were. The castaway component was interesting, but could have been utilized better.