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Halo: First Strike

(Halo #3)

Eric S. Nylund (Goodreads Author)

4.14 · Rating details · 13,178 ratings · 350 reviews

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

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

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Paperback, 352 pages

Published December 18th 2007 by Del Rey (first published 2003)

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Oct 18, 2018 Ben Brown rated it really liked it

Shelves: halo

Two books and one video game into my deep dive into the “Halo” canon, and color me impressed: this really is a strikingly well realized universe. The way that Eric Nylund structures “First Strike” is pretty interesting – it serves as both a direct follow-up to the events of the first “Halo” game, as well as being what’s ostensibly Part 2 of a single broader narrative that Nylund started in his first novel, “The Fall of Reach, which was set BEFORE the events of the first game. The fact that “Firs ...more

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Feb 24, 2010 Mackenzie Riccardi rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: sci-fi and halo fans

A lot of people play games for the killing, but others like the story. People who have played the game Halo for the story should read Halo, First Strike, and the other halo books by Eric Nyluno. This book (Halo, First Strike) and the others are about the famous super soldiers called Spartan IIs that are hopelessly defending the Human race from the evil Covenant and finding an ancient super weapon called Halo. This is a great book to read because the plot is interesting, the conflict is simplisti A lot of people play games for the killing, but others like the story. People who have played the game Halo for the story should read Halo, First Strike, and the other halo books by Eric Nyluno. This book (Halo, First Strike) and the others are about the famous super soldiers called Spartan IIs that are hopelessly defending the Human race from the evil Covenant and finding an ancient super weapon called Halo. This is a great book to read because the plot is interesting, the conflict is simplistic, exciting, and the writing style is easy to follow.
All the halo books take place in the fictional future (about 500 years). This book begins and ends in the year 2552 near the end of the Human-Covenant war. Super human soldiers called Spartan IIs were created before the war to help quell a rebellion, but by the time they were battle ready the Human-Covenant war was in full swing. So they were deployed across the Human Empire. By 2552 the Covenant found the first Inner colony, Reach. This is where this book starts, aboard a ship called the Pillar of Autumn. Their leader (Master Chief) is split between sending his teams down to save the planet and securing Navigation data on a satellite that could lead the Covenant to earth. He decides to split the team so they can do both. When getting the Navigation data, all the Spartans on that team die except Master Chief. When he gets back to the ship, he and the ship’s crew assume the other team is dead and flee. What Master Chief doesn’t know is that the other team is still on the planet.
The conflict is very simple. It is man VS man or man VS supernatural depending on who you ask. To be more specific Humans VS the collection of evil aliens called the Covenant. It always stays like this throughout most other books in the halo series. The Covenant is always shown as the greatest evil ever. Even the fearless Master Chief is “tensed as he watched the Covenant crowding on the galleries.”(Nylund 200). The basic rule when near Master Chief is that when he is “tensed” you better be scared. This type of conflict is simple because you don’t question weather the bad guy is really bad or not.
Most halo books have the same type of writing style. This style is what most people call the “godly” third person view. The idea behind the godly view is that the narrator knows everything, what they are thinking what the enemy is thinking everything. “Dr. Halsey concentrated on Kelly’s internal scan” (124). This quote shows that the narrator knows what everyone is thinking, but is still talking in third person, because “I” is never said. Halo often switches between two different but connecting stories. One page the narrator is talking about “Fred’s head up display and he saw a Covenant Wraith tank” (21) the next chapter “the Master Chief settled into the pilot’s seat of the Longsword attack craft.”(30). Switching between stories gives the reader a greater understanding of the big picture. In these ways the halo series set themselves apart from other sci-fi action books.
This book and the other halo books are excellent to read because the story line is exciting, the common adventure theme is easy to read, and the way he writes is interesting and simple to follow. The constant action makes you want to read more. It’s easy to follow and goes hand in hand with the “godly” writing style to make a great book for sci-fi and action fans alike. If you ever want to know more about the halo story read this and all the other books.

...more

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Jul 16, 2018 Chris Gordon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: action, fiction, science-fiction, video-games

Halo: First Strike is the third novel in the original Halo novel trilogy, taking place immediately after Halo: The Flood (and Halo: Combat Evolved) and right before Halo 2. For many fans of the Halo video games, that time period in-between the first two Halo games was always one of the franchise's greatest mysteries – Sgt. Johnson even relays that that information was “classified” in Halo 2, and so it was never mentioned in any of the games since. After Halo: Combat Evolved, so many things happe Halo: First Strike is the third novel in the original Halo novel trilogy, taking place immediately after Halo: The Flood (and Halo: Combat Evolved) and right before Halo 2. For many fans of the Halo video games, that time period in-between the first two Halo games was always one of the franchise's greatest mysteries – Sgt. Johnson even relays that that information was “classified” in Halo 2, and so it was never mentioned in any of the games since. After Halo: Combat Evolved, so many things happened: the Covenant found Earth, Sgt. Johnson was alive and well, Master Chief got a new set of MJOLNIR armor, and new Covenant forces were introduced on the battlefield. For those like myself who had always wondered how such drastic changes took place between these two Halo games, this is the book for you; most of your answers will be answered in this novel...most, but not all.

One of my biggest gripes with Halo: First Strike is how it attempts to tell the untold story of the interim time between the first two Halo games, yet it stops just short of giving us all the answers despite being the last in the original book trilogy. Since no further books were planned at the time, having an ending as ambiguous as the one this book gave us is truly dumbfounding to me. I was not lying when I said that most of your questions would be answered by this book, but it will also leave you with an entirely new set of questions immediately afterwards. Basically, we trade one mystery for another, arguably more interesting mystery. I won't divulge exactly what prompts these new sets of questions so as not to spoil the story, but the ending leaves quite a significant hole in the Halo trilogy of books and games that will always irk me when thinking about it. Hopefully future Halo novels clear things up, but since this was supposed to be the end of a trilogy, I would have expected all loose ends to have been tied up by now rather than having more crop up in their stead.

One thing I noticed about the Halo book trilogy is that each book's title references something major in the Halo universe on which their plots are predicated – the destruction of the Human colony of Reach in Halo: The Fall of Reach; the outbreak of the parasitic Flood in Halo: The Flood – and although Halo: First Strike falls into that category as well, I felt that, ultimately, what took place in this novel was nowhere near as significant or impactful to the Halo universe as those other two novels' plots. Despite what the title would suggest, the operation in question, First Strike, does not take place until the very last section of the book, which consists of only a handful of chapters; the rest of the book preceding this section acts as build-up to this moment and establishing chapters for all the characters and locations. Now, none of this would be much of a problem if I thought that Operation First Strike was as huge a moment in the Master Chief's saga as the destruction of Halo or losing planet Reach to the Covenant. Alas, nearly everything about the main plot of this book is thrown by the wayside as soon as Halo 2 rolls around, making these supposedly major events in the book nothing more than a detour to the main action. I find this to be very disappointing because the stakes were so high in this novel – stakes exceeding or on par with the previous two novels – that it becomes sad to realize that very little of what happens here carries on in the games. Perhaps future books made more use of these events, but since this was originally meant to be the last in a trilogy of books, I found it to be a semi-lackluster end for a franchise as (formerly) great as Halo.

I said this was a semi-lackluster entry, but only because of its significance in the grand scheme of things. As far as entertainment value, this is definitely a great read throughout. Everything from the introduction of so many new and great characters and the further development of returning characters like the Master Chief, to the epic set pieces where tremendous battles take place and the emotional weight of the story, Halo: First Strike is rivaled only by Halo: The Fall of Reach in its storytelling. Truly, Eric Nylund was made to write for this series, which is a far cry for what I can say about William C. Diets, author of the excruciatingly average Halo: The Flood. Unlike the previous novel in this series, there is nary a dull moment of which to speak; the constant action is reminiscent of that found in the video games, which makes me wish that this book was adapted into a mainline Halo game. With the baffling direction that the latest Halo games have been taking these days, they would be fools not to utilize great stories like these from their past to bolster their newest entries.

My favorite aspect of this novel is easily the characters, both new and old. Of course, the Master Chief is present throughout, and I felt like this was a return of the complex character introduced in Halo: The Fall of Reach. In Halo: The Flood, the Master Chief was barely anything more than a cold, unfeeling killing machine with only a few sporadic emotions and free thoughts sprinkled in here and there. Thankfully, Nylund knows how to write this character perfectly, balancing his drive to kill with his desire to protect everyone around him beautifully.

The new characters were also written very well, and I felt like these were characters I could get used to reading about in future books. Each one brought a unique perspective to the plot, having their own motivations and reasons for fighting, and they worked well in the context of the story. Some of the most interesting moments of the novel included long stretches of dialogue between all the character because there was so much personality brimming from each line thanks to the diversity of character types. Admittedly, some character tropes were a bit cliché (like the tough guy who is always itching to kill something), but none were so egregiously stereotypical that I ever felt annoyed by these exaggerated traits. Overall, the characterization in Halo: First Strike is top notch (for a Halo novel) and will surely impress even the most ardent Halo fans.

With such great writing present this time around, I was a bit let down that the Covenant perspective was virtually absent in this novel. I will give Halo: The Flood credit for actually exploring this intriguing aspect of the Halo universe, something that was not done seriously until Halo 2. Though a disappointment, I am at least glad that a vast majority of the time and attention was paid exclusively to the human side of this event, reminding readers how dire the Human-Covenant War truly is when people without super human enhancements and power armor are so intimately involved.

More so than in other Halo novels, or frankly even other Halo games, Halo: First Strike delves more deeply into the idea that every single life has immeasurable value in this war, even that belonging to a lowly marine. Every death has weight in this novel, whereas the games and other books can easily kill off a handful of characters without so much as missing a stride in storytelling. I appreciate that this book stressed the importance of fighting for every last person's life.

In the end, your opinions about this book will boil down to where your priorities for reading a Halo book lie. If you are the type of Halo fan looking for major revelations about the Halo universe that would impact future titles, you may be left wanting. However, if you are more inclined to just sit back and enjoy whatever the book throws at you, then I think you will have a much better experience with this novel overall. Halo: First Strike offers very little in the way of universe building, at least to any significant degree, but where it falters in that regard it excels elsewhere in storytelling and characterization. This is a highly enjoyable Halo novel, one that should not be overlooked merely because of its smaller scope overall. Though it had some problems, Halo: First Strike is a must-read for die-hard Halo fans. ...more

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Jan 11, 2011 Dirk Grobbelaar rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, books-i-own

This book kicks off with two story arcs, being continuations of the events depicted in both The Fall of Reach and Halo: The Flood. As such, the first three novels in the Halo series form a fairly cohesive whole. There are a few reasonably spectacular action sequences, especially the events concerning Master Chief in the early chapters of the book. However, that's about as good as it gets this time round. A few new characters are introduced, but I didn't particularly care much about any of them o ...more

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May 24, 2012 Tina rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book, but I can't remember anything about it! It's not because the book was forgettable, but because half an hour after reading it I suffered a mild concussion and I seriously cannot rememeber A THING about the novel. I remember I really enjoyed that other Spartans were found and that they had distinct personalities (at least Kelly, Fred, and Linda anyway), and the action scenes were quick-paced and realistic (they actually run out of ammo quite a bit, unlike in The Flood w ...more

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Feb 09, 2017 Justin Schafer rated it liked it

I liked this book because it had fighting in it and battle plus its about one of my favorite video game series, Master Chief needs to get him and his team with the Covenant vessel with the crystal before the covenant reach earth and destroy humanity, Id recommend this book to someone who likes action and adventure but lots of action.

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Feb 22, 2021 T.R. Preston rated it it was amazing

Damn, a lot was achieved in this book. The pace was blistering. I honestly feel this one could've made a great game.

Master Chief literally saves the Human Race once again in here. The final act was as epic as it possibly could've been. The build-up was great too. I have no idea where Dr. Halsey and Kelly have gone, but I guess that is revealed in Ghosts of Onyx.

The UNSC capture two massive victories, perhaps their greatest in the whole war, against the Covenant in the span of a few weeks. The ...more

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Oct 19, 2014 The Fog Witch (Nikki) rated it liked it

Shelves: video-game, paperback-collection

This book was very refreshing after the underwhelming slog that was "The Flood". Mr. Nylund writes the Halo stories I want to read.
Plus more Sgt. Johnson. <3

Master Chief is back to true form and is no longer a knuckle-dragging, gun-happy 'derp' that he was in The Flood. No more endless descriptions of ammo that never ends, no more uninspired and recycled battle scenes, and no more stereotypical military jargon spewing just because it's a 'military' book.

We begin the story with John and Cortana e ...more

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Mar 20, 2015 Melisa Ramonda rated it it was amazing

SPANISH: ESSSSSSELENTE!!!
-------------------------
ENGLISH:
SPARTANS never die.

And, apparently, they never eat, sleep, go to the bathroom or shower in weeks, either. I like Eric Nylund's writing on this universe VERY MUCH because he knows his trade and you can see that he likes these characters and respects them. He knows these characters. This is the MC I want to read about, obviously. Anyway, although I liked this book incredibly much, sometimes I open my eyes and wonder about how unbelievable ...more

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Feb 28, 2017 Michael rated it really liked it

This is the 3rd book in the Halo series. This one is by Eric Nylund. In this one Halo has been destroyed and the Master Chief is searching for survivors. After finding a drop ship with several survivors including Linda, a Spartan who was placed in cryo suspension after a serious injury he returns to Reach to search for survivors there and finds that more of his Spartan team along with Dr. Halsey have survived deep in an underground base. After a harrowing rescue they learn that the Covenant's fl ...more

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Feb 28, 2018 Marcus V rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The book, First Strike, By Eric S. Nylund centers in on the time gap spanning Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo: 2. The novel is centered around the storys of the spartans John (the master chief), and Fred. The story tells the duel tale of how the Master Chief survived the reckage of Halo and reunited with the UNSC and also how Fred and the rest of his team got off the vanquished fortress world Reach. The Author is very adept at piecing together the narratives while staying true to the Halo lore an ...more

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Oct 29, 2018 J.P. rated it liked it

Halo: First Strike describes another brilliant adventure lead by the franchises’ main protagonist, the Master Chief. Like the Halo video games that came before it, First Strike gives the reader dramatic space battles and gripping fight scenes as the enemy faction known as the Covenant seeks to destroy humanity. In the beginning, The Master Chief and his squadmates are tasked to protect one of the last human strongholds, the planet Reach, from Covenant annihilation. But because of their seemingly ...more

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Nov 29, 2018 Niklas Braun rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Eric Nylund is great! Brought this series back on track after a very subpar 2nd book. This one was excitement throughout. I was plowing through this to find out how it ended, it was really cool. I haven't done that to a book in a while (well maybe the 1st book in this series). Anyways, I really appreciate that this book is not just a placeholder for backstory on the Halo series between the first two games, but it really stands out as a great novel in its own right. Can't wait to read the next fe ...more

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Apr 03, 2019 Aidan Owen-Jones rated it liked it

I listened to this as an audiobook, and it was decent enough. I wasn’t really as invested as I felt I should be, and I think some of that comes from the escalation that happens. A lot of the threats just seem too big to handle too often, and the way these are resolved often seems just due to luck, which I suppose is at least fitting for John, but it pulls me out of the story when each solution feels too close to being contrived.

That aside, the story is generally pretty good, mostly in regards to ...more

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Feb 19, 2019 C.T. Phipps rated it it was amazing

Shelves: space-opera, halo

Effectively, the inspiration for HALO: REACH along with the original novel in the trilogy. A lot of it has since been overwritten in Halo canon but it was still enjoyable. It also gives a lot of focus to the members of Master Chief's squad in HALO V: GUARDIANS. Eric Nylund loves throwing guns, explosions, and military jargon into his works so if you're in the mood for an original "classic" Halo story then this will certainly work for you.

9/10 ...more

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Nov 20, 2018 Kevin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Eric Nylund nailed it again. My only disappoint was the Adjunct of this book and I'm unsure of the continuation of the Ghosts of Onyx, book 4. There seems to be some uncovered gaps in the story line and the adjunct just doesn't seem to fit correctly. Thank you for your creation though, I did enjoy it. ...more

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Oct 20, 2014 Jared Shilts rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: 13+

Recommended to Jared by: nobody

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. plot: Halo has been destroyed, but the fight to get back has just begun! In Halo: First Strike we find the Master Chief adrift in the dark of space, having the company of only his artificial intelligence Cortana. After waiting hours, the Chief finally realizes that he is not alone. Out in the debris and wreckage of the Ring, survivors have managed to stay alive. Moving from beacon to beacon, the Master Chief finally finds a living survivor, one of his fellow SPARTANS. The super soldier eventuall plot: Halo has been destroyed, but the fight to get back has just begun! In Halo: First Strike we find the Master Chief adrift in the dark of space, having the company of only his artificial intelligence Cortana. After waiting hours, the Chief finally realizes that he is not alone. Out in the debris and wreckage of the Ring, survivors have managed to stay alive. Moving from beacon to beacon, the Master Chief finally finds a living survivor, one of his fellow SPARTANS. The super soldier eventually discovers more people, one of which is Sergeant Johnson. The Master Chief accuses the sergeant of being infected by the parasitic Flood, since the SPARTAN saw Johnson with the team assaulted by the monsters. Cortana declares Johnson is not infected, but not before a massive Covenant ship leaps into the system surrounding Halo. The group manages to fight their way through the ship with limited casualty. Embarking to Reach to rendezvous with any survivors, the Chief's team discovers that Dr. Catherine Halsey has survived along with his fellow SPARTANs. Their reunion is brief because the Covenant Army begins to assault their position. Just before the attackers arrive, the humans escape and launch into slip space. As the ship arrives at a unknown location, the Master Chief and his SPARTAN companions carry out Operation: First Strike, a mission to capture and kill one of the Covenant's highest races, a prophet. The fire team attacks a Covenant refueling station and encounters large ape-like monsters known as Jiralhanae. The team is eventually separated when the station is destroyed which sends most of it's numbers to return to Earth and sending Dr. Halsey and SPARTAN Kelly to a secret UNSC Space station. In the next few weeks, the Covenant will find Earth and Halo Installation 05.

characterization: Spartan Frederic-104, known by his team as Fred, has been tasked with defending Reach in the wake of the Master Chief's disappearance. He and his fellow SPARTANs have to destroy a Covenant ship with little at their disposal oppose from a nuclear warhead. Right from the beginning Fred's plans fall apart, forcing him and his team to evade the main force. Throughout this section of the book, the SPARTAN's abilities are pushed to their limits and at the times when he can briefly rest, he tries to determine how his plans went so wrong, to that his conclusion is the Covenants ability to predict all of the UNSC's movements. Fred and his companions are eventually rescued from Reach by the Master Chief. Fred's character is described as that of "the second in command" he is a good tactical thinker, using the environment to his advantage. The super soldier is commonly known for his specialty with combat knives since he is described that way in this book and "The Fall of Reach" and by "The Ghost of Onyx" he is promoted to the leader of Blue team.

recommendation: Personally, I enjoyed the book for the reason of the dire time closing in on the characters constantly. It is my least favorite of the first four books, but that is not bad because the first four books are my favorite of the series. If I had to recommend it to any one, it would be readers that have read the first two books and fans that have a serious knowledge of Halo lore. Gender wise I can see any gender that has a love for the Halo books, boy or girl. ...more

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Sep 16, 2019 Jamon Alexander rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 8.5/10

I quite enjoyed the book, it follows Master Chief and Cortana right after the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and how they get back to Earth. Another part of the book follows Fred, right after the events of Halo: The Fall Of Reach, and how he and few Spartans survived the glassing of the planet. Eventually Master Chief meets up with the remaining Spartans and they kick some alien Gluteus Maximus. Like the other two Halo novels I’ve read, this book has some excellent side characters and Eric 8.5/10

I quite enjoyed the book, it follows Master Chief and Cortana right after the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and how they get back to Earth. Another part of the book follows Fred, right after the events of Halo: The Fall Of Reach, and how he and few Spartans survived the glassing of the planet. Eventually Master Chief meets up with the remaining Spartans and they kick some alien Gluteus Maximus. Like the other two Halo novels I’ve read, this book has some excellent side characters and Eric Nylund gives each character more to work with by humanizing them even more than they have been in H:TFOR and Halo: The Flood. Also I really enjoyed reading more about Cathrine Halsey again, one of my favorite characters from Halo.

A couple of my favorite scenes in the book deal with Master Chief and the idolization of Spartan program when it went public. With John, we get to see how he’s changed after the events oh Halo: The Flood/Combat Evolved. He’s dealing with what has happened up til this book, with losing his whole Spartan family, witnessing the Flood ravage the UNSC and the Covenant, then finding a way away from the destroy Halo ring back to Earth, and eventually finding the last survivors from Reach, the last of his team. Then as they are coming together and have a moment to interact, John has to distance himself because he is their leader, he must always remain somewhat distant and in control of his feelings. Reading that really got me to appreciate his character more in the books, because Eric does a great job giving the characters more personality in this book than you first realize. The only drawback is from a gamer viewpoint, where the gamer is Master Chief, you as the gamer lead him how you want and fight as you want.

The other part I really enjoyed was when Halsey asked Cortana why certain Spartans where listed as MIA instead of KIA. It’s revealed that in order to keep the civilians calm and to boost moral in a losing war, once the Spartan program went public, the Spartans couldn’t die. They had to be listed as MIA to uphold the image that the UNSC could fight back and win against impossible odds even if they actually died. ...more

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Feb 09, 2020 Nevada Dru rated it liked it

Shelves: space-opera, sci-fi, halo-novels

Here we go again. That must have run through Master Chief’s mind at some point in this book. To recap, Halo: First Strike picks up directly after Halo: The Flood which took place directly after Halo: The Fall of Reach. Poor ol’ Master Chief has barely had time to catch his breath between big space adventures as he is thrust from one major encounter to the next. While The Fall of Reach is a slow burn sci-fi story about the necessities of creating a human race saving super-soldier programme and Th Here we go again. That must have run through Master Chief’s mind at some point in this book. To recap, Halo: First Strike picks up directly after Halo: The Flood which took place directly after Halo: The Fall of Reach. Poor ol’ Master Chief has barely had time to catch his breath between big space adventures as he is thrust from one major encounter to the next. While The Fall of Reach is a slow burn sci-fi story about the necessities of creating a human race saving super-soldier programme and The Flood is a confused retelling of the original game with added cool Covenant points of view, First Strike is a full-on action extravaganza. It moves at an incredible pace and doesn’t fall into any of the traps its predecessors dug and walked into.

Halo: First Strike ties together the end of The Fall of Reach and The Flood excellently. The loose threads from both knit nicely together to form what could be considered a trilogy, especially due to the cathartic end to this book. We pick up with the Spartan team sent down to the surface of Reach as they meet up with Dr Halesy and try to survive orbital bombardments and Covenant incursions. This is because it turns out that there is some fancy ancient alien tech left behind by the mysterious Forerunners in the form of a weird crystal. We follow this Spartan team as they try to keep everyone alive, keep hold of the crystal and shooty bang their way through an underground complex.

This bit is great. Unlike Master Chief most of the other Spartans feel like real people. They are certainly one-dimensional characters and have that famous Spartan stoicism but there is an actual sense of agency and danger as, unlike Master Chief, they can die and make sacrifices. After reading The Fall of Reach and First Strike, you spend a decent amount of time with these characters and that makes their deaths and struggles far more emotional and impactful

For the full review please head over to Bits & Pieces - https://bitsandpieces.games/2020/02/2... ...more

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Sep 04, 2007 Newton rated it really liked it

Shelves: video-games

First Strike is one of the many books set in the Halo Universe to fill in the gaps of story between the trilogy of games. This story takes place in the time frame between the first two games. The book is sent in the 26th century and describes a small part of a huge on-going war between the human race and a alien race, known as the Covenant. The Covenant have superior technology, allowing them to win almost any engagement. There is a small hope for humanity, and that lies in a group of super-sold ...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Taylorpe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 29, 2013 Louis rated it it was amazing

Excellent. I realize I might be giving the Halo books too much credit (they aren't exactly of a dazzling literary level) but wow. Just wow. Incessantly I could not help but feel involved, as if I was literally there, amongst the ranks of the spartans, lieutenant and corporal, ODST and marines alike. The detail with which Nylund describes the (space) battlefield, the assaults from each side, the emotional shock with the personas, it all adds up, and the whole just makes sense. This book also clos ...more

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Dec 24, 2009 Matthew rated it liked it

This is a great book if you are a fan of the Halo Universe. It is not a masterful piece of literature, but then again all of those Star Wars and Star Trek books aren't either. This book does exactly what it sets out to do, and that is fill in the narrative background between the two games in the series for the Halo universe. Eric Nylund did a wonderful job keeping with the canon of the series and produced a pretty good story out of a limited set of material.

Worth the read if you are a fan. ...more

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Oct 03, 2013 Joey rated it it was amazing

Halo the first strike was very different from the other halo books because the unsc actually attacks the covenant and wins. But also they add Spartans to the blue team and a surprise. To me halo has always been a good series to read they are perilous but exiting. Master chief always seems to live even in the face of death. Which always is fun to read when the main character has a slim chance of survival. In the end it was a 5 star book

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Jan 07, 2013 Katie rated it liked it

And the plot thickens. Read most of this on a long plane ride and it really helped the time pass. It's action-packed, gives tantalizing hints of things to come, and further develops and has you fall more in love with characters. More and more the series makes me think of "if W.E.B. Griffin wrote a sci-fi" and that, for me, is a very good thing. ...more

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Nov 05, 2007 Master_chief chief rated it it was amazing

its a great book and i have come to understand it.

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Dec 08, 2008 Stefan rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

Not a bad piece of light military science fiction. The continuation of the Halo storyline is well carried off, mind you, this isn't a mind-blowing piece of science fiction either ...more

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May 22, 2016 Liam || Books 'n Beards rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books, science-fiction, 2016

Back to the good stuff - bridges the gap between Halo and Halo 2 very well, although some of the slipspace stuff always goes over my head and seems unnecessary.

Ghosts of Onyx time :B

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Sep 11, 2012 Tanner rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!

The novel Halo: First Strike by Eric Nylund, bridges the gap between the Xbox 360 game Halo: Combat Evolved, and Halo 2. After the Master Chief destroys the ring world known as Halo, also known as Installation 04, he is drifting in space in a Longsword space fighter away from the debris. He, and his AI companion Cortana, are hoping they can make it to a friendly base, outpost, planet, etc. If there are any left. The Covenant have stopped at nothing to eradicate as many ...more

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Apr 16, 2020 Lawrence Roth rated it it was amazing

Eric Nylund is back to provide a thrilling end to the trilogy!

I typically try not to put spoilers into my reviews but after writing for a bit, I realize that even simple plot points will have some spoiler info in them. Spoiler alert from this point on for those who want to go in as blind as possible, though I will try to limit them! Check back at the end for the concluding recommendation!

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In a nutshell, this book basically explains how Master Chief, Cortana, and Sergeant Johnson are alive in t ...more

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