Book review: HALO: The Fall of Reach – Eric Nylund

 

As a MASSIVE fan of the HALO franchise, it’s perhaps surprising that it has taken me this long to get into the books. Maybe it’s because I’m not a huge sci-fi reader. Regardless, I decided to take the leap into space and join the Master Chief and his team of Spartan badasses on their mission to rid the universe of the Covenant threat.

HALO: The Fall of Reach is the first book in the series and follows the path of John as he moves through the ranks eventually becoming the famed Master Chief. This is definitely not hard sci-fi, this is pulpy action-packed reading that requires little knowledge of the game to be enjoyed though fans of the game will love the appearances of key figures from the HALO universe.

The book is well paced throughout. The space battles are exciting to read about particularly the early exchanges between the Covenant and the humans in which we fully understand what they are up against. The Covenant are brutal, efficient killing machines who only have one thing in mind…extermination! But even these don’t hold a candle to the scenes with the Spartans. I got goosebumps several times whilst reading about the Master Chief destroying all who cross him and his team. He really is the ultimate badass and Nylund does a great job of bringing him to life on the page whilst keeping his character faithful to the game. I was a little concerned that most of the book would focus on John’s training and that very little would feature the Master Chief. I’m pleased to report I was wrong and whilst there are certainly a few chapters dedicated to the training, I felt they didn’t drag.

HALO: The Fall of Reach feels like but a drip in the ocean and the scope is there to expand throughout this universe indefinitely. This book will easily please casual sci-fi readers with its full-throttle action scenes and engaging characters. I’ll certainly be exploring other books in the series. To infinity and beyond! (oh, wait! That’s the wrong character!).

4/5 plasma grenades from the Grim Reader

Pick up a copy from here.

When you have finished reading this perhaps listen to…

Terminal Redux by Vektor: Sci-fi influenced lyrics and progressive thrash metal! Yes, please! Vektor‘s most recent album is a sprawling future space opera with a thumping soundtrack. The songs are mostly around 7 to 9 minutes in length giving you huge bang for your buck. If you want to add some sci-fi thrash to your diet, you can’t go wrong with Vektor!