Halo: First Strike

I read three books of the Halo series, and "First Strike" is by far the best. I was exhausted after reading this one. It was well written and rolled by page after page. Unfortunately, like all of them so far, there is no ending! There is a climax, but the subplots are left hanging for the next book. I love the characters, even those developed in the last chapter that had absolutely NO tie to the book. It leaves me wondering why the hell they were even in this book. I'm now wondering what happened to the three-legged dog. I guess the obvious answer is: read the next book. But, I'm frustrated and done with this series. I would love to read more from this author if he learns to put the end a story in the same book. I do give this book a show more three and a half star rating for the plot that didn't end. show less

I felt like this book is the best of the series so far. It avoided extended action scenes like in book 2 and moved the character development and plot forward

First Strike continues to chronicle the careers of the remaining Spartan IIs, at first alternating between Fred's group on Reach during the Fall and John directly after the destruction of the first Halo. The discovery of significant Forerunner technology, the rescue of Fred's team and Dr. Halsey, and the destruction of the Covenant fleet at Unyielding Hierophant (unwieldy elephant) create a fast paced series of adventures. Characters tend to be either sympathetic or intentionally unsympathetic, and when Locklear crosses from one to the other it is done in a heavy-handed way. This does not, however, detract form the enjoyment of the ride that this novel takes readers on. Several scenes, including the final scene, are clear nods to the show more games, and are there specifically for game players.

This is a fun, quick read that pulls readers further into the Halo universe and the incredible lives of the Spartan IIs. show less

Halo first strike is an explanation of what happens before the big event in HALO when the humans accidently stumble across HALO. It is a sensible and plausible explanation of what the Master Chief had to accomplish after the fall of Reach. It also explains how the last surviving Spartans, besides Master Chief, had disappeared or died. What it explained is what happened after the Covenant had glassed Reach, and what kind of operations they were conducting after human presence had become nonexistent on the planet. But they had also found the location of Dr. Catherine Halsey, the Spartan program founder. She hadn’t had been located for a long period of time as she tends to slip away from the grasp of the UNSC and ONI. After, the Chief show more and the available assortments of UNSC personnel, along with Dr. Halsey and Cortana, devised a plan to launch an attack on a large commanding Covenant superstructure. This attack proved to be a significant blow to the Covenant and a big advantage to the UNSC and the human cause.

This novel by Eric Nylund was I thought a well-constructed piece of literature. And for core fans of the game series, they would understand completely and enjoy this novel. It bases its theories off of very important evidence in the games that suggest what might have happened, to write the book entirely out of theoretical thinking, only using knowledge from the game is an astounding feat. I wouldn’t recommend however this book for all ages as it does use profanity in some parts of the book, and gruesome mental images can be created from reading, as it does a more than good job of describing combat. But overall a very good read, I’d even suggest this book to people who may not be fans of HALO. show less

This book shows the readers how the legendary master chief gets back to earth, after destroying one of the Halo rings. The First Strike is filled with action and space battles. This book also answers the question: Are there any spartan survivors on Reach?

This book is about the Master Cheif and Cortanna. The Cheif has to fight the covanent. But soon he finds a distress call from a Spartan. He realises that he is not the last Spartan. He traces the signal to the one place he didnt want to go, the planet Reach. His training planet was not glassed be the aliens and the planet was still there. He lands and finds his long, lost family...

This book was my my 3rd Halo book. The Cheif is my favorite character. He is a brave soldier in a horid universe. He was taken away from his parents to become a super soldier. Despite what the regular soldiers say he never lost hope. He wasnt the selfish or insensitive soldier that the others thought. I would recommend this book to Si-Fi reders.

Halo First Strike follows the story right after the events of Halo The Flood and the Halo video game. Master Chief is now trying to get home while evading the covenant forces. The book is filled with a lot of action, and I was enjoyed by it. The writing style is simple and it makes the events in the book flow with ease. For fans of the the prequels and/or the halo video games, then you will enjoy the adventures of Master Chief in this action-packed book.