Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (Kilo-Five Series (Halo), 4)

if you like halo you will love this off shoot the spin of from first strike it its a head turner happy reading

If you've read my First Strike review, you'll know that I've rated Eric Nylund for taking the Halo franchise and making it his own. As he raises the bar yet again in this novel, I can only imagine that the game designers at Bungie are now awaiting his next instruction with sycophantic adoration. It is a very different story to Last Strike and the Fall of Reach. Where as these two previous novels aim to flesh out the exiting Halo mythology whilst splicing the Halo game plots into a coherent, character-rich space opera, Ghosts of Onyx back tracks the story to a parallel plot line concerning the shadowy exploits of an ONI splinter cell and the emotional hardships spawned by the horrors of their actions on the Spartan commissioned to lead their cause. This is a story about people. Only at the very end, the time-line somewhere shortly after the plot of Halo 2, does the story reach out to give the reader a glimpse at the shape of things to come in Halo 3. Some people may be disappointed that this book doesn't reveal all the secrets of the Forerunner legacy within it. Personally, I think the point is that this should only be revealed when the final game is released, and not a moment earlier. Of course, if you have played both games and read all the books published so far, you may well respond the conclusion of the forthcoming Halo 3 game with a knowing, smug little grin. The end is near my friends.

This is a bit slow to get going and after a few chapters its pretty obvious where this is heading. Reads well but padding out detracts from the plot.

This is the fourth novel in the Halo series and it overlaps with the first three volumes. This volume is written by Eric Nyland, who wrote the first and third novels in the series so can be counted on to get the continuity right in terms of plot and character. Like the previous volumes, this novel is firmly focused on rapid, violent action with little in the way of character development. However, we do get some background. For example, we learn about Colonel Ackerson’s secret programme to develop a new generation of Spartans, making use of the veteran trainer, CPO Mendez, and one of Dr Halsey’s Spartans, Kurt, who is posted as missing in action. In fact, he and Mendez spent twenty years on the obscure planet Onyx training the Spartan-III generation. They are similar to the original Spartans but Ackerson sees them more as suicide squads rather than as special forces. In their development they’ve been dosed up with a new cocktail of drugs that make them more like berserkers when the chips are down. They also have different armour from the original Spartans: camouflaged but physically much less robust than the MJOLNIR variety. This novel was first published in 2006 and you can’t help thinking that the author was influenced by was happening at the time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thus we have starships that can jump through space faster than the speed of light. We have AI beings that can process information millions of times faster than a human being. But we also have twentieth-century style guns that fire bullets and vehicles that sound like tanks and armoured cars. Much of the action feels contemporary rather than 26th century. For example, at one point a team of Spartans infiltrate a rebel base. Kurt switches on a monitor and notices that the password needed to log in to the base’s surveillance system is on a post-it stuck to the monitor! That kind of sloppy practice might have been common in 2006 but by 2023 we are so attuned to cybercrime and hacking that only a complete fool would leave put their password on a post-it stuck to their device. Yet we are to believe that this action takes place in 500 years’ time! In theory, the technology is there to run this war as a proxy war with AI directing drones and robots against the Covenant while the human beings hide out in a bunker somewhere. But that would mean the humans wouldn’t be able to display their guts and determination and the action scenes would all be fairly sterile with no human lives at stake. I will continue reading the Halo series for escapist reasons, but so far it is not in the same league as my benchmark, The Expanse. It’s exciting though.

I never got round to reading all other earlier Halo novels, but if you have played the games you will not need to do much guesswork and patching up between the author and bungies takes on the Spartan III project. This is overall a blistering brilliant and I would recommend it to any Halo fan. It follows the conceiving of S III and follows up to an attack on the Spartan training ground by a mysterious ancient force. The only problems I do have with this book is that it doesn't account for all of the Spartan III s on Halo: Reach and that energy shields don't seem to protect against gunfire as a single shot to the side side from a covenant plasma rifle can down a Spartan. But overall I found this to be a great book.

Eric nylund continues to paint the halo universe with perfectly choreographed action and characters you can believe in. A highly talented author that can keep you gripped.

This is exactly what i'd expect from a halo book. Lots of action but with a story that develops throughout. Lesser writers would have sections for the story and other sections for action. A skilled writer blends the two with the knowing wink of the manicurist. This book will not let you down with tension and epic moments with a typical halo explosive ending perfectly leading the reader through to the ultimate climax and ending with a cliffhanger that answers as many questions as it raises.

I think HALO works better as a game than as a "proper" scifi story, but within the forerunner universe this story works well and leads onto a sequel that I'll be glad to buy.

First and foremost, I will not spoil the contents of this book, other than that noting it's a really good read if you already enjoy Halo, Master Chief and his fellow Spartans. The Halo game franchise has a great character driven story set in a massive backdrop, but only so much of that backstory can be told and explored through the game series. There is so much more to the Halo Universe worth exploring, and through books is the best medium to do it by. The great thing about these series of books is: 1.) If you enjoy reading well crafted sci-fi genres, Halo's well worth the read on it's own, no gaming required 2.) Your not a gamer, or maybe a casual gamer where fast paced shooter style games isn't your forte 3.) Your a gamer, played through all the games main stories and want more Halo stories in the Halo universe 4.) The books have the advantage of covering the story in the game without needing to play the game 5.) Books are able to explore and expand further into the Halo universe beyond the games 6.) There's more to Halo than just the Master Chief alone, there's a diverse cast of characters and their stories, including other Spartans 7.) You get to experience the Halo universe through other characters and perspectives other than solely Master Chief's Simply put: If you want more of the Halo story, these books are where to turn to. Give this book a read, you won't be disappointed.

Nickel !!!

I'm a bit of a gamer and have been a massive fan of all things halo. This was my first halo novel and it blew my mind! Fantastic story that leaves you wanting more. Well wicked!

This book explains how doctor halsey becomes war criminal , this book continues the story of book halo first strike & pretty awesome book too

I am a geek for Sci-Fi and Halo is one of my favorite series of stories. I have purchase the paperback version, the Kindle Version and the Audible version of this book and I have read it and listened to it multiple times. Eric Nylund is my favorite author in the series of Halo books. I like the storylines that he writes and the action is something I really enjoy. Military Sci-Fi is my favorite genre. Eric's books are creative and I like the strategies that he writes into the space battles and the ground battles. This is one of the best Halo books and I found it to be entertaining. You get action that involves Spartan II warriors, Spartan III’s, Dr Halsey and CPO Mendez. The book focuses on the continued development of the Spartan III program and the second generation of the Spartan III’s creation and training. Meanwhile the Covenant is still winning the war but several factions are developing that are causing trouble within the Covenant alliance. Onyx is found to have a secret Forerunner base while it is also the secret training ground for the Spartan III’s. Fighting breaks out between the Spartan III’s and Forerunner Sentinels guarding the ancient alien base. A full war breaks out between the UNSC and the Covenant force over the space above Onyx. They are all trying to survive or capture and use secret advanced Forerunner alien technology to help their side win the war…. This is a great story with a lot of action. I liked it a lot. I don't play the Halo game but I have read all of the books in the Halo series. This is a good book and if you are a Halo fan it is a must read. I like the Halo books and this is one of my favorites. This is an excellent story and it is a good book to have in your Halo Sci-Fi library.