Halo: Meridian Divide

Battle Born: A Halo Young Adult Novel Series #2

by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Discover the original novel set in the Halo universe, based on the New York Times bestselling video game series!

It’s been three months since the colony world of Meridian was invaded by the alien theocratic alliance known as the Covenant. Under the close watch of the military, teenagers Evie, Dorian, Saskia, and Victor have been put into an accelerated training program with ONI, the Office of Naval Intelligence. And to the quartet’s surprise, ONI has a mission for return to their hometown on Meridian and monitor the Covenant’s efforts to retrieve an ancient Forerunner artifact of untold power.

But what seems like a simple job quickly spirals out of their control. With the artifact at risk of falling into Covenant hands, the stakes are raised, and ONI tasks the teens and their team of militia fighters with extracting the artifact for study. After a series of missteps with command, the group must take matters into their own hand, journeying far behind enemy lines and into the heart of the war zones on a ravaged Meridian.

Genres: Science Fiction, Gaming, Video Games, Ebooks, Fiction, Novels, Young Adult

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2019

About the author

Cassandra Rose Clarke is a speculative fiction writer living amongst the beige stucco and overgrown pecan trees of Houston, Texas. She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and in 2008 she completed her master’s degree in creative writing at The University of Texas at Austin. Both of these degrees have served her surprisingly well.

During the summer of 2010, she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, where she enjoyed sixty-degree summer days. Having been born and raised in Texas, this was something of a big deal. She was also a recipient of the 2010 Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund.

Reviews

[Jared Delcamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story. Lost a star due to the excessive (and in my opinion too popular) use of angst in a YA book. Still worth reading though.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honest opinion. I think the first book of this two-part series was probably better, but overall it was a nice change in perspective. Instead of the story being about the big galactic war, you're more focused on a specific group of people. And their journey through everything. More micro than macro, kind of reminds me of the movie Cloverfield

[Chris The Lizard from Planet X · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halo: Meridian Divide by Cassandra Rose Clarke is a Young Adult tie-in novel based on the Halo video game franchise, and the second book of the “Battle Born” trilogy.

Set in 2548 late into the Human-Covenant War. We get to see the adventures of Colony teenagers Evie, Dorian, Saskia, and Victor continue, with Spartan Owen-B096 joining them again as well. The resourceful teens previously managed to evacuate their city during a Covenant invasion and escaped the moon they called home. Now they must return and attempt to thwart the Covenant's continued search for Forerunner relics.

We get to see the four main characters grow and evolve as they are once again put to the test. Whereas in the first book, they're fighting for the survival of their family and friends, the stakes are raised this time around. The teens need to learn to broaden their perspective and see the bigger picture, and here they discover if they have what it takes to help all of humanity.

I enjoyed the story and the jump back into the Halo universe, learning a little more about various things we've seen before. From a plot perspective, I sometimes felt like they were playing things a little too safe and too predictable. There were some twists, and one at the end that definitely surprised me, but there were other parts that felt like they were just setting things up for more stories in the future in a very obvious way.

Overall, Meridian Divide is a fun dip into the universe of Halo. If you haven't already, definitely check out Battle Born book 1 first - if you like that one, give this a read too. It'll make the wait until Halo: Infinite just a little bit shorter.

[Matthew Ochal · Rating 2 out of 5]

God Please please please

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the first book in the Battle Born series wasn't awful, the second is a significant improvement. Where the first felt very middle school, whiny teenager sympathetic, this felt a little more high school and like the characters were really coming together because they cared about one another, not just because of the circumstances they were thrown into (though there was a fair bit of that). I also really appreciate that for a book based on a video game franchise, it would translate well into a spinoff game. I really wanted to dislike Dorian's character, but he serves as a fair foil to the rest of the team and voice of a skeptical audience.

The only thing I'm having a bit of trouble with is how Owen-B096 is portrayed. I know we can't expect to love every Spartan written but he seemed like the flat, ONI drone stereotype that most other novels fight against. I hope we get more complexity for him in the next story (if there is one). Also hoping for Saskia to get that redemption she craves and reckoning with her parents, and for Evie to really come into her own.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed the first one. It was a solid addition to the series, but I wish that they were able to continue with at least a third book as it ends in a real cliffhanger!

I loved watching the characters develop in their roles in the group as well as their individual personalities. The twists and turns weren't remarkable, but still an enjoyable read, especially for anyone who enjoyed the first book

[Thijs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is kind of a meh book, in the Halo universe and out of it.

On the one hand, the characters are somehow more bland here then in the previous one. But the personal conflict is more present.

I say present and not interesting, because the protagonists are acting like a bunch of teenagers.
Yes, I know they are teenagers, but they are also teenagers who have completed basic training, to the point where there's hardly any difference with the regular militia they're fighting along with. Yet they act in a way that should get them court-martialled on several occasions and are possible grounds for worse for basically disobaying direct orders on the battlefield and possibly desertion.
Their winy attitude gets annoying.

That being said, the story itself holds up and unlike last time the presence of a Spartan is more then warranted.

I do like how the twist at the end has a connection to a certain Sgt. A. J. J.
Even though I have my doubts about even that. Lets say it's a controversial twist

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what I expected from a Halo young adult series, but so far it's pretty underwhelming. Much less character growth than the first Battle Born, and in some areas, the characters seemed to grow less mature and more childish throughout this story. The ending... No spoilers but it's a bit strange. I guess we'll see where they take it, but it worries me how it might conflict with existing canon.

I'm not sure who this book is for, because I figure young adults would get more enjoyment out of the normal Halo books than these. And younger children might be more able to relate to the characters, but they probably wouldn't be interested in Halo in the first place. The characters are supposed to be roughly 18 now, but they still act like young children, even more so than in the previous book.

[Sean Bai · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the first ever Young Adult Halo novel, this book was a lot better than I thought it would be.

The action near the beginning doesn't delve into a lot of descriptions, but that's for a good reason. The main characters are around 17 years old. They are not soldiers. The story isn't told from the perspective of Spartans or ODSTs. The story is told from the perspective of scared young adults. And as the book progresses, there is more description of combat because the story comes to a head. They can no longer run from the Covenant. They cast away their fear and fight the Covenant to save their friends and family.

The four main characters each have their distinct personalities and skills. In the beginning, it was a little difficult to figure out who was who, but by the end of the book, I had a better understanding of which character was which.

I look forward to book 2.

[Anthony Dorsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much improved sequel over the predecessor. The plot was much more engaging especially in the second half which is also where the four protagonists really came into their own. That said, the first half didn’t do them much favors as it was hard to remember which character I was following. The conflicts also became more more interesting than in the first book which I felt was a decent YA booking trying to be a Halo book. This one definitely felt more like a Halo novel particularly after that turning point halfway through. I’d definitely recommend these Battle born books to other Halo fans and I hope they go through with the final act of this trilogy.

[Samuele Martinelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book felt forced to me, and reading it I was like “better that the trilogy didn’t closed, already like this seems stretched too much”. It was a 3 stars at that point.
The second half instead I really liked it, and the ending of the book left me eager to read more. It was 4 stars.
That’s why the final 4 stars.

The book overall was never really boring and it had its peaks of action and emotion. It might be that I’m biased since I love the mystery behind Forerunners that lives before Halo 4. I really wished the trilogy would’ve been completed, I would’ve liked to see the four of them in a final adventure.

[Alex Dove · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly it just felt like things were happening, randomly, sporadically, but not in any meaningful or well-thought out way. There was also a whole subplot about whether ONI was good or bad that felt really heavy handed, yet muddled.
Overall not worth it. I even question the need for a young adult series when the rest of the Halo books are perfectly accessible to, and what younge adults interested in this would be drawn to anyways.

[Drew DeYoung · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a Halo YA novel with well simple but effective characters and well written action scenes. It delivers exactly what it offers.
A very minor critique would be that the children protagonists call the aliens by their “proper” racial names rather than the simpler more identifiable nicknames (brute, elite, etc) often which felt odd. Otherwise it was really fun.
The audiobook narrators (there’s a different one for each POV) are fantastic.

[William Hatchett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story continues the ridiculous ending of the first book and becomes more and more absurd as it continues. Well written action and storytelling, but it's very hard to look past the stories main plot line. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like a Halo book and ended with zero answers to what happened in the end....

[Isaac Neubeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

in all honesty I couldn't get over the fact that the UNSC would send children back into a hostile environment, once I get past this and the unbearable amount of breach in UNSC standards and protocol and remind myself that it's a kids book, the rest of the book actually goes quite well and is rather enjoyable taking in consideration the target audience

[Mark Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, looking forward to the next iteration

This is a good series, written a little differently than most of the halo novella and I like it. A fresh portrayel of the halo universe seen through younger eyes.

[Elodie Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little less focussed and somewhat more contrived than the first, but still a really good read with well-defined characters.

[Andrew_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not even finish it

[Jayna Rubich · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish. 100 pages in and I was never given reason to care. Only Halo book I have never been able to complete. A total let down.

[Jlhamri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weirdly boring

[Dellina Strelow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, I believe the Jr novels are good, maybe even better than the regular ones. Loved the narrator too.

[Sam Nicholson · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[Joshua Sloan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worst Halo novel I've read since The Flood, unfortunately. In hindsight, THAT book should only be one star.

[Harrison Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty bingy T, pacing isn't particularly good and the end feels rushed. Nobody likes the Spartan IVs anyway.

[Riley Elliot · Rating 1 out of 5]

this whole duology was honestly a trainwreck.

[Cal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: C+

[Dre · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's definitely a story for younger adults these days. It does that part well, I do feel it tends to drag onto themes, not really traditional for halo. A welcome part of the Halo Series .

[Ricky Beckett · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the previous book of this duology, we left Evie, Victor, Dorian, and Saskia agreeing to ONI’s recruitment to return to their home planet Meridian to prevent the Covenant from finding whatever Forerunner artefact they’re looking for because if they do, they’ll leave and glass the planet. But even if they do find it first, the Covenant will still glass the planet, so Meridian is doomed no matter what. Yet the fate of humanity is more important than one planet. But first, they need to do some quick, intensive training. That’s where this book begins.

The Covenant seem to come across as naïve morons against four even more naïve high schoolers when in the other books, the Covenant are a terrifying force to be reckoned with. This discontinuity makes the story barely believable. It also seems uncharacteristic of ONI to bet the entire fate of Meridian on the skills of amateur high schoolers, although they could just be desperate. Maybe I’m just being nit-picky; this is a young adult novel, after all. And to be fair, it’s not just the four of them against the Covenant. There’s also Meridian’s militia, a Spartan, and some UNSC marines. But most of their success seems to amount to dumb luck, but I suppose that’s necessary when you write a story that hinges on a quartet of immature teenagers acting as amateur soldiers.

Their immaturity definitely comes out as a character flaw, especially during a part when they find out that the Spartan, Owen, lied to them about something in the previous book. The lie had to do with how long the Covenant has been on Meridian, and they’re all extremely upset about it. But the lie doesn’t compromise their mission or anybody’s lives, and Owen’s lie is easily justifiable because he was under orders not to reveal that information and it wasn’t relevant to their survival at the time. So basically their anger just amounts to their feelings being hurt, their young self-entitlement to being told everything, and their naïveté about the negative outcome that would’ve happened if the military did what these kids think they should’ve done. This isn’t a flaw of the book. Like I said, it’s just a character flaw. Usually, however, character flaws are written in a way where you sympathise or somewhat sympathise with the character, but I found myself siding with Owen instead of the main protagonists. It was an annoying part of the book to read just because they were so immature and petty about it and dwelling on it for too long. Saskia seems to be the only reasonable one out of them all. Maybe I would think differently if I were a young adult reading this, since I would be closer in age to Evie, Dorian, Victor, and Saskia. I don’t know if it’s my being older or my pragmatism that makes me side with Owen and ONI.

All that being said, the ending is really good. I won’t say whether you find out what exactly the Forerunner artefact is and what it does, but there is an unexpected ending that brings in some later Halo lore you don’t see coming.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book via Audible.

Meridian Divide is the second Young Adult Halo book, a direct sequel to the first one, Battle Born. We get to see the adventures of Evie, Dorian, Saskia, and Victor continue, with Spartan Owen-B096 joining them again as well. The resourceful teens previously managed to evacuate their city during a Covenant invasion and escaped the moon they called home. Now they must return and attempt to thwart the Covenant's continued search for Forerunner relics.

We get to see the four main characters grow and evolve as they are once again put to the test. Whereas in the first book, they're fighting for the survival of their family and friends, the stakes are raised this time around. The teens need to learn to broaden their perspective and see the bigger picture, and here they discover if they have what it takes to help all of humanity.

I enjoyed the story and the jump back into the Halo universe, learning a little more about various things we've seen before. From a plot perspective, I sometimes felt like they were playing things a little too safe and too predictable. There were some twists, and one at the end that definitely surprised me, but there were other parts that felt like they were just setting things up for more stories in the future in a very obvious way.

Overall, Meridian Divide is a fun dip back into the world of Halo. If you haven't already, definitely check out Battle Born first - if you like that one, give this a read too. It'll make the wait until Halo Infinite just a little bit shorter.