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Halo #26
Halo: Renegades
An original full-length novel set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series!
Find. Claim. Profit. In a post-Covenant War galaxy littered with scrap, it’s the salvager’s motto—and Rion Forge certainly made her mark on the trade. All she wanted was to grow her business and continue the search for her long-lost father, but her recent discovery of a Forerunner debris field at the edge of human-occupied space has now put her squarely in the crosshairs of the Office of Naval Intelligence and the violent remains of the Covenant. Each faction has a desire to lay claim to the spoils of ancient technology, whatever the cost, sending Rion and the crew of the Ace of Spades on a perilous venture—one that unexpectedly leads them straight into danger far greater than anything they’ve ever encountered…
Find. Claim. Profit. In a post-Covenant War galaxy littered with scrap, it’s the salvager’s motto—and Rion Forge certainly made her mark on the trade. All she wanted was to grow her business and continue the search for her long-lost father, but her recent discovery of a Forerunner debris field at the edge of human-occupied space has now put her squarely in the crosshairs of the Office of Naval Intelligence and the violent remains of the Covenant. Each faction has a desire to lay claim to the spoils of ancient technology, whatever the cost, sending Rion and the crew of the Ace of Spades on a perilous venture—one that unexpectedly leads them straight into danger far greater than anything they’ve ever encountered…
352 pages, Paperback
First published February 19, 2019
101 people are currently reading
1529 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Gay
26 books743 followersKelly Gay writes the critically acclaimed 'Charlie Madigan' urban fantasy series. Her work has been nominated for a double RITA, an ARRA, a Goodreads Choice Award, and landed on SIBA's Long List Book Award Finalists. Kelly is also a recipient of North Carolina Arts Council's fellowship grant in Literature. She is published in Young Adult fiction as Kelly Keaton.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
October 25, 2021
God damn it 3.5 rounded up to 4. Yeah I read it fast while waiting for my car at the shop. Whatever. Maybe it was nice seeing Spark interact with these people. Maybe im excited for the other book that's a sequel to this one. You cant judge me
April 4, 2021
Halo: Renegades by Kelly Gay is a Video Game Tie-in novel based on Microsoft/343 Studios Halo video game franchise, and the second book of Gay’s “Ace Of Spades” trilogy. Renegades is set in the year 2557, approximately around the same times as Halo 4, and follows the adventures of the human salvage ship Ace of Spades. After the events of the book Halo: Shadow and Smoke, the crew of the Ace of Spades are still reeling from the losses they experienced and are eager to get revenge of the Sangheili (Elite) Covenant commander Gek’Lhar. Captain Rion Forge is also determined to use the information they recovered in their last adventure to locate and rescue her father’s missing ship, the Spirit of Fire.
However, Gek’Lhar is not the only enemy they have made. The United Nations Space Command’s (UNSC) Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) works to collect or control all valuable or dangerous pieces off Forerunner technology in the galaxy, and the crew of the Ace of Spades are the only people aside from Gek’Lhar who have knowledge of a massive debris field filled with valuable Forerunner technology. In the middle of a daring heist to steal information from Gek’Lhar, Forge and her crew find themselves captured by ONI operatives, who confiscate the coordinates to the debris field, as well as all the crew’s assets and salvaged technology.
Left with nothing but their ship, the Ace of Spades crew need to find the next big score, and information Forge secretly obtained from ONI during their arrest may provide them with what they need. ONI are on route to secure a remote and desolate planet, which contains the remains of one of their ships, which apparently crashed with classified technology aboard. The contents of the ship may be the crew’s best option to reclaim their stolen possessions, so they set out to get there first. Beating ONI to the planet, the Ace of Spades crew make a surprising discovery of an advanced robot calling itself 343 Guilty Spark.
Halo: Renegades is a terrific novel from author Kelly Gay, who creates an exciting and compelling story with a huge number of connections to the Halo universe. Renegades is the direct sequel to Gay’s 2016 novella Smoke and Shadows, but it also continues stories started in the games and introduced in The Forerunner Saga of books.
The first thing I have to talk about when it comes to Halo: Renegades is the sheer range of Halo references and backstory from across the Halo games and extended media utilised in this book. Not only is the story set in the post-Halo 3 universe but the book takes place around the time of the events of Halo 4, with several of the events from the fourth game commented on and having some impact on the story. In addition, one of the main protagonists of the book, Rion Forge, is the daughter of one of the main characters from the first Halo Wars, Sergeant John Forge, and Rion Forge spends a good part of this book trying to find her father and the ship from Halo Wars 1 and 2, the Spirit of Fire. Renegades also features 343 Guilty Spark, one of the main antagonists from the original Halo trilogy, as a major point-of-view character in the book, and characters from the Spartan Ops additional content of Halo 4 appear in various minor roles throughout the book. That is on top of all the information contained in the previous books in the Halo extended universe. Renegades takes place directly after the events of Gay’s preceding Halo novella, Smoke and Shadows, and all the events that occur in that book are incredibly relevant. In addition, the events and characters explored in The Forerunner Saga, a trilogy that dove deeply into several key Forerunner characters from the various games, also play a significant role throughout Renegades.
Now, with all these references to various games and books, how easy is the plot of Renegades to follow, especially for those with limited or only basic knowledge of the Halo universe? I would say that Renegades is a perfect book for hardcore fans of the Halo series who have enjoyed some of the books mentioned above and who will appreciate all the references and discussion that occurs within. People with slightly less knowledge of the franchise may struggle during certain parts of the plot and have a hard time understanding the relevance of what is happening. Having played all the games and having done some background reading, I thought that I would be able to follow everything that was going on, but I actually struggled with some aspects of the plot, especially with the extensive discussion about ancient Forerunner characters. While I did struggle a little, I found that as I stuck with the book, all the relevant parts were eventually explored in some additional detail, helping to fill in the picture. I do think that the author took the reader’s knowledge of the events of all the video games a little for granted, and there were some gaps in the story that, while I was able to fill them in, people less familiar with the games might have trouble with. That being said, Gay did a fantastic job of making the story accessible to those people who had not read her direct prequel story, Smoke and Shadows, and readers were quickly able to get a good understanding of Gay’s earlier entry into the Halo universe. In the end, if you have very little knowledge of the Halo games, this probably is not the book for you, and while you might be able to enjoy the adventure within, you are extremely likely to get lost a number of times throughout the complex plot.
Aside from the intensive amount of inclusions from the various Halo games and media tie-ins, I felt that Renegades was an overall awesome book that was a lot of fun to listen to. Gay presents an entertaining character based novel that has a good amount of new, original story content while also utilising the main aspects of the Halo universe. The author presents the story from a range of different character perspectives, allowing for a richer and fuller story for the reader to enjoy. There is a little less action than you would expect from a Halo tie-in novel, but there are still a number of action sequences throughout the book to keep fans of combat and firefights interested. I quite liked where the story went, and I was extremely glad that I decided to read this book.
I thought that the camaraderie of the crew of the Ace of Spades served as a good emotional heart to this story, and I liked the time that Gay spent exploring the familiar relationship that had formed among the members of the crew, and the strain that recent events had placed upon them. I also enjoyed how the story focused on a gang of salvagers, and it was interesting to see how they fit into the wider Halo universe. It also meant the story featured a few heists-like sequences, as the team uses intelligence rather than brute-strength to defeat their opponents.
One of the more interesting characters utilised in Renegades was the character of 343 Guilty Spark. Spark was a Forerunner Monitor; an intelligence left behind to maintain the Halo rings and help activate them in case of another Flood infestation. Spark appeared in all three of the original Halo games, including Halo: Combat Evolved as the main antagonist, and Halo 3, in which he was apparently killed. However, The Forerunner Saga of books revealed he had survived the events of Halo 3 and was actually a former ancient human who had been transformed into a monitor long ago by the Forerunners. Spark had quite a good redemption arc within this book, as well as good a redemption arc, as someone who killed off Sergeant Major Johnson deserves. While Spark has his own agenda for most of the book, his time among the crew starts to rekindle his lost humanity and slowly turns him into a somewhat likeable character. I did enjoy the duality that Gay portrayed within Spark, as the character tries to figure out who exactly he is: the ancient human, the Forerunner monitor or something entirely different. His subsequent quest to find out who he is becomes a major part of the story, and it was interesting to see how it tied into the larger Halo universe, especially in relation to the Forerunners. I was slightly disappointed that his role in the original three Halo games was not really mentioned or explored, but it was still a compelling character arc that I found to be most intriguing.
Overall, Kelly Gay did an excellent job following up her 2016 Halo novella, Smoke and Shadow, and I had an absolute blast reading Halo: Renegades. The book contains an outstanding story that goes deep into the lore of the Halo franchise and successfully pulls in elements from several games and novels to create a fantastic overall read. While some readers may have trouble following some parts of the story, I had a great time reading it, and I know that established fans of this particular franchise will really love Gay’s book. I really hope that Gay continues the story of Rion Forge, 313 Guilty Spark and the rest of the crew of the Ace of Spades in the future, and I would be quite interested to see them try to navigate the post-Halo 5 universe. This is definitely a series that I will be keeping an eye on.
However, Gek’Lhar is not the only enemy they have made. The United Nations Space Command’s (UNSC) Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) works to collect or control all valuable or dangerous pieces off Forerunner technology in the galaxy, and the crew of the Ace of Spades are the only people aside from Gek’Lhar who have knowledge of a massive debris field filled with valuable Forerunner technology. In the middle of a daring heist to steal information from Gek’Lhar, Forge and her crew find themselves captured by ONI operatives, who confiscate the coordinates to the debris field, as well as all the crew’s assets and salvaged technology.
Left with nothing but their ship, the Ace of Spades crew need to find the next big score, and information Forge secretly obtained from ONI during their arrest may provide them with what they need. ONI are on route to secure a remote and desolate planet, which contains the remains of one of their ships, which apparently crashed with classified technology aboard. The contents of the ship may be the crew’s best option to reclaim their stolen possessions, so they set out to get there first. Beating ONI to the planet, the Ace of Spades crew make a surprising discovery of an advanced robot calling itself 343 Guilty Spark.
Halo: Renegades is a terrific novel from author Kelly Gay, who creates an exciting and compelling story with a huge number of connections to the Halo universe. Renegades is the direct sequel to Gay’s 2016 novella Smoke and Shadows, but it also continues stories started in the games and introduced in The Forerunner Saga of books.
The first thing I have to talk about when it comes to Halo: Renegades is the sheer range of Halo references and backstory from across the Halo games and extended media utilised in this book. Not only is the story set in the post-Halo 3 universe but the book takes place around the time of the events of Halo 4, with several of the events from the fourth game commented on and having some impact on the story. In addition, one of the main protagonists of the book, Rion Forge, is the daughter of one of the main characters from the first Halo Wars, Sergeant John Forge, and Rion Forge spends a good part of this book trying to find her father and the ship from Halo Wars 1 and 2, the Spirit of Fire. Renegades also features 343 Guilty Spark, one of the main antagonists from the original Halo trilogy, as a major point-of-view character in the book, and characters from the Spartan Ops additional content of Halo 4 appear in various minor roles throughout the book. That is on top of all the information contained in the previous books in the Halo extended universe. Renegades takes place directly after the events of Gay’s preceding Halo novella, Smoke and Shadows, and all the events that occur in that book are incredibly relevant. In addition, the events and characters explored in The Forerunner Saga, a trilogy that dove deeply into several key Forerunner characters from the various games, also play a significant role throughout Renegades.
Now, with all these references to various games and books, how easy is the plot of Renegades to follow, especially for those with limited or only basic knowledge of the Halo universe? I would say that Renegades is a perfect book for hardcore fans of the Halo series who have enjoyed some of the books mentioned above and who will appreciate all the references and discussion that occurs within. People with slightly less knowledge of the franchise may struggle during certain parts of the plot and have a hard time understanding the relevance of what is happening. Having played all the games and having done some background reading, I thought that I would be able to follow everything that was going on, but I actually struggled with some aspects of the plot, especially with the extensive discussion about ancient Forerunner characters. While I did struggle a little, I found that as I stuck with the book, all the relevant parts were eventually explored in some additional detail, helping to fill in the picture. I do think that the author took the reader’s knowledge of the events of all the video games a little for granted, and there were some gaps in the story that, while I was able to fill them in, people less familiar with the games might have trouble with. That being said, Gay did a fantastic job of making the story accessible to those people who had not read her direct prequel story, Smoke and Shadows, and readers were quickly able to get a good understanding of Gay’s earlier entry into the Halo universe. In the end, if you have very little knowledge of the Halo games, this probably is not the book for you, and while you might be able to enjoy the adventure within, you are extremely likely to get lost a number of times throughout the complex plot.
Aside from the intensive amount of inclusions from the various Halo games and media tie-ins, I felt that Renegades was an overall awesome book that was a lot of fun to listen to. Gay presents an entertaining character based novel that has a good amount of new, original story content while also utilising the main aspects of the Halo universe. The author presents the story from a range of different character perspectives, allowing for a richer and fuller story for the reader to enjoy. There is a little less action than you would expect from a Halo tie-in novel, but there are still a number of action sequences throughout the book to keep fans of combat and firefights interested. I quite liked where the story went, and I was extremely glad that I decided to read this book.
I thought that the camaraderie of the crew of the Ace of Spades served as a good emotional heart to this story, and I liked the time that Gay spent exploring the familiar relationship that had formed among the members of the crew, and the strain that recent events had placed upon them. I also enjoyed how the story focused on a gang of salvagers, and it was interesting to see how they fit into the wider Halo universe. It also meant the story featured a few heists-like sequences, as the team uses intelligence rather than brute-strength to defeat their opponents.
One of the more interesting characters utilised in Renegades was the character of 343 Guilty Spark. Spark was a Forerunner Monitor; an intelligence left behind to maintain the Halo rings and help activate them in case of another Flood infestation. Spark appeared in all three of the original Halo games, including Halo: Combat Evolved as the main antagonist, and Halo 3, in which he was apparently killed. However, The Forerunner Saga of books revealed he had survived the events of Halo 3 and was actually a former ancient human who had been transformed into a monitor long ago by the Forerunners. Spark had quite a good redemption arc within this book, as well as good a redemption arc, as someone who killed off Sergeant Major Johnson deserves. While Spark has his own agenda for most of the book, his time among the crew starts to rekindle his lost humanity and slowly turns him into a somewhat likeable character. I did enjoy the duality that Gay portrayed within Spark, as the character tries to figure out who exactly he is: the ancient human, the Forerunner monitor or something entirely different. His subsequent quest to find out who he is becomes a major part of the story, and it was interesting to see how it tied into the larger Halo universe, especially in relation to the Forerunners. I was slightly disappointed that his role in the original three Halo games was not really mentioned or explored, but it was still a compelling character arc that I found to be most intriguing.
Overall, Kelly Gay did an excellent job following up her 2016 Halo novella, Smoke and Shadow, and I had an absolute blast reading Halo: Renegades. The book contains an outstanding story that goes deep into the lore of the Halo franchise and successfully pulls in elements from several games and novels to create a fantastic overall read. While some readers may have trouble following some parts of the story, I had a great time reading it, and I know that established fans of this particular franchise will really love Gay’s book. I really hope that Gay continues the story of Rion Forge, 313 Guilty Spark and the rest of the crew of the Ace of Spades in the future, and I would be quite interested to see them try to navigate the post-Halo 5 universe. This is definitely a series that I will be keeping an eye on.
May 31, 2019
Despite there not being much wrong with the book in the way of writing style and individual plot of the novel, it didn't attract to me.
The characters were decent enough as well, and stood out nicely. Both the crew of the Ace and the ONI antagonists.
The reasons that I didn't rate it higher are twofold, but they ultimately blend together well in one aspect: Mystery. There is none in the book.
In short the POV of the Chakas character and known outcomes of all goals of the Ace's crew negates any mystery, tension or productive outcome.
Longer explanation:
The first of these two reasons is Spark, as he is dubbed in this novel. The character of Chakas/Guilty Spark seemed to me to deviate too much from the Chakas and Guilty Spark we already know from the games and the Forerunner trilogy. Besides not doing justice to the character, Kelly Gay also writes from his POV, which unravels the mystery of his person and his goals pretty fast. I never got the tension that he could betray the crew or that they were at odds. It felt through Spark's POV that it would be alright.
Also he's Forerunner, the more we learn about them, the more the mystery dissapates and the more plotholes we get. We don't need more Forerunner POV, we really don't. And I am sceptical of any story that gives us more.
The other mystery that isn't a mystery is in the overarching plot of the Halo universe. The Ace's objective is threefold: Find John Forge, find out what happened to the Spirit of Fire and kill Gek 'Lhar.... except that we already KNOW what happened to each: Killed in Halo Wars 2, present on the Ark in 2558 and killed on Requiem. There is no way any of their goals can be resolved in this novel. And more then Spark's POV did this render the point of the entire novel obsolete. It did not add anything significant to the Halo Universe.
The characters were decent enough as well, and stood out nicely. Both the crew of the Ace and the ONI antagonists.
The reasons that I didn't rate it higher are twofold, but they ultimately blend together well in one aspect: Mystery. There is none in the book.
In short the POV of the Chakas character and known outcomes of all goals of the Ace's crew negates any mystery, tension or productive outcome.
Longer explanation:
The first of these two reasons is Spark, as he is dubbed in this novel. The character of Chakas/Guilty Spark seemed to me to deviate too much from the Chakas and Guilty Spark we already know from the games and the Forerunner trilogy. Besides not doing justice to the character, Kelly Gay also writes from his POV, which unravels the mystery of his person and his goals pretty fast. I never got the tension that he could betray the crew or that they were at odds. It felt through Spark's POV that it would be alright.
Also he's Forerunner, the more we learn about them, the more the mystery dissapates and the more plotholes we get. We don't need more Forerunner POV, we really don't. And I am sceptical of any story that gives us more.
The other mystery that isn't a mystery is in the overarching plot of the Halo universe. The Ace's objective is threefold: Find John Forge, find out what happened to the Spirit of Fire and kill Gek 'Lhar.... except that we already KNOW what happened to each: Killed in Halo Wars 2, present on the Ark in 2558 and killed on Requiem. There is no way any of their goals can be resolved in this novel. And more then Spark's POV did this render the point of the entire novel obsolete. It did not add anything significant to the Halo Universe.
November 20, 2019
What a book. This is the Halo book I would recommend to someone who isn't familiar at all with the series, yet it does offer some treats here and there for people who happen to know the lore. The characters are very well developed, as almost all Halo novels have, but looking at the universe through the outer colonies eyes offers a fresh take on everything again. Space exploration is very much the heart of the book and the military aspects take a bit of a back seat, and the story benefits A LOT from this. The Iron Giant moments were very cool and knit the characters even more closely. One of the best books I have read this year, if not the best.
May 13, 2019
I read the previous novella Smoke and Shadow and thought it had potential, even though it ended with far too many loose ends.
Unfortunately although the book started quite well it didn’t take long for some of the inconsistencies in the story to become annoying e.g.
I kept reading, but I really didn’t like the way the story was going and I found it quite tedious.
Unfortunately although the book started quite well it didn’t take long for some of the inconsistencies in the story to become annoying e.g.
I kept reading, but I really didn’t like the way the story was going and I found it quite tedious.
November 15, 2021
This is an amazing step up from the first book in this sub-series. I loved this.
At first, I thought I would be upset about you-know-who coming back (Halo fans know), but it makes sense given all the Forerunners can do with storing consciousness in other places and stuff like that. I'm actually quite happy that you-know-who lives on.
Rion is much more likeable this time around too. The whole thing was a hit.
At first, I thought I would be upset about you-know-who coming back (Halo fans know), but it makes sense given all the Forerunners can do with storing consciousness in other places and stuff like that. I'm actually quite happy that you-know-who lives on.
Rion is much more likeable this time around too. The whole thing was a hit.
July 27, 2025
Not much really happened, especially for being a sequel to a pretty decent Novella. I like the characters and the concept of their journey, just wish 343i didn't have the cram all the dumb "lore" they've come up with since taking over in.
April 4, 2019
Rating of 4.25.
In this review, I dive into the expanded media universe surrounding the popular Halo video game franchise, as I review one of their latest tie-in books, Renegades by Kelly Gay.
While I quite enjoyed the extended Halo backstory revealed in the games, I never got too into the media tie-ins associated with the franchise. The only other book in this franchise I have read is Halo: Contact Harvest, which I bought in Philippines to supplement my reading material on an extended trip. While I did actually really enjoy Contact Harvest, which focused on one of the most entertaining side characters in the original game trilogy, I did not have a chance to read any of the other books written about the games until now. Since starting my blog, I am always keen to expand my range and decided to listen to the audiobook version of this book for something different. I did have to choose between Renegades and the recently released young adult Halo book, Battle Born, but ended up going with Renegades in the end. I may yet check out Battle Born at a later date.
Renegades is set in the year 2557, approximately around the same times as Halo 4, and follows the adventures of the human salvage ship Ace of Spades. After the events of the book Halo: Shadow and Smoke, the crew of the Ace of Spades are still reeling from the losses they experienced and are eager to get revenge of the Sangheili (Elite) Covenant commander Gek’Lhar. Captain Rion Forge is also determined to use the information they recovered in their last adventure to locate and rescue her father’s missing ship, the Spirit of Fire.
However, Gek’Lhar is not the only enemy they have made. The United Nations Space Command’s (UNSC) Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) works to collect or control all valuable or dangerous pieces off Forerunner technology in the galaxy, and the crew of the Ace of Spades are the only people aside from Gek’Lhar who have knowledge of a massive debris field filled with valuable Forerunner technology. In the middle of a daring heist to steal information from Gek’Lhar, Forge and her crew find themselves captured by ONI operative, who confiscate the coordinates to the debris field, as well as all the crew’s assets and salvaged technology.
Left with nothing but their ship, the Ace of Spades crew need to find the next big score, and information Forge secretly obtained from ONI during their arrest may provide them with what they need. ONI are on route to secure a remote and desolate planet, which contains the remains of one of their ships, which apparently crashed with classified technology aboard. The contents of the ship may be the crew’s best option to reclaim their stolen possessions, so they set out to get there first. Beating ONI to the planet, the Ace of Spades crew make a surprising discovery of an advanced robot calling itself 313 Guilty Spark.
View full review at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2019/04/04/...
For other exciting reviews, visit my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/
In this review, I dive into the expanded media universe surrounding the popular Halo video game franchise, as I review one of their latest tie-in books, Renegades by Kelly Gay.
While I quite enjoyed the extended Halo backstory revealed in the games, I never got too into the media tie-ins associated with the franchise. The only other book in this franchise I have read is Halo: Contact Harvest, which I bought in Philippines to supplement my reading material on an extended trip. While I did actually really enjoy Contact Harvest, which focused on one of the most entertaining side characters in the original game trilogy, I did not have a chance to read any of the other books written about the games until now. Since starting my blog, I am always keen to expand my range and decided to listen to the audiobook version of this book for something different. I did have to choose between Renegades and the recently released young adult Halo book, Battle Born, but ended up going with Renegades in the end. I may yet check out Battle Born at a later date.
Renegades is set in the year 2557, approximately around the same times as Halo 4, and follows the adventures of the human salvage ship Ace of Spades. After the events of the book Halo: Shadow and Smoke, the crew of the Ace of Spades are still reeling from the losses they experienced and are eager to get revenge of the Sangheili (Elite) Covenant commander Gek’Lhar. Captain Rion Forge is also determined to use the information they recovered in their last adventure to locate and rescue her father’s missing ship, the Spirit of Fire.
However, Gek’Lhar is not the only enemy they have made. The United Nations Space Command’s (UNSC) Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) works to collect or control all valuable or dangerous pieces off Forerunner technology in the galaxy, and the crew of the Ace of Spades are the only people aside from Gek’Lhar who have knowledge of a massive debris field filled with valuable Forerunner technology. In the middle of a daring heist to steal information from Gek’Lhar, Forge and her crew find themselves captured by ONI operative, who confiscate the coordinates to the debris field, as well as all the crew’s assets and salvaged technology.
Left with nothing but their ship, the Ace of Spades crew need to find the next big score, and information Forge secretly obtained from ONI during their arrest may provide them with what they need. ONI are on route to secure a remote and desolate planet, which contains the remains of one of their ships, which apparently crashed with classified technology aboard. The contents of the ship may be the crew’s best option to reclaim their stolen possessions, so they set out to get there first. Beating ONI to the planet, the Ace of Spades crew make a surprising discovery of an advanced robot calling itself 313 Guilty Spark.
View full review at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2019/04/04/...
For other exciting reviews, visit my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/
June 13, 2021
4.5 wow
And now I think I really need to read Greg Bear’s novels in this series
And now I think I really need to read Greg Bear’s novels in this series
March 10, 2021
Wow. Halo: Renegades by Kelly Gay is a fantastic sci-fi adventure. Like her Novella Smoke and Shadow you don’t need to be familiar with Halo to enjoy this one. You do need to be familiar with Smoke and Shadow but that is it. Some things will feel more fulfilling to read if you know the lore but nothing more.
The character arcs are what carry this one. A sci-fi story about a woman chasing the shadows of a father who disappeared. Parallel to this a story about someone chasing the shadows of everyone they once knew. An odyssey of revelations, mystery, conspiracy and other thins make Renegades a great read.
Like I said above character carries this one. Rion and her crew are some of the best additions to Halo lore in recent times. Each have their own unique personality trait and Gay does a great job of making sure they do not become one note caricatures. The banter and arcs of them all feel so well realized. The emotional beats all hit. At the front Rion and later someone else’s search for answers and in the back the rest of her crew have their own issues to deal with that provide a nice break from the main narrative.
I also like how Gay has fun with the world of Halo. For example Oni literally lifts a building and makes it vanish. That is the type of fun sci-fi camp I want from my secret government organizations. Written seriously but remembering this is a universe of advanced tech where you can have fun.
Only negative is that the ONI POV chapters are a bit of a drag. Thankfully they are max 5 percent of the whole book.
Kelly Gay proves she can write a compelling story among the stars.
4/5
The character arcs are what carry this one. A sci-fi story about a woman chasing the shadows of a father who disappeared. Parallel to this a story about someone chasing the shadows of everyone they once knew. An odyssey of revelations, mystery, conspiracy and other thins make Renegades a great read.
Like I said above character carries this one. Rion and her crew are some of the best additions to Halo lore in recent times. Each have their own unique personality trait and Gay does a great job of making sure they do not become one note caricatures. The banter and arcs of them all feel so well realized. The emotional beats all hit. At the front Rion and later someone else’s search for answers and in the back the rest of her crew have their own issues to deal with that provide a nice break from the main narrative.
I also like how Gay has fun with the world of Halo. For example Oni literally lifts a building and makes it vanish. That is the type of fun sci-fi camp I want from my secret government organizations. Written seriously but remembering this is a universe of advanced tech where you can have fun.
Only negative is that the ONI POV chapters are a bit of a drag. Thankfully they are max 5 percent of the whole book.
Kelly Gay proves she can write a compelling story among the stars.
4/5
March 4, 2019
I listened to this book via Audible.
Renegades is a fantastic addition to the Halo series and makes some interesting connections between various stories that have been told previously. It's a direct sequel to Smoke and Shadow, but also acts as a follow-up to several other threads from Halo lore.
The story sees Rion Forge and her crew recovering after the events of Smoke and Shadow. The plan is to use the information they gained to track down Rion's father and the Spirit of Fire. But things don't go as planned, to say the least, and the team soon has to figure out how to extract themselves from a sticky situation. And so the story goes, with the Ace of Spades and her crew hopping around the universe trying to achieve their goals and not die in the process.
I don't want to get into any more details for fear of spoilers, but it was fantastic to see how this ties into some other bits of Halo lore and previous Halo books. The places it goes could have serious impacts on future Halo stories and I look forward to see how they handle the revelations herein. The narrative keeps you on your toes and has surprises hiding around every corner.
In case you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed Halo: Renegades. It's a great read and probably adds more to the Halo universe than any book since Legacy of Onyx. If you're picky and choosy about what Halo and sci-fi books you read, read this one!
Renegades is a fantastic addition to the Halo series and makes some interesting connections between various stories that have been told previously. It's a direct sequel to Smoke and Shadow, but also acts as a follow-up to several other threads from Halo lore.
The story sees Rion Forge and her crew recovering after the events of Smoke and Shadow. The plan is to use the information they gained to track down Rion's father and the Spirit of Fire. But things don't go as planned, to say the least, and the team soon has to figure out how to extract themselves from a sticky situation. And so the story goes, with the Ace of Spades and her crew hopping around the universe trying to achieve their goals and not die in the process.
I don't want to get into any more details for fear of spoilers, but it was fantastic to see how this ties into some other bits of Halo lore and previous Halo books. The places it goes could have serious impacts on future Halo stories and I look forward to see how they handle the revelations herein. The narrative keeps you on your toes and has surprises hiding around every corner.
In case you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed Halo: Renegades. It's a great read and probably adds more to the Halo universe than any book since Legacy of Onyx. If you're picky and choosy about what Halo and sci-fi books you read, read this one!
May 25, 2020
This is the most fun I’ve had with a Halo novel in a while. A charming found family drives a story with some surprising (really!) connections to the main lore.
May 6, 2024
This is the tenth Halo novel I have read. It’s the second of three novels by Kelly Gay in a box set of ten Halo novels that I bought after giving up any idea of reading the Halo novels in chronological order. I’ve since discovered that Goodreads has a definitive list of Halo novels and I’m jumping around all over the place like a fugitive scavenger ship trying to avoid the Office of Naval Intelligence. However, I will stick with the box set for the time being.
This novel is set in 2557, shortly after the previous Kelly Gay novel, Halo: Smoke and Shadow. The war with the Covenant has ended and humans are now mingling with some of the more tolerant – or less hostile – of the various Covenant species. The central character, Rion Forge, is a kind of futuristic scrap metal dealer, one of a breed of scavengers who scour the galaxy hunting for kit left over from the Covenant war. There is a thriving market for weaponry, ammunition, software, hardware and – above all – Forerunner artefacts. However, the Office of Naval Intelligence is determined to try to get its hands on as much of that Forerunner kit as possible. The ostensible reason for that is to stop it falling into the hands of Covenant die-hards who want to renew the war against the human race. However, the ONI also wants to stop human scavengers from obtaining advanced technology, presumably to stop them passing it on to those insurrectionists who still hanker for independence from Earth.
Rion has her ship, the Ace of Spades, and following the death of her lover, Cade, and the defection of the traitor Kip, she takes on a fellow scavenger, Ram, as a new crew member. The siblings Lessa and Niko are still on board. At the start of the novel, Rion is still searching for her father, a marine whose ship disappeared 26 years earlier when she was a small child. She is turn is being pursued by the ONI…..
I’ll say no more about the plot. This novel has plenty of action and human interest. It compares well with the other Halo novels I’ve read. I see from the remaining novels in my box set that there is another novel by Kelly Gay with Rion Forge as the main character, so I look forward to reading that in the near future. I’d recommend this book to Halo fans or anyone who enjoys a bit of science fiction escapism.
This novel is set in 2557, shortly after the previous Kelly Gay novel, Halo: Smoke and Shadow. The war with the Covenant has ended and humans are now mingling with some of the more tolerant – or less hostile – of the various Covenant species. The central character, Rion Forge, is a kind of futuristic scrap metal dealer, one of a breed of scavengers who scour the galaxy hunting for kit left over from the Covenant war. There is a thriving market for weaponry, ammunition, software, hardware and – above all – Forerunner artefacts. However, the Office of Naval Intelligence is determined to try to get its hands on as much of that Forerunner kit as possible. The ostensible reason for that is to stop it falling into the hands of Covenant die-hards who want to renew the war against the human race. However, the ONI also wants to stop human scavengers from obtaining advanced technology, presumably to stop them passing it on to those insurrectionists who still hanker for independence from Earth.
Rion has her ship, the Ace of Spades, and following the death of her lover, Cade, and the defection of the traitor Kip, she takes on a fellow scavenger, Ram, as a new crew member. The siblings Lessa and Niko are still on board. At the start of the novel, Rion is still searching for her father, a marine whose ship disappeared 26 years earlier when she was a small child. She is turn is being pursued by the ONI…..
I’ll say no more about the plot. This novel has plenty of action and human interest. It compares well with the other Halo novels I’ve read. I see from the remaining novels in my box set that there is another novel by Kelly Gay with Rion Forge as the main character, so I look forward to reading that in the near future. I’d recommend this book to Halo fans or anyone who enjoys a bit of science fiction escapism.
June 27, 2021
What having an expanded universe is all about.
While Kelly Gay's inaugural romp into the Halo universe with Smoke and Shadow was great, Renegades helps to bring her into the top echelon of writers for the franchise.
The crew of the Ace of Spades was expanded upon and fleshed out in Renegades to a point while having so much room to develop them even more moving forward. They have become one of, if not my favorite rag-tag crews in the whole franchise.
Lastly, without diving into spoilers, we saw a bit of 343 Guilty Spark still existing in the previous story. Here, Gay does not only a phenonenal job of capturing his voice, but integrating other works (specifically Greg Bear's Forerunner Trilogy) into her story to payoff fans of the lore.
I know that this review is late to the point where the sequel to this has already been released but, I consider both the Forerunner Trilogy and now the trials and tribulations of Rion Forge required reading for any and all Halo fans who are looking for more story behind the games.
While Kelly Gay's inaugural romp into the Halo universe with Smoke and Shadow was great, Renegades helps to bring her into the top echelon of writers for the franchise.
The crew of the Ace of Spades was expanded upon and fleshed out in Renegades to a point while having so much room to develop them even more moving forward. They have become one of, if not my favorite rag-tag crews in the whole franchise.
Lastly, without diving into spoilers, we saw a bit of 343 Guilty Spark still existing in the previous story. Here, Gay does not only a phenonenal job of capturing his voice, but integrating other works (specifically Greg Bear's Forerunner Trilogy) into her story to payoff fans of the lore.
I know that this review is late to the point where the sequel to this has already been released but, I consider both the Forerunner Trilogy and now the trials and tribulations of Rion Forge required reading for any and all Halo fans who are looking for more story behind the games.
May 30, 2022
This one was great! It ties in a bunch of different things that are all very welcome to see within these books, mainly the continuation of older stories and bringing certain characters back into the forefront of the action. The Forerunner trilogy was by far my favorite section of all the Halo books, and this one plays very closely in with the information and stories first presented there.
It's also really nice to see everything from the viewpoint of someone who's not aligned with the UNSC, yet isn't painted as a total caricature of antifascist/anti-imperialist ideals (like the folks from New Blood, where there stances and dialogue were so hamfisted & awful that I honestly couldn't tell if they were intended to be satire or not). Rion isn't necessarily against the UEG/UNSC, but she certainly doesn't see herself as someone underneath their rule, and it's fantastic to finally see how something like that informs her behavior and viewpoints on the galaxy around her and what she and her crew does.
Very excited to go ahead and read the last one in this lil series!
It's also really nice to see everything from the viewpoint of someone who's not aligned with the UNSC, yet isn't painted as a total caricature of antifascist/anti-imperialist ideals (like the folks from New Blood, where there stances and dialogue were so hamfisted & awful that I honestly couldn't tell if they were intended to be satire or not). Rion isn't necessarily against the UEG/UNSC, but she certainly doesn't see herself as someone underneath their rule, and it's fantastic to finally see how something like that informs her behavior and viewpoints on the galaxy around her and what she and her crew does.
Very excited to go ahead and read the last one in this lil series!
August 1, 2024
‘Halo: Renegades’ is the second book of the Rion Forge trilogy, picking up where ‘Smoke and Shadow’ left off as Forge and her crew continue their search for her father who was assigned to the UNSC frigate Spirit of Fire (see the Halo Wars video games). Meanwhile, there is a surprise return of a former formidable foe as they continue their quest.
The novel explores themes of revenge, coming to terms with grief, the gray area of who the good guys are (the scavengers or ONI?), friendship, and anthropology (what it means to be human). There are typical tropes indicative of a space adventure as well—family drama, someone being saved just in the nick of time by a formerly untrusted character that resolves the distrust (only to be broken later), and hiding the truth of a vital matter until the very end, most of which are predictable, but it all weaves together seamlessly. The charisma between the characters also comes across as natural and often humorous, making it a light and easy read. My rating is 4/5, but it is a strong 4.
The novel explores themes of revenge, coming to terms with grief, the gray area of who the good guys are (the scavengers or ONI?), friendship, and anthropology (what it means to be human). There are typical tropes indicative of a space adventure as well—family drama, someone being saved just in the nick of time by a formerly untrusted character that resolves the distrust (only to be broken later), and hiding the truth of a vital matter until the very end, most of which are predictable, but it all weaves together seamlessly. The charisma between the characters also comes across as natural and often humorous, making it a light and easy read. My rating is 4/5, but it is a strong 4.
July 7, 2025
I enjoyed Halo: Renegades overall, but I’ll be honest, it took way too long to really get going. That seems to be a recurring issue with Halo’s expanded universe: when the focus is on civilians or non-military characters, it can be hard to make them truly compelling.
The salvage crew here reminded me of the Kilo-Five trilogy in that they had solid chemistry and felt like a believable group. But despite that, their early adventures just didn’t hook me. Things only really picked up when the action turned to Forerunner tech and you-know-who appeared.
On the plus side, it’s always fun when returning characters show up and deepen the lore, especially around the Forerunner-Flood war, which remains one of the most fascinating parts of the Halo universe for me.
Overall? An okay entry, nothing extraordinary, but worth it if you’re invested in Halo’s expanded lore and want to see some old faces and mysteries come back around.
The salvage crew here reminded me of the Kilo-Five trilogy in that they had solid chemistry and felt like a believable group. But despite that, their early adventures just didn’t hook me. Things only really picked up when the action turned to Forerunner tech and you-know-who appeared.
On the plus side, it’s always fun when returning characters show up and deepen the lore, especially around the Forerunner-Flood war, which remains one of the most fascinating parts of the Halo universe for me.
Overall? An okay entry, nothing extraordinary, but worth it if you’re invested in Halo’s expanded lore and want to see some old faces and mysteries come back around.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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November 1, 2021
This was a bit slow to start, compared to the first novella (which was more of a novella). I feel that the “sadness” of the opening chapters could have been shortened to make room for the more interesting bits - when the crew meets the new character.
I really enjoy Kelly Gay’s writing. She knows her characters and allows them the flexibility of... well, of flexibility. They can have emotions and make mistakes due to those emotions. Their personalities are mostly static (like in real life) but they can move beyond those personalities when the environment impacts them. Gay realizing that “realness” in her characters makes for great character development. :)
I really enjoy Kelly Gay’s writing. She knows her characters and allows them the flexibility of... well, of flexibility. They can have emotions and make mistakes due to those emotions. Their personalities are mostly static (like in real life) but they can move beyond those personalities when the environment impacts them. Gay realizing that “realness” in her characters makes for great character development. :)
March 24, 2023
This was a great book, and a great second entry in this series. Kept and held my attention the whole time, and was one of the first times in a while that I didn’t want to put a book down. Four stars because I like my halo stories to focus a little more on Spartans, but Rion and her crew were great characters you really cared about (and her interactions with a particular Spartan were solid). Mainly, the lack of fifth star revolves around this story leaning heavily on the lore set up by the Forerunner trilogy, which I tried to get into at one time but just couldn’t do it (talk about a lack of Spartans lol).
Overall, loved this book. HIGHLY RECOMMEND
Overall, loved this book. HIGHLY RECOMMEND
July 18, 2023
I am amazed by how easy to read this book is compared to a lot of other Halo books and Scifi books in general. For how complex the story gets, it is a breeze to read through which explains why it took me like 2 days to complete this book!
About the story itself, man I am convinced Kelly Gay should lead the lore side of things for Halo now because somehow she managed to get my favourite aspect of Halo and also the most underutilized aspects of this universe to tie in a complete parallel story to the main games and also somehow serving like an unofficial sequel to the Forerunner Saga by Greg Bear! She is achieving so so much with just about 300 pages of a packed adventure story!
About the story itself, man I am convinced Kelly Gay should lead the lore side of things for Halo now because somehow she managed to get my favourite aspect of Halo and also the most underutilized aspects of this universe to tie in a complete parallel story to the main games and also somehow serving like an unofficial sequel to the Forerunner Saga by Greg Bear! She is achieving so so much with just about 300 pages of a packed adventure story!
May 15, 2024
Man, this kinda fell flat for me. I mainly hold issue with how everything seems to work out for the salvagers. I get being lucky but they stumble across a new forerunner anscilla every few planets it seems. The upgrade to their ship felt a little forced, like they already take on tasks that would make Spartans blush but sure give them forerunner technology integrated onto their ship too why not. The audiobook also took me out a bit, if you have a chance give it a listen (free of course) and listen to the accent the narrator gives Sangheili its fucking wild. Also the art for the covers is slowly getting more dookie.
July 24, 2021
This book really delivered a great story. I have been reading sci fi for year's and this fits the bill. I also have read all the halo books, including some really bad ones, and this book really has a great story. I'm not going into depth here but I'm just giving my endorsement. I just finished it for the second time and it left me with a really good feeling. Spark's journey from the forerunner times to this novel is referenced well and with compassion and insight. This is an important novel in the canon.
April 4, 2019
Ties so many Halo strands together!
Excellent narrative. Characters are so full of feeling and emotion, you root for the good and loathe the bad! Some excellent twists and fresh perspectives on familiar Halo events. I love the leading female characters and the sense of humanity about the AI. Kelly Gay is a wonderful writer and I look forward to more stories from her, and more of Rion Forge...
Excellent narrative. Characters are so full of feeling and emotion, you root for the good and loathe the bad! Some excellent twists and fresh perspectives on familiar Halo events. I love the leading female characters and the sense of humanity about the AI. Kelly Gay is a wonderful writer and I look forward to more stories from her, and more of Rion Forge...
November 6, 2021
Such a fantastic entry to this long-running series. This novel serves as a sequel of sorts to the Forerunner trilogy in addition to Halo Wars and, of course, Smoke and Shadow. The emotion in these pages feels very real. The writing makes you feel it. The camaraderie, the loss, the excitement, all of it comes across as genuine and strong. And following Spark, 343 Guilty Spark, around the story is unbelievably satisfying, especially after reading book No. 2 in the Forerunner trilogy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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August 5, 2019A Halo novel at its best
Military Sci Fi is not ALL Battles, lasers and warships, this story has all them, but it is the characters that fill the book. New ones, old and historic ones too.
I’m looking forward to further developments from these Renegades and Rion’s search for her father’s lost ship.
I couldn’t put it down, truly a great read.
Military Sci Fi is not ALL Battles, lasers and warships, this story has all them, but it is the characters that fill the book. New ones, old and historic ones too.
I’m looking forward to further developments from these Renegades and Rion’s search for her father’s lost ship.
I couldn’t put it down, truly a great read.
April 26, 2021
I’m a huge halo fan, both videogames and the books. I was disappointed with the way the halo universe was going but this series of books brought some much needed revitalization into the the franchise. The mystery of the forerunner returns and many questions are answered. This series of halo books has some of my new favorite books in the franchise.
April 5, 2022
4.5/5 stars
Honestly, this series is well on its way to becoming one of my favorite parts of the Halo canon. It breaks out of the pattern that, unfortunately, some of the later Halo novels were starting to fall into. The characters are well done and the story is well written. Really looking forward to Point of Light!
Honestly, this series is well on its way to becoming one of my favorite parts of the Halo canon. It breaks out of the pattern that, unfortunately, some of the later Halo novels were starting to fall into. The characters are well done and the story is well written. Really looking forward to Point of Light!
July 15, 2022
After reading hunters in the dark I started to grow weary of the book adaptations of the Halo universe, but Kelly Gay brings it back at its best : character driven, enriching the lore and full of adventure and mistery. Curious about the sequel now !
Just a warning : reading the forerunner trilogy is probably mandatory to fully enjoy the book.
Just a warning : reading the forerunner trilogy is probably mandatory to fully enjoy the book.
August 20, 2024
I really enjoyed this book - more than I thought I would. I love the Halo Wars games and to see the universe the first one built expanded upon in this way is amazing.
The book goes a long way to tying in the Spirit of Fire story to the 343 universe and the lore of the main Bungie games with some very cool character inclusions and compelling stories - really enjoying the Rion Forge story so far
The book goes a long way to tying in the Spirit of Fire story to the 343 universe and the lore of the main Bungie games with some very cool character inclusions and compelling stories - really enjoying the Rion Forge story so far
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2025
my biggest issue in this book is the writing of ONI who is such a patient and calculating force that to make such silly mistakes and mess up this much really bothered me a little bit, they are just portrayed so poorly not just that the character doesn't like them but they are just written poorly too, seeing guilty spark is nice definitely read the forerunner trilogy before you read this
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