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Halo #24
Halo: Bad Blood
An original full-length novel set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series!
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First published June 26, 2018
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About the author
Matt Forbeck
213 books315 followersI'm an award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author and game designer and happily married father of five, including a set of quadruplets. For more on my work, see Forbeck.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
September 2, 2021
As good as this book was, it was set just after Halo 5, and my hatred for that game DID sour my experience with this book. The whole Created drama with Cortana and the Guardians is just not a very compelling narrative to me. Thank god they've gone in the direction of the Banished nowadays, but this book is still held down by the Guardian stuff.
That being said, there was enough character work here for me to have a good time. Buck is a great character, and his tumultuous relationship with Mickey is interesting. I like the direction Matt Forbeck took with Mickey as a character starting in new blood. He shook things up a bit by introducing a traitor. It was fun, and the only thing that distracted me from the Cortana nonsense.
That being said, there was enough character work here for me to have a good time. Buck is a great character, and his tumultuous relationship with Mickey is interesting. I like the direction Matt Forbeck took with Mickey as a character starting in new blood. He shook things up a bit by introducing a traitor. It was fun, and the only thing that distracted me from the Cortana nonsense.
June 13, 2022
3.5/5 stars
Definitely better than New Blood as the story was cohesive and not scattered. A fun secret mission caper that felt a little rushed, but still good.
Definitely better than New Blood as the story was cohesive and not scattered. A fun secret mission caper that felt a little rushed, but still good.
June 25, 2018
For those of you out there who are fans of the HALO series and have invested in both the previous HALO books and games, this may be an acceptable read for you. Unlike other series books, which take the time to introduce a new reader to the world and lore, providing at least some level of description and world building, this book doesn't bother. This book assumes you know the physical description of an Unggoy or how the various spacecraft appears in the series, or pretty much anything about the world/setting/etc.
As an example, my first introduction to the Dresden Books was White Knight, the 9th book in the series, which I picked up in a grocery store on a whim. However, at no time did I feel lost or left out. I enjoyed the book so much that I went back to the first book and read everything forward from there. Butcher took the time, in the novel to provide just enough information to provide the reader enough background to keep the reader firmly immersed in the story, without bogging down in pages of background. It was a nice balance, which is sorely lacking here.
The only HALO game that really captivated me was the Reach installment, so I recognize the irony of having read this novel. That being said, it wasn't so much the story that was the problem. I was disappointed at the lack of descriptive language in this novelization. Very little effort was made to provide any form of descriptions, so even the most action oriented moments felt flat and lacked any real sense immersion. The characters were pretty two dimensional and I simply couldn't invest or identify with them. Everything about this book was flat and bland, which removed any chance of my caring what happened to the characters or the story as a whole.
This book, like the games always felt like a massive source of potential that has never been fully realized. If you're a fan who is heavily invested in the plot and story lines of the universe, then this book may be for you, despite the flaws in the writing. You'll want to read this primarily so that you have a full grasp of the lore between the games. Otherwise, you will definitely want to give this one a pass.
As an example, my first introduction to the Dresden Books was White Knight, the 9th book in the series, which I picked up in a grocery store on a whim. However, at no time did I feel lost or left out. I enjoyed the book so much that I went back to the first book and read everything forward from there. Butcher took the time, in the novel to provide just enough information to provide the reader enough background to keep the reader firmly immersed in the story, without bogging down in pages of background. It was a nice balance, which is sorely lacking here.
The only HALO game that really captivated me was the Reach installment, so I recognize the irony of having read this novel. That being said, it wasn't so much the story that was the problem. I was disappointed at the lack of descriptive language in this novelization. Very little effort was made to provide any form of descriptions, so even the most action oriented moments felt flat and lacked any real sense immersion. The characters were pretty two dimensional and I simply couldn't invest or identify with them. Everything about this book was flat and bland, which removed any chance of my caring what happened to the characters or the story as a whole.
This book, like the games always felt like a massive source of potential that has never been fully realized. If you're a fan who is heavily invested in the plot and story lines of the universe, then this book may be for you, despite the flaws in the writing. You'll want to read this primarily so that you have a full grasp of the lore between the games. Otherwise, you will definitely want to give this one a pass.
July 14, 2018
Slow paced work of useless tangents, more new worlds and everything a halo fan doesn't give damn about. Raises more questions than answers (BTW: it answers nothing). That is if u ever manage to finish the book
Unnecessary characters. Needless expansion of story. None of the important questions were answered. No main characters were in play. Nothing substantial ever happens. There is so much left to explore in the main story arch itself that will not be touched by games but somehow, telling us age (48 yo) and love life preferences of Spartan Buck seems more important to the author. Halo fans please don't waste time or money on this. This story will only lower your love for halo universe. Just like legacy of onyx
Unnecessary characters. Needless expansion of story. None of the important questions were answered. No main characters were in play. Nothing substantial ever happens. There is so much left to explore in the main story arch itself that will not be touched by games but somehow, telling us age (48 yo) and love life preferences of Spartan Buck seems more important to the author. Halo fans please don't waste time or money on this. This story will only lower your love for halo universe. Just like legacy of onyx
November 13, 2021
Halo: Bad Blood by Matt Forbeck is a video game tie-in novel based on the Halo game “Halo 5:Guardians”, and the second book in the “Alpha-Nine” trilogy.
Following the climatic battle on the Forerunner world of Genesis, The the rouge AI Cortana and her Guardian constructs continue to take over the galaxy. After being rescued by the UNSC Infinity the Spartans of Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris go their separate ways to help in this new war against Cortana, and her Created.
When a secret mission is formed in hopes of turning the tide of this new war. The Office of Naval Intelligence and Veronica Dare task Spartan Edward Buck of Fireteam Osiris to reform his old squad Alpha-Nine and investigate an insurrection-held world that has not been found by the Created. After recovering all his former Alpha-Nine squad-mates including Mickey and Dutch, Edward Buck leads his team to Planet of Cassidy lII to try and get the United Rebel Front leadership to work with the UNSC to fight against Cortana and her newly formed Created During their mission, a guardian finds the planet thanks to an AI infiltrator, and the planet comes under attack. Alpha-Nine manage to escape, but the planet is subjugated by Cortana’s new Created.
If you had been living under the hugest of rocks.... I mean a mountain as big as the one on Reach. Then, you wouldn't have heard of a game called Halo 5 Guardians. And this is were Halo Bad Blood starts, I like how Matt Forbeck started the book it flows right in at the end of Halo 5: Guardians. I this part of the story I liked how, the Master Chief apologise feeling that it was his fault he wasn't able to get Cortana to come to her sense's.
That brought his character right down to earth that's one thing Matt Forbeck has got right in his two books. In previous book “New Blood” he writes Buck really well, in Bad Blood his writting character development is great. In the latter stages of the book although Alpha Nine were in a fire fight against a guardian and soldiers, Mickey and Buck we're defending each other and sorting out there own problems. It was interesting, to see that dynamic play out even though, hell was happening around them while defending against the on coming Forunner soldiers attacking them. But Matt allows that conversation to happen, going back to Chief while he feels down the team's around him. Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris tell him that it wasn't his flaut, which allows both teams to interact with one another. Which I want to stress doesn't feel forced I know how many of you hated that about Halo 5 Guardians, it wasn't much of a problem with me but I can see what other's were saying.
Something that's interesting with this book to Matt Forbeck first one, is that there's a lot in this book while New Blood I felt had little in it. I felt like he handled Chief well, and I loved how he handle the sense with him and Arbiter catching up, what Matt Forbeck managed really well at was to bring light in senses where you know what kind of war zone there living under. With the Master Chief and Arbiter to the ending sense with Buck and veronica right at the end you know what hell they just went through. He brings that together so well Buck even jokingly says even though there under the thumb of Cortana they can still have lighter moments.
Getting the band back together was interesting Romeo's introduction, you find out he had been provide security for UEG ambassadors on the Grunt's homeworld. Then you go to get Mickey I liked how all of that played out in a sense you find out who's the big bad guy in this story Leonides. What the AI did to Jun and killing two sparants he got the 'yep your a complete dick' vib. Then how Dutch and his wife Gretchen shows up to help both Buck and Mickey get out of the spartan training facility. Over all this part of the story was interesting and well written it shows you how badly damaged the wider world had become, up to this point as well it had felt like if Buck had shot a single buttle Cortana and her forunner friends would have turned up. Matt really did a good job of making you feel there was no time to hang around, making the world feel 'we're under occupation'. Just also like to add how he handled Virgil there were some really solid and adorable moments with him, that since right at the end I would pay good money to see that in a game! Near to the end of the book, Buck and friends had to work with the Front, it changed the format of the story I didn't think it would have gone the way it did. I honestly thought, they would blow the ship and them on site but Matt did a great job of subversion how you felt it was going to go. The terrorists who Mickey joins in the first book become your freedom fighters, how they change from being the enemy, to the enemy (the front) of my enemy (cortana) is my friend. The Front for a little while forget being enemy to helping each other. And eh I sort of like how Mickey is a legend in there eye's how they trust him. I like the sence were Buck shot's his pistal in the air to get the attenion of the crowd Mickey calms everything down and tells everyone where to go to get off world.
I also liked how he managed the love life of both Dutch and Buck, in the end Dutch couldn't deal with being out of combat doing civilian work it was tearing up his relaionship with Gretchen apart. Where Buck felt like he couldn't get married becuase one day he could dye and leave Dare alone, Buck in the end, changed his mind and married Dare (I love the sense right at the end of the book him getting married that was awesome) Dutch came out of retirement with Gretchen to fight again doing what they wanted to do serve humanity.
All in all I really liked this book. Matt Forbeck did a great job, better than last book New Blood he allowed the story to grow which is what he didn't do in New Blood. Defendly like to see him back writting again, also like to see another Alpha Nine book!
Following the climatic battle on the Forerunner world of Genesis, The the rouge AI Cortana and her Guardian constructs continue to take over the galaxy. After being rescued by the UNSC Infinity the Spartans of Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris go their separate ways to help in this new war against Cortana, and her Created.
When a secret mission is formed in hopes of turning the tide of this new war. The Office of Naval Intelligence and Veronica Dare task Spartan Edward Buck of Fireteam Osiris to reform his old squad Alpha-Nine and investigate an insurrection-held world that has not been found by the Created. After recovering all his former Alpha-Nine squad-mates including Mickey and Dutch, Edward Buck leads his team to Planet of Cassidy lII to try and get the United Rebel Front leadership to work with the UNSC to fight against Cortana and her newly formed Created During their mission, a guardian finds the planet thanks to an AI infiltrator, and the planet comes under attack. Alpha-Nine manage to escape, but the planet is subjugated by Cortana’s new Created.
If you had been living under the hugest of rocks.... I mean a mountain as big as the one on Reach. Then, you wouldn't have heard of a game called Halo 5 Guardians. And this is were Halo Bad Blood starts, I like how Matt Forbeck started the book it flows right in at the end of Halo 5: Guardians. I this part of the story I liked how, the Master Chief apologise feeling that it was his fault he wasn't able to get Cortana to come to her sense's.
That brought his character right down to earth that's one thing Matt Forbeck has got right in his two books. In previous book “New Blood” he writes Buck really well, in Bad Blood his writting character development is great. In the latter stages of the book although Alpha Nine were in a fire fight against a guardian and soldiers, Mickey and Buck we're defending each other and sorting out there own problems. It was interesting, to see that dynamic play out even though, hell was happening around them while defending against the on coming Forunner soldiers attacking them. But Matt allows that conversation to happen, going back to Chief while he feels down the team's around him. Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris tell him that it wasn't his flaut, which allows both teams to interact with one another. Which I want to stress doesn't feel forced I know how many of you hated that about Halo 5 Guardians, it wasn't much of a problem with me but I can see what other's were saying.
Something that's interesting with this book to Matt Forbeck first one, is that there's a lot in this book while New Blood I felt had little in it. I felt like he handled Chief well, and I loved how he handle the sense with him and Arbiter catching up, what Matt Forbeck managed really well at was to bring light in senses where you know what kind of war zone there living under. With the Master Chief and Arbiter to the ending sense with Buck and veronica right at the end you know what hell they just went through. He brings that together so well Buck even jokingly says even though there under the thumb of Cortana they can still have lighter moments.
Getting the band back together was interesting Romeo's introduction, you find out he had been provide security for UEG ambassadors on the Grunt's homeworld. Then you go to get Mickey I liked how all of that played out in a sense you find out who's the big bad guy in this story Leonides. What the AI did to Jun and killing two sparants he got the 'yep your a complete dick' vib. Then how Dutch and his wife Gretchen shows up to help both Buck and Mickey get out of the spartan training facility. Over all this part of the story was interesting and well written it shows you how badly damaged the wider world had become, up to this point as well it had felt like if Buck had shot a single buttle Cortana and her forunner friends would have turned up. Matt really did a good job of making you feel there was no time to hang around, making the world feel 'we're under occupation'. Just also like to add how he handled Virgil there were some really solid and adorable moments with him, that since right at the end I would pay good money to see that in a game! Near to the end of the book, Buck and friends had to work with the Front, it changed the format of the story I didn't think it would have gone the way it did. I honestly thought, they would blow the ship and them on site but Matt did a great job of subversion how you felt it was going to go. The terrorists who Mickey joins in the first book become your freedom fighters, how they change from being the enemy, to the enemy (the front) of my enemy (cortana) is my friend. The Front for a little while forget being enemy to helping each other. And eh I sort of like how Mickey is a legend in there eye's how they trust him. I like the sence were Buck shot's his pistal in the air to get the attenion of the crowd Mickey calms everything down and tells everyone where to go to get off world.
I also liked how he managed the love life of both Dutch and Buck, in the end Dutch couldn't deal with being out of combat doing civilian work it was tearing up his relaionship with Gretchen apart. Where Buck felt like he couldn't get married becuase one day he could dye and leave Dare alone, Buck in the end, changed his mind and married Dare (I love the sense right at the end of the book him getting married that was awesome) Dutch came out of retirement with Gretchen to fight again doing what they wanted to do serve humanity.
All in all I really liked this book. Matt Forbeck did a great job, better than last book New Blood he allowed the story to grow which is what he didn't do in New Blood. Defendly like to see him back writting again, also like to see another Alpha Nine book!
October 23, 2018
A fun, voice driven blast of fresh air to the Halo Universe. The character arcs don't feel as earned as they should, and Buck's constant wise-cracking grated at times, but I cared about the characters and the set-pieces were fun and diverse and always found a way to raise the stakes. Its probably one of the better Halo novels since Glasslands. Highly recommended for Halo fans.
July 1, 2018
I listened to this book via Audible.
Halo: Bad Blood is very much a story about bringing the band back together, whether they like it or not. The book sees the Alpha Nine team from Halo 3: ODST reunited as they go on a mission that immediately follows the events of Halo 5: Guardians. Cortana has all sentient species on the ropes and of course ONI has an idea of how to fix it.
This story is a great follow up in many ways, to the two previously mentioned games and also to Matt Forbeck's earlier novel, New Blood. With so many earlier experiences with these characters, Bad Blood was like falling back in with an old group of friends. The characterization was just as it should be and everyone behaved how you'd expect.
The plot comes off as a series of heists, more or less, and in typical Alpha Nine fashion none of them go off without a hitch. There's plenty of improvisation and bullets flying in between bouts of sneaking around trying to avoid Forerunner armatures.
I enjoyed the way things wrapped up at the end, leaving plenty of room for more adventures and more stories that could be told during the same time period, say for example in Halo Infinite. I definitely recommend this to any Halo fan looking to find out what happens after Halo 5!
Halo: Bad Blood is very much a story about bringing the band back together, whether they like it or not. The book sees the Alpha Nine team from Halo 3: ODST reunited as they go on a mission that immediately follows the events of Halo 5: Guardians. Cortana has all sentient species on the ropes and of course ONI has an idea of how to fix it.
This story is a great follow up in many ways, to the two previously mentioned games and also to Matt Forbeck's earlier novel, New Blood. With so many earlier experiences with these characters, Bad Blood was like falling back in with an old group of friends. The characterization was just as it should be and everyone behaved how you'd expect.
The plot comes off as a series of heists, more or less, and in typical Alpha Nine fashion none of them go off without a hitch. There's plenty of improvisation and bullets flying in between bouts of sneaking around trying to avoid Forerunner armatures.
I enjoyed the way things wrapped up at the end, leaving plenty of room for more adventures and more stories that could be told during the same time period, say for example in Halo Infinite. I definitely recommend this to any Halo fan looking to find out what happens after Halo 5!
July 31, 2018
dear Nathan Fillion, as much as I love Scott Brock’s narration, you read the first one, and the character is really you in a Halo skin. Narrate this! Narrate this NOW!
August 26, 2018
I had a blast reading this book that I won through the Goodreads Giveaway. It was definitely a step up from the first in this series and the action was intense. The characters and creatures were way more developed in this one. I'd love to see a story like this as an animated movie or Netflix series.
June 26, 2018
Wow! This is a great book - lots and lots of action, interesting and well-defined characters, an engaging plot. If this is your genre, it has it all and you'll really enjoy it.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
October 2, 2025
I'm happy to say this book was a lot better than New Blood. With some length to work with the author did a much better job with the characters on hand.
I think it follows up Halo 5 well, one of the weaker installments to the franchise. It ties things together nicely and offers some satisfying plot threads for various recurring characters. I think if I continue reading Halo novels I would like to visit these characters again.
One of the things I struggle with though is the brainwashed nature of UNSC members. I'm totally with Mickey - do I think it was wrong to sell out his friends in New Blood? Yeah for sure but I think Mickey is right to question the UNSC and UEG and I don't blame him for his defection. It's rather ironic that the Cortana-Guardian crisis puts the UEG in the same position they normally put the Front in. Ultimately the people in the Front aren't terrorists they just don't want to be UEG and if I was writing Halo lore I'd allow the Front to victoriously achieve their independence.
I think it follows up Halo 5 well, one of the weaker installments to the franchise. It ties things together nicely and offers some satisfying plot threads for various recurring characters. I think if I continue reading Halo novels I would like to visit these characters again.
One of the things I struggle with though is the brainwashed nature of UNSC members. I'm totally with Mickey - do I think it was wrong to sell out his friends in New Blood? Yeah for sure but I think Mickey is right to question the UNSC and UEG and I don't blame him for his defection. It's rather ironic that the Cortana-Guardian crisis puts the UEG in the same position they normally put the Front in. Ultimately the people in the Front aren't terrorists they just don't want to be UEG and if I was writing Halo lore I'd allow the Front to victoriously achieve their independence.
May 4, 2020
It’s really nice to get a true sequel to Halo 5, especially since we’ve been waiting for infinite for, soon to be, 5 years. If our friend Covid has anything to say about it, that wait could probably be longer.
I can only say that I mildly enjoyed this book. It’s good to get some nuance to the Created threat but holy sh*t if the book didn’t bored me. The first half was just a series of fetch quests. ”Go there, get that”, the quest gets compromised, ”Save yourselves”. This was repeated 3 times. In the middle, because of unbelievable luck, Alpha Nine is back in full strength (Except the Rookie, bless his soul). The second half was just Buck and Mickey bickering while trying to save a planet.
The book is only good for those who already like Alpha Nine, but it’s still a boring read.
Have a nice day, and find peace in the Domain.
I can only say that I mildly enjoyed this book. It’s good to get some nuance to the Created threat but holy sh*t if the book didn’t bored me. The first half was just a series of fetch quests. ”Go there, get that”, the quest gets compromised, ”Save yourselves”. This was repeated 3 times. In the middle, because of unbelievable luck, Alpha Nine is back in full strength (Except the Rookie, bless his soul). The second half was just Buck and Mickey bickering while trying to save a planet.
The book is only good for those who already like Alpha Nine, but it’s still a boring read.
Have a nice day, and find peace in the Domain.
October 15, 2021
Okay okay yeah maybe this is the second 4 star halo book. I'd give 3.5 stars but I cant because goodreads. Yeah lots of it was still action-y but I love buck and veronica's relationship and I thought the ending was cute. And the fact that this book actually tried to talk about the moral concerns that the prior book (new blood) set up regarding mickey's betrayal and the front, well I thought that was a great way to handle a real topic. Its something I'd love to see more of out of these books. Real topics of conversation that just happen to take place in the halo universe, rather than a stream of action set pieces.
February 12, 2026
Favorite miniseries in the Haloverse so far.
April 23, 2019
Full disclosure: I knew very little about HALO going into this book. I think that impacted my ability to really get what was going on in the story. That said, I really really enjoyed it anyway. Lots of action kept it moving, and it was just tons of fun. I think this would make an excellent television series (assuming it was done with a big enough budget).
March 15, 2025
I had some low expectations for this book considering how bad the plot of halo 5 was, but it actually turned out pretty good. It especially gives a lot of closure to what happened at the end of the game.
I really liked Halo ODST so it was nice to see some returning characters. The story to the book was pretty solid and worked well with what they had.
I really liked Halo ODST so it was nice to see some returning characters. The story to the book was pretty solid and worked well with what they had.
August 22, 2018
Great pickup from the end of Halo 5. I'm glad Alpha 9 is back together, even if it's a strained partnership. This is a well contained book that doesnt require too much knowledge past ODST and Halo 5. Would only be better if read by Nathan Fillion who plays Buck in the games
January 26, 2026
4.5. A love story !!
August 14, 2018
Imagining Nathan Fillion again.
Every time I read a book with “Buck” as the main protagonist, I imagine reading it with Nathan Fillion’s voice. The author does such a great job is getting his slang and sentence structure down, that it is impossible to do otherwise.
Every time I read a book with “Buck” as the main protagonist, I imagine reading it with Nathan Fillion’s voice. The author does such a great job is getting his slang and sentence structure down, that it is impossible to do otherwise.
April 15, 2019
A fun mission reviving enjoyable characters from Halo ODST
Really likeable characters. Good fill in between Halo 5 and Halo 6.
Explores some relationships and has lots of action. Links alot of lore together, but relies more on story experienced in game and in the "New Blood" book by Matt Forebeck.
Really likeable characters. Good fill in between Halo 5 and Halo 6.
Explores some relationships and has lots of action. Links alot of lore together, but relies more on story experienced in game and in the "New Blood" book by Matt Forebeck.
August 8, 2018
Can Spartan Edward Buck let go of the treachery his former Alpha Nine team mate, Mickey Crespo, wreaked when on their last mission he pointed a gun to his head? And how will Buck trust him when they are forced to bring the team back together for their newest ONI mission?
If you’ve never played the game or read any of the previous books, for the first few chapters you might feel a bit lost, but Matt Forbeck keeps you entertained with a great story and lots of action. I may not have been a Halo fan before, but I am now.
If you’ve never played the game or read any of the previous books, for the first few chapters you might feel a bit lost, but Matt Forbeck keeps you entertained with a great story and lots of action. I may not have been a Halo fan before, but I am now.
August 11, 2020
Easily the best Halo novel, if not the best video game novel I have ever read. A big issue which video game adaptations always seem to come across in my experience is difficulty in expressing actual emotions in their characters, especially in the military shooter genre. Characters like the Spartan II's and Marcus Fenix just float from set piece to set piece not feeling anything about whats going on around them. With Halo Bad Blood this isn't the case. Whether its because of Bucks first person perspective, or just because Matt Forbeck is that good a writer but Halo Bad Blood presents its heroes as free thinking three dimensional beings who are conflicted and emotional; feeling love and hate, betrayal and unease in a way that makes this novel much more engaging than most videogame books. Sure it's cool seeing what happens to the Halo universe post-Halo 5, and Matts ideas regarding new locales such as the Grunt Home world were interesting to read about but the Heart an Soul of Bad Blood is Bucks strained relationship with his former squadmates and it is here where the book really, really shines. In particular Bucks dynamic with his former-best-friend-turned-traitor Micky is the high point with every discussion between them being one part philosophical debate and one part lovers spat. Both character are clearly written as hurt while also still being passionate about their beliefs and loyalties and neither of them are right or wrong making this aspect of Bad Blood especially brilliant.
I can't recommend Halo Bad Blood enough. For Halo fans there are all the lore dumps and canon checks which I know we love and for fans of well told stories we finally have a videogame adaptation which does that. As a long time fan of games and of Halo 'm thrilled to finally have an extended universe book I could finally sink my teeth into.
I can't recommend Halo Bad Blood enough. For Halo fans there are all the lore dumps and canon checks which I know we love and for fans of well told stories we finally have a videogame adaptation which does that. As a long time fan of games and of Halo 'm thrilled to finally have an extended universe book I could finally sink my teeth into.
August 29, 2018
I feel bad rating this book so low but, unfortunately, it wasn't that enjoyable to me. It's not any fault of Matt Forbeck but a result of the fact the story is intimately and irrevocably tied to HALO: GUARDIANS which I consider to be the nadir of the franchise. This a sequel to HALO 5 and picks up after the events of the game when beloved sci-fi character Cortana is made to make a turn to a bad guy.
Matt Forbeck makes the best of events with Nathan Fillion-inspired character Edward Buck being the protagonist and having him deal with the entire UNSC turn against him. This forces Edward and his lover Veronica Dare to spring traitorous Spartan-IV Mickey from prison in order to try to get his help against Cortana. He has ties to the Humanity Front which knows how to hide against Cortana. Supposedly.
Honestly, even if I wasn't a big fan of anything having to do with Cortana turning bad, I'd have a problem with the fact Mickey never wavers in his beliefs or takes responsibility for his awful actions. He's an irritating character and I wish he'd display some sense of remorse or acknowledge he was turning his friends over to terrorists.
Despite these problems, the action was good and the book was well-written. I just can't take any book with Cortana as a villain seriously.
6/10
Matt Forbeck makes the best of events with Nathan Fillion-inspired character Edward Buck being the protagonist and having him deal with the entire UNSC turn against him. This forces Edward and his lover Veronica Dare to spring traitorous Spartan-IV Mickey from prison in order to try to get his help against Cortana. He has ties to the Humanity Front which knows how to hide against Cortana. Supposedly.
Honestly, even if I wasn't a big fan of anything having to do with Cortana turning bad, I'd have a problem with the fact Mickey never wavers in his beliefs or takes responsibility for his awful actions. He's an irritating character and I wish he'd display some sense of remorse or acknowledge he was turning his friends over to terrorists.
Despite these problems, the action was good and the book was well-written. I just can't take any book with Cortana as a villain seriously.
6/10
September 26, 2018
I was skeptical at first due to my misgivings with New Blood, but I liked this installation. Buck has never been my favorite character in the series, but I came out liking him a lot more than when I went in. The story is told well and there is never a slow moment, with some interesting ethical considerations explored and you can really feel the desperate situation humanity is in at this point in the series.
This book might not be for the uninitiated in the series, though, with so many character storylines converging from the other book (New Blood) and multiple games. They might not be essential, but would likely be helpful.
As a side note, I noticed around 10 or so editing mistakes while reading it, which was odd. I feel like books in the series typically have better editing than that. Sorry if that sounds a bit OCD and nitpicky.
This book might not be for the uninitiated in the series, though, with so many character storylines converging from the other book (New Blood) and multiple games. They might not be essential, but would likely be helpful.
As a side note, I noticed around 10 or so editing mistakes while reading it, which was odd. I feel like books in the series typically have better editing than that. Sorry if that sounds a bit OCD and nitpicky.
June 18, 2018
First I would like to state that I received this book through the Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the author for giving me this opportunity and honor in being able to read this book. When I received this book I began reading it at once. I really enjoy the authors writing style, the author pulls you into the book from the very beginning and makes it so you don't want to put the book down. It kept me on the edge of my seat reading from cover to cover guessing what was going to be happening next. A must read!
May 11, 2022
A novel I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did.
Halo: Bad Blood was a pleasant surprise. I had originally intended to read it alongside Halo: Shadow of Intent, but that didn't quite pan out. Bad Blood turned out to be the novel I enjoyed more. Matt Forebeck's excellent dialog and character writing made the book for me. I wanted to see what happened to Alpha-Nine at every step along the way. The plot wasn't hugely impactful to Halo lore, but it was a fun story I don't regret experiencing.
Halo: Bad Blood was a pleasant surprise. I had originally intended to read it alongside Halo: Shadow of Intent, but that didn't quite pan out. Bad Blood turned out to be the novel I enjoyed more. Matt Forebeck's excellent dialog and character writing made the book for me. I wanted to see what happened to Alpha-Nine at every step along the way. The plot wasn't hugely impactful to Halo lore, but it was a fun story I don't regret experiencing.
June 27, 2018
Thank goodness the Spartans of Blue Team save us! Now it's up to the Office of Naval Intelligence and Trump's new revolutionary chicanery of our much-needed Space Military Force, we can all feel safe again!
June 22, 2018
Science Fiction read that is pretty good.
February 1, 2026
A CW Halo story, which is an improvement for a Forbeck Halo book.
I find it frustrating that one of the more interesting Post-Halo3 themes is being explored by a mediocre author.
"Bad Blood" is another Spartan Buck story, that has him tell a linear story this time, as he goes on a convoluted ONI mission. Apparently some Forerunner planet that is occupied by the Insurrectionists Front has the ability to... not be picked up by long range survey scans. Which is strike one for this book! I mean why not make it a completely cloaked plant that's only visible if you pass through a barrier. Or just make it completely invisible to machines, like you can only see it if you are looking at it with your own eyes. But no, it's just the sensor scan one. So ONI thinks that this needs to be investigated to see if the technology can be used to hide from Cortana?! Which later in the book gets debunked because part of the argument ONI uses is that the location of the planet is written down somewhere, so eventually the Created will find them.
Strike two for this book is that "the plan" needs Mickey. Because, we need him to vouch for the Spartans. And since he shares the beliefs of the Front they will trust his judgement. Which makes no sense because the Front is established as a bunch of splinter groups with no organized leadership. And the group that Mickey betrayed Alpha-Nine with are all dead, so why would his word carry any real weight with these people?! But honestly he's only there so that him and Buck can have the same argument several times throughout the story. And we all know that Mickey is in the wrong, because Forbeck never shows any of the terrorist actions of the Front. So the audience only sees the "freedom from the government" side of the insurrectionists; that way Mickey has some leg to stand on for trying to sell out his friends.
The final strike for this book is that in the end it serves no purpose. This story has a lot of padding as the characters make their way to the original goal. Which I honestly didn't mind the side quests on the Grunt home world and the Spartan-IV station. But to go through all that, for a Guardian to just show up before any research can be done on the Forerunner MacGuffin, was infuriating.
After reading this and "Outcasts" it's clear that the universal hatred of Halo 5 made 343 Industries abandon the story arc of the Created so hard. Because both stories have a Post-Halo5 plot where they are researching a possible way to defeat Cortana, only for the book to end with nothing being learned and the characters running to fight another day. Which I guess is why Halo Infinite starts after they "defeat" Cortana.
I find it frustrating that one of the more interesting Post-Halo3 themes is being explored by a mediocre author.
"Bad Blood" is another Spartan Buck story, that has him tell a linear story this time, as he goes on a convoluted ONI mission. Apparently some Forerunner planet that is occupied by the Insurrectionists Front has the ability to... not be picked up by long range survey scans. Which is strike one for this book! I mean why not make it a completely cloaked plant that's only visible if you pass through a barrier. Or just make it completely invisible to machines, like you can only see it if you are looking at it with your own eyes. But no, it's just the sensor scan one. So ONI thinks that this needs to be investigated to see if the technology can be used to hide from Cortana?! Which later in the book gets debunked because part of the argument ONI uses is that the location of the planet is written down somewhere, so eventually the Created will find them.
Strike two for this book is that "the plan" needs Mickey. Because, we need him to vouch for the Spartans. And since he shares the beliefs of the Front they will trust his judgement. Which makes no sense because the Front is established as a bunch of splinter groups with no organized leadership. And the group that Mickey betrayed Alpha-Nine with are all dead, so why would his word carry any real weight with these people?! But honestly he's only there so that him and Buck can have the same argument several times throughout the story. And we all know that Mickey is in the wrong, because Forbeck never shows any of the terrorist actions of the Front. So the audience only sees the "freedom from the government" side of the insurrectionists; that way Mickey has some leg to stand on for trying to sell out his friends.
The final strike for this book is that in the end it serves no purpose. This story has a lot of padding as the characters make their way to the original goal. Which I honestly didn't mind the side quests on the Grunt home world and the Spartan-IV station. But to go through all that, for a Guardian to just show up before any research can be done on the Forerunner MacGuffin, was infuriating.
After reading this and "Outcasts" it's clear that the universal hatred of Halo 5 made 343 Industries abandon the story arc of the Created so hard. Because both stories have a Post-Halo5 plot where they are researching a possible way to defeat Cortana, only for the book to end with nothing being learned and the characters running to fight another day. Which I guess is why Halo Infinite starts after they "defeat" Cortana.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2023
New Blood by Matt Forbeck is one of my favourite Halo stories told, along with Greg Bear's The Forerunner Saga (strong political themes with impending doom waiting at the end) and Kelly Gay's The Rubicon Protocol (extremely good militaristic story telling), and the reason why I love it is because it forgoes the strong militaristic story telling and strong political themes (it does but it is not the main driving force of the story) and focuses on telling the life story of Sergeant Gunnery Edward Buck or Gunny or now, Spartan Buck and it included romance, slice of life moments, buddy humor and a lot of stuff you wouldn't expect in a Halo book let alone the universe and I went in with the same expectations if not higher with this book and not gonna lie, there was some disappointment as that same style of story telling which is still present, is presented in a lesser amount.
First of all, the elephant in the room, this story picks up after the events of Halo 5: Guardians and whatever you think of the story, I regard it as extremely ambitious but executed poorly but very much salvageable still and to be honest, I was expecting bit of reparations with this story but there was none so I guess that is okay. The big ups this story has over Halo 5 is that it gives so much personality to Fireteam Osiris than in the game even if they were given spotlight for like 5 minutes in the whole story and I AM PISSED ABOUT WHY HALO 5 COULDN'T EVEN MANAGE THAT!!!
What this story does great is portraying betrayal by the people who you deeply trusted with your life with, and that is portrayed extremely well through Spartan Buck when he is forced to work with the one who betrayed him and I loved it so damn much! And there was great fan service done here and my Halo 3: ODST fanboy ass absolutely fucking enjoyed that shit!! Along with all of this plus a depreciated look into Buck's life, the story is also accompanied with some good action as well which feels very consequential to the story and helps with more character building rather than just random gunfire.
Overall, a great book but not as great with what New Blood accomplished with 100 pages lesser than this book and I hope there is a third in series which ends the story with a happy ending for our fan favourite Gunny!
First of all, the elephant in the room, this story picks up after the events of Halo 5: Guardians and whatever you think of the story, I regard it as extremely ambitious but executed poorly but very much salvageable still and to be honest, I was expecting bit of reparations with this story but there was none so I guess that is okay. The big ups this story has over Halo 5 is that it gives so much personality to Fireteam Osiris than in the game even if they were given spotlight for like 5 minutes in the whole story and I AM PISSED ABOUT WHY HALO 5 COULDN'T EVEN MANAGE THAT!!!
What this story does great is portraying betrayal by the people who you deeply trusted with your life with, and that is portrayed extremely well through Spartan Buck when he is forced to work with the one who betrayed him and I loved it so damn much! And there was great fan service done here and my Halo 3: ODST fanboy ass absolutely fucking enjoyed that shit!! Along with all of this plus a depreciated look into Buck's life, the story is also accompanied with some good action as well which feels very consequential to the story and helps with more character building rather than just random gunfire.
Overall, a great book but not as great with what New Blood accomplished with 100 pages lesser than this book and I hope there is a third in series which ends the story with a happy ending for our fan favourite Gunny!
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