Halo: First Strike

by Eric Nylund

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

408 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Trevor Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spartans are the goat when comparing badass characters

[Thatcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good end to the 3 book run. I’m unsure of how much of it is cannon but I would like to believe it is as it provides some pretty necessary background as to how the chief got from being in space around halo at the end of combat evolved to Earth at the start of Halo 2.

[Michael Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the one, this is the good Halo book.

[T.R. Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I encourage anyone to read these books. They make the experience of playing the games that much better (And they were already the best games of all time).

[Brock Gonzales · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay I know i know there's a diehard fan base for this trilogy but man this one got real stale.

first of all, a me problem. I am not a qualified book reviewer. I have the comprehension of warm play dough. also, I cant see the things I read. Like, the tv is on so there's sound but no picture, ya feel? While that usually doesn't stop me, a story that essentially becomes 400 pages of space battle(s) gets real stale.

Eric Nylunds writing is perfectly serviceable but it just fell so flat to read about the eleventieth space fight towards the end.

if youre into mil-scifi, I'd still reccomend it but with a grain of salt. Where FoR was really good about characterization, this just kind of felt like some cheap thrills. There are some good moments in this novel. You get closer to Fred, Linda, and Kelly but by the end, its just chief fighting the covenant again and their personalities fall away. "Chief is hesitant but has to see it through. he cares about his team but has to weigh what sacrifices are worth it" becomes lines i skipped towards the end.

and the whole plot line of killing Johnson or not killing Johnson? Drawn out and overplayed for a character that you technically dont know that well (unless you played the games of course).

with all that being said, Im still really looking forward to exploring the universe.

[Caleb Smoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

“He couldn’t know the future. He had to do what he could to save every person. Today. Now.”

I always have a blast reading the Halo Series. Great action books that keep you engaged all the way through. Learning more about the Lore is always a bonus as well

[Benjamin Alig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great entry in the halo series. I have very much enjoyed learning more about this universe.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great adventure to propel us into Halo 2. It starts off in multiple story threads and perfectly weaves them all together for a very satisfying and climactic ending. The character chemistry and enjoyability is off the charts, I really love every character and their interactions with one another.

Overall this a really great story that utilizes what comes before it to build a new adventure for Chief and gang to go on, and showcase crazy battle sequences and quiet character beats. The depth this book adds to Chief and Johnson in Halo 2 is not talked about enough.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great addition to the HALO universe. Well worth the read for any fans.

[Carter Empen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Master Chief blows up a 20 mile long ship with minimal effort

[FaDoug · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Halo: First Strike" is a book I'd have to describe as frustrating, above all else.

It is a far, *far* better read than "Halo: The Flood" in literally every single way. Nylund really understands this world, and he knows how to make the everything shine. There's no "and then Chief went down the hall and shot everything," nope, this book is blossoming with deep, juicy details, bringing every scene to life and allowing you to really dig into the world being presented to you. I'd say that Nylund's biggest strength is that he can provide so much detail that he makes short segments feel really long, in a very good way.

And unfortunately, that ends up working against Nylund's favor here.

Unlike "Halo: The Fall of Reach," which took place over a span of decades, "Halo: First Strike" takes place over a span of weeks, if that. And as a result, some scenes feel so *incredibly* drawn out and boring. This is particularly grueling in the middle, where the book focuses on Halsey and a stupid little rock that causes special slipspace or whatever. Basically everything between Chief landing back on Reach, and the final big fight with the Covenant fleet is pretty tough to read. At times, I nearly found myself giving up entirely.

But what makes this book so damn frustrating is that everything around that middle is absolutely fantastic! Seeing the events directly after "Halo: Combat Evolved" is fascinating, and the final fight on the Unyielding Hierophant is utterly engrossing. And my god, that final moment of the fight blew me the hell away. I loved it so much! There are moments in this book that rival the games in terms of being awesome as hell!

However, the book also...adds very little to the world itself. As an entry between "Halo Combat Evolved" and "Halo 2," I was expecting there to be a little bit, well, more. More context I guess, maybe a scene showing Halsey making the Mjolnir Mark VI, or maybe the ripples beginning in High Charity, or at least something about Miranda Keyes learning about her father's death. But no, instead we learn about a rock that doesn't matter, and, uh...how Johnson survived the Halo ring. I personally didn't really view Johnson as a character until the second game, but I guess learning that he had some plasma disease that the flood are allergic to was... interesting. Aside from all that, we also learn about Blue Team a bit, and I guess I can be happy with that at least.

Overall, "Halo: First Strike" is a book I really like, but only in the beginning and the end. This book did not need to be over 400 pages, at least 50 to 100 pages could have been cut off entirely, just by shortening the overly verbose middle. And I really wish this transitioned into "Halo 2" a little bit better. If Goodreads allowed for half star ratings, I'd give this a seven out of ten, but I guess I'll just accept a six for now.

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Cortana,” the Master Chief said. “What’s our status?”
“Same as ever,” Cortana replied. “We’re in trouble.”
—

A few years ago, I found this book in the library, and decided I wanted to read “Fall of Reach” first. And I did! And then I forgot about this book. But no worries, I finally got to it. And I’ve decided that “Halo” books… generally aren’t my thing? At least, not the ones I’ve read.

Look, this book was fun and all, I can’t deny that. I had a lot of fun with it! It’s good! At the same time, I didn’t feel as if this book really changed all that much for me. I know what happens to Master Chief after this, and so his sections don’t feel all that interesting. Which doesn’t mean they were boring, either–I think Nylund should be commended for making a cool story with what he had. I just came away from it not really feeling that pumped for what came next for Chief–though maybe if I read it when it came out, that would have changed.

What interested me more were all of the side characters. The other Spartans, for instance–I loved reading Fred’s bits because I enjoy seeing how the other Spartans are in comparison to Chief. And all of the other companions that Chief comes across throughout his journey in this story.

Oh, and Cortana and Chief's whole back-and-forth is fun.

Maybe what I really need to do is find a “Halo” novel that focuses on a completely new cast? Would the Forerunner Saga be too hard for me? I don’t know.

I’m also amused with its “Definitive Edition” label. See, Bungie, the studio that actually made the first few “Halo” games, did not actually care about the book tie-ins. This can be showed about how much the game “Halo: Reach” absolutely disregarded books like this one and “Fall of Reach”. Nylund, again to his credit, did his best to try to reconcile the canons and rewrote parts of the book to better fit with what’s shown in the games, like this not being the first time people have seen Brutes.

I don’t know, maybe “Halo” nuts (are those still out there?) will find this a must-read. I didn’t find it one. I still liked it, but I don’t know that I feel much accomplished by having read it other than finally knocking it off my to-read list. It was a fun experience, but I don’t know that it means much in the long run.

[Julian Camargo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book was absolutely fantastic it definitely helps fill in gaps not only in the games but it expands upon the relationships that are formed between the Spartans and the hate that they get, granted the book likes to jump years and move constantly on cliff hangs and then continue to the main story but then the side story combines into the main story to help give a understanding of what is happening between different characters. The writer definitely does an amazing job at painting the picture of the battles that the Spartans fight and describes the covenant very well. It truly felt as though I was playing halo itself. If your fan of the games and want to expand on the lore and have more knowledge about the games and truly how they connect with each other this is definitely a book that help’s better at understanding the games. So much fun to read definitely recommend

[Miguel Espinoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

NAH, THEY COOKED.

Out of the original bunch of Halo books, this was probably the one I was looking forward to the most. It did a stellar job filling the gaps between Halo CE and Halo 2, besides wrapping up plot lines from The Fall of Reach

Chief really didn’t catch a fucking break since he landed on that ring, did he? I really liked how this story doesn’t feel empty at all, if anything, a lot of stuff is always happening to the (very good and diverse) cast of characters; From capturing a Covenant ship, returning to Reach and gathering more Spartans, fighting along side pirates, Halsey’s report on Johnson and finally, destroying a Covenant mega structure to delay an invasion on Earth. Plus, introducing and playing with wacky sci fi elements with the Forerunner artifact found on Reach.

I can’t imagine getting bored while reading this one. RIP Anton, Grace, Polaski and Whitcomb. 🫡

[Clint · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a long-time Halo fan, I have only played the games. I've never read a single novel or comic, so I decided to try out First Strike. All in all, it's a decent read, but it felt bloated. This is actually three books at once - three separate stories, worthy of their own attention, jammed into one novel. The resulting time jumps, flat characters, and predictable story beats lack the emotional weight to pull off the grand narrative arc. First Strike falls in line like a good soldier, hitting the plot points required by *The Lore, while getting the characters to their proper places for the games. Overall, it was exactly what I suspected, an average novel that will help you kill a few hours. Most folks will be fine to read a Wikipedia or Cliffnotes summary.

[Paul Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story. Found the ending battle a bit much. Not not a halo fan, I picked this book on a lark, and a lot of the references blew by me, although they weren’t required to enjoy it, just know that they’re there.

[Богдан Радчук · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10.♡

[Danica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen to this on audible with my son! Love the narrator and the story! Goes right along with the game

[Matthijs X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, that’s about it.

[Lunarnier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Y kelly son mis fokin GOATS. Me encantó este libro es BUENÍSIMO DE VERDAD amo mucho a los spartans😭😭😭😭

[Michael Tristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool to learn what happens between halo 1 and halo 2. Space battle was fascinating after reading several ground engagements in the previous book.