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Halo #7.1
Halo: Evolutions Volume I
The original Halo: Evolutions, split into two volumes. This volume contains stories by:
Tobias S. Buckell
B. K. Evenson
Jonathan Goff
Eric Nylund
Frank O'Connor
Eric Raab
When humanity expanded beyond the safety of Earth to new stars and horizons, they never dreamed what dangers they would encounter there. When the alien juggernaut known as the Covenant declared holy war upon the fragile human empire, millions of lives were lost—but, millions of heroes rose to the challenge. In such a far-reaching conflict, not many of the stories of these heroes, both human and alien, have a chance to become legend. This collection holds eleven stories that dive into the depths of the vast Halo universe, not only from the perspective of those who fought and died to save humanity, but also those who vowed to wipe humanity out of existence.
Included in this volume you’ll find the stories of:
* A Spartan II washout who was most dangerous when he was told he could not serve with his fellow warriors.
* An ONI intelligence officer who falls captive to a ravenous pack of Brutes
* A dying man standing between The Covenant and the location of Earth, with only a compromised AI to aid him
* The confession of an ODST who tried to get more out of the war than just victory
* A select unit of Spartan IIIs put on a mission to succeed against against a never-before-seen Elite force
* The impossible life and possible death of Admiral Preston J. Cole
* And new to this volume, a glimpse into Forerunner life in “Soma the Painter”
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
Tobias S. Buckell
B. K. Evenson
Jonathan Goff
Eric Nylund
Frank O'Connor
Eric Raab
When humanity expanded beyond the safety of Earth to new stars and horizons, they never dreamed what dangers they would encounter there. When the alien juggernaut known as the Covenant declared holy war upon the fragile human empire, millions of lives were lost—but, millions of heroes rose to the challenge. In such a far-reaching conflict, not many of the stories of these heroes, both human and alien, have a chance to become legend. This collection holds eleven stories that dive into the depths of the vast Halo universe, not only from the perspective of those who fought and died to save humanity, but also those who vowed to wipe humanity out of existence.
Included in this volume you’ll find the stories of:
* A Spartan II washout who was most dangerous when he was told he could not serve with his fellow warriors.
* An ONI intelligence officer who falls captive to a ravenous pack of Brutes
* A dying man standing between The Covenant and the location of Earth, with only a compromised AI to aid him
* The confession of an ODST who tried to get more out of the war than just victory
* A select unit of Spartan IIIs put on a mission to succeed against against a never-before-seen Elite force
* The impossible life and possible death of Admiral Preston J. Cole
* And new to this volume, a glimpse into Forerunner life in “Soma the Painter”
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published November 2, 2010
21 people are currently reading
846 people want to read
About the author
Tobias S. Buckell
215 books463 followersBorn in the Caribbean, Tobias S. Buckell is a New York Times Bestselling author. His novels and over 50 short stories have been translated into 17 languages and he has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Prometheus and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Author. He currently lives in Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 9, 2024
Truly a great collection of stories in the Halo universe. I feel to really appreciate them all you need to have prior knowledge of at least the games and earlier books, but even outside of that this is a collection of really well written stories.
February 4, 2014
das is good
December 6, 2025
This is the twenty-second Halo book l I have read on my journey through the galaxy. It is also the first of three volumes of short stories by a group of writers who have contributed novels to the Halo universe.
These stories are set in the early years of the Covenant war. In fact, the last story begins much earlier than that as it is a kind of biography of Admiral Preston Cole, one of the great (human) heroes of the conflict. They are populated by our favourite figures: Spartans, Hell Jumpers, Office of Naval Intelligence spooks and the various alien creatures united in a war to destroy humanity: Elites, Brutes, Jackals, Grunts et al.
This collection was first published in 2009 and the writers envisage a human race in five hundred years’ time that is essentially twentieth-century American in terms of language, military culture and weaponry. From a 2025 perspective we must wonder if American will be our dominant culture in fifty years’ time, never mind five hundred. And my perennial gripe about the Halo series is the assumption that in five hundred years’ time we will be so dependent on human troops and heroism, given the rapid advances we’re seeing in AI and drone technologies. In the Halo universe you have an uneasy mix of interstellar space travel, huge spaceships and battlefield tactics and weapons that scream of World War II or Vietnam.
I would recommend reading this volume alongside the Halo novels. Despite my gripes I will continue my galactic journey and I’m looking forward to reading Volumes II and III in this series.
These stories are set in the early years of the Covenant war. In fact, the last story begins much earlier than that as it is a kind of biography of Admiral Preston Cole, one of the great (human) heroes of the conflict. They are populated by our favourite figures: Spartans, Hell Jumpers, Office of Naval Intelligence spooks and the various alien creatures united in a war to destroy humanity: Elites, Brutes, Jackals, Grunts et al.
This collection was first published in 2009 and the writers envisage a human race in five hundred years’ time that is essentially twentieth-century American in terms of language, military culture and weaponry. From a 2025 perspective we must wonder if American will be our dominant culture in fifty years’ time, never mind five hundred. And my perennial gripe about the Halo series is the assumption that in five hundred years’ time we will be so dependent on human troops and heroism, given the rapid advances we’re seeing in AI and drone technologies. In the Halo universe you have an uneasy mix of interstellar space travel, huge spaceships and battlefield tactics and weapons that scream of World War II or Vietnam.
I would recommend reading this volume alongside the Halo novels. Despite my gripes I will continue my galactic journey and I’m looking forward to reading Volumes II and III in this series.
October 8, 2018
I enjoyed most of the stories fairly well. Some I felt dragged on a little or I just had little interest in (dirt and pariah). I really enjoyed the plot and characters of many of the stories (stomping on the heels of a fuss, midnight in the heart of the Midlothian, and Dirt). The writing while mostly good can feel contrived such as the end of Stomping on the Heels of a Fuss and some of the lines from Head Hunters. Though they are few and far between. My favorite story in this is Midnight in the Heart of The Midlothian for its characters Baird and Mo Ye. My least favorite but not disliked being Pariah. I enjoyed Soren's backstory but when we get past his removal from the spartan program it began to drag on a little and lost my interest.
May 15, 2025
I don’t dispute that an anthology book, especially a Halo anthology book is a good idea, however, having now read all the stories in the first volume I can say, “They ain’t all winners”. A couple stand-outs include “Soma The Painter”, “Stomping On The Heels Of A Fuss”, “Dirt” and my personal favourite “The Impossible Life And The Possible Death Of Preston J. Cole”, I would say the others fall somewhere between, “uninteresting” and “good but not for me”. Still if you’re a Halo fan it’s probably worth a read for the last story alone.
December 22, 2023
A nice variety of tales to be found here. Various stories focused on every bit I love to see in a Halo novel. Everything from Spartan life, epic battles with zealous aliens, and epic naval engagements, this book has it all! The art was beautiful as well! Only turn off for me were the few F bombs they put in there. Was surprised to find strong language in Halo media. All in all a great sampling of what makes Halo awesome!
January 24, 2020
Very well done. They were short, but great, with the one about Cole being excellent.
December 12, 2025
A quality collection of short stories from those familiar with the source material.
April 5, 2020
A fairly decent of short stories in the Halo universe. If you love the lore like me than you will likely enjoy them. They are not quite groundbreaking though in terms of literature.
January 7, 2016
You might notice I have both this book and "Halo: Evolutions: the Essential Tales" on my "have-read" shelf. Which suggests that they're different books. Why would I read the same book twice? On the other hand, they have the same cover and they seem very similar. So what's the difference between "The Essential Tales" and "The Essential Tales Vol. 1?" That was the question I set out to answer.
So here's the thing. They are different books. They do contain a few different stories. But only a few. MOST of the stories were shared between the two books, but their contents weren't identical. And that ended up being a pretty frustrating experience, trying to go through and figure out "ok, read that one, didn't read this one," "did I read this one and just not care for it, or did I not read it?" It made for an odd reading experience and it's also why the same review has been posted on both versions of the book. I can't separate one from the other in my head now.
What we have here are a collection of short stories and, erm, poems, that are set in the Halo universe. It's video-game tie-in fiction, but the Halo universe has always been a grand one, definitely one of my favorites (far moreso than the comparatively claustrophobic universe of Gears of War). It's always been a shame in my opinion that the grand, epic narrative that underpins this whole universe is portrayed almost solely through the books, while the games themselves focus entirely on the shoot-shoots. Although Halo 4 and 5 have gotten better in the narrative department, so perhaps there's hope.
I mentioned the poems earlier with a bit of hesitation, could you tell? That's because they're . . . odd. There's always a little mental game you play with yourself when reading this kind of book, where you have to turn off the part of your brain that tells you "you're reading about video game characters, this is basically a book about your toys." Most of the time, that's easy enough to do; video game or not, in the context of the stories, the people are real, their struggles and suffering feel real. But the poems . . . the poems feel like they're trying way too hard.
So what about the rest of the stories? Well, as with most collections of short stories by different authors, there were a few I loved, a few that were okay, and several that were forgettable. For me, the highlight story is the one about Admiral Preston Cole, of "the Cole Protocol" fame. The style of the story (told through a collection of articles, transcripts, interviews, and short bits) was surprisingly compelling and it shows that when Halo fiction puts its mind to it, it can be really good.
The story about the sole survivor marine and the AI on the captured cruiser (sorry, I returned the book to the library already, so I can't look up the title) was also a really good one. I love, love, LOVED the ending to that one; it so perfectly turned an inexplicable sci-fi trope into a great inversion. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it. I don't want to spoil it for you.
So what's my verdict? Well, my personal rule of thumb is that tie-in fiction for any franchise needs to be able to stand on its own two feet; you can't just say 'well, it's amazing, but only for fans of the game.' A great franchise piece is the kind of work that can actually inspire someone who hasn't played the games to seek them out. Unfortunately, I don't think these stories will have that effect. If you're deeply involved in the lore of Halo, give these a read and enjoy layering on world-building and narrative to your next playthrough of the shoot-shoots. Otherwise, move along.
So here's the thing. They are different books. They do contain a few different stories. But only a few. MOST of the stories were shared between the two books, but their contents weren't identical. And that ended up being a pretty frustrating experience, trying to go through and figure out "ok, read that one, didn't read this one," "did I read this one and just not care for it, or did I not read it?" It made for an odd reading experience and it's also why the same review has been posted on both versions of the book. I can't separate one from the other in my head now.
What we have here are a collection of short stories and, erm, poems, that are set in the Halo universe. It's video-game tie-in fiction, but the Halo universe has always been a grand one, definitely one of my favorites (far moreso than the comparatively claustrophobic universe of Gears of War). It's always been a shame in my opinion that the grand, epic narrative that underpins this whole universe is portrayed almost solely through the books, while the games themselves focus entirely on the shoot-shoots. Although Halo 4 and 5 have gotten better in the narrative department, so perhaps there's hope.
I mentioned the poems earlier with a bit of hesitation, could you tell? That's because they're . . . odd. There's always a little mental game you play with yourself when reading this kind of book, where you have to turn off the part of your brain that tells you "you're reading about video game characters, this is basically a book about your toys." Most of the time, that's easy enough to do; video game or not, in the context of the stories, the people are real, their struggles and suffering feel real. But the poems . . . the poems feel like they're trying way too hard.
So what about the rest of the stories? Well, as with most collections of short stories by different authors, there were a few I loved, a few that were okay, and several that were forgettable. For me, the highlight story is the one about Admiral Preston Cole, of "the Cole Protocol" fame. The style of the story (told through a collection of articles, transcripts, interviews, and short bits) was surprisingly compelling and it shows that when Halo fiction puts its mind to it, it can be really good.
The story about the sole survivor marine and the AI on the captured cruiser (sorry, I returned the book to the library already, so I can't look up the title) was also a really good one. I love, love, LOVED the ending to that one; it so perfectly turned an inexplicable sci-fi trope into a great inversion. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it. I don't want to spoil it for you.
So what's my verdict? Well, my personal rule of thumb is that tie-in fiction for any franchise needs to be able to stand on its own two feet; you can't just say 'well, it's amazing, but only for fans of the game.' A great franchise piece is the kind of work that can actually inspire someone who hasn't played the games to seek them out. Unfortunately, I don't think these stories will have that effect. If you're deeply involved in the lore of Halo, give these a read and enjoy layering on world-building and narrative to your next playthrough of the shoot-shoots. Otherwise, move along.
October 15, 2015
This plot had many stories, some were interesting and others where boring. The short story I mostly enjoyed was about a boy who killed his father for not helping his mother survive when she was sick then later becomes a Spartan in the military. Soren realizes his dad won’t help his sick mother when he says “I cannot buy medicine because if I am seen in public I will get arrested because I own illegal farm, and Soren has to slowly watch his mom die. He then grows up in the wild on his own and eventually walks across a secret outpost for the halo military and becomes a recruit. The only main characters are Soren, a kid who grows up on his own and is later recruited into the military. Secondly, Doctor Hasely, who helps Soren in the transition of being on his own, into becoming a Spartan. Soren had many adventures when he was on his own in the woods. For instance, he would constantly try and stab little furry animals for food. I liked Soren the best because he is very brave and not afraid to take on a challenge.
I relate to Soren because sometimes I have troubles but can’t do anything about them just like him watching his mother die. I could relate to Soren because when I was little I was always trying to go into the woods and find new hide outs or examine different insects with my friends. That is similar to Soren because he was constantly searching the woods for food and shelter.
Personally I thought the story was good because it was easy to read and had multiple events that interested me and pulled me into the story. My favorite part of the book was when Soren tried to catch food and make a shelter because it showed me how difficult it really is and how much patience it takes. I didn’t have any least favorited parts in the story because it was all evenly interesting to me. The author got the points across easily and made it interesting along the way, he could have put in a little more detail on the survival side of the story, like explaining the setting of the woods or the tools he had.
I would recommend this to anyone unless they not yet have played the Halo video games because they wouldn’t understand certain references. I feel that mostly gamers would like this book and science fiction fans. It’s imperative that you understand the game and the universe to enjoy the book.
June 18, 2025
I don't know of any franchise outside of Star Wars that has an extended universe that is both this prolific and this consistently high quality. This is not the first Halo book I've ever read, but it was the first I read that wasn't tied to Halo 4 (I'll review that excellent trilogy later).
I was absolutely entranced by this collection of short stories. I don't know a ton about the authors involved but each of them deserves to be better known if their non-Halo output is even three-quarters as good as the stuff they contributed here. These stories are all built on the back-bone of the breathtaking hard sci-fi that is unique to this franchise, but what I appreciate most is that they tend to emphasize the underlying horror elements that pervade this franchise. It's easy to forget just how terrifying the Covenant is after spending over 20 years going toe to toe with with these monsters with a massively modified human super soldier that repeatedly proved a match for even the strongest elements of the Covenant. We see several stories involving regular humans, both soldier and civilian, engaging with the Covenant, and the descriptions of the disparity in size, technology, and all other physical attributes just left me shaken a number of times. As this is Halo, however, there are plenty of mentions of the Spartans, the Forerunners and all the other elements that make Halo so great.
It's just a fantastic spread of stories and each of them are written so damn well. Halo fans will get the most out of this but I think this is worth a look for even non-fans as it's just that good.
I was absolutely entranced by this collection of short stories. I don't know a ton about the authors involved but each of them deserves to be better known if their non-Halo output is even three-quarters as good as the stuff they contributed here. These stories are all built on the back-bone of the breathtaking hard sci-fi that is unique to this franchise, but what I appreciate most is that they tend to emphasize the underlying horror elements that pervade this franchise. It's easy to forget just how terrifying the Covenant is after spending over 20 years going toe to toe with with these monsters with a massively modified human super soldier that repeatedly proved a match for even the strongest elements of the Covenant. We see several stories involving regular humans, both soldier and civilian, engaging with the Covenant, and the descriptions of the disparity in size, technology, and all other physical attributes just left me shaken a number of times. As this is Halo, however, there are plenty of mentions of the Spartans, the Forerunners and all the other elements that make Halo so great.
It's just a fantastic spread of stories and each of them are written so damn well. Halo fans will get the most out of this but I think this is worth a look for even non-fans as it's just that good.
February 22, 2014
O M G!!! What an awesome collection! I was in love with the game but now I've fallen in love with the books as well! HALO FOREVER!!! I was like ''Aaah'' when the brutes attacked and ''AARGH!!*grits teeth, punches pillows*'' when the humans died fighting. Literally, I shouted out when the Covenant killed humanity. The two poems(as they seemed to me) were awesome too!! A collection of short stories + poems! How awesome is that! Never have I read short stories so awesome and so imaginative, that I'm in love with them! I just couldn't put down the book! And even during school! I carried the book in my pocket! Love Halo and love this book! I hope the Halo series continues and gives such awesome sci-fi alien war books to read! And the Games are awesome too! People who haven't played Halo- GO OUT THERE AND GET YOURSELF HALO GAMES!!
October 23, 2014
Halo: Evolutions Volume 1
By: Tobias S. Buckell
Review by Abdullah Al-Bezreh
This book is definitely one of my favorite books ever! It doesn't only show you the events that happen but also it shows you the events from many perspectives which in my case I've never seen before. Not only does this book use vivid descriptions of situations that make you feel like you are actually watching the events while they are happening, but it also tells you what things happened in the past of each character that makes them decide on a certain choice. Although I wasn't into books reading books but after I read this book, reading became my favorite hobby. It is a wonderful book and I strongly recommend it to everyone!
By: Tobias S. Buckell
Review by Abdullah Al-Bezreh
This book is definitely one of my favorite books ever! It doesn't only show you the events that happen but also it shows you the events from many perspectives which in my case I've never seen before. Not only does this book use vivid descriptions of situations that make you feel like you are actually watching the events while they are happening, but it also tells you what things happened in the past of each character that makes them decide on a certain choice. Although I wasn't into books reading books but after I read this book, reading became my favorite hobby. It is a wonderful book and I strongly recommend it to everyone!
April 14, 2012
Yeah this is a good book, but I recommend it for fanboys only. There is a lot of jargon and history only a Halo fan can appreciate. Regardless a lot of good stories and just a heads up. None of the stories involve the Master Chief we know and love. But tell you what. Most of these stories chronicle valiant individuals who deserve their stories to be told. Heroes comes in all shapes and sizes. If your a Halo aficionado you need to read this.
April 24, 2012
It shows different point of view in different battles, showing what was truly happened.
May 19, 2016
Great trilogy of three stories with different conflicts. I've always stayed engaged reading the book as if i was a soldier going through the jungle camp trying to save humanity for my kind.
November 13, 2021
Audiobook - Good stories individually
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews