Reviews for First Strike

The average rating for First Strike based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-10-18 00:00:00 Jacob Hauversburk Two books and one video game into my deep dive into the "Halo" canon, and color me impressed: this really is a strikingly well realized universe. The way that Eric Nylund structures "First Strike" is pretty interesting - it serves as both a direct follow-up to the events of the first "Halo" game, as well as being what's ostensibly Part 2 of a single broader narrative that Nylund started in his first novel, "The Fall of Reach, which was set BEFORE the events of the first game. The fact that "First Strike" manages to work as an individual story AND as another chapter in the ongoing "Halo" narrative is a testament to Nylund's storytelling abilities. Bring on "Halo 2."

Review # 2 was written on 2010-02-24 00:00:00 Stuart Lichten A lot of people play games for the killing, but others like the story. People who have played the game Halo for the story should read Halo, First Strike, and the other halo books by Eric Nyluno. This book (Halo, First Strike) and the others are about the famous super soldiers called Spartan IIs that are hopelessly defending the Human race from the evil Covenant and finding an ancient super weapon called Halo. This is a great book to read because the plot is interesting, the conflict is simplistic, exciting, and the writing style is easy to follow. All the halo books take place in the fictional future (about 500 years). This book begins and ends in the year 2552 near the end of the Human-Covenant war. Super human soldiers called Spartan IIs were created before the war to help quell a rebellion, but by the time they were battle ready the Human-Covenant war was in full swing. So they were deployed across the Human Empire. By 2552 the Covenant found the first Inner colony, Reach. This is where this book starts, aboard a ship called the Pillar of Autumn. Their leader (Master Chief) is split between sending his teams down to save the planet and securing Navigation data on a satellite that could lead the Covenant to earth. He decides to split the team so they can do both. When getting the Navigation data, all the Spartans on that team die except Master Chief. When he gets back to the ship, he and the ship's crew assume the other team is dead and flee. What Master Chief doesn't know is that the other team is still on the planet. The conflict is very simple. It is man VS man or man VS supernatural depending on who you ask. To be more specific Humans VS the collection of evil aliens called the Covenant. It always stays like this throughout most other books in the halo series. The Covenant is always shown as the greatest evil ever. Even the fearless Master Chief is "tensed as he watched the Covenant crowding on the galleries."(Nylund 200). The basic rule when near Master Chief is that when he is "tensed" you better be scared. This type of conflict is simple because you don't question weather the bad guy is really bad or not. Most halo books have the same type of writing style. This style is what most people call the "godly" third person view. The idea behind the godly view is that the narrator knows everything, what they are thinking what the enemy is thinking everything. "Dr. Halsey concentrated on Kelly's internal scan" (124). This quote shows that the narrator knows what everyone is thinking, but is still talking in third person, because "I" is never said. Halo often switches between two different but connecting stories. One page the narrator is talking about "Fred's head up display and he saw a Covenant Wraith tank" (21) the next chapter "the Master Chief settled into the pilot's seat of the Longsword attack craft."(30). Switching between stories gives the reader a greater understanding of the big picture. In these ways the halo series set themselves apart from other sci-fi action books. This book and the other halo books are excellent to read because the story line is exciting, the common adventure theme is easy to read, and the way he writes is interesting and simple to follow. The constant action makes you want to read more. It's easy to follow and goes hand in hand with the "godly" writing style to make a great book for sci-fi and action fans alike. If you ever want to know more about the halo story read this and all the other books.