Geek Read: Halo: The Fall of Reach

Title: Halo: The Fall of Reach
Publisher:  Tor Books; First Edition edition

Authors: Eric Nylund

Published:  03/08/2010

Page Count: 416 pages

Final Verdict: 7.5/10

Picture unrelated to opinion but related to what I do on Saturday nights.

I'm not usually one for novel adaptations of anything, not movies, not games. Novels are usually better as it's own original material, something that was planned and loved and poured over for hours trying to wring out a creative thought which was then pushed into something (usually) great, the same can be said of games. I really admire fiction authors as they are not only are they able to spin wild thoughts into solid, structured sentences (which is something I clearly struggle with, amirite?) but they can do so about worlds that don't exist, about material that's completely made up. They can make fantasy so vibrant it feels real.

This isn't one of those books. It's not original material, it's based off a video game. A hit video game. One with thousands and thousands of nitpicking die-hard fans willing to tear apart a story to find it's clashes with the source material. Living up to those expectations can't be easy. You can't pretend you can tap into someone's gaming experience and capture that feeling in a book. This book doesn't try to do that. It simply tries to tell you it's story. 

After my last read (which you'll be able to tell through my review felt like it gave me an intelligence tumor), I thought I'd tone it down with something more brain-numbing (and with explosions). I had started to read The Fall of Reach years ago, but lost it partway through. I recently picked it back up (which is now the definitive edition, with an additional 27-ish pages of content) and decide to re-tackle it. Let's say, for something I expected to go ratatatatatat for 8 chapters had a little more to offer then that.

The Halo: Fall of Reach novel tackles the origin of Master Chief and the Spartan-IIs and serves as a precursor to the original Halo game. The book is written in third person, yet it concentrates a lot on the thoughts of the main characters. Throughout the book, you explore many people's conscience about a whole wack of subjects, from the morality issues associated with genetic engineering, to what defines humanity, to a soldier's reasons to fight. You get to explore different characters with a wide range of emotions and personalities and get a little insight at how they personally handle the current madness. There's a big emphasis on conscience throughout the novel which is very different from the mindless satisfaction of splattering Covenant with your Warthog in game. It forces you to stop and think a minute.

The Master Chief is obviously the main focus in the story. I was wondering how they would choose to portray him as he is a mostly silent character in the games, and his actions are almost always dictated by your decisions. That would mean no Master Chief is ever the same, thus making the character even harder to recapture as everyone will have different expectations. They settle this on making him remarkably average. John-117 is unbelievably normal, with feelings and questions and imperfections all the same. He stays very human despite the fact that he is practically half machine. His only real superhuman trait is that he is wholly, almost blindly dedicated to his cause. You can not help but once again project yourself in his image. He's normal, I'm normal, we are the same (now for that power armor..).

The story covers plenty of unanswered questions and sheds light on many references only mentioned in-game. Though the futuristic human world is vast with a multitude of planets, systems, colonies, ships, and much more to keep in mind, it's relatively easy to follow. The simple level of language used is most likely to keep the average gamer interested. It's easy enough to not have to think and dive into this world of glorious battles. It's simplistic without being stupid. I don't feel like the book is spoon-feeding me information bite by bite, but it does take it's time to properly explain what is going on and where without having you lose interest.

I was hoping for a book to shut my brain off to, something easy to read. This book is both of those, but a little more. It did grab my attention and encouraged me to keep reading without wanting to put it down. It didn't delude my love for Halo by adding any soppyness or just dumbing it down. The Halo universe is a vast and fascinating one and it was interesting to take a dive into it to get away, even when I was miles away from my Xbox. It kept me entertained, but I can't say it ever really surprised me. I'll give it 7.5 frags out of 10 for being a solid, fun read that lacks in maybe a little shock and awe.