Ghosts of Onyx (Halo) by Eric Nylund Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Ghosts of Onyx (Halo)
Book Review: Further broadening the Halo universe
Summary: 5 Stars
In keeping with the draw of Nylund's other two Halo books, this one is equally difficult to put down. The language, as before, isn't groundbreaking in any sense, but its the story that drives the reader page after page. Some old names from Blue Team and the original Spartan II program resurface, while many new ones are introduced.
One point of note, to avert potential dissapointment, is to realize the story moves away from the Chief to focus on other concurrent events. It only makes references now and then to the Chief's progress in his own corner of the galaxy to set a time reference. That being said, the new protagonists have plenty of their own charisma to make the reader satisfied with minding their plights.
The one quible I have is the length. From the outside, the book's dimensions match those of the previous three. The indside, however, shows text that has been double spaced where they used to be single, in an effort to fluff the book into fulfilling a certain thickness. This gives a sense of being gipped, like delivering a medium size pizza in an extra large box. But no gripes about the pizza itself. Every bite is worth it.
Book Review: Ghost of onyx
Summary: 5 Stars
Eric Nylund is an amazing author and this book exceeds my expectaions which were already set high. I hope he writes more Halo novels. Amazon came through with the delivery promptly.Book Review: Eric Nylund Does It Again!
Summary: 5 Stars
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx is the fourth book in the series of Halo novels and it is the third novel in the series written by author Eric Nylund. This story takes place during the events of Halo 2 but the story pulls away from the main story arch following the Master Chief and focuses on another SPARTAN II, Kurt. His death is faked during a mission and he is forcibly recruited to train a new generation of SPARTANS on the planet Onyx alongside his old mentor Chief Mendez. The SPARTAN III's are a new "disposable" type of SPARTAN that underwent the same training and genetic alterations but they use Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor (S.P.I.) in replace of the MJOLNIR Armor worn by the SPARTAN II's. The S.P.I. Armor is not as strong as MJOLNIR Armor and lacks shields but has light bending plates that make the wearer nearly invisible. Kurt is faced with many challenges and tough decisions as he trains his new age SPARTANS. The first batch of SPARTAN III's, Alpha Company, are all killed in Operation PROMETHIUS in an attempt to destroy a Covenant ship yard. During Operation TORPEDO, only two members of Beta Company survive during the destruction of a Covenant refinery and Kurt makes the survivors his right hand man, and women. After the loss of almost two entire companies Kurt makes an illegal addition to the genetic alterations that enhances the SPARTAN III's aggression in order to give them a better advantage in battle. Gamma Company is attacked by an unknown threat during training. Dr. Halsey and Kelly reenter the story when they crash land after arriving at Onyx to investigate the mysterious planet. Meanwhile the SPARTAN II's from the end of First Strike are in route to Onyx in response to Halsey's distress call. Follow Dr. Halsey, Chief Mendez, the SPARTAN II's, and the SPARTAN III's as they unlock the secret of the mysterious planet of Onyx.
Nylund repeats his writing excellence again in Ghosts of Onyx. He continues to prove that even though a story is based on a video game it can still be worthwhile. If you have not read the previous Halo novels there may be portions of the story you do not fully understand, but even without the other books this story has the capacity to hold its own and be a fantastic book. You really don't even need to have played the video games to enjoy the story. He takes situations from the game and the other novels and develops them further to help readers better understand the complex and exciting universe that is Halo. His writing captivates the reader and keeps you reading all the way to the back cover. Eric Nylund weaves a tail that gets you emotionally involved in the story, when something terrible happens the cringe and when something glorious happens you cheer. The detail involved in this story makes you feel like you are right there with the characters. You can picture the environments that Nylund creates in the book, every scene down to the very last blade of grass. He brings the characters to life by giving them their own personalities and back stories. You feel like you know them all on a personal level and you start to pick out characters that you like and characters that you don't like with lists of reasons to support them all. The story takes several twists and turns in order to keep you guessing and engaged in the story. It does get a little confusing due to the different number of story lines going on at the same time but they all come together in the end at a satisfying conclusion. If you love the epic story of Halo or the writing styles of Eric Nylund then Ghosts of Onyx will not let you down.
Book Review: great filler
Summary: 5 Stars
great book fills in on whats happening on the rest of the halo universe.
but as always leaves you wanting more, a great read
Book Review: Another Halo Page Turner...Indeed!
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes, another Halo novel, the fourth one, I believe. Here, we have combat with the Covenant, which is intense at times and very well depicted by veteran writer Eric Nylund who has written other great Halo novels as well. Most of the action here centers on and around the planet Onyx, which also contains Forerunner ruins which quite possibly contains useable advanced weaponry which the Spartans would like to find, to help defeat the Covenant. Well, things turn out to be much more complicated than at first glance, and there is also much intrigue mixed in, including a one Dr. Halsey, who may have an agenda of her own.
I must add that these Halo novels are very well written, and I am someone who reads a lot of science fiction. Nylund includes a lot of detail in an easy to read, flowing style. Character development is superb, as is the plot. These novels, along with the associated XBOX video games, are very near to becoming an integral part of our culture, like Star Trek and Star Wars already are.