Halo: Contact Harvest, by Joseph Staten, Tom Doherty Associates, 390 pages
I decided to read this book because I really enjoy sci-fi and action books. I have read various other books in the Halo series and being a fan of the game, I had a strong inclination to venture through the literary world of Halo.
Halo: Contact Harvest begins with a team of United Nations Space Command (UNSC) Marines on a mission to retrieve enemy Intel from a terrorist group known as the Insurrection. Humanity has been torn in a bitter civil war for decades against the Insurrection and the UNSC is not about to give in to their ludicrous demands. Traveling through the backlands of Harvest on a routine border sweep, our battle hardened protagonist Sergeant Avery Johnson encounters an alien privateer who flees in fear of this unknown life form. What seemed like a harmless encounter with a new alien race sends the UNSC into a spiraling battle with the juggernaut alien race known as the Covenant. With the rise of this imminent threat the UNSC realizes that the Insurrection has become the least of their problems as all of mankind is catapulted into a struggle for its very existence.
The audience for this book could range from sci-fi and halo fans to people who are interested in the military; this book incorporates aspects of both to create a stunning futuristic war-time story.
Joseph Staten’s writing style is more formal than most books I have read probably extending from the book’s military theme. “Yes sir, all captured Intel was successfully delivered to ONI,” (87).
I believe that the primary theme of this book is to persevere in the face of adversity and to stand firmly for what you believe in. Sergeant Avery Johnson demonstrates this theme throughout the book. With every new obstacle he has to face whether it be being compromised by the Insurrection or leading an assault on the Covenant base, Johnson finds a way to fulfill his duty.
I would rate this book an A-. I thoroughly enjoyed the story line of this book and all of the action I would expect in a Halo novel. I felt though that the story was missing something. Even though it was a great book to read, Halo: Contact Harvest lacked the heroic Master Chief from the others in the series and it just wasn’t quite the same without him.
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kyle, i have read a couplle of the halo books before. they are good, action packed, books with a good story line. i have not read this one before but your vivid description of the story makes me want to go out and use all the gas in my car by absoultey flying to the book store and pick this book up. i would recomend this book to a friend.
ReplyDeletecarl boulais
i also have read a couple of halo books a while back and your description of this one ,akes me want to check it out. The other halo books were pretty good and this one sounds even better then the rest
ReplyDeleteI have never read a halo book in my life, however the summery of this book sounds very good. I think this book sounds very well written, and will hold my attention all the way through. This book also seems to have a lot of action in it which keeps me interested and on the edge of my seat.
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