I just finished reading the Fall of Reach, and I can’t help but notice some slight differences.
Joking of course it’s incredibly different, is there a reason for this? I loved the book I thought it was a fantastic in depth look into the creation and lives of the Spartan II’s. Coupled with a nice background into Captain Keyes and Catherine.
I do enjoy the games storyline as well, the tragic tale of Noble Team and their sacrifice for Reach. Both the game and the book give you the constant feel of helplessness and desperation against impossible odds.
Is there anything from the book that is canon, if so what is it? And does anyone know why the Fall of Reach is so different?
Because The Fall of Reach came out in October of 2001 (before Halo: Combat Evolved had even released) , whereas Reach came out in 2010 when Bungie was a much larger, more professional company that knew what they were doing. The story of Halo Reach was always going to be different, because in the book there’s hardly any of the actual battle for Reach (if you want that, read First Strike by the same author as FoR). There’s a massive amount of time between the book and the game and things were always going to change as the Halo story grew and changed as the story group did with Halo’s success and the franchise becoming what it was back then.
They did do a reprint of The Fall of Reach that fixed some of the continuity errors (I never bought the reprint so I have no idea what did, but I know that it did have some corrections), but as far as canon goes, all the books are considered canon.
TLDR: The book is different because it was nearly ten years old by the time Halo Reach came out.
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> Because The Fall of Reach came out in October of 2001 (before Halo: Combat Evolved had even released) , whereas Reach came out in 2010 when Bungie was a much larger, more professional company that knew what they were doing. The story of Halo Reach was always going to be different, because in the book there’s hardly any of the actual battle for Reach (if you want that, read First Strike by the same author as FoR). There’s a massive amount of time between the book and the game and things were always going to change as the Halo story grew and changed as the story group did with Halo’s success and the franchise becoming what it was back then.
>
> They did do a reprint of The Fall of Reach that fixed some of the continuity errors (I never bought the reprint so I have no idea what did, but I know that it did have some corrections), but as far as canon goes, all the books are considered canon.
>
> TLDR: The book is different because it was nearly ten years old by the time Halo Reach came out.
That’s good to know thanks for the in-depth response! Looks like First Strike is next on the list.
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> > 2533274838418174;2:
> > Because The Fall of Reach came out in October of 2001 (before Halo: Combat Evolved had even released) , whereas Reach came out in 2010 when Bungie was a much larger, more professional company that knew what they were doing. The story of Halo Reach was always going to be different, because in the book there’s hardly any of the actual battle for Reach (if you want that, read First Strike by the same author as FoR). There’s a massive amount of time between the book and the game and things were always going to change as the Halo story grew and changed as the story group did with Halo’s success and the franchise becoming what it was back then.
> >
> > They did do a reprint of The Fall of Reach that fixed some of the continuity errors (I never bought the reprint so I have no idea what did, but I know that it did have some corrections), but as far as canon goes, all the books are considered canon.
> >
> > TLDR: The book is different because it was nearly ten years old by the time Halo Reach came out.
>
> That’s good to know thanks for the in-depth response! Looks like First Strike is next on the list.
Followed by Ghosts of Onyx, if I might add my two cents. FoR, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx all kinda flow together. You could also read The Flood, which I recommend, but in truth it’s just a novelization of CE plus some bonus content. So if you skip it, you won’t miss much aside from some lore tidbits.
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> > 2535445608274502;3:
> > > 2533274838418174;2:
> > > Because The Fall of Reach came out in October of 2001 (before Halo: Combat Evolved had even released) , whereas Reach came out in 2010 when Bungie was a much larger, more professional company that knew what they were doing. The story of Halo Reach was always going to be different, because in the book there’s hardly any of the actual battle for Reach (if you want that, read First Strike by the same author as FoR). There’s a massive amount of time between the book and the game and things were always going to change as the Halo story grew and changed as the story group did with Halo’s success and the franchise becoming what it was back then.
> > >
> > > They did do a reprint of The Fall of Reach that fixed some of the continuity errors (I never bought the reprint so I have no idea what did, but I know that it did have some corrections), but as far as canon goes, all the books are considered canon.
> > >
> > > TLDR: The book is different because it was nearly ten years old by the time Halo Reach came out.
> >
> > That’s good to know thanks for the in-depth response! Looks like First Strike is next on the list.
>
> Followed by Ghosts of Onyx, if I might add my two cents. FoR, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx all kinda flow together. You could also read The Flood, which I recommend, but in truth it’s just a novelization of CE plus some bonus content. So if you skip it, you won’t miss much aside from some lore tidbits.
The sheer disrespect to Sgt Mobuto and Master Chief’s greatest shower scene. SMH
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> > 2535435902217648;4:
> > > 2535445608274502;3:
> > > > 2533274838418174;2:
> > > > Because The Fall of Reach came out in October of 2001 (before Halo: Combat Evolved had even released) , whereas Reach came out in 2010 when Bungie was a much larger, more professional company that knew what they were doing. The story of Halo Reach was always going to be different, because in the book there’s hardly any of the actual battle for Reach (if you want that, read First Strike by the same author as FoR). There’s a massive amount of time between the book and the game and things were always going to change as the Halo story grew and changed as the story group did with Halo’s success and the franchise becoming what it was back then.
> > > >
> > > > They did do a reprint of The Fall of Reach that fixed some of the continuity errors (I never bought the reprint so I have no idea what did, but I know that it did have some corrections), but as far as canon goes, all the books are considered canon.
> > > >
> > > > TLDR: The book is different because it was nearly ten years old by the time Halo Reach came out.
> > >
> > > That’s good to know thanks for the in-depth response! Looks like First Strike is next on the list.
> >
> > Followed by Ghosts of Onyx, if I might add my two cents. FoR, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx all kinda flow together. You could also read The Flood, which I recommend, but in truth it’s just a novelization of CE plus some bonus content. So if you skip it, you won’t miss much aside from some lore tidbits.
>
> The sheer disrespect to Sgt Mobuto and Master Chief’s greatest shower scene. SMH
How could I have been so foolish to forget that! Forgive me.
Both are canon (specifically the 2011 reprint of FoR). The in-universe reason for why the Covenant seemingly only attacks Reach on August 30 is because ONI had kept the invasion discovered by NOBLE Team a secret. Their plan was to use Reach as bait to lure a suitable Covenant ship (CAS or CSO class) into a position where the SPARTAN-IIs could hijack it as part of RED FLAG. Obviously, this was extremely desperate and morally questionable, so ONI had to keep it secret as much as possible to avoid a catastrophic loss of morale in the UNSC. Unfortunately, this meant that NOBLE had no idea that blowing up the Long Night of Solace was the exact opposite of what ONI wanted. As a result, the invasion was kept secret in the hopes of luring another CAS or CSO class ship until the planet fell on August 30th.
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> > > 2535435902217648;4:
> > > > 2535445608274502;3:
> > > > > 2533274838418174;2:
> > > > > Because The Fall of Reach came out in October of 2001 (before Halo: Combat Evolved had even released) , whereas Reach came out in 2010 when Bungie was a much larger, more professional company that knew what they were doing. The story of Halo Reach was always going to be different, because in the book there’s hardly any of the actual battle for Reach (if you want that, read First Strike by the same author as FoR). There’s a massive amount of time between the book and the game and things were always going to change as the Halo story grew and changed as the story group did with Halo’s success and the franchise becoming what it was back then.
> > > > >
> > > > > They did do a reprint of The Fall of Reach that fixed some of the continuity errors (I never bought the reprint so I have no idea what did, but I know that it did have some corrections), but as far as canon goes, all the books are considered canon.
> > > > >
> > > > > TLDR: The book is different because it was nearly ten years old by the time Halo Reach came out.
> > > >
> > > > That’s good to know thanks for the in-depth response! Looks like First Strike is next on the list.
> > >
> > > Followed by Ghosts of Onyx, if I might add my two cents. FoR, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx all kinda flow together. You could also read The Flood, which I recommend, but in truth it’s just a novelization of CE plus some bonus content. So if you skip it, you won’t miss much aside from some lore tidbits.
> >
> > The sheer disrespect to Sgt Mobuto and Master Chief’s greatest shower scene. SMH
>
> How could I have been so foolish to forget that! Forgive me.
Your penance shall be to spend 10 minutes a day visualising the shower scene, with the camera panning up from his feet in slow motion as Careless Whisper plays softly in the background.
> 2533274850870800;7:
> Both are canon (specifically the 2011 reprint of FoR). The in-universe reason for why the Covenant seemingly only attacks Reach on August 30 is because ONI had kept the invasion discovered by NOBLE Team a secret. Their plan was to use Reach as bait to lure a suitable Covenant ship (CAS or CSO class) into a position where the SPARTAN-IIs could hijack it as part of RED FLAG. Obviously, this was extremely desperate and morally questionable, so ONI had to keep it secret as much as possible to avoid a catastrophic loss of morale in the UNSC. Unfortunately, this meant that NOBLE had no idea that blowing up the Long Night of Solace was the exact opposite of what ONI wanted. As a result, the invasion was kept secret in the hopes of luring another CAS or CSO class ship until the planet fell on August 30th.
That’s some really cool lore I didn’t know that. All I can think about is poor George, gave his life for nothing.
> 2535445608274502;9:
> > 2533274850870800;7:
> > Both are canon (specifically the 2011 reprint of FoR). The in-universe reason for why the Covenant seemingly only attacks Reach on August 30 is because ONI had kept the invasion discovered by NOBLE Team a secret. Their plan was to use Reach as bait to lure a suitable Covenant ship (CAS or CSO class) into a position where the SPARTAN-IIs could hijack it as part of RED FLAG. Obviously, this was extremely desperate and morally questionable, so ONI had to keep it secret as much as possible to avoid a catastrophic loss of morale in the UNSC. Unfortunately, this meant that NOBLE had no idea that blowing up the Long Night of Solace was the exact opposite of what ONI wanted. As a result, the invasion was kept secret in the hopes of luring another CAS or CSO class ship until the planet fell on August 30th.
>
> That’s some really cool lore I didn’t know that. All I can think about is poor George, gave his life for nothing.
>
> “Lives spent, or lives wasted”
I’d still say it was a life spent rather than wasted. He took out an entire CSO-class supercarrier. It didn’t stop Reach from falling, but it certainly took out many thousands of enemy forces and assets. Not to mention the fact that his sacrifice was no less noble just because the situation changed after his death. He still told Six to tell the others to “make it count”, so he knew the fight was far from over and he was just doing his part.
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> > > > 2535435902217648;4:
> > > > > 2535445608274502;3:
> > > > > > 2533274838418174;2:
> > > > > > Because The Fall of Reach came out in October of 2001 (before Halo: Combat Evolved had even released) , whereas Reach came out in 2010 when Bungie was a much larger, more professional company that knew what they were doing. The story of Halo Reach was always going to be different, because in the book there’s hardly any of the actual battle for Reach (if you want that, read First Strike by the same author as FoR). There’s a massive amount of time between the book and the game and things were always going to change as the Halo story grew and changed as the story group did with Halo’s success and the franchise becoming what it was back then.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > They did do a reprint of The Fall of Reach that fixed some of the continuity errors (I never bought the reprint so I have no idea what did, but I know that it did have some corrections), but as far as canon goes, all the books are considered canon.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > TLDR: The book is different because it was nearly ten years old by the time Halo Reach came out.
> > > > >
> > > > > That’s good to know thanks for the in-depth response! Looks like First Strike is next on the list.
> > > >
> > > > Followed by Ghosts of Onyx, if I might add my two cents. FoR, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx all kinda flow together. You could also read The Flood, which I recommend, but in truth it’s just a novelization of CE plus some bonus content. So if you skip it, you won’t miss much aside from some lore tidbits.
> > >
> > > The sheer disrespect to Sgt Mobuto and Master Chief’s greatest shower scene. SMH
> >
> > How could I have been so foolish to forget that! Forgive me.
>
> Your penance shall be to spend 10 minutes a day visualising the shower scene, with the camera panning up from his feet in slow motion as Careless Whisper plays softly in the background.
That’s my penance? Sounds like my typical Friday night…
> 2535445608274502;9:
> > 2533274850870800;7:
> > Both are canon (specifically the 2011 reprint of FoR). The in-universe reason for why the Covenant seemingly only attacks Reach on August 30 is because ONI had kept the invasion discovered by NOBLE Team a secret. Their plan was to use Reach as bait to lure a suitable Covenant ship (CAS or CSO class) into a position where the SPARTAN-IIs could hijack it as part of RED FLAG. Obviously, this was extremely desperate and morally questionable, so ONI had to keep it secret as much as possible to avoid a catastrophic loss of morale in the UNSC. Unfortunately, this meant that NOBLE had no idea that blowing up the Long Night of Solace was the exact opposite of what ONI wanted. As a result, the invasion was kept secret in the hopes of luring another CAS or CSO class ship until the planet fell on August 30th.
>
> That’s some really cool lore I didn’t know that. All I can think about is poor George, gave his life for nothing.
>
> “Lives spent, or lives wasted”
Actually, he probably saved the entire human race by destroying the Long Night of Solace.
RED FLAG was almost certainly doomed to fail. Assuming that the S-IIs could capture 319km2 of Covenant forces, remain undetected as they entered High Charity, survive long enough to capture one, two, or all three Hierarchs, then escape past the entire Covenant fleet, all they’d do is give any remaining Hierarchs or lower-ranking Prophets an opportunity to seize more power. And the Covenant as a whole would probably only intensify the war against humanity out of anger.
Even Vice Admiral Stanforth only ever intended RED FLAG to be a last resort, when every other option had failed. It was that high-risk.
“Your concerns about Reach bother me, especially if you’re actually considering RED FLAG. That was never intended to be used for anything other than a last resort, and definitely not with Reach. The military sacrifice involved here would be… well, there’s nothing of that magnitude recorded in human history. This would be a first.” (Data Drop - Halopedia, the Halo wiki)
So by accidentally sabotaging ONI, Jorge made the Battle of Installation 04, Great Schism, and UNSC victory take place. The only thing he didn’t save was what he loved the most - Reach.
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> Has anyone here read the re-release of Fall of Reach? Really curious to how just what they changed and how well it marries up Reach and FoR?
Halopedia is your FRIEND. Also the inconsistencies between the book and game are mostly explained in the Data Drops, not the definitive edition.
> 2533274808601772;12:
> Has anyone here read the re-release of Fall of Reach? Really curious to how just what they changed and how well it marries up Reach and FoR?
It doesn’t connect the game and book. The changes were nothing major, just changes to dates, names of some things, correcting lore inconsistencies, and a bunch of things that you probably wouldn’t know were different if you were to read it now. But also there were three re-releases: a 2010 re-release with a ton of updates/corrections, the 2011 Definitive edition with only a couple of changes, and it re-released again in 2019 but the text wasn’t altered, as far as I know, from the definitive edition.
> 2533274850870800;7:
> Both are canon (specifically the 2011 reprint of FoR). The in-universe reason for why the Covenant seemingly only attacks Reach on August 30 is because ONI had kept the invasion discovered by NOBLE Team a secret. Their plan was to use Reach as bait to lure a suitable Covenant ship (CAS or CSO class) into a position where the SPARTAN-IIs could hijack it as part of RED FLAG. Obviously, this was extremely desperate and morally questionable, so ONI had to keep it secret as much as possible to avoid a catastrophic loss of morale in the UNSC. Unfortunately, this meant that NOBLE had no idea that blowing up the Long Night of Solace was the exact opposite of what ONI wanted. As a result, the invasion was kept secret in the hopes of luring another CAS or CSO class ship until the planet fell on August 30th.
I appreciate that this view offers a chance to at least explain why they’d not immediately spring into action, but if the LNOS was the opportunity they were looking for there’s no way to reconcile ONI letting Noble Team run a (totally sanctioned up the chain of command) mission to destroy it.
I kind of wish 343 had just not tried to reconcile the dates with RED FLAG, because it makes their actions more ridiculous than “desperate”. Not committing your best assets for weeks into an invasion defies logic.
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> > 2533274808601772;12:
> > Has anyone here read the re-release of Fall of Reach? Really curious to how just what they changed and how well it marries up Reach and FoR?
>
> It doesn’t connect the game and book. The changes were nothing major, just changes to dates, names of some things, correcting lore inconsistencies, and a bunch of things that you probably wouldn’t know were different if you were to read it now. But also there were three re-releases: a 2010 re-release with a ton of updates/corrections, the 2011 Definitive edition with only a couple of changes, and it re-released again in 2019 but the text wasn’t altered, as far as I know, from the definitive edition.
It does connect them marginally in regards to the adjunct materials.
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> > 2533274793083462;14:
> > > 2533274808601772;12:
> > > Has anyone here read the re-release of Fall of Reach? Really curious to how just what they changed and how well it marries up Reach and FoR?
> >
> > It doesn’t connect the game and book. The changes were nothing major, just changes to dates, names of some things, correcting lore inconsistencies, and a bunch of things that you probably wouldn’t know were different if you were to read it now. But also there were three re-releases: a 2010 re-release with a ton of updates/corrections, the 2011 Definitive edition with only a couple of changes, and it re-released again in 2019 but the text wasn’t altered, as far as I know, from the definitive edition.
>
> It does connect them marginally in regards to the adjunct materials.
In the future, please don’t post multiple time in a row. If you need to add more information or quote other users, you can edit your last post. Thank you!
When Nylund wrote FoR I presume there weren’t any other plans for EU content; hence why so many Spartants survive the war only to die at the end, and why the elites are only first tracked by humanity in the last year of the war. They don’t make much sense in-universe but viewing the book as mostly standalone it makes more sense.
You guys DO realize that Halo Reach and Halo: The Fall of Reach have no connections right? They’re completely different stories. Reach doesn’t have a book equivalent.