Are you all as hyped up for Glasslands as I am? Here’s a recap of what we know. Beneath, feel free to write any Glasslands-related discussions/comments.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
The book will follow three separate story-lines that will eventually merge into one and the book will supposedly end with a twist of sorts. The story lines are as follows:
Sangheli Diplomacy-
ONI has sent a civilian anthropologyst called Evan Philips (that is one of the only humans fluid with the Sangheli language) on a manipulative mission to keep the Sangehili civilization fractured and separated to minimize the threat. ONI will “side” with a religious faction within the Sangheili that is rebelling the rule of Thel’ Vadamee. Behind this operation is Admiral Margaret Parangoski, the head of ONI, which is a cold -female dog- (no offense) and has a soft spot for Saren Osman (her future replacement as head of ONI).
ODST: Black Ops (lol)-
ONI has sent a pair of ODSTs on a mission deep within Covenant space, and as part of their mission they will capture an engineer. The ODSTs are called Mal and Vaz, and they have a strong moral compass which makes them dispise some of the things ONI has done before. The ODSTs will be accompanied by Saren Osman (an augmention-failed Spartan II that has been rehabilitated, and represents the anti-Spartan program viewpoint of the book) and AI Black Box (BB), which is absolutely unique.
Shield World-
Dr Halsey, Mendez and the Spartans must find a way out of the Shield World. There is a conflict between Mendez and Halsey that will eventually spark the question: which Spartans were treated better? or, more importantly: which Spartans were treated worse? This will probably raise guilt within both Halsey and Mendez, as they realize their actions were horrible, and as post-war guilt (and morality) is one of the themes of the book.
I had no idea about this info, thanks. I wasn’t really as hyped before, but now that I know a little bit about the story I’m totally looking forward to it.
Ghosts of Onyx was my favourite Halo book with my favourite character (don’t act like you don’t know who it is :P) so I can’t wait to see how the sequel turns out and to see if Karen Traviss’ writing lives up to the standards set by Eric Nylund.
> Halsey is still wearing a skirt…Also, I hope my shield world theory is correct
What is your SW theory (keep in mind that it has been confirmed Halo 4 isn’t set there)?
PS: I hope that the SW will actually affect something, for instance that forerunner technologies would be retrieved or that a secret will be retrieved or even that something will follow the group out. I will be disappointed if they will just escape as if they were never there. I think the SW should impact Halo’d story directly.
Off topic:
Do you think the UNSC Infinity could be presented in Glasslands, or at the very least mentioned? That could be cool. It would be even cooler if technologies from the SW will be used to build the Infinity.
The Covenant has collapsed after a long, brutal war that saw billions slaughtered on Earth and her colonies. For the first time in decades, however, peace finally seems possible. But though the fighting’s stopped, the war is far from over: it’s just gone underground. The UNSC’s feared and secretive Office of Naval Intelligence recruits Kilo-Five, a team of ODSTs, a Spartan, and a diabolical AI to accelerate the Sangheili insurrection. Meanwhile, the Arbiter, the defector turned leader of a broken Covenant, struggles to stave off civil war among his divided people.
Across the galazy, a woman thought to have died on Reach is actually very much alive. Chief scientist Dr. Catherine Halsey broke every law in the book to create the Spartans, and now she’s broken some more to save them. Marooned with Chief Mendez and a Spartan team in a Forerunner slipspace bubble hidden in the destroyed planet Onyx, she finds that the shield world has been guarding an ancient secret – a treasure trove of Forerunner technology that will change everything for the UNSC and mankind.
As Kilo-Five joins the hunt for Halsey, humanity’s violent past begins to catch up with all of them as disgruntled colony Venezia has been biding its time to strike at Earth, and its most dangerous terrorist has an old, painful link with both Halsey and Kilo-Five that will test everyone’s loyalty to the limit.
Colony world of Venizia? Innsurrectionists are going to attack Earth? why isn’t this one Halopedian.com? Someone get over there add the info to Glasslands page, because somehow this was missed.
You took this from Amazon.com? is there a link? is this just preview for the back of the book or new info/summary?
> Colony world of Venizia? Innsurrectionists are going to attack Earth? why isn’t this one Halopedian.com? Someone get over there add the info to Glasslands page, because somehow this was missed.
>
> You took this from Amazon.com? is there a link? is this just preview for the back of the book or new info/summary?
>
> And who exactly is Kilo-Five? A new Spartan???
Hopefully this thread will also become a thread to discuss the book after its release. I already expect plenty speculation to come. Just from the excerpt the UNSC Infinity was already mentioned and Saren Osman was hinted to become its captain in the future. She will probably appear in Halo 4.
Also, keep in mind that the OP was created before the excerpt was released, so things might be a little off as I wrote it all from things I heard and read.
I’m skeptical of how it will turn out, given the author’s previous…okay I think I’ve beaten that horse enough. Ehh, ONI looks like they’re worse snakes than I figured them for.
I’ll keep an eye on it, I’m keeping my expectations to an absolute minimum. So if it turns out great, then huzzah. Likewise if it flops, then I’ll feel no different.
Though in all honesty, I don’t think it will top Nylund for me.
> > This will be the first Halo book I will be buying. I know I have missed out big time by not reading the other books.
>
> You and me both…the mystery of halo 4 is definitely getting more into the fiction
You guys might want to read Ghosts of Onyx first. Considering this will be continuing on from the storyline on that, it’ll help you understand things a bit better.
> > > This will be the first Halo book I will be buying. I know I have missed out big time by not reading the other books.
> >
> > You and me both…the mystery of halo 4 is definitely getting more into the fiction
>
> You guys might want to read Ghosts of Onyx first. Considering this will be continuing on from the storyline on that, it’ll help you understand things a bit better.
Worse comes to worse just read a detailed plot summary so you know what’s happened. You should focus on tFoR and GoO.
On topic. Can’t wait. I had to order my copy from amazon, and I’m Australian so I won’t get it until the end of the week maybe? (I’m paying for express international shipping, so all up it’s costing me $50 AUD).
