Hello everyone. I have been a Halo fan for a long while now. I’ve been playing for 6 years and Halo Reach was my first Xbox game. I love the lore and I love Halo, but I’ve never been able to read any of the books. I’ve heard that the books are great but I’m not exactly sure which ones to get. I know I should definatley get “The Fall of Reach”, and “The Flood”. but what other books are “must haves” or what other books should I get? I would really appreaciate the help. Thanks.
The Forerunner Saga is at the top of the list of “must haves” for me. Cryptum, Primordium, and Silentium contain the majority of the canonical lore about the Forerunners in the franchise.
The two main schools of thought for book order are chronological order of the stories, or in chronological release order. Ultimately it comes down to your preferences.
If you are going to get Fall and the Flood, you should finish up the “Opening Trilogy” with First Strike, which nicely wraps up the events the first two started.
The Flood is debatable however, since its just a novelization of the events of Halo: CE, and one people argue with canonically wise since they got a totally different person to do the writing than Eric Nylund, and it shows.
Short answer:
Get all of them. I prefer audiobooks.
Long answer:
You already have your first two. I would suggest The Cole Protocol instead of The Flood, but it’s personal preference. Ghosts of Onyx should also be in your library and I can personally guarantee that you’ll enjoy it.
Also be sure to pick up Halo: Evolutions as one of your first books; it has some really powerful stories and has some of my favorite voice acting (again, I’m an audiobook fan). Don’t be too concerned about the order in which you buy the early books as they are all excellent and don’t rely too heavily on prior knowledge of the Halo canon.
I can understand being afraid of the new books coming out. Fortunately they are all very good and each more or less stands on its own. The Kilo 5 trilogy and the Forerunner Saga are excellent IMO but are a bit of a commitment as each consists of three books.
New blood is good but don’t get it too early if you’re especially attached to the characters from ODST. It’s an excellent book but for me it was very much like meeting my heroes. You can’t un-know what that book tells you about them.
If you are a big fan of the Covenant like myself, make sure you pick up Broken Circle. I would get this book after you’ve been through a few and are already nicely addicted to the Halo extended universe.
In closing, I really haven’t come across a Halo book that I didn’t like, so I suggest you get them all. Don’t be too concerned about the order in which you go through them. Every story is powerful and elicits deep emotions. Prepare to spend a few sleepless nights thinking about what you’re reading!
Again, if you work a lot like myself go ahead and try out a book on Audible and listen while going about your adulting.
Thank you guys for the information. I really appreaciate you all helping me out with this, again thanks!
I’d recommend Fall of Reach / Contact Harvest to start, The Cole Protocol next, finish the Fall of Reach and follow up with the Flood (don’t listen to the haters), then First Strike and Ghosts of Onyx. Also, be sure to get the ORIGINAL prints, not the “updated” versions.
I just don’t read the books. Tried to read ghosts of onyx and quit halfway through because it was boring. And I’m also not sure on what’s canon and what’s not. Because of this, I don’t know which books to read.
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> I just don’t read the books. Tried to read ghosts of onyx and quit halfway through because it was boring. And I’m also not sure on what’s canon and what’s not. Because of this, I don’t know which books to read.
What in the name of the Forerunners were you doing STARTING FOUR BOOKS IN?
“Hunters in the dark” is my favorite. It has strong connections with Halo 3 and Halo Wars 2. You will definitely like it. And I also have a question to halo fans: what do you most want to see in a new halo book? Maybe more information about Flood-Forerruner war, or something about the ancient Covenant? Maybe you want to learn more about your favorite character. I am looking forward to your answers!
Cole Protocol is the best standalone halo book, other than The Fall of Reach but that became a trilogy of books so the Cole Protocol is a nice self-contained story on its own. However, i would recommend you read the Nylund trilogy (Fall of Reach, First Strike and Ghosts of Onyx) first as they give you the base of the extended universe.
Also its worth mentioning that ive read all the three trilogy’s and most of the standalone books and havent came across one i didnt like yet.
I would recommend all of Nylund’s books, and also The Flood since its right in the middle. A lot of the new books like Last Light and Hunters in the Dark are better because they build on known characters. The Cole Protocol is a good read as well. Honestly, they are all just great. I don’t know if its just me, but just thinking about them makes me wanna read them again.
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> > 2535433976263930;7:
> > I just don’t read the books. Tried to read ghosts of onyx and quit halfway through because it was boring. And I’m also not sure on what’s canon and what’s not. Because of this, I don’t know which books to read.
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> What in the name of the Forerunners were you doing STARTING FOUR BOOKS IN?
I found it at half price books and it sounded interesting. I didn’t know it was in a series
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> > 2533274907200114;8:
> > > 2535433976263930;7:
> > > I just don’t read the books. Tried to read ghosts of onyx and quit halfway through because it was boring. And I’m also not sure on what’s canon and what’s not. Because of this, I don’t know which books to read.
> >
> > What in the name of the Forerunners were you doing STARTING FOUR BOOKS IN?
>
> I found it at half price books and it sounded interesting. I didn’t know it was in a series
Ohhhh, the old “Well this looks interesting” deal. Been there done that myself. Fair enough.
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> I’d recommend Fall of Reach / Contact Harvest to start, The Cole Protocol next, finish the Fall of Reach and follow up with the Flood (don’t listen to the haters), then First Strike and Ghosts of Onyx. Also, be sure to get the ORIGINAL prints, not the “updated” versions.
Just curios why the ORIGINAL versions? Am I missing out on something, I’ve mostly stuck to the updated.