HALO: Fractures - Extraordinary Tales from the Halo Canon

With 13 stories, Halo: Fractures has a variety of adventures written by different authors to suit every reader’s interest. For Star Wars fans like me, there are quite a few recognizable names, which is what led me to the book. Fans of the game will also find a lot to enjoy as the various tales explore everything from the Forerunners to the Spartans and the Sangheili. There’s combat, space battles, spy missions, encounters with the Flood, and pieces of backstory revealing more about the core characters of the franchise. There’s a little bit of everything.All that said, the book was a slow starter for me. It opens with “Lessons Learned” by Matt Forbeck, which wasn’t all that great and suffered a lot from not being a self-contained story. It stars two Spartans named Tom and Lucy who have a hard to believe adventure in the void of space without suits to save a fellow Spartan. They learn about another Spartan’s betrayal, get shipped out to Onyx, and everyone exhibits extreme, testrone blitzed behavior that makes the characters seem more like animals than humans. Following that is “What Remains” by Morgan Lockhart, which was a little better. It takes place on a glassed world called Meridian and follows a group of survivors who get a strange message. But the story ends there without feeling complete. Both stories feel like partial building blocks for something larger, or perhaps teases for readers who have read the author’s previous works. I’ve only read a couple Halo books, so both of the stories felt incomplete to me and unsatisfying.However, the third story in the anthology turns things around. “Breaking Strain” by James Swallow features good characters and good writing. A group of Stranded marines and one Spartan wind up on a remote world in a fishing colony and have to deal with crises of fear and anger. Going up against the locals becomes a worsening conflict that made even more complicated with the impending arrival of a Covenant ship. It’s a nice setup and plays out well.Next up is “Promises to Keep” by Christie Golden. Christie changes things up by diving way into the past to tell a story about the Forerunners. It explores their thoughts, motivations and the challenges they came up against. Yet most notably, one of the Forerunners featured in the story is the one who actually activated the Halo. But the story isn’t about the destruction. Rather, it focuses on them bringing back life and finding lives for themselves. It’s an intriguing tale about discovery, origins and mystery.Then there is “Shadow of Intent” by Joseph Staten. I really liked this one as it gives a lot of attention to both the good guys and the bad guys. It shows the two sides of the Covenant, the different alien species, and fleshes out the complexities of the participants on both sides. There’s a lot of investment in the characters that by the end of the story, you don’t know who to root for. With a moving ending and a compelling story, it was one of the highlights of the book.Afterwards is an oddball. “The Ballad of Hamish Beamish” by Frank O’Connor is actually a ballad. The whole story is done as a song. Yet as odd as it is, it’s kind of amusing.“Defender of the Storm” by John Jackson Miller brings things back on track as John tells a story about a below average Forerunner in a forgotten corner of the galaxy who deals with the boredom and struggles of his life. Of course wishing for interesting times can backfire, and when things get interesting, the main character has to rise to the occasion or accept death. Tackling things like duty, boredom, life, dejection and hope, it’s a good story.“A Necessary Truth” by Troy Denning follows up on several of the characters from his Halo novel Last Light. Last Light is one of the few Halo novels I’ve read, so it was fun to see these characters pop up again. This story is set after the events of the book and follows Veta Lopis and the Spartans Ash, Mark and Olivia as they’re now working for the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). The story dives deep into the world of espionage and shows the usefulness of Spartans in other roles. It’s definitely not your typical Halo story, but it’s fun.“Into the Fire” by Kelly Gay also takes a step away from the usual as it follows a team of salvagers who make money off wreckage from the war. With great writing and characterization, it gets you hooked and wanting more when the story suddenly comes to a stop. This one has the feel of being a primer for a bigger story. Thankfully, we will be getting the rest, I think, as Kelly has an eBook scheduled for release in November called Halo: Smoke and Shadow which has connections to “Into the Fire.”Stepping back into the oddness, Frank O’Connor has another story called “Saint’s Testimony.” It’s about an AI who is on trial. Since the AI’s only get seven years to live, this one tries to plead for an extension. Yet it gets weird, and doesn’t make the most sense. This one is probably geared toward readers who are better versed in the lore of Halo or previous stories as I wasn’t overly familiar with the AI’s they mentioned.“Rossbach’s World” by Brian Reed is an odd story about Serin Osman, an AI named BB, and includes a lot of references to Cortana. Sadly this story is more narrative than actually storytelling and it’s mostly a fill in the blanks kind of story that doesn’t feel very complete.“Oasis” by Tobias Buckell injects a boost of energy into the anthology as it follows a young settler who is forced to reach beyond their means and their prejudices. It highlights human and alien alike, and focuses on the divide between them. It’s a good story. Like “Into the Fire,” this one will be getting a follow up, but Buckell will be writing a full novel called Halo: Envoy which will be out in April 2017.“Anarosa” by Kevin Grace is the last story listed in the anthology and is kind of a weird one. It’s about a human and an AI who try to recruit people to be templates for future AI’s. It’s an okay story, but not as good as some of the others in the anthology.The book then goes to Acknowledgements and is seemingly over. There’s a little section on the authors, and then, very casually without any title, setup or description, the book has another story. Or at least a follow up to a story. It’s not credited, but it’s a continuation of Christie Golden’s story and shows what happens to her Forerunner characters following their escape. I have to admit, this little story saved the book as it ended things on a very positive, enjoyable note. When you’re ready the book, make sure you don’t skip it, as it would be easy to miss.Overall, for casual Halo fans or readers new to the franchise, Halo: Fractures provides a nice overview of the universe and the stories and characters that can be explored. While not all of the stories are great, there are a lot of good ones and it makes the book worthwhile. I give it a four and a half out of five metal bikinis and highly recommend checking it out if you’re a fan of Halo or the authors.

Each of these tales invokes many deep emotions and follows various stages of which I am quite familiar. Many events feel real, with no miracles. These authors created something truly fantastic in each story. I felt emotionally invested in each struggle.

Originally I purchased the larger sized paperback novel but I went back and purchased the Kindle version as I could not read the paperback version because the print size was too small. The book is OK, it is a collection of proposed short stories. Some of them are good and some of them are weak or even not good.I noticed that several are just chapters out of other Halo books that I already own. That means that they end abruptly with no real close because they are part of a larger book and you are just reading a short chapter of the original story. I found that disappointing as it made this book seem to be a promotion book trying to sell you other complete books. Had I known that I probably would not have spent as much money buying two versions of this book.I have listed the stories below with my personal rating for each story. Many of the stories just ended poorly and they totally leave you hanging. Some of the stories are really well written and I wish they could have been longer.Overall I like the book because I am a Halo fan and I have read almost all of the books that are available. I rate the overall book 4 stars and if you are a Halo fan you should get it for your collection. Just be aware that you are getting some good items and some that are not so good.Lessons Learned 3 starsWhat Remains 2 starsBreaking Strain 5 starsPromises to Keep 2 starsShadow of Intent 5 starsThe Ballad of Hamish Beamish 1 starDefender of the Storm 4 starsA Necessary Truth 5 starsInto the Fire 5 starsSaint’s Testimony 3 starsRossbach’s World 4 starsOasis 5 starsAnarosa 4 starsUntitled short story 4 starsIf you are a Halo fan then this is worth getting just to read the stories that are good in the book.

There are thirteen short-stories present in this novel that span across the timeline of the entire Halo universe. Most of the stories are around 30-40 pages, with a couple being around 15-20 and one spanning almost 100 pages in length.Each story takes place at a different time of the Halo universe, ranging from the end of recorded Forerunner history up to the events of "Halo 5: Guardians". A lot of the stories are continuations or act as sequels to past Halo stories.1. We get to see what Spartan-III survivors Tom and Lucy are up to after their rescue from Onyx after the events of "Halo: Glasslands".2. There's a story that takes place on Meridian following the Guardian awakening and escaping after the events in Halo 5.3. There's a story about Bornstellar after the firing of the Halo array.4. There's a story about Veta Lopis and the Spartan-III's Mark, Ash, and Olivia after the events of "Halo: Last Light".5. There's a story taking place on Venezia following the events of the Kilo-Five trilogy.6. One of the more surprising stories included is "Shadow of Intent", which is the entire short-story starring Rtas 'Vadum, the Half-Jaw Elite, who fought alongside the Master Chief and Arbiter during the final days of the Covenant War (Halo 3). This story was only ever released digitally up until now, and so is a very nice inclusion in this novel.Among other great stories that span across the events of Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, and Halo 5: Guardians.Fans of Halo lore should give this book a try. Because it is all short-stories, it is very easy to pickup and read, and expands upon a lot of the things we have learned about from prior novels and Halo events.

Habiendo leído The fall of Reach y The Flood (ambos en español) hace muchos años, llevaba tiempo queriendo leer más libros sobre el universo extendido de Halo.Aún no lo termino de leer, pero hasta donde voy me parece una excelente recopilación de historias. El hecho de que no estén limitadas a una época/era de la historia del universo me parece fantastico, porque amplían en todos los temas, los Forerruners, las diferentes razas y localizaciones del dominio de la UNSC y el Covenant (o lo que queda de él), simplemente genial.El único "pero" es que exige un nivel de comprensión lectora en inglés bastante alta/avanzada. Desconozco si ya exista la traducción oficial al español, pero en general los libros en inglés en Amazon son más baratos y por eso decidí comprarlo así, pero debo admitir que en ocasiones pierdo la fluidez porque el vocabulario usado en los libros no es tan básico que digamos y en ocasiones lo leo con un diccionario/traductor a la mano.

Very good novel, enjoyed reading it

12 historias y un poema/canción situadas en tiempos variados del universo de Halo. En Inglés, obviamente. Varios tratan de lo que vino después de la separación entre los Sangheili/Élites y el Covenant y su relación con los humanos; otras son acerca de las IAs, y un par acerca de los Forerunners. Si bien al principio de todos los relatos hay una explicación corta de más o menos cuándo ocurren, por lo general se necesita un conocimiento básico de la cronología de Halo, y en un par de casos haber leído o jugado un libro o juego anterior para saber mejor qué está pasando.Sentí que algunas historias se "quedaban cortas", como si fueran la parte 1 de 2, sin un descenlace "en forma".Bastante protagonismo por parte de mujeres (contando no humanas y sin contar menciones a Cortana)Recomendado para quienes se sientan confiados en su conocimiento del universo de Halo (o no les importen algunos Spoilers)

Most of it is boring only one or two good stories waste of money

Digna colección de historias cortas. En parte una lectura necesaria para expandir detalles en los libros anteriores a la publicación de este así como indispensable para muchos otros libros que vienen. ¿Mencioné que hay información que expande los juegos? Una joya.Como siempre, Amazon entregó en buen estado y en tiempo.