 While the story of Bungie's 2001 blockbuster Halo started on the Pillar of Autumn and the ring world of Halo, the background of Master Chief and the human-Covenant conflict wasn't so clear. Who was this super-human soldier? Why was he so important in the battle against the Covenant? For that matter, why were the humans fighting against the Covenant, and why was there a super-human soldier capable of so much destruction in the first place?
To give fans of Halo something extra to munch on, there was an official prequel to Halo - a novel called "The Fall of Reach", written by Eric Nylund. Courtesy of Tantor and narrator Todd McLaren, you can now experience the prequel to Halo and answer those questions in an all-new way: an unabridged audiobook.
Hit the jump for more.
"The Fall of Reach" explains a lot of things. Perhaps I was the only Halo fan who never asked any questions (I usually just accept everything in a video game as it is without much hassle), because I never stopped to think about the meaning behind things like the Spartan project and the Covenant's intentions. I never figured that there was much beneath the surface of the MJOLNIR armor - after all, Halo was a game about walking from point A to point B, mowing down anything and everything in your path. The audiobook, and the novel, explain so much more.
Master Chief and the rest of the Spartans (that's right, there were more "Master Chiefs" at a point) were raised from an early age into ruthless, machine-like killers. This controversial, classified military project was considered by many to be the last hope for humankind in the fight against the Covenant. With the army of Spartans, who would essentially become perfect soldiers on the battlefield in almost every way, the UNSC hoped that they could fight back.
Early on, you learn that Master Chief - whose name is John, for those of you who didn't already know - is a person, just a person with a duty and a relentless dedication to that duty. With years of intensive military training and countless top-secret operations, he and the Spartans know that they are the most powerful piece in a severely outnumbered chess battle. John, Spartan 117, displays talents that put him above his peers, even at an early age. In training missions, he displays more courage and leadership abilities than any soldier on the field, which makes him rise quickly through the ranks. Before long, he becomes the leader of the Spartans.
The Spartans engage the Covenant for the first time in "Fall of Reach", and their reactions to the different alien species and technologies are interesting. Elites, seen only from afar until later in the story, appear to the good guys as humanoid aliens whose guns are more like an extention of their arm - a scary sight. Covenant weapons obliterate the humans for a long time in the story, until the humans devise a way to fight back properly. One of my favorite weapons, the needler, is especially nasty. Even Grunts were formidable foes in this story. Then again, their numbers were usually large and in the context of a planetary invasion, rather than a small-time defense force.
After listening to the "Flood" audiobook (which covered William C. Dietz's much dryer novel), I was used to a lot of ground combat scenes. I felt like "Fall of Reach" had a lot more space combat sequences where ship commands and navigation directions were being thrown everywhere. Still, there are a few moments throughout the story that I really enjoyed. Early on, the young John gets into a fight with a small group of soldiers and completely dominates them. Nylund captures each action-packed battle well, and even pulls off some intense stealth scenes. Although the space sequences got a little dry, the rest of the battles spiced up and rounded out the action.
My first experience with the Tantor audiobooks was with "Flood", and "Fall of Reach" is not any different. Narrator Todd McLaren does a decent job, and since it seems like there are a lot more characters in "Fall of Reach", I have to give him some credit for keeping some interest. Of course, my desire for sound effects and even music is a little much - there are no such things in this audiobook, but for what it is worth, the story is definitely good enough that it isn't a big deal.
I really, really enjoyed "Fall of Reach". The story itself was great, and the audiobook was very solid, just like the one for "The Flood" was. I recommend "Fall of Reach" to every Halo fan because it gives some very interesting insights and pieces of background information on almost everything, from Covenant technology and Cortana to the Spartan project and Captain Keyes. Pick up the audiobook if you prefer that method of enjoying a good story, but whatever you do, check out "Fall of Reach".
Final Score: A-
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