Ghosts of Onyx (Halo) Reviews

• One step closer to Finishing the Fight

  
  By A39KJOCZGCM8P1 on 2006-11-05
  As usual, Eric Nylund delivers.
  
  Lets face it. If you are a huge Halo universe fan, 'Ghosts of Onyx' is a must-read. The games don't give you the full picture of what's going on in the Halo-verse. Without reading the books (of which there are now four), you'll never know the full story behind the genesis of the SPARTAN project, Master Chief's origin, what started the conflict between us and the Convenant or the scope of the Forerunner's domain.
  
  And if you are like me, you were pretty annoyed with the ending of Halo 2 and MC's cryptic statement "I'm finishing this fight, sir."
  
  'Ghosts of Onyx' brings you up to speed with what's been happening to the other SPARTAN warriors whilst MC galavants around the galaxy throwing monkeywrenches in the Covenant's plan for universal suicide. He details the creation of yet another SPARTAN unit (the SPARTAN III) from orphans left behind by our war with the Covenant. He brings back some familiar characters from his previous Halo novels (Dr. Halsey, Col. Ackerman) and continues his penchant for giving these brave SPARTAN warriors overly simplistic names like Tom, Kelly and Kurt.
  
  If yer a Halo fan, you'll be pleased as punch. Maybe its a bad thing that to get the full picture of the Halo-verse, you simply have to read the Halo books. But hey, it'd be kinda hard to cram all of that narrative between every reload of your assault rifle. Me? I'm of the mind that anything that gets you to read is inherently good. Maybe this series will get a few kids to drop their XBox360 controllers and head to a bookstore.
  
  This book whetted my Halo appetite, if only for a little while. Finishing 'Ghosts of Onyx', you feel as if we are one step closer to finishing the fight.
  
  

• OWNED! Action packed carnage

  
  By A1VLNKVW8HS9XL on 2006-10-31
  EPIC. yes yes that's the word. This book is packed with action, packed so hard that you'll trip! Picked it up yesterday and could not stop reading it. For those of you who have read the first three books, you will not be disappointed. This book will answer some key unanswered questions. Love the way Eric Nylund describes the battle/fight scenes, the intensity of fire fights and the brotherhood of SPARTANS. Stories of courage, valor and heroism from the farthest reaches of space. Rock on!
  Other books you should read first or you'll be lost:
  Book 1: Fall of Reach
  Book 2: The Flood
  Book 3: First Strike
  Book 4: Ghosts of Onyx
  
  

• Couldn't put it down

  
  By A1NJ2GWURL2ONB on 2006-11-06
  Diehard fans of Halo will have to tear themselves away from Halo2 matchmaking and read this book. It gives some insight into what's going on in the halo universe during Halo 2 and prior to Halo 3.
  
  Details are already avalible on wikipedia if you just have to know the plot, but can't be bothered to read. I'll just say, if you're a fan of the game and of the other books: you'll have to pick this one up.
  
  I couldn't put it down once I had started. That may be due, in some small part, to my own anticipation of the new Halo game more than the book itself. Honestly, I liked Nylund's first in the series (Fall of Reach) better than this one.
  
  A minor spoiler: this book mentions the master chief, but devotes most of the story to what's been going on with the other SPARTANS and the SPARTAN project generally. I would have liked to see more of the master chief and Cortana; I think they're a very large part of the appeal of the Halo series.
  
  

• A good teaser

  
  By on 2006-11-08
  Halo: Ghosts of Onyx was a great book. While keeping in tune with the author's writing style, it adds another great chapter to the part of the halo universe that is unexplored in the games. Ghosts follows the other Spatans (ie. not the Master Chief) throught the events of Halo and Halo 2. It is a good read and allows the reader to gain more insight ad to what might be going on in Halo 3
  The book also gives insight ito the fate of Dr. Hasley ad Kelly, as they Dissapeared in Fisrt Strike.
  
  SPOILER WARNING
  One nice thing that Eric Nylund did in this ook was gav a reason for why there might not be any other Spartans in Halo 3. Ths will help quiet down some fans wo complane about the lack of ay other Spartans in Halo 2
  
  

• Couldn't put it down

  
  By A3FLCNJU66103G on 2006-11-03
  This book is great. The action and fight scenes come to life in you mind. Eric's mastery of describing a characters emotions and thought is perfect. This is a must read for all Halo and non-Halo fans. Can not wait for the next one!
  
  
  
• Good read, hard to put down, but not on the same level as the other two.
  By A26XRY6HE0VLUC on 2006-11-04
  Please let me explain. I wish there was a 4.5 star selection. Eric Nylund is one of the best writers out there. He has that "I can't put this book down" touch to his novels. The Fall of Reach was an awesome read, and it had so much information. So did First Strike. You never felt lost, and you always had a grasp of what was happening, where it was happening, and who it was happening to.
  
  Ghosts of Onyx was a good read, with that hard to put down effect. I feel as though the book was a little lacking on the new information, and also stretched out. Sure it gave us new information about "things" (im not going to spoil it for you!!!), but it took those "things" and drew it out too long.
  
  Also, the book was 380ish pages, but the book itself was bigger, and the font was gigantic compared to the other two, so it's a faster read.
  
  Please don't think of this as a negative review, because it's not, I'm just allowing you the luxury of knowing what you are getting when you read it!
  
  Thanks! Chris
  
  
• HALO goes generic...
  By A24KZBAAUTC83R on 2006-11-14
  I loved Eric Nylund's other two HALo novels, but this one just wasn't as engrossing. I don't play the game, nor should that matter in a reading experince of a sci-fi novel.
  
  This felt more like playing a game than reading a hardcore sci-fi military adventure yarn. Unfortunately not as gripping as Eric's past two novels.
  
  
• I hate it when the story is continued... !
  By AS6SH2JM2YY3H on 2006-11-28
  Halo: Ghosts of Onyx is another SPARTAN adventure. On Onyx, new SPARTAN IIIs are trained by and introduced to old SPARTAN IIs. Doctor Halsey and Chief Mendez are along for the ride.
  
  The Covenant find that the Flood is absolutely a threat, and the Prophets have some problems.
  
  This is a good, Eric Nylund adventure tale. I don't recommend reading it before you've read the earlier books in the series: The Fall of Reach, First Strike, and The Flood. Ghosts of Onyx will make more sense after you've got those other three books under your belt.
  
  BUT... I hate it when the story is continued! Remember, "Luke, I am your father!"? Here's hoping I don't have to wait longer than... one year. If I have to wait longer than this, the next book gets one star just for spite!
  
  
• I am a huge HALO fan, but this book was dissapointing.
  By A2L9028WTVFL1I on 2006-11-19
  Before you get cross with me for the 2 star rating - give me a chance to explain.
  1.) I devoured the (3) previous HALO novels. I most liked First Strike, Fall of Reach was a close second, & Flood a distant third.
  2.) Eric Nylund is arguably the most authoratative historian of the HALO universe. His creative imagination is well suited at developing hard SF out of thin air! I salute him.
  3.) However, Ghosts of Onyx does not contain Master Chief or Cortana. Huge mistake.
  4.) All of you that would argue that the series needed an infusion of new recruits into the Spartan family - I agree wholeheartedly. There were infinite ways to blend Cortana and the Master Chief into this story.
  5.) Equiping the new recruits with anything other than Mjolnir was yet another huge mistake. Spartans should be sealed inside a Mjolnir cocoon - PERIOD! There is actually a moment in Ghosts where a Spartan 2 decides AGAINST donning the (superior in every way) Mjolnir armor - and instead decides for symbolic reasons to don the inferior and yet stealthy Spartan 3 armor. GAG! CHOKE! Spartan 2s were trained to use overwhelming force to achieve victory - not leave their Mjolnir in a freaking air conditioned locker! MAKES ME SICK! That Spartan should be court marshalled for that egregiously poor decision. I would type more but it would be a spoiler.
  
  6.) Mr. Nylund - I'm sure you do not have complete creative control on these projects - so for the gripes I have that you may share - I apologize. My opinion likely mean little to you. However, if you find yourself reading Amazon reviews late one evening - please let this one resonate. As a reader of HALO, I find myself feeling like I did whenever I watched Star Trek. Why did the Enterprise even have shields, when every race they met could defeat them? I can accept that every human soldier is woefully unprepared for contact with the Covenant - except my SPARTANS. Give my Spartans Forerunner tech that interfaces with their Mjolnir armor and weapons - to give the Covenant pause. This slight advantage will be tempered by the fact that the Covenant forces always outnumber SPARTANs. Thanks.
  
  
• Nylund does it again
  By AE3532GBE299J on 2006-12-08
  Eric Nylund's latest installment in the Halo book series "The Ghosts of Onyx" once again gives us more backstory into the Halo universe.
  
  Nylund is likely the most recogizable author behind Halo storys as he is the author who gave a name to the legendary Master Chief. John. Sparten 117.
  
  As a Halo universe fan, (i.e. if it's Halo, I love it) Eric Nylund's storys add a unofficial flavoring to the events that occur in the games. Newcomers to the books should definately read the books in order.
  1) The Fall of Reach
  2) The Flood (not written by Nylund)
  3) First Strike
  4) The Ghosts of Onyx
  
  Some of the unofficial characters of Nylunds series add a depth to the Halo story that I myself would like to see integrated into the game.
  The mysterious Dr. Hasley, for example, whose motives we know benefit the Spartens, but are questionable in the overall scheme of things. Her actions seem to tell us that she believes the Spartens must be removed from the equation of the war, and brought back after man has fallen. Does she believe that Spartens are the next evolution of mankind and the human/covenant/flood war is a way to play god? Or is she just acting as on the maternal instinct that seems to play so heavily in her personality?
  
  Hopefully Nylund will continue to write as games and books are added to the Halo universe and give us the answers to the many questions he raises.
  Frankly, I'd also like to see elements of his books added to the game series. I'd like to see some interaction between Docter Hasley and Master Chief, as well as some of the Sparten characters.
  
  And also like to see Nylund give us some backstory (even if it's not approved by the game designers) on the Forerunners, the Covenant (perhaps a series of short stories about the individual Aribters, or how the different races became assimalated into the Covenant) and perhaps a deeper look behind the closed doors of ONI. Also perhaps a story or two following the new Halo Wars.
  
  Nylund, thanks for a great read. I look forward to future books.
  
  DEC 2 2007; P.S. I recently found out that Nylund is actually the writer of the actual Halo Story. Everything you read in this series can be consider official "expanded universe" of Halo. You can verify that yourself by viewing the DVD provided with the special edition Halo 3 game. (The one that comes with the Sparten Helmet.)
  
  
• Just got it, amazing
  By A3BWCIVIRFBBTL on 2006-11-02
  read the first few pages and decided I need to post here...
  
  This book is awesome, if you like scifi action books or are at all a Halo fan you MUST pick this up at some time.
  
  anyway it's pretty darn good so far, oh and the $7.77 - nice job bungie ;) hah, and it saved me $2 :D
  
  
• Wish I Could Say I Enjoyed it More
  By A3MA7SDWD1HJE5 on 2006-11-07
  All the Halo books are starting to read just the same. If you haven't read any of the others, you'll probably really like this one, but it basically plays out like a re-write of some of the others, with identical story development and individual character development in some cases, with just the names changed from previous novels. I got the feeling that there was a random firefight generator webpage somewhere where you just plug in the character names and it fills the rest in for you.
  
  "How many Covenant ships did our cunning plan destroy this time? X? and how many of our brave allies died in the process? Y? Great, another day, another dollar"
  
  like i said, wish i could give it a better review, but i just can't
  
  
• Halo The Ghosts Of Onyx
  By on 2007-04-17
  The book I read is called Halo the Ghosts of Onyx. Halo the Ghosts of Onyx is about the third generation of Spartans. Kurt, a Spartan 2 leads the program. But after master chief destroys Halo in the book Halo the Flood, an old and advanced technology has reawakened and it has plans of its own.
  My favorite part of Halo the Ghosts of Onyx is near the beginning. It had bad language in it but the bad words are said by a 6-7 year old boy which kind of makes it sound funny. There are other parts I liked but I do not want to say them all because it would ruin the book. Halo the Ghosts of Onyx is the fourth in a series of six books. Many times in the book it will jump around from past to present which makes the book very challenging. Overall I thought that Halo the Ghosts of Onyx was a very interesting book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Sci-Fi and survival novels.
  
  
  
• Amazing
  By A15LJW0WN3B2U9 on 2007-04-19
  This book was absolutly amazing. i couldn't put it down and i read it more than once right after i bought it. It has an excellent story line and is exciting too. I loved it. If your looking for a good halo book, buy this one. Eric Nylund is an amazing author and i enjoyed all his work. this book was definitly worth buying.
  
  
• Eric Nylund dropped the ball
  By A1EWRSUIHRZ9RR on 2007-05-11
  I was very disappointed with this book. The first and third halo books were wonderful and I was really looking forward to a plot line described at the end of the third book -- a plot line wherein the members of the covenant began to see themselves as being used and rebelling against the prophets.
  
  That plot line all but disappeared in Onyx -- which was apparantly going to be called "Coral" at some point in the game/book/creative process. It was only briefly mentioned in passing and the way it appeared in the book seemed pretty far fetched given the way the covenant members acted in earlier books.
  
  Instead of pursing that tantalizing detail we just get endless repetitions of one kind of battle after another. Of course such things happen in the game -- and that's enjoyable in a game (up to a point) -- but in a book, more plot development is needed.
  
  I got the feeling that Nylund just cranked this one out to get it over with.
  
  Perhaps there will be more games and more books, but I won't be buying anymore.
  
  
• The best put together & presented story I've ever read - literally
  By A11BA09YBKD0VB on 2007-06-05
  Honestly what can I say that already hasn't been said about this book? The writing is superb. Anybody remotely thinking about passing on this one because its major connection to a videogame property should think twice.
  
  This is exactly the type of book that after you read you wish you are alive long enough for there to be a movie on the exact same subject matter you just finished reading or if that is too out of reach you atleast want as many people to read it as possible so they can (like you) understand just how great a piece of work it truly is. This is coming from someone that has never touched any of the Halo Novels, but I'm thoroughly impressed and because of this I plan to go back and read the previous entries into the series by Eric Nylund.
  
  You get a take on the story from so many different perspectives its the complete package. You get to experience the story from the perspective of the Spartans, various UNSC ships and troops, Covenant, the genius that is Dr. Halsey.. just there is an all around variety to this book that I love. Now after becoming so impressed with what was happening with a specific group of characters naturally you'll be a bit disappointed when they go away from that group and start concentrating on another group, but as you read it becomes more clear as to why the author chose to present you with their perspective and you'll come to appreciate their inclusion.
  
  This book will get you to care about the characters and what is going on the universe. this book firmly puts Halo up there with the best of them if there were any doubts before. The Halo universe can be just as popular if not more so than the likes of Star Wars. It really does feel fresh, interesting and new. When I say this book will get you care about the characters and everything going on around them I really do mean that. Without spoiling too much there is one character in particular that will leave you in awe and command your utmost respect and that is Kurt.
  
  I may have singled him out, but that doesn't mean there wont be many other characters that you find yourself thoroughly impressed by, but Kurt's character will blow you away. This book is vivid, emotional and full of action. If there is anyone out there that is remotely interested in the games they'd be a complete fool to not read this book. I know there are some people that don't like to read, but I firmly believe that after reading this book it will be the catalyst that convinces you that books are just as entertaining if not more so than television.
  
  This in my opinion is a great book and when a book is very well written there are things that you can get from a book that you can't get from a game or television and sometimes its the very simple practice of seeing how a writer describes what is going on in a scene of their book that really sells the vision to you tenfold and its so well done that at so many critical points during your reading you just have to stop and tell someone around you how great this book is or atleast read a specific part of the book to them.
  
  So again let me finish off by saying you WILL care about the universe of this book, you WILL care about the characters and you WILL be tempted more aggressively as you progress through the book to keep on going even when you think its time to stop, but the book is so good that it gripts you and you WILL most certainly want more.
  
  
  
• Review of Halo
  By AZ216MK9KO1S0 on 2007-06-12
  "Spartans never die?" she whispered. Dr. Halsey swiveled out of the contour chair and pushed the monitors out of her way with sudden violence. "If only that was true." For those who have never picked up a Halo book before, Dr. Halsey is the person who made the first Spartans. Spartans are literally the best of the best, because they are genetically cloned and are given very severe military training at a very young age. Did I also forget to mention that after that they go through highly severe surgery to help induce bone density, adolescence, muscle strength, and anything else that can make a warrior better. After that, they are also given chemicals that also help in those areas. The military uses Spartans as elite warriors to help fight the Covenant. The Covenant is a mixture of alien species ruled by their prophets and they are technologically superior and their troops are physically imposing. Also, they are intent to wipe out the human race.
  But this book is about how the military took a Spartan out of active duty and sent him to the planet Onyx to train the new generation of Spartans with the help of Chief petty officer Mendez, (he also helped train the original Spartans). After the first wave of candidates finished their training, they were sent on a highly dangerous mission and the mission succeeded but only 2 of the 300 Spartans survived. It was considered a victory. So the Spartan in charge then got those two Spartans to help train the new ones. But the same exact thing happened with the next generation of Spartans and this time there were no survivors. So the Spartan in charge changed the chemical mixture slightly so that the third wave will survive.
  I personally considered this book one of the greatest books I've ever read. I mean even the boring parts were good. Also the theme of this book I thought was survival. I think this because there were many parts that talked about war and invasion. There were also many separate kinds of perspectives that made it so that you could see just enough of the big picture to be willing to turn the next page. I think that this was best use of money I've seen in a while (the first was Halo 1 the game). I mean I could see no fault in this book. So I give it a perfect grade, five stars, two thumbs up, A+, and any other symbol that means awesome.
  
  
  
• Excellent book - couldn't put it down!
  By A2HMT3570ZSAFO on 2006-11-20
  I have read all of the Halo books so far by Eric Nylund, and I must say... wow. This is one of his best works yet. I couldn't put this book down until halfway through the book, because I had to do something important, but WOW. It's a great development. There are still a couple of errors I noticed in the book, but the great storyline makes up for it.
  
  
• All Guts and A Ton of Glory
  By A1Q1XFL51KCZNX on 2006-11-25
  I am barely past page one hundred and I can say I already love this book. Master Chief and Cortana are not really in this book but that isn't a bad thing. I am glad that Nyland chose to show that not all Spartans are exactly alike. Kurt is one heck of a soldier and I like that he is much more of a thinker than John. There were parts of this book that really saddened me. The Spartans are trained to be supermen (and women) but the military treats them as if they were nothing but expendable wind-up toys. Whats more saddening is that many of the Spartans are actually children in their tweens and early teens. Yeah they are dying to save the very soceity that is exploiting them. Is a civilization that does this to its children really worth saving? The scenes of courage and heroism in the face of overwhelhming odds will make you misty. Some characters are introduced only to be quickly killed moments later. This to me only drives home how quickly lives are lost in war. We don't get to know much about them but the lose they represent to other characters is palpatable. Danged good book.
  
  
• Great next edition to the series
  By A2VWBP8CLK1VQD on 2006-11-26
  This book, though not as good as the last book (The First Strike) was very action packed and filled with great war scenes. I can not say enough good things about this series. The only bad things that I can say about this book, is that many of the cut scenes that involved the covanant seemed almost pointless and boring to read, but there were not many of those kinds of chapters, and the many great parts made up for that lacking area. The end of the book is amazing and leaves on a great cliff that you cant wait to read the next one. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has read the previous 3 halo novel books. If you have not read the other 3 books, you will get lost.
  
  
• More great Halo-ness from Nyland!
  By A34KW409303DNK on 2006-12-30
  
  Another book that lives up to what we've come to expect from Nyland (it must suck to always have to live up to your own reputation, but hey, I'm not complaining!).
  
  This fourth installment in the Halo series is mostly backstory, i.e. it doesn't feature Master Chief or directly relate to the events in Halo 2, although it does continue some of the story threads in the first three books.
  
  Yet it's a fantastic story in its own right, and provides loads of insight into the history and legend of Halo. There are lots more Spartans, lots of Covenant, lots of action, character development for some important characters and lots of insight into the Forerunners and what they were up to.
  
  You'll miss MC and Cortana and might wonder what happens next with them after the end of Halo 2, but you won't regret finding out what happens in this book. I hope Nyland writes lots more books in the Halo genre, he really lets you keep the story alive once you've played the game to death. I also hope they get Dietz to write the Halo 2 book - it should be better since there's loads more story to work with than in Halo 1.
  
  If you liked Nyland's other Halo novels you should like this one just as much. If you haven't read any yet, give it a go, it's great SF while maintaining the 'feel' of the game that Bungie has put so much work into developing.
  
  
• Poor effort
  By A169CJ2NJQYIM6 on 2007-01-08
  Mr. Nylund is a fantastic writer, I won't argue that for a moment. The first three books in this series were fantastic, but this recent installment is mediocre at best. The first thing I am wondering is if there was any editing done on this book. The spelling and grammatical errors are numerous, to say the least. At one point they refer to a female character as a he and then a she--in the same sentence. Very sad.
  
  There are about five different plot lines running through the book, and it just makes it seem choppy and laborous to get through. I'm not sure what effect they were going for with it all, but they didn't pull it off. The overall plot was good, but the numerous errors and choppy storyline just left me cold.
  
  
• I hope this isn't the last one!
  By A1QQZY36PL0VLN on 2007-05-26
  This is a great addition to the Halo universe, although I was disappointed by the ending. In prior books we know the the Master Chief never sees Master Chief Mendez again so it would seem the series has written off all of the existing Spartains but 117 (this makes sense after you've read it).
  
  With that said, any fan of the franchise would be foolish to miss this volume. It's completely split off from the game story-line but runs paralell to it from before the fall of Reach until shortly after the end of Halo II's storyline. You must get it and read it.
  
  
• The best yet in the series
  By A21QWMLUI5RP4C on 2007-09-14
  Before reading this book I bought the box set and read the first three in the series. The first book was littered with gross typos, the second book mostly failed to deliver (due to the author's lack of detail at many times), but the third book was better. "Halo: Ghosts of Onyx" is by far the best in the series. It was more professionally done as there were less typos (if any at all) and there was close attention to detail most of the time. I like the idea of the Spartan III program and some new technologies associated with it. However, the one thing with Halo that bores me is all of the "space quest". I'm a fan of Spartan action, so when they're just flying around in outer space, my interest drops a bit. But once again, this book is definitely the best in the series so far.
  
  
• Eric Nylund Does It Again!
  By A2WOD9MVBSBM9 on 2007-11-20
  Halo: Ghosts of Onyx is the fourth book in the series of Halo novels and it is the third novel in the series written by author Eric Nylund. This story takes place during the events of Halo 2 but the story pulls away from the main story arch following the Master Chief and focuses on another SPARTAN II, Kurt. His death is faked during a mission and he is forcibly recruited to train a new generation of SPARTANS on the planet Onyx alongside his old mentor Chief Mendez. The SPARTAN III's are a new "disposable" type of SPARTAN that underwent the same training and genetic alterations but they use Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor (S.P.I.) in replace of the MJOLNIR Armor worn by the SPARTAN II's. The S.P.I. Armor is not as strong as MJOLNIR Armor and lacks shields but has light bending plates that make the wearer nearly invisible. Kurt is faced with many challenges and tough decisions as he trains his new age SPARTANS. The first batch of SPARTAN III's, Alpha Company, are all killed in Operation PROMETHIUS in an attempt to destroy a Covenant ship yard. During Operation TORPEDO, only two members of Beta Company survive during the destruction of a Covenant refinery and Kurt makes the survivors his right hand man, and women. After the loss of almost two entire companies Kurt makes an illegal addition to the genetic alterations that enhances the SPARTAN III's aggression in order to give them a better advantage in battle. Gamma Company is attacked by an unknown threat during training. Dr. Halsey and Kelly reenter the story when they crash land after arriving at Onyx to investigate the mysterious planet. Meanwhile the SPARTAN II's from the end of First Strike are in route to Onyx in response to Halsey's distress call. Follow Dr. Halsey, Chief Mendez, the SPARTAN II's, and the SPARTAN III's as they unlock the secret of the mysterious planet of Onyx.
  
  Nylund repeats his writing excellence again in Ghosts of Onyx. He continues to prove that even though a story is based on a video game it can still be worthwhile. If you have not read the previous Halo novels there may be portions of the story you do not fully understand, but even without the other books this story has the capacity to hold its own and be a fantastic book. You really don't even need to have played the video games to enjoy the story. He takes situations from the game and the other novels and develops them further to help readers better understand the complex and exciting universe that is Halo. His writing captivates the reader and keeps you reading all the way to the back cover. Eric Nylund weaves a tail that gets you emotionally involved in the story, when something terrible happens the cringe and when something glorious happens you cheer. The detail involved in this story makes you feel like you are right there with the characters. You can picture the environments that Nylund creates in the book, every scene down to the very last blade of grass. He brings the characters to life by giving them their own personalities and back stories. You feel like you know them all on a personal level and you start to pick out characters that you like and characters that you don't like with lists of reasons to support them all. The story takes several twists and turns in order to keep you guessing and engaged in the story. It does get a little confusing due to the different number of story lines going on at the same time but they all come together in the end at a satisfying conclusion. If you love the epic story of Halo or the writing styles of Eric Nylund then Ghosts of Onyx will not let you down.
  
  
  
• Redonkulous
  By AOPSW79WWBED5 on 2006-11-13
  The book was pretty crazy cool, if u know what i mean. go buy one if u r in fact an avid halo fan.
  
  
• Fillin' in the gaps
  By AZF5N6CT39C9B on 2007-01-10
  If you have read Eric Nylund's other two Halo novels, you know that he has a talent for sci-fi and that this novel is probably the best Halo novel so far. The action is intense and the book is had to put down. The story line adds a totally new dimension to the Halo game and in a sense explains alot that the game storyline doesn't have time to. I recommend reading the other three before this one so that you won't be lost when the book first begins, but beware, once you start reading, you will not want to put it down!
  
  
• Ok at best as HALO fiction.
  By A2FQ1IBTWG961Z on 2007-01-13
  I admit - I'm a HALO universe fan and I'm grateful to Mr. Nyland for being the best writer about it. I also admit that my review is very biased, based on all the previous content (books, games, spin-offs etc) - so my standards for this book were very high.
  
  In general I was disappointed. Yes there were writing elements that kept me glued to the page - but those were no different than any other super secret black ops team book. I mean, read Tom Clancy's novels - and you see the same flow.
  
  Whether this book added to the development of Halo universe - will be a personal opinion of every reader - and there will be no rights or wrongs.
  
  However, even not being a writer myself, I was annoyed by so many elements and "fillers" in this book, I see no excuse, but the marketing and M$ publishing machine behind this to make this book bigger and more costly than usual.
  
  The fact that first half of the book goes into describing the industrialization and conveyor belt for making Spartans was quite disappointing and I flipped a lot of pages, due to predictable repetition. Same happened in the end of the book. I mean how many times does one need to repeat that everything in Forerunners city was covered in their writing? And to what end? Isn't there like an unspoken writing rule - if you mention something - it's better play into the story - especially an action based one? What was the point in repeating that? Did those symbols DO anything to move the story?
  
  Any who, I'm still quite confused by the timeline. I did check against the other books I own and the Bungie site - and it looks like the HALO 3 happens actually prior to Ghosts of Onyx - and putting the Halo 3 trailer and the elements from this book together - actually makes me think that John will just find another Shield world.. only bigger. That kind of breaks the suspense.
  
  So. I enjoyed Reading the book in some places. But it rained havoc on my Halo universe and storyline understanding, and I'm afraid an ok writing is not more visible due to the story weakness.
  
  
• Best book after First Strike
  By A2JRAD8IY4FHCN on 2007-01-18
  I'm a big Halo fan and I like to read a lot about the Halo Universe. Since this books are based on a video game, you need to play the game in order to appreciate the story. With that set aside, Eric Nylund with Ghosts of Onyx created one of the best novels so far in the series. He mixes fights with secrecy in a way that makes you want to read more and more. During the course of the novel he makes you feel how close humanity is to extinction and how the Spartan Project is the only way to give humanity more time. Also for those who played the game, you get a lot of background story about the Spartans and the Covenant Internal Conflict. Also you get a glimpse about all the Forerunners plans with the halos and installations scatter through space.
  If you have the game and haven't read the book series, what are you waiting for?
  If you haven't played the game be sure to do it before reading the books.
  
  
• Ghosts of Onyx by Eric Nylund - Review by Kyle Storm.
  By A1I1GWWXZNCE5J on 2007-01-19
  What can I say, what a great read!
  This title has fulfilled the back story of Halo and Halo 2. It is an in depth explanation of what happened to the Spartan program and where Chief Mendez and Dr Halsey went off to. It is beautifully descriptive of the thoughts and feelings of the Spartans and what they mean to each other. It fills all the expectations of how the Halo story is progressing in the backround of what the Master Chief is doing at Halo 1 and Halo 2. Its timeline goes back and forth a bit to explain the back story, but it is easy to follow never the less. The story line draws you in and the descriptions of all the various environments the Spartans must engage combat in are magnificant. Introducing some of the new creatures of Halo 2 was a nice touch, and added to the continuity of the storyline. I could not put this book down. Altogether this novel is well thought out and well put together. All Halo fans will thoroughly enjoy this as did I.
  
  Kyle Daniel Storm.
  
  

• Halo, Books 1-3 (The Flood; First Strike; The Fall of Reach)
• Contact Harvest (Halo)
• The Halo Graphic Novel
• First Strike (Halo #3)
• Mass Effect: Revelation