Product Description

As the bloody Human-Covenant War rages on Halo, the fate of humankind may rest with one warrior, the lone SPARTAN survivor of another legendary battle. This was the desperate, take-no-prisoners struggle that led humanity to Halo - the fall of the planet Reach. Now, for the first time, here is the full story of that glorious, doomed conflict ...Almost on Earth's doorstep, Reach is the last military fortress to defy the brutal Covenant onslaught. But their highest priority is to prevent the Covenant from discovering Earth. The outnumbered soldiers seem to have little chance, but Reach is the secret training ground for the very first 'super soldiers'. Code-named SPARTANs, these bioengineered and technologically augmented warriors are the best - quiet, professional and deadly. As the ferocious Covenant attack begins, a handful of SPARTANs stand ready to wage ultimate war. And at least one of them - the SPARTAN 'Master Chief' - will live to fight another day on a mysterious and ancient artificial world called Halo ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3823 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

About the Author
Eric Nylund is the author of many novels including HALO: THE FALL OF REACH, the official prequel novelization of the Xbox game. He has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in chemical physics and lives near Seattle with his wife, Syne Mitchell.

Customer Reviews

What a way to put you on till Halo 2...!
Eric Nylund successfully follows up on the great story telling from the Fall of Reach (and to almost the same extent, The Flood, which doesn't quite have the same edge) with this frankly excellent book that brings a much loved sci-fi universe to life as much as the gaming experience has for millions of xbox owners everywhere. I finished this the same day I got it - it had me hooked from the first page. New characters are introduced, as are old friends and one or two surprises that will draw you in even more...
If you have the first two, get this. If you haven't got the first two, get ALL THREE - you won't regret it...

Brilliant!!!
Computer game tie-ins are generally not well thought of by book readers, and quite often this is justified. Not so, however, with the Fall of Reach. It's obviously not just been written to capitalise on the success of the games, and has been written in conjunction with the game writers. As such, the book takes the depth of the Halo story and builds upon it to create a rich and immersive world. Halo: The Fall of Reach is a prequel to Halo, and gives us details of how the Master Chief and the others came to be Spartans, the appearance of the fanatical Covenant, the fall of the human fortress world Reach and the escape of the Pillar of Autumn to Halo.
There are one or two let-downs. Nothing has to do with the story, more with the editing. Parts of the text seem to have been copied and pasted into random places, and various words seem to become confused, as if an object has been named one thing, that name has been forgotten and replaced with something else.
These flaws are minor, and do not detract from the story at all. If you're a fan of the game, or even if you're not, this book provides depth and detail to the Halo universe that is hard to put down, and harder still to dislike.

A BRILLIANT INTERPRETATION OF THE GAP BETWEEN THE GAMES
This is an EXCELLENT read for those of us who want to learn a little more about the universe of HALO. I particualy liked the way the other Spartans are introduced, as well as the first chapter which explains a little more about 'The Fall of Reach'. However I won't give away anything else about the book as it truly is one of the best I have ever read. I recommend this book whole-heartedly to anyone, but the people who would enjoy it the most are: Fans of HALO and/or people who enjoy reading military based books such as the Tom Clancy series.