Halo: The Fall of Reach
Encyclopedia
Halo: The Fall of Reach is a 2001 science fiction novel
by Eric Nylund based on the Halo
series of video games and acts as a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved
, the first game in the series. It is set in the fictional Halo universe, taking place in the 26th century across several planets and locations. The novel details the events which led up to the game and explains the origins of the SPARTAN II super soldiers
, narrating the story of the series protagonist
, the Master Chief.
The Fall of Reach was conceived after Nylund had discussed the possibility of a Halo novel with Microsoft's Franchise Development Group. A "Halo Story Bible" was created to assist Nylund in keeping with Halo canon. The novel was written in seven weeks, Nylund's shortest writing deadline.
The book was well received by critics who thought it added depth to the plot of the game but the large number of characters was highlighted as a shortcoming. Going on to sell over one million copies, the success of The Fall of Reach paved the way for further Xbox game novelizations, including another book in the Halo series. William C. Dietz
would write the next book, entitled Halo: The Flood
. The book was adapted into a comic series entitled Halo: Fall of Reach and released in 2010. The book itself was re-released on December 7 2010 after the comic book adaptation, and contained new content as well as updating editing errors.
was developed but it was postponed due to legal technicalities. Nylund thought positively of the delay as it "gave [him] a chance to see the game in almost every stage of development before [he] started writing." He wrote the book based on an outline approved by Bungie and the "Halo Story Bible", a book containing all information on the characters and universe in which Halo takes place, so that his story would not conflict with other Halo publications. Nylund found it easier to write with the "Bible" available as the details of the universe he was writing in were already established, only minor alterations were made to fit the novel into the universe. A seven week deadline was established for Nylund to write the book.
does not apply. This has allowed humans to colonize hundreds of other planets which are controlled by the United Nations Space Command (UNSC). Feeling repressed by the UNSC's heavy-handed rule, some colonies revolt; fearing rebellion will tear the UNSC apart, military leaders approve the SPARTAN Project, a secret squad of super soldiers to quietly suppress rebellion.
The protagonist of The Fall of Reach is the Spartan soldier Master Chief
. Dr. Catherine Halsey, the creator of the SPARTAN Project, is introduced alongside then-Lieutenant Jacob Keyes. Franklin Mendez is the trainer of the Spartans teaching them their physical combat skills while an AI named Déjà teaches them military history and strategy. Cortana
, Master Chief's AI companion through much of the series, is also present as Dr. Halsey's aide in the lead-up to the Spartans' mission.
markers making them suitable for conscription into the SPARTAN-II program, a secret experiment with the aim of creating super soldiers for the UNSC to quell rebellions. Seventy-five of the children are kidnapped by operatives of the Office of Naval Intelligence and replaced by clones engineered to die of natural causes shortly thereafter. From this point on, the recruits are known only by their first name and a three digit number. John-117 and the rest of the children are drilled and trained by Franklin Mendez; John demonstrates leadership of his fellow Spartans leading to his promotion to squad leader. In 2525, the Spartans undergo a series of surgical enhancements which turn them into highly efficient super soldiers at the cost of crippling or killing more than half of the original seventy-five. The Spartans are also equipped with powerful MJOLNIR battle armor, designed to respond as quickly as the soldier's thoughts. John-117 is given the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer
. The Spartans are highly successful, but they experience a priority shift after a collective of alien races known as the Covenant
begin obliterating human colonies, declaring humanity's destruction as the will of the gods. Mendez leaves the group to train the next generation of Spartans as John and his comrades first face the Covenant.
By 2552, the war against the Covenant is going poorly. The technological superiority of the Covenant means that space battles heavily favor the Covenant, and the UNSC can only win engagements by suffering tremendous losses. To prevent the discovery of Earth or other human colonies, Vice Admiral Cole creates the "Cole Protocol", which forbids direct slipspace jumps to Earth or any other population center and mandates the destruction of a ship before it can be captured by the Covenant. Jacob Keyes, now commander of the destroyer Iroquois, discovers four Covenant ships arriving at the Sigma Octanus System, and single-handedly destroys three of them; his heroics earn Keyes the rank of Captain. The Covenant proceed to overrun Sigma Octanus IV, searching for a mysterious ancient artifact. Despite a costly fight, the humans manage to repel the Covenant, and Keyes intercepts a coded Covenant transmission from the surface before the Covenant retreat. The Iroquois heads to Reach, unwittingly bringing a Covenant tracking device with it.
Soon after, Keyes is given the command of the UNSC cruiser Pillar of Autumn for a secret mission; the Spartans are to capture one of the Covenant's religious leaders and barter a truce. Dr. Halsey also introduces John to the artificial intelligence Cortana
, who would assist the Spartans by residing in their MJOLNIR armor. Before the mission can begin, however, Reach is attacked by a massive Covenant fleet. John and Cortana reach the Pillar of Autumn, but most of the other Spartans are presumed killed as the Covenant vitrify the surface of Reach, turning the landmasses into glass. Cortana initiates a slipspace course based on the ancient glyphs intercepted by the Covenant at Sigma Octanus, the course takes them to a massive ringworld known as Halo
, setting the stage for the events of Halo: Combat Evolved
.
Starship Troopers
regarding the manner of story telling. GameCritics' Brad Gallaway also praised the back-story the book adds and the quality of the story. Fellow reviewer Gene Park noted the descriptions in the book went beyond what was presented in the game calling them "vibrant and rousing." He also complimented the characters presented in the novel saying they all "fit nicely into the Halo universe" but some times there were too many characters to remember. Sal Accardo of 3D Action Planet said of the book; "[it] isn’t going to win any Pulitzers
anytime soon. It’s well written, and a solid page-turner, but it’s still basically an action movie presented in book form" but praised the gritty presentation of the Spartans. Don D'Ammasa of the Science Fiction Chronicle called the book "competently written", but stated the plot was "simpleminded".
Though the book originally sold very slowly, it became a Publishers Weekly
bestseller. The Fall of Reach would go on to sell more than 100,000 copies by 2003 and a million copies by December 2009. The novel's success convinced Microsoft and Del Ray to pen a three-novel publishing contract for novels based on Xbox games, including another Halo novel. The next entry in the Halo novel franchise would be 2003's Halo: The Flood
, written by William C. Dietz
. The more human Chief seen in the novel led Bungie to tone down the character model in Halo 2 to make him less an exaggerated robot and more a real person inside a suit.
Stuart Beattie
, the screenwriter of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
, wrote a spec script
for a Fall of Reach movie. Beattie, a Halo fan, wrote the script between other projects in the hope that someone would read it and agree to produce the film but as of May 2008 there are no plans to do so.
In May 2010, Tor announced that the first three Halo novels (not originally published by Tor) would be rereleased with new content and cover art. The Fall of Reach was the first novel to be reissued, with a release date of August 2010. Marvel Comics
adapted the story into a three-part comic series entitled Halo: Fall of Reach, released September 2010.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Eric Nylund based on the Halo
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
series of video games and acts as a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
, the first game in the series. It is set in the fictional Halo universe, taking place in the 26th century across several planets and locations. The novel details the events which led up to the game and explains the origins of the SPARTAN II super soldiers
Supersoldier
Supersoldier is a term often used to describe a soldier that operates beyond normal human limits or abilities. Supersoldiers are common in science fiction literature, films, TV programs, computer, conspiracy theories, and video games, but have also made appearances in other related genres, such as...
, narrating the story of the series protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, the Master Chief.
The Fall of Reach was conceived after Nylund had discussed the possibility of a Halo novel with Microsoft's Franchise Development Group. A "Halo Story Bible" was created to assist Nylund in keeping with Halo canon. The novel was written in seven weeks, Nylund's shortest writing deadline.
The book was well received by critics who thought it added depth to the plot of the game but the large number of characters was highlighted as a shortcoming. Going on to sell over one million copies, the success of The Fall of Reach paved the way for further Xbox game novelizations, including another book in the Halo series. William C. Dietz
William C. Dietz
William C. Dietz is the best-selling author of more than thirty novels some of which have been translated into German, French, Russian, Korean and Japanese...
would write the next book, entitled Halo: The Flood
Halo: The Flood
Halo: The Flood is a 2003 novel based on the 2001 Xbox video game Halo: Combat Evolved written by William C. Dietz. Closely depicting the events of the video game, The Flood begins with the escape of a human ship Pillar of Autumn from enemy aliens known as the Covenant...
. The book was adapted into a comic series entitled Halo: Fall of Reach and released in 2010. The book itself was re-released on December 7 2010 after the comic book adaptation, and contained new content as well as updating editing errors.
Background and writing
Eric Nylund had discussed the possibility of a Halo related novel with Eric Trautmann, a member of Microsoft's Franchise Development Group, before Halo: Combat EvolvedHalo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
was developed but it was postponed due to legal technicalities. Nylund thought positively of the delay as it "gave [him] a chance to see the game in almost every stage of development before [he] started writing." He wrote the book based on an outline approved by Bungie and the "Halo Story Bible", a book containing all information on the characters and universe in which Halo takes place, so that his story would not conflict with other Halo publications. Nylund found it easier to write with the "Bible" available as the details of the universe he was writing in were already established, only minor alterations were made to fit the novel into the universe. A seven week deadline was established for Nylund to write the book.
Setting and characters
The Fall of Reach takes place in the Halo universe and spans several decades, beginning in 2517 describing events up to 2552. In the Halo universe, traveling faster than the speed of light is possible through slipspace, another dimension where special relativitySpecial relativity
Special relativity is the physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".It generalizes Galileo's...
does not apply. This has allowed humans to colonize hundreds of other planets which are controlled by the United Nations Space Command (UNSC). Feeling repressed by the UNSC's heavy-handed rule, some colonies revolt; fearing rebellion will tear the UNSC apart, military leaders approve the SPARTAN Project, a secret squad of super soldiers to quietly suppress rebellion.
The protagonist of The Fall of Reach is the Spartan soldier Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
. Dr. Catherine Halsey, the creator of the SPARTAN Project, is introduced alongside then-Lieutenant Jacob Keyes. Franklin Mendez is the trainer of the Spartans teaching them their physical combat skills while an AI named Déjà teaches them military history and strategy. Cortana
Cortana
Cortana is a fictional artificially intelligent character in Bungie's Halo video game series. Voiced by Jen Taylor, she appears in Halo: Combat Evolved and its sequels, Halo 2 and Halo 3, in the prequel and epilogue of Halo: Reach, as well the novels Halo: The Flood, Halo: The Fall of Reach, ...
, Master Chief's AI companion through much of the series, is also present as Dr. Halsey's aide in the lead-up to the Spartans' mission.
Plot
The novel opens with the civilian Dr. Catherine Halsey and Lieutenant Jacob Keyes traveling to meet John, a six-year-old boy. Dr. Halsey reveals to Keyes that John is one of 150 children who possess rare geneticGenetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
markers making them suitable for conscription into the SPARTAN-II program, a secret experiment with the aim of creating super soldiers for the UNSC to quell rebellions. Seventy-five of the children are kidnapped by operatives of the Office of Naval Intelligence and replaced by clones engineered to die of natural causes shortly thereafter. From this point on, the recruits are known only by their first name and a three digit number. John-117 and the rest of the children are drilled and trained by Franklin Mendez; John demonstrates leadership of his fellow Spartans leading to his promotion to squad leader. In 2525, the Spartans undergo a series of surgical enhancements which turn them into highly efficient super soldiers at the cost of crippling or killing more than half of the original seventy-five. The Spartans are also equipped with powerful MJOLNIR battle armor, designed to respond as quickly as the soldier's thoughts. John-117 is given the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer
Master Chief Petty Officer
- Master Chief Petty Officer :U.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar deviceU.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerinsigniaGood conductRating badgeMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar Insignia...
. The Spartans are highly successful, but they experience a priority shift after a collective of alien races known as the Covenant
Covenant (Halo)
The Covenant are a fictional theocratic military alliance of alien races who serve as the main antagonists in the Halo video game series. They are composed of a variety of diverse species, united under the religious worship of the enigmatic Forerunners and their belief that Forerunner ringworlds...
begin obliterating human colonies, declaring humanity's destruction as the will of the gods. Mendez leaves the group to train the next generation of Spartans as John and his comrades first face the Covenant.
By 2552, the war against the Covenant is going poorly. The technological superiority of the Covenant means that space battles heavily favor the Covenant, and the UNSC can only win engagements by suffering tremendous losses. To prevent the discovery of Earth or other human colonies, Vice Admiral Cole creates the "Cole Protocol", which forbids direct slipspace jumps to Earth or any other population center and mandates the destruction of a ship before it can be captured by the Covenant. Jacob Keyes, now commander of the destroyer Iroquois, discovers four Covenant ships arriving at the Sigma Octanus System, and single-handedly destroys three of them; his heroics earn Keyes the rank of Captain. The Covenant proceed to overrun Sigma Octanus IV, searching for a mysterious ancient artifact. Despite a costly fight, the humans manage to repel the Covenant, and Keyes intercepts a coded Covenant transmission from the surface before the Covenant retreat. The Iroquois heads to Reach, unwittingly bringing a Covenant tracking device with it.
Soon after, Keyes is given the command of the UNSC cruiser Pillar of Autumn for a secret mission; the Spartans are to capture one of the Covenant's religious leaders and barter a truce. Dr. Halsey also introduces John to the artificial intelligence Cortana
Cortana
Cortana is a fictional artificially intelligent character in Bungie's Halo video game series. Voiced by Jen Taylor, she appears in Halo: Combat Evolved and its sequels, Halo 2 and Halo 3, in the prequel and epilogue of Halo: Reach, as well the novels Halo: The Flood, Halo: The Fall of Reach, ...
, who would assist the Spartans by residing in their MJOLNIR armor. Before the mission can begin, however, Reach is attacked by a massive Covenant fleet. John and Cortana reach the Pillar of Autumn, but most of the other Spartans are presumed killed as the Covenant vitrify the surface of Reach, turning the landmasses into glass. Cortana initiates a slipspace course based on the ancient glyphs intercepted by the Covenant at Sigma Octanus, the course takes them to a massive ringworld known as Halo
Halo (megastructure)
Halos are fictional megastructures and superweapons in the Halo video game series. They are referred to as "Installations" by their AI monitors, and are collectively referred to as "the Array" by the installations' creators, the Forerunners...
, setting the stage for the events of Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
.
Reception
Critical reaction to the book was positive, particularly regarding the depth the book added to the Halo universe. Reviewer Eric Qualls commented that "[it was] interesting to read and give[s] you a much greater understanding" to the universe. Qualls made a positive comparison to Robert A. Heinlein'sRobert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published hardcover in December, 1959.The first-person narrative is about a young soldier from the Philippines named Juan "Johnnie" Rico and his...
regarding the manner of story telling. GameCritics' Brad Gallaway also praised the back-story the book adds and the quality of the story. Fellow reviewer Gene Park noted the descriptions in the book went beyond what was presented in the game calling them "vibrant and rousing." He also complimented the characters presented in the novel saying they all "fit nicely into the Halo universe" but some times there were too many characters to remember. Sal Accardo of 3D Action Planet said of the book; "[it] isn’t going to win any Pulitzers
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
anytime soon. It’s well written, and a solid page-turner, but it’s still basically an action movie presented in book form" but praised the gritty presentation of the Spartans. Don D'Ammasa of the Science Fiction Chronicle called the book "competently written", but stated the plot was "simpleminded".
Though the book originally sold very slowly, it became a Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
bestseller. The Fall of Reach would go on to sell more than 100,000 copies by 2003 and a million copies by December 2009. The novel's success convinced Microsoft and Del Ray to pen a three-novel publishing contract for novels based on Xbox games, including another Halo novel. The next entry in the Halo novel franchise would be 2003's Halo: The Flood
Halo: The Flood
Halo: The Flood is a 2003 novel based on the 2001 Xbox video game Halo: Combat Evolved written by William C. Dietz. Closely depicting the events of the video game, The Flood begins with the escape of a human ship Pillar of Autumn from enemy aliens known as the Covenant...
, written by William C. Dietz
William C. Dietz
William C. Dietz is the best-selling author of more than thirty novels some of which have been translated into German, French, Russian, Korean and Japanese...
. The more human Chief seen in the novel led Bungie to tone down the character model in Halo 2 to make him less an exaggerated robot and more a real person inside a suit.
Stuart Beattie
Stuart Beattie
Stuart Beattie is an Australian screenwriter and film director. He attended Knox Grammar School, in Sydney, Australia, where his mother, Sandra, was a languages teacher, and later Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.-Filmography:...
, the screenwriter of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, wrote a spec script
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
for a Fall of Reach movie. Beattie, a Halo fan, wrote the script between other projects in the hope that someone would read it and agree to produce the film but as of May 2008 there are no plans to do so.
In May 2010, Tor announced that the first three Halo novels (not originally published by Tor) would be rereleased with new content and cover art. The Fall of Reach was the first novel to be reissued, with a release date of August 2010. Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
adapted the story into a three-part comic series entitled Halo: Fall of Reach, released September 2010.