Halo: The Flood - William C. Dietz

...on from Eric Nylund's prequel Halo: The Fall of Reach and takes place during the 1st game - it can be understood simply as a novelisation of the very first Halo game - Halo: Combat Evolved.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR * abridge version taken from his website *
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William C. Dietz grew up in Seattle, spent time with the Navy and Marine Corps as a medic, graduated ...
...as I did about Nylund's Halo: The Fall of Reach (TFOR). Please don't hate me for this, it hurts when people hate me and I lose sleep!! I've lost all of my teddy bears and it's lonely at night...ahem anyway...I apologise - back to the review!!!

The Flood slightly overlaps TFOR at the beginning as you would expect in order to allow the reader to catch up. Upon which The Autumn jumps from the devastation at Reach following the Cole Protocol. ... more

This is the second book chronicling the events pre-present-post Covenant-Human was as seen through the eyes of Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan John 117.

This title follows on from Eric Nylund's prequel Halo: The Fall of Reach and takes place during the 1st game - it can be understood simply as a novelisation of the very first Halo game - Halo: Combat Evolved.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR * abridge version taken from his website *
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William C. Dietz grew up in Seattle, spent time with the Navy and Marine Corps as a medic, graduated from the University of Washington, lived in Africa for half a year, and has travelled to six continents. Dietz has been variously employed as a surgical technician, college instructor, news writer, television producer, and director of public relations and marketing for an international telephone company.

My initial reaction to this title and the author's appointment was mixed. Firstly you have to take into account how brilliant Nylund's effort preceding this release was, secondly you have to wonder ''How can you novelise a computer game?'', and thirdly you have to wonder whether or not Dietz can pull off what Kershner did with Empire Strikes Back - prove he was the right man for the job.

Straight away you look at Dietz's credentials and you get the feeling that yes - this is the man. This is the man who can - after serving as a marine and holding down many technical positions - build on Nylund's tremendous start and thrust the Halo world into Sci-Fi literature history.

Unfortunately...he fails to pull it off. BUT - he didn't do it wrong, I think you have to consider the following: 1. you cannot novelise an unalterable, already scripted computer game, 2. he is a very good author but would Nylund have done it differently?.

For more reasons and comments please read through or scroll to the final part of my review. I will summarise my thoughts.

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REVIEW
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Unfortunately I can't bring myself to write as enthusiastically about this title as I did about Nylund's Halo: The Fall of Reach (TFOR). Please don't hate me for this, it hurts when people hate me and I lose sleep!! I've lost all of my teddy bears and it's lonely at night...ahem anyway...I apologise - back to the review!!!

The Flood slightly overlaps TFOR at the beginning as you would expect in order to allow the reader to catch up. Upon which The Autumn jumps from the devastation at Reach following the Cole Protocol. The ship leaves slip space randomly and enters normal space at a gas giant which the AI gives a new name of 'Threshold'. Unfortunately the Covenant are already at Threshold - thanks to data retrieved during TFOR.

At Threshold though there is a metallic ring-shaped satellite - complete with its own eco system and gravity - orbiting the giant. The crew of The Autumn immediately think this is a Covenant weapon. The Covenant are refused permission by a Prophet (the Covenant hierarchy) to attack the Autumn for fear of damaging the ring (deemed a sacred relic that will aid in the path of enlightenment and cleansing)...one wonders at this point what Hitler were to have done should he have ever seen it. What? Halo isn't real...ah I see...

Anyway - Instead the Covenant opt to board the UNSC craft - forcing its crew to abandon ship and head for the safety of the ring-like world. The captain and the AI wake up John 117 (placed in hyper sleep after his battle at Reach) and give him the task of protecting Cortana. The most advanced UNSC Artificial Intelligence who holds basically all of the UNSC's tactical, information, locations and secrets. This is due to the fact that she has no limit unlike any other UNSC A.I. She must not at any cost fall into enemy hands.

Here we leave the game script which is beginning to drag already and refreshingly begin to focus on different sides of the battle. It is here where Dietz excels. We are introduced to a Covenant grunt (expendable covenant soldiers) who rescues an Elite (the warrior class) to avoid dying at hands of the Spartan trying to escape the ship and subsequently becomes the Elite's butler. We are also introduced to a group of hard-as-nails ODST Marines (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) who are leaving via military single personnel drop pods to establish the UNSC's base of operations on the ring. Which they succeed in securing after a battle with Covenant forces ground side, led by McKay and Silva.

The captain of The Pillar of Autumn Jacob Keyes has stayed on board at this point and has crash landed the cruiser on the ring. He is captured and taken to a covenant cruiser Truth & Reconciliation where he is kept in cells as a POW. John 117 has at this point helped a load of marines fight the Covenant on the ground and has joined up with squad at a temporary field HQ. He is given orders to rescue the captain and fights through countless grunts to board the Truth & Reconciliation to rescue Keyes. We find out the Keyes has learned that Covenant believe the ring-world sacred and that it is a weapon of great power. He tells us that the Covenant refer to world as 'Halo'.

All the while the Grunt (Yayap) & Elite (Zuka 'Zamamee) have been trying (at Zuka's request) to hunt the green human 'Demon' killing the Covenant forces and assassinate him. But the obviously all fail because a) The Master Chief is as hard as a coffin nail and b) well I don't nee d a B because A was so great.

Now Keyes & a crew of Marines after his rescue from Truth believe they have found a Covenant weapons cache deep in one of Halo's swamps and head in to structure with the intent to steal and destroy it. What they actually find is something much worse. Football sized parasites attack the squad and send intrusive tentacles into their nervous system turning them into mindless members of The Flood (a race as yet unknown to Human or Covenant who feed on death and reanimate the fallen). They all succumb to The Flood - including the captain. Unfortunately for one soldier his brain still functions and he is all too aware of what is happening to him. The Flood control his body but he controls his mind!! He sets off to find his former friends at the UNSC Halo base of operations to warn them what is coming...but will they take heed or will they kill the grotesque creature that is growling at them?

Back to the Chief - He and Cortana discover that Halo is not a Covenant weapon - but before Cortana reveals what Halo really is she orders the Chief to rescue Keyes who is walking to his death (The Flood incident mentioned above). When he gets there John see a dead marine and a plays a helmet recording of a fallen marine. After watching what happened to the squad he is then attacked by the Flood. fighting his way back outside through reanimated corpses both Human and Elite he is suddenly transported away form the fight by 343 Guilty Spark...a floating A.I. left in charge of Halo by its builders. He explains that Halo is here to destroy the Flood and convinces John to help him stop the infestation and activate the ring (343 cannot activate the ring - only John...only a human!!).

Meanwhile, the Marines UNSC base is forced to defend themselves not just from Covenant and now the new enemy the Flood. One of the Flood that ambushes the Marines is the Flood infected Marine mentioned above - Jenkins. He regains momentary movement control from the flood parasite and attempts to commit suicide by throwing himself into the line of fire. The UNSC commander - McKay - captures him instead. How can he warn them? What will they do?

The Chief now back in the control room is given the index by 'Spark' and is about the activate the ring and destroy the flood. Cortana then pops up (remember she was left in the system when she told John to rescue Keyes) puts a halt to this, takes the index key from John and tell us the bad news. Halo isn't here to destroy the flood. Halo is here to contain the flood and if lit it destroys the flood by destroying its food source. Basically galaxy wide Armageddon - no life in the galaxy - no flood. Cortana & John decide they must destroy halo without activating the firing sequence. To do this they need to blow up the Autumn's fusion reactors - which they need from the almost completely Flood Keyes' neural implants. Keyes is back on board Truth but is completely flood form now. John crushes his skull and retrieves the implant and heads for the Autumn.

While the Chief and Cortana head to the Autumn, Alpha Base is evacuated. Cortana contacts the base's AI Wellesley who informed the remaining marines of the plan. Silva decides to capture Truth and Reconciliation and pilot the ship away from Halo when it's destroyed. The marines take ship but Silva is blinded by the thought of promotion and glory once they get back home and she cannot see the danger of a Flood infection on earth. If the flood escaped containment the galaxy will be destroyed. Onboard the ship Jenkins wrestles his motor functions from the parasite and manages to get McKay's attention. She realises that the parasite in captivity is still human in mind and understands what must be done. Jenkins motions to a vital energy line on the ship, and realizing that the destruction of the Flood is more important then Silva's promotion, McKay does what all Marines should. She cuts the cable and crashes Truth and Reconciliation in to the ring world, killing all aboard. She has saved the galaxy for the time being from a Flood infection

At the Autumn, the Master Chief is forced to destroy the ship's fusion reactors manually. Spark and his robotic Sentinels try to stop them but of course fail because John is the hardest man alive!! Cortana arranges drop ship evacuation, and the pair grab a warthog and race for extraction. Unfortunately the transport is shot down by Covenant aircraft. Zuka and Yayap are killed here. Zuka in hail of grenades and Yayap when Halo is destroyed - he is last seen crawling into a corner of grass (outside the Autumn after leaving the Elite) and dreaming of home. Cortana directs the Chief to a Longsword fighter docked in the hangar.

Cortana believes that they only two who have survived. Cortana states that it's finished and dealt with, but John 117 replies with - "No. I think we're just getting started.

*END OF REVIEW*

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*Summary*
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What is upsetting about this book is that in places it is outlandishly good!! But when it drags it draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaags. The game script cannot be changed obviously but this leaves Dietz with very few options. There is nothing a author can do really when expanding on another writer's unalterable story.

What Dietz has added has added to the storyline immensely though. The interplay between the ODSTs and their dislike of John (who finds himself serving under their command) is evident and enthralling. He provides a good insight into Covenant hierarchy and the roles of the Elites, Prophets and Grunts (which I haven't actually mentioned in the review).

What I like especially is how Dietz pictured Jenkins - the marine who was not completely taken over by the flood. The despair felt by Jenkins is scripted perfectly. Agony, fear, grief, determination and an overwhelming love of mankind comes across every time Dietz mentions Jenkins. Can you imagine how it would feel to be part flood, part ODST marine?

Would I recommend to readers?
Yes but be prepared to fight your way through the book. Halo fans will enjoy it obviously but it really is a slog - like playing the level on Halo called Library on Legendary setting...ARGH!!!

*FINAL SUMMARY*
Good book, hard to get through. Not as good as Nylund's Fall Of Reach. Read it and you will probably enjoy it more than you hate it but perseverance is key. Well done William Dietz - you ha d a hell of job on here. Unfortunately because of the drag I have only given it a 3 star rating.

****APOLOGIES FOR ANY GRAMMATICAL/SPELLING ERRORS - It's a long review and I will correct them when I have a minute!!**** 

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