PixlBit

I've finally finished this. It's been since November when it came out. It's a whole lot of explosive action, military lingo, and loads of previous Halo novel references. I only wish it didn't leave me with so many questions at the end. You can leave me hanging on some things, but the major story points have to be answered at the end or I wonder where volume 2 is and that's how I felt at the end. Here follows a little more detail. 

Halo: Shadows of Reach was written by Troy Denning. He's done several previous Halo novels and I think he's very good at delivering rip-roaring action and plenty of Halo lore. 

The story involves Master Chief and his Blue Team made up of Fred (explosives expert), Linda (fastest spartan), and Kelly (sniper).  They are aboard the UNSC Infinity stealth ship with Dr. Halsey and Commander Laskey on a mission to planet Reach to recover assets that will help them defeat the rampant Cortana and her army of Forerunners. Planet Reach was glassed with plasma by the covenant years before and is now desolate with only a few humans remaining. However, there are also x-covenant forces present on their own mission to find a Forerunner teleportation construct, so things get complicated real fast. 

The novel is nonstop action and full of juicy Halo lore and equipment detail. I liked it a lot except for the aforementioned ending which left a lot on the table including some major story points that never got revealed. I felt a bit cheated by that. I find it strange too because usually something important is revealed at the end. I can only guess that maybe these things are part of the upcoming game Halo Infinite which I think is the next piece of Halo story to come. Still, it was a fun read. I can't wait for the game.