Halo: Primordium

Greg Bear

Jan 2019 · Halo Book 8 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Timothy Dadabo

About this audiobook

The second novel of the Forerunner Saga trilogy by science fiction legend Greg Bear—set in the Halo universe and based on the New York Times bestselling video game series!

One hundred thousand years ago. In the wake of the apparent self-destruction of the alien Forerunner empire, two humans—Chakas and Riser—are like flotsam washed up on very strange shores indeed. Captured by the Forerunner known as the Master Builder and then misplaced during a furious battle in space, Chakas and Riser now find themselves on an inverted world, where horizons rise into the sky and humans of all kinds are trapped in a perilous cycle of horror and neglect. They have become both research animals and strategic pawns in a cosmic game whose madness knows no end—a game of ancient vengeance between the powers who seeded the galaxy with life, and the Forerunners who expect to inherit their sacred Mantle of Responsibility to all living things.

In the company of a young girl and an old man, Chakas begins an epic journey across a lost and damaged Halo ringworld in search of a way home, an explanation for the warrior spirits rising up within, and the reason for the Forerunner Librarian’s tampering with human destiny. Their travels will take them into the domain of a powerful and monstrous intelligence—known as “the Captive” by Forerunners, and “the Primordial” by ancient human warriors, this being may not only control the fate of Chakas, Riser, and the rest of humanity, but of all sentient life across the galaxy…

Ratings and reviews

I read the paperback book many years ago and recently I have been revisiting halo books through the Audio book media. I have to admit that when I read the book back in the days I felt like it was too slow paced for my taste and I had a hard time staying focused enough to read for more than 20min at a time. The audio book was a whole different experience though because the narrator is excellent! Every single character is easily recognizable just by the tone of voice that he uses and that makes a huge difference. On top of that the narrator is the official voice actor of a main halo character in many games. He is so good that I did not even realized that before the very end of the book when he impersonate that said main character for the first time in the book. When that voice switch happened during my playthrough, I was so excited that I could not stop grinning until the very end of the book! Fair warning though, do not lookup who the narrator is or and which character he voices in the game as this might spoils you a part of the story.

Awesome book. Only complaint is you have yo be focused because of how it jumps around. I was halfway done with the book when I realised I had no idea what was going on and had to restart it. I am glad I did though.

The ending was the best part.

About the author

Greg Bear is the author of Hull Zero Three (Orbit, November 2010), City at the End of Time (Del Rey 2009), Mariposa (Perseus paperback November 2010), Halo: Silentium, Halo: Primordium, and Halo: Cryptum (Tor, January 2013, 2012, and 2011). He's the father of two young writers, Erik and Alexandra. Greg's wife, Astrid Anderson Bear, has sold her first short story to San Diego Noir, in collaboration with Diane Clark.