Halo: Broken Circle

John Shirley

Nov 2014 · Halo Book 14 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

The New York Times bestselling series based on the blockbuster Xbox® games!

Centuries before the Human-Covenant War would rage across the galaxy, a similar conflict erupted between the Prophets and the Elites—two alien races at odds over the sacred artifacts left by the powerful Forerunners, who disappeared eons ago. Although they would eventually form a stable alliance called the Covenant, there are those on both sides who question this fateful union. From an Elite splinter group rebelling against the Covenant during the time of its founding...to a brave Prophet caught in the machinations of the new leadership...to the root of the betrayal that would ultimately shatter the Covenant many years later, this is the untold chapter of the most unexpected heroes emerging from a realm filled with shocking treachery and ceaseless wonder.

Copyright © 2014 by Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Halo, the Halo logo, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

Ratings and reviews

I've recently started reading the Halo books, and it's been a long time coming. This is my seventh book and the first six, I absolutely ate up! Ran right through each of them in about a week or so! This book though, feels like I ran right into a brick wall. I've had this book for about 3 months and everytime I open it back up, I see I'm still only a quarter of the way through and I just groan in agony because I havent gotten it out of the way. I don't review things as often as I should, and when I do, it's typically a negative one which makes that habit all the worse. I'm giving this a two stars. The prologue pulled me in but everything after that, good god, make it end. I'm flirting with edge of just giving up on this one, and I'm kind of ashamed as I'm a huge Halo fan. Have been since Halo: Combat Evolved in 01 when a friend let me play. Even bought the PC version cause I never had an Xbox and loved the multiplayer! But this book is gutting me slow like a fish. Honestly painful.

Needless to say, I was horribly disappointed by the ending of this book. It was forced, and altogether too happy. It didn't leave me questioning anything or with any insights to humanity or my own existence, something I believe prior Halo novels have succeeded at remarkably well. This just really misses the mark. I feel like it would have been much more successful had it just stuck to the Elite-Prophet war and foundation of the Covenant.

The book gives the back story of the Covenant beginnings while taking you into a new potential area that can play a role in future Halo novels or games. The book is a slow read and not that thrilling due to the lack of action packed scenes. The details in the action scenes are not clear enough to enjoy it as it should... thus my 4 star ranking.

About the author

John Shirley is the author of many novels, including Borderlands: The Fallen, Borderlands: Unconquered, Bioshock: Rapture, Demons, Crawlers, In Darkness Waiting, City Come A-Walkin', and Eclipse, as well as the Bram-Stoker-award winning collection Black Butterflies and Living Shadows. His newest novels are the urban fantasy Bleak History and the cyberpunk thriller Black Glass. Also a television and movie scripter, Shirley was co-screenwriter of The Crow. Most recently he has adapted Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia for the screen. His authorized fan-created website is DarkEcho.com/JohnShirley and official blog is JohnShirley.net.