Halo: First Strike by Eric Nylund
$7.00
Experience the thrilling bridge between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 in Halo: First Strike, where Master Chief and Blue Team race to warn Earth of the Covenant threat.
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Description
Halo: First Strike, authored by Eric Nylund and released in December 2003, occupies a pivotal spot in Halo’s expanded universe. This military sci-fi novel connects the events of the original game and Halo 2, continuing directly from The Flood and unfolding just before the sequel begins.
The story opens with the brutal aftermath on Reach: SPARTAN-IIs attempt to defend the planet from a Covenant onslaught—even as the human bastion falls. As Reach succumbs, survivors of Installation 04—including Master Chief and Cortana—navigate a deadly gauntlet. Their harrowing escape leads to an audacious mission: infiltrating the Covenant’s refit station, Unyielding Hierophant, before it becomes a springboard to Earth.
This installment shines a light on Blue Team—Fred-104, Kelly-087, Linda-058—and returns readers to Dr. Catherine Halsey’s clandestine research hidden beneath Reach’s ruined surface . The narrative ratchets up with space battles, tactical intrigue, and Cortana’s vital role in detecting Covenant invasion plots.
Eric Nylund, already known for writing The Fall of Reach, reportedly penned First Strike in just sixteen weeks—much longer than his first novel’s seven-week deadline. The added complexity of aligning with existing Halo lore made the task more intricate, but he drew upon military manuals and combat biographies to enhance authenticity Wikipedia.
Halo: First Strike struck a chord with both critics and fans—it was the first Halo novel to hit The New York Times bestseller list and was lauded for adding depth to the gaming experience. Within the community, many players consider it an indispensable read that enriches the storyline between the early games: as one fan put it, it’s a bold narrative “just… intense and very exciting,” especially Cortana’s infiltration scenes
Product Details
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Title: Halo: First Strike
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Author: Eric Nylund
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Series Placement: Third Halo novel (bridging The Flood and Halo 2)
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Publisher (Original): Del Rey Books (December 2, 2003)
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Pages: 340 (original paperback)
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Format: Paperback; also available as audiobook, narrated by Todd McLaren
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ISBN: 0-345-46781-7 (original edition)
