So after a bit of talking with Sev and Coolbuddy, it came as a surprise to me that neither had read Ghosts of Onyx, which to me is part of the first four books by Nylund (and Dietz, not that we talk about that one) that more or less set up all the Halo universe. And I think they're kind of important to read, because for quite a while, they were the only books out there, our only sources for canon information beyond the games. Thus, they became the foundation for Halo Fanon early on, and where a lot of older user preconceptions came from (which they were reticent to change from later). The NCF rule, for example, might've seemed like a high demand in the days it was proposed and implemented if there were twenty-odd books like there are now, instead of four: Fall of Reach, The Flood, First Strike, and Ghosts of Onyx.
So humor me, I want to do kind of a survey. How many Halo books have you read?
For my part, it's nearly everything . . . but still only nearly. The only things I have yet to get through are the Forerunner Saga (I need to re-read what I have read, anyway), the last of the Kilo-5 Trilogy, Broken Circle (have, need to get to), and the round of short novellas that came out last year (especially need to do New Blood, which was by Matt Forbeck, who I've enjoyed before).
I've read all the old canon novels, Fall of Reach through to The Cole Protocol, as well as the comicbook series, Uprising. I've not touched any of the new, 343i EU. Joshua (Talk) (Contribs) 18:14, February 26, 2016 (UTC)
Read up on everything bar the novels released in the last year. That said, I know nothing about Halo 5 plot.
Well, unlike the gentlemen above, my reading history is fairly... choppy. As Sniper said, I haven't read Ghosts of Onyx completely (I've only just recently got an online copy of it), same with the Fall of Reach. I haven't read Contact Harvest yet either, but everything else pre-343 I've pretty much read. As for comics, I've read the first two issues of Bloodline. Now including 343 books, I've read Glasslands and The Thursday War from the Kilo 5 Trilogy, as well as all of the horrible books from the Forerunner Trilogy, as well as the first and last comics in Initiation.
S-D379 - If you're expecting something here, you're probably disappointed by now. TALK - 13:50, February 27, 2016 (UTC). Today is Wednesday, February 19, 2025
I've read The Fall of Reach, First Strike and Contact Harvest fully, and am currently reading Ghosts of Onyx, which I got a few days back. I'm still waiting for my The Cole Protocol's delivery to my home, and after I finished both, I'm planning to buy New Blood. As for the comics, I've read most of Escalation, except the last 4-5 issues.
I've read just about everything, barring the Forerunner Trilogy, Broken Circle, Shadow of Intent and Saint's Testimony. Seems that most of what I haven't read focuses on non-Humans, now that I look at it. Probably explains why I don't focus on the Sangheili too often. I'll probably get to getting through these within the next year or so if I have the time.
S-D379 - If you're expecting something here, you're probably disappointed by now. TALK - 16:09, February 29, 2016 (UTC). Today is Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Wait, the Forerunner Trilogy is actually horrible? And here I was, thinking about buying it so I may add some prehistoric stuff to the Cebverse. Damn.
I thought it was alright, at least, what I remember of the first two books. The first one was mostly just meeting the Didact and getting the strange naming conventions for a lot of Forerunner stuff. Chakas had a lot of walking in the second one. Spoilers.
Mainly, for the benefit of those who read this in the future, I'd like to say that Fall of Reach and Ghosts of Onyx are probably the core founding documents for getting a sense of the Halo-verse and what it's like. The Flood and First Strike are from the same author and time too, but are more on either recapping the first game (and adding the basics of Marines, ODSTs, and Elites) or furthering characters' personal stories to connect Halo 1 and 2.
S-D379 - If you're expecting something here, you're probably disappointed by now. TALK - 16:14, March 19, 2016 (UTC). Today is Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Well, I've finished Ghosts of Onyx about two-three weeks ago, and after my exams I'm gonna finish The Cole Protocol and then buy a new novel, probably Last Light or New Blood.