Halo: Primordium: Book Two of the Forerunner Saga: 9

Product Information

The second of the Forerunner series was a bit of a let down for me, in comparison to the first book. It had the intensity, the drama, the ability to sway your sympathies from one species to another simply by change of perspective, all the power of a well-written book but in the end i was disappointed. The author changed one of his characters (the main from his first book, Cryptum) very drastically, turning him from a soul searching, true-to-himself young man into an exact copy of his mentor with no willful thought of his own. A huge letdown for a character that was so dynamic in the first book. It is made clear that after humans were defeated at Chatham Hakkur, the Lifeworkers kept their genetic code to pass down through generations as they knew how to defeat the flood, and forerunners may need that same information. Lord of Admirals, Forthenko, was placed in Chakas. Yprin, who lives in Riser, was a rival of Forthenko and first discovered, revived, imprisoned and interrogated the primordial to find its secrets. It began leaking extraordinary answers. Yprin helped prepare human forces for the advanced forerunners. The composer is what made this possible. Chakas and Riser get a hold of themselves and continue with Vinnevra and Mara along Halo. In the wake of apparent self-destruction of the Forerunner empire, two humans--Chakas and Riser--are like flotsam washed up on very strange shores indeed. This, of course, is literal; much of the book is spent with the readers following one character’s geas, which “pulls” her in the right direction. Having nothing better to ride hopes on, and some experience with the infallibility of the Librarian’s strange geas, Chakas follows along with it. This is perhaps the one real point of criticism that I have with the novel; it does seem meandering and aimless, and often (this is the Two Towers Syndrome: overlong and aimless). It’s also another point that mirrors Ringworld and a common complaint about Niven’s novel, too. However, Bear smartly plays with the rules of the Librarian’s geas as a plot device, which allows for the introduction of some horror into the novel. Through Chakas’ eyes we see plenty of Flood-based nightmares, and we catch a glimpse of the bizarre, beetle-like Primordial for which the book takes its name. A primordium is an aggregation of cells that is the first stage in the development of an organ or tissue. In the context of the novel, it is a derivation of the term Primordial, which is a title given to the last Precursor.

The novel is dedicated to Claude Errera, a long-time Bungie and Halo fan as well as the founder of halo.bungie.org. 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!Greg Bear writing new Halo Forerunner trilogy". Joystiq. April 6, 2009. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011 . Retrieved March 21, 2013. The origin story touches on otherwise minor details and characters in huge way. We learn also the truth of Guilty Spark 343, his creation and not only what but who the monitors really are. I thought Bear's writing style truly captured the essence and desperation of this being a lynchpin time in the universe, where the librarian not only placed the fate of the Forerunner civilization in Chakas, but the fate of the entire universe itself.

The monitor contains Chakas' memories and proceeds to describe Chakas memories of his life and what happened to him after the battle at the end of book one. This journey will take them into the Palace of Pain, the domain of a powerful and monstrous intelligence who claims to be the Last Precursor, and who now has control of both this Halo and the fate of Forerunners and Humans alike. I think your enjoyment of this novel can seriously depend on whether you read it yourself or whether you listen to the audiobook version, because the narrator of the audiobook is none other than Tim Dadabo, the voice of 343 Guilty Spark himself - near the end he even uses the flanger effect that Guilty Spark has on his voice in the games. In general he is an excellent narrator, he speaks with the same inflection when voicing Guilty Spark which is fun, but he does voices for every character and they're all very good - almost too good, his old man voice for Gamelpar is downright eerie.The group is captured by Mendicant Bias, and their human imprints extracted; Mendicant Bias promises them revenge on the Forerunners, and kills those who oppose him. A fleet led by the Didact appears and the Didact purges Mendicant Bias from Installation 07. Chakas assists the Didact with moving the Halo and preventing its destruction. Matt Miller (August 29, 2011). "What's Coming in Halo 4?". Game Informer . Retrieved April 15, 2013. Story Hobby reviewed the book and gave it an 80% rating, calling the book a "big improvement" over the previous title, citing the exciting conclusion and more human centered story, but called the plot "weak". [39] Book Loons called it "slow", and said it was only with those familiar with the source material, but that the audio book was very good, and that it had an excellent surprise ending. [40] After the Master Builder destroyed Charum Hakkor, and brought the last Precursor to this Halo, they carried out experiments on the Humans because they were resistant to the Flood.