Video game novels: good or bad?

The Halo books are a great read. I found the second one "The Flood", which is based on the first halo game, to be kinda so so. As a whole the three books are a good read, even more so for a fan of the Halo games.

I'm a big fan of the Halo game series, and also a big fan of the Halo novel series. I personally own Halo 1 and 2 and all three novels. I think the enjoyment of the novels is completely propertional to the enjoyment of the gams.

The books reveal information the games never could and in my opinion they are very well written. I personally recommend them to any Halo fan.

I love the books. Great Sci-Fi even if you have never played the games. I can't wait for the next one.

The first and third Halo books are pretty good. The author should have been hired to do the Halo 2 story IMHO.

you would recommend them to any HALO fan.. but would you honestly recommend them to a reader who wasn't a fan of the halo series?

it seems to me like these are the kinds of books that wouldn't really be interesting without the game.

people like reading auto repair manuals as well, but much would they enjoy that if they didc't care a thing about doing it?

I've never read the Halo series, but I have read the entire Resident Evil book series. It's really worth picking up.

I can imagine the halo books now....

"Master Chief then aimed his gun at the first enemy and fired and killed it. Next, he aimed his gun at another enemy and killed it. Then, he jumped on a warthog and shot some enemies with the built in turret. After doing this, he shot a few other enemies before entering the next area where he proceeded to shoot enemy after enemy."



Seriously, WTF? If you're so obsessed with that game that you need 3 novels based on it, I strongly pity you. Theres soooo many books that would better make use of your time.

I don't even own Halo, but the Halo books are awesome.

And yes, it's actually literature, Ron, not just "Master Cheif shot at this, he shot at that...". It's really a great read for anyone who likes sci-fi books.

Seriously, I have only read the first Halo book, The Fall of Reach or something, and it was pretty sad. I have also had the misfortune of reading Warcraft novels and some other crappy video game books. (Oh back in the day when I thought the Animorphs was great fiction. :) ) Ironically the worst video game book (IMO), Torment, is based off the best video game story ever, Planescape: Torment.

Ron... You left us hanging! What happens next!?!!? I heard in the second book he gets dual-wielding and the adventure continues in the third with 'Stats' the lovable robot...

Bad.

Books based on video games are not universally bad. The Doom books, especially the first, were brilliant, and truly captured the Doom ideal, better than the game at the time could with it's limited technology.

The books are great. I only read the third book, Halo: First Strike. It helped me stay sane while enduring the wait for Halo 2, because the book starts right after Halo 1 ends, and before Halo 2 begins, and you learn so many secrets, plots, and stories that are occurring in the Halo universe like for example, the reason why the Covenant are invading Earth in the first place.

Short synopsis for those interested:
The first book answers most of the questions you might have about the history of the Spartans which to me is reminiscent of "Brave New World." I found myself flying through the first one and enjoying it.
#4Twist is right about the second one. I could barely finish it. Like the Flood portion of HALO, the Flood book goes on too long and is not extremely entertaining.
The third one was again pretty absorbing and a fast read. Nyland(sp?) from what I can tell, is an established sci-fi author who does a good job of creating an interesting story line as well as the normal action undertakings.

And #6 Burgundy is apparently a self loathing elitist. You're a video game fan that reads a video game blog and pities readers for being fans of a video game?

The first and third ones are not actually that bad, the 2nd is just the story of the game with some crap tacked on and its not very good. The first and third ones are mainly good because they are original stories, not adaptations of the game plot, sort of like I Love Bees was pretty interesting.

I am reading the Fall of reach for the 3rd time. I played Halo then read the books and the books were great. It is better if you play the game but it's not necessary. i hardly read books more than once but these books are very deserving and if you don't like them then it's ok. There are other books for you. I think these books are better than any game/movie adaptation.

Ya, well i think most books are quite boring, EXCEPT the amazing WARCRAFT NOVELS. every week in school i read them and they are amazing, i have never really read another book besides these all the way through but these are AMAZING go get them now

I'll take your words for it on the HALO novels but I'm still not interested. I like books just fine but I'd rather read original novels than ones based on games, even if the stories go beyond the game's scope.

A comic, however, might be more interesting. It seems more fitting that two legitimate but trashed mediums would work together. I think a comic book writer would have a little bit more reverence to the source material but with more writers out now who grew up with and respect gaming I can see some fairly decent game-based books coming out even if they're not highbrow.

I'm still waiting for a video game equivalent of "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay." That would be AWESOME.

i want a madden NFL novel...

Rare Hare, try looking into the Electronic Arts update on the classic football novel "I Am Third," (basis for the movie 'Brian's Song'), now with new graphics and renamed "I Am Third-Person."

I'm joking. While I'm glad to see people reading, I'm with Ryuukuro, I will take your word for it that the Halo novels are enjoyable, but personally I'd recommend looking into some of the amazing sci-fi books from the likes of

- Isaac Asimov
- Ray Bradbury
- Phillip K. Dick
- William Gibson
- Neal Stephenson

Sort of a remedial list, but I have enjoyed a lot of books from them dudes right thurr.

I remember reading The Dark Wheel, which came with Elite for the ZX Spectrum. I read it all while the game was loading!

ill trooper --> Bingo! And for good measure toss in:
-Cory Doctorow
-Poul Anderson
-Larry Niven
-Mike Resnick
-Nancy Kress
-Robert Silverberg

I've read all three books and found them to be enjoyable. Are they going to win any Hugo Awards? Probably not. If you only play Halo and Halo2 for the fun of it and don't really give a damn about the story, then you're probably better off not reading the books.

However, if the following plot points in the game leave you feeling a bit confused, then you might want to pick the books up:

1) How is it that the Pillar of Autumn made a blind jump into hyperspace and ended up at Halo? Is it possible that it wasn't REALLY a blind jump and just pure luck?

2) Where did the Pillar of Autumn just jump from? It looks like there was some kind of major battle or something.

3) How in the hell did Sergeant Johnson survive the Flood, get off Halo, and end up in Halo2? This one bothered me a lot until I picked up First Strike. I could tell from the game trailers that he was in Halo2, but how could he have survived the Flood in Halo1?

The books fill in those gaps that the games leave out. And I think they do a pretty damn good job of it, too. So I guess it really boils down to how much do you want to know about the Halo universe?

The halo bboks are great sci fi books in genral, as well as great game related books.

Well the first and third are. Havent read the 2nd.