Essential Tales of the Halo Universe

Speculative, licensed fiction can be so difficult to write, and sell. The beauty of a book like Halo Evolutions is that it allows those who don't enjoy video games to enjoy the franchise. I appreciate the depth and breadth of the Halo swath, from games to books to merchandise, and this adds one more dimension.

Not being overly familiar with the Halo Universe, I have now gained an appreciation of what the characters and game means to writers. Sure, a couple of the writers have already penned novels, but short fiction is another thing. Having said that, not all of the tales are short, but they are good. The tales are:

Beyond: Goff and Parth
Pariah: B.K. Evenson
Stomping on the Heels of a Fuss: Eric Raab
Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian: O'Connor
Dirt: Buckell
Acheron-VII: Goff and Sparth
Headhunters: Goff
Blunt Instruments: Lente
Mona Lisa: VanderMeer and Kum
Icon: Goff and Robogabo
Palace Hotel: McLees
Human Weakness: Traviss
Conmnectivity: Goff and Robogabo
Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J Cole: Nylund
Return: Grace

Each tale is marvelous in its' own way, I particularly enjoyed Blunt Instrments and Midnight in the Heart. The Impoosible Life and Possible Death is very inventive as well too.

I can only imagine that there will be more tales coming our way soon with Halo selling millions of copies worldwide. This book will surely feed the frenzy, and come full circle one more time.

Tim Lasiuta

After finishing Halo - Reach, I entered into the worlds of Halo: Evolutions: Essential Tales of the Halo Universe Vol.1. What I found was a Universe of different perspectives, on not only on the war with the Covenant, but the time period prior to that conflict. The UNSC's struggle with the rebels of the colonial wars and how that changed after the appearance of the Covent, to the beginning of the war. Short stories about man's expansion into the galaxy and the inner system conflicts of a growing empire that was quickly out growing being governed by a central hub too many light years from their colonies. This book is a necessity for Halo fans, especially new ones. It gives the Universe of Halo depth and does it well. A view from different perspectives and different conditions and because the stories were written by different authors, each story seems more real. The last story in the group is particularly good and especially important. The story of Preston J. Cole, his remarkable life and the mystery that surrounds him. Though "The Flood" is next in the Halo line-up, the reader might find it a good idea to read this book first just for the insights. None of the stories are dull - just the opposite as in the game they are quite entertaining.

This book makes eminent sense. It includes some of our favourite HALO authors - Eric Nyland, Tobias S. Buckell etc. and their short stories encompassing various aspects of the HALO world.

It takes time to develop a fully flushed out and viable HALO series book so this is a nice gap filler while we wait for the next full novel.

There are 14 different HALO short stories here of which all of them could be developed into future full length novels. It's fun with the short stories to be able to read an entire story, and then move on to something completely different.

The mix of authors is great and the mix of HALO perspectives is also great.

All around a great read and well worth buying

The short stories covering the Halo universe in this novel are essential to a deeper understanding of the characters we've all come to know and love in the Halo universe. The Halo storyline tells one of the top 5 greatest sci-fi stories of all time, in quality and quantity. This is a must have for TRUE Halo fans, and simply a really good sci-fi novel for those that aren't. This novel and all of the others in the Halo universe are fantasically written and are very easy reads. Each novel tells a truly awesome story and blends the action, drama, and even comedy very well. Kudos to all of the authors and the other people that have contributed to these amazing tales. I hope the Halo franchise and universe continue to evolve for a long long time.

A couple of the stories in this collection were amazing, and absolutely deserve their place among the legends of the Halo universe. A few of the others, though, were pretty terrible. Short, abrupt, and out of character, I'm not really sure how they found their way in here in the first place.

I'd say the book is worth reading, because the good stories really were fantastic, but be aware that a couple of these will seriously disappoint.

This collection of short stories is a phenomenal addition to the Halo stories so far. The stories are all well written and if you're a fan of the series you will easily feel deeply intertwined w/ the characters and their stories. I really liked the stories that added specific details to the game and book existing stories.

My favorite story of them all was the Mona Lisa. It was well written and pure suspense from the time the team comes aboard. This is a MUST read for anyone following the book series.

This anthology is probably the best collection of written fiction for the Halo-verse. The book is so insightful, and when coupled with the Encyclopedia, it really fleshes out the details of what Halo is all about, as it truly goes beyond the games. This is a must read for any serious fans of Halo, and in general, for sci-fi fans, it's a great pick-up.

A nice selection of stories. Some are better than others (The Bungie folks, Frank excepted, should stick to their day jobs), but they generally do a nice job of adding some color to the Halo universe.

I chose this rating because i think this book has some really good stories in it and it is the prerequisite to Halo. I loved this book. I am done and I am so glad I read it. This has given me so much info about the halo universe. Good read.

Halo Evolutions is the best book of the Halo book series. However, if its the first book that you've read then you probably wouldn't agree with me but if you have read all of the books like i have, then you will find that this is a MUST READ.

This is a collection of short stories on the Halo science fiction universe. Had previously read and enjoyed previous Halo novels. This book however, is disappointing and average at best.

The first story is very weak, Pariah, as it is about a 6 year old boy who attempts to commit murder, but is recruited as an orphan to the Spartan program. It is very disturbing that the author would try to have a 6 year old trying to think of ways to kill his sleeping father. Also disturbing is how the author has the character with no mental problems that would rise up. Poorly written and has no realism in human psychology.

Heels of a Fuss is told from two points of view, one of the Covenant Brutes, the second from the humans. Was engaging to a point, but the ending was annoying. If the religious leader wanted to remain hidden and presumed dead, he would run off in a different direction and not stayed with the main character.

Mona Lisa story was like the Deadspace video game with the characters having to stomp to death Flood infected human dead on a derelict human ship. Characters are rather one dimensional, predictable, and nothing special to care about. Once Covenant and infected are found, the mission to enforce the Cole Protocol is issued. A mere ODST squad has to find their way to the bridge. Oh wait, squad members go missing, duh, if you are checking a space vessel with unknown number of hostiles, one would keep squad integrity and also keep better protection around their only means of escape, the Pelican shuttle. But no, they stupidly leave the pilot alone and divide their squad into two. Plus, when the pilot is captured, they don't even try to rescue her. Gee, if she died, how would they escape, duh. What is even more insulting is that they could have simply evacuated and fired missiles into the Mona Lisa that would have ensured the Cole Protocol. The actions that the author depicts have no logic and what little strategy is insulting to military training.

The only redeeming story in this book is The Impossible Life and Possible Death of Preston J. Cole. It was very interesting in learning the exploits and career of this famous Halo character.

The other stories are average at best. The black and white ink artwork is not clear nor interesting. There is better fan art to be found on the internet, which is perplexing as to why the particular style was chosen.

Overall, am very disappointed in having bought this book. Feel like the publisher just wanted to make a quick dollar selling to fanboys who don't care about quality, but will mindlessly buy. Can't recommend buying the book, am not spineless of under the mind control of the Flood or Microsoft. This book is for die hard fans only, for the rest of us, avoid.

Hello there, this book 'Halo Evolutions Vol.1' and 'Halo Evolutions Vol.2 are a big ripoff. These books include the same stories like in the original Halo Evolutions book. Except for new artwork and one new story in each Volume. So if you already own the original book Halo Evolutions then it is not worth buying these books. Be aware of that.