The Cole Protocol (Halo)

One of the weaker books in the Halo franchise. The plot was a bit hard to swallow and had little to nothing to do with the Cole Protocol or Preston Cole himself. We see Gray Team but learn very little about them as not much is devoted to their character development. There are, in fact, almost no characters that we can identify with. Even Keyes fails to connect, though he is written far more strongly in The Flood and The Fall of Reach. Overall, not worth buying.

Due to the quality of most video game adaptions, I have been pleasently surprised by the quality of the Halo novels. The Cole Protocol is another solid entry, entertaining, but nothing spectacular. Its most distinguishing feature is its many view points. The novel spends the most time on Commander Jacob Keyes, the straight-laced commanding officer from Halo: Combat Evovled, but also introduces Gray Team, a trio of semi-renegade Spartan IIs and Ignacio Delgado, an inhabitant of the tenuous asteroid colony known as the Rubble. But the highlight for me was the story thread that followed Thel 'Vadamee, the future Arbiter. The four seemingly unrelated stories eventually come together in an exciting third act that is nearly impossible to stop reading. However, getting to this point is sometimes a problem. The action is occasionally difficult to understand and is not as exciting as some of the other Halo books. The constant switching between viewpoints is a nuisance; near the end it switches sometimes with every page. But for the most part I enjoyed the novel, especially the wealth of Halo connections it contains. Readers who are not well-versed in Halo lore will have some trouble visualizing the scenes, but all-in-all the book is an entertaining sci-fi adventure.

For some fairly obvious reasons, there has been a taboo about videogame-inspired literature that is in essence the same as the taboo about videogame-inspired cinema. The short of it is, in general, the quality is quite low. I don't think that this has to do with the writers hired (usually), or with the transfer of the medium itself, but more to do with the fact that in general, the tasks and logic assigned to the player during an interactive play experience are essentially different to those assigned during a reading or viewing experience. This interactivity is, of course, an illusion (you can't argue about the particulars of a quest or directive, nor can you rebuke a foolish non-player character), but it gives the player a distinct sensation of control that other media can't replicate.

There are exceptions, however, to this "quality barrier" among the available videogame literature. Among them, the Halo novels have typically carried a bar-setting craftsmanship. They may not be built to the scale of an Alastair Reynolds epic, or as personal as an Orson Scott Card narrative, nor as hard-fact informed as a Niven novel, but they are usually solid reads that you can count on to keep you interested and change the way you think about the Halo-verse. This is due in large part to the fact that the Halo design team, now 343 Industries (owned by Microsoft) has a remarkable quality-control team that keeps their license under tight reign.

Strange, then, that Tobias Buckell's novel emerged the way it did. Cole Protocol, the sixth of a rapidly growing number of Halo novels, is easily one of the weakest installments. Note here that the Halo series is not one of those that degrades in quality over time; indeed, some of the strongest entries came later. This is due in part to the fact that 343i brings in new and established authors constantly. Buckell is one of the youngest and most untested authors they have brought in, and it is a wonder that they didn't assign more of an editorial team to the book. It is rife with typographical errors and strange phrasing that snaps the reader out of the narrative on an almost chapterly basis. Sometimes these errors occur page after page.

Thankfully, Cole Protocol's story is relatively easy to understand. There are four narratives: Jacob Keyes, a mainstay of the Halo-verse, Gray Team, a guerrilla Spartan trio, Thel Vadam'ee, a Covenant Shipmaster, and Ignacio Delgado, who is a pilot and guardian of the coveted coordinates to Earth, which are threatened under the titular Cole Protocol. Keyes and Thel are both investigating the sudden appearance of human-modified Covenant weapons into the human black market, while Delgado and Gray Team are playing cat-and-mouse with the coordinates. All four plot lines merge around the cobble-crafted space-station known as 'the Rubble,' which is the result of a joint effort of human and Kig-Yar engineering.

The Rubble alone is almost worth buying the book for. Almost. Megastructure science-fiction and Halo are like peanut butter and chocolate, but Buckell doesn't spend his time describing, exploring, or even developing the Rubble. He takes for granted that it is a marvel, only occasionally reminding us how large and uncanny this orbiting city made of anchored and colonized asteroid habitats is. This is a shame, since the time he spends enacting intrigue among the UNSC and Covenant forces makes for a pretty terrible, eye-rolling read. He had a golden goose in the form of the Rubble, and dropped the ball.

Part of this might have been due to the fact that there were just too many plotlines. Aside from Ignacio Delgado, there really aren't many compelling narrators in the book. Even the once-off guys are uninteresting. Keyes is whiny, the Spartans are too emotional, and Thel Vadam'ee is, frankly, one of the worst-written narrators I have read in some time. For an established, honorable, full-grown Sangheli master warrior, he has more self-doubt than an unggoy asked to design a nuclear reactor. For a fan of the series, the time spent in his head is uncomfortable and alien, but not in a good way. (But this makes sense, since he is breaking of one of my sci-fi rules.)

These problems, combined with the many, many typographical errors and jarring, stilted phrasing, makes for a difficult read. The charm that Buckell has by way of his sense of humor, too, is often ruined by the bizarre phrasing that sounds like it came off of an internet board with over-inflated intellects. Even a casual reader will notice often that there are repeated words together in the same sentence (e.g., "The unnogy randomly bumping around complaining about their random movements was giving Thel a headache") reads as if this is actually an honest-to-god fan fiction bound and published to the mass paperback market. Buckell also uses unusual terms that other established authors step around, making him sound like a player talking about the game, rather than an author dictating new canon. For example, instead of calling the Covenant's grenades "plasma grenades," he calls them "sticky grenades." In the other fiction entries, they go by the former name. Unexplained terminology changes are rife through the novel, and leaves me wondering, Where were the copy editors?

I hadn't read a Halo book since my early college years, and I was looking forward to diving into another one while I was on my honeymoon. Cole Protocol was a poor choice (especially since I had Kim Robinson's 2312 in the car). While it is a fun novel, to be sure, and has a fair amount of well-written action, the sheer volume of potential that was dropped makes the finished product look like a paltry, naked little thing. I know it is unfair to wonder what might have happened had the novel been handled by more sure hands, like Nylund of Traviss, but I can't help it. The Rubble was too cool an idea to dismiss as fast as it was, and if you're a high-caliber sci-fi fan, you ought to dismiss this one, too. It will only please the hardest core of the Halonauts.

I fully enjoy the world behind Halo and this book is very engaging. The plot, ideas, and character POVs were ll well-drawn out.
Very interesting to see how the Covenant and Humanity interacted before the "start" of the entire war.
One odd thing though - this book is titled "The Cole Protocol" but is really not at all about the Cole Protocol. Yes, humanity is attempting to keep secure the navigation data they use for space-travel from the Covenant...but really this was all about the very beginning of Covenant interactions with humanity. The actual "Cole Protocol" part is NOT at the forefront of the plot.
Overall an entertaining and illuminating story to add to the rich Halo story in whole.

The Halo universe, games and novels, 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 this author and the others that have contributed to this amazing tale. I hope the Halo franchise and universe continue to evolve for a long long time.

Tobias Buckell has written a very good adventure story. If you are playing the Halo game, or just reading the books, you should not miss this one. Do not expect to read a story about Spartans, although there are Spartans as main characters (the Gray Team). The story line deals with the Covenant's interest in the human built `Rubble' and how it can lead them to the Human home planet. But, the Cole Protocol now stands in their way.

For those who are interested in learning about the `Covenant', this book provides some information about its organizational hierarchy and some of the races (Jackles, Sangheili, Unggoy, Kig-Yar, Jiralhanae and San'Shyuum) that comprise it. We meet the Prophet of Regret and the Prophet of Truth.

For those who look a little deeper at the story, you might think about the Human Technocratic Government in the `Rubble. Who among the population is an `Insurrectionist' against Earth, and who is not. Helping to keep the `Rubble' together is the Artificial Intelligence, Juliana.

I do not know if it was the intention of Tobias Buckell to raise this thought, but it came to my mind, while thinking about the religious aspect of the `Covenant'. That is,how much their religion has shaped their civilization and brought it into armed conflict with the humans from Earth. That even though the races follow the same religion, they each have their own culture. This reminds me of current situations here on Earth.

I must confess, I did have very low expectations for Halo: The Cole Protocol, I was always a little fearful of reading Halo books not written by Eric Nylund. Well Halo: The Flood put the fear in me and with good reason. That's why I was very much delighted by Tobias S. Buckell's Halo début, its quite good. Not shattering, just good.

My measure for "goodness" with these types of books is whether they add something to our understanding of the Halo Universe, and with the points of view for the different characters and factions, both Human and Covenant, it did just that. The story didn't contain galactic shattering revelations, more of the day to day machinations of galactic empires, but still it adds that little bit of flavour to the Halo universe and I always find it nice when its not all about our much beloved Spartans.

This book, taking place 9 years after the book Contact Harvest (also in the halo series) tells of Capt. Keyes and the designated Grey team of Spartans protecting the Cole Protocol to keep the location of Earth safe from the Covenant. I do have to hand it to The Cole Protocol for not tethering off new problems or destroying some of the fabrication in place in the Halo Universe, but overall the writing just isn't as good as Nylund's works in the series (Fall of Reach, First Strike, Ghosts of Onyx). Buckell knows the series and knows what he wants to do in this book while keeping sure not to add more bumps in the series with misplaced (cronologically) monikers, weapons, or the sort.

In short, if you are following the series, get this book. It is a good read. Much better than Contact Harvest, but not on the same level as some others, though still enjoyable.

This is a decent storyline especially where they placed it in the overall chronology. I personally feel that Tobias Buckell needs to keep to writing other things. His writing is choppy short snipplets, without ever going too deep into any one aspect of the story at any given time. Felt like a rock skipping over the water trying to watch a full-length movie being played under the surface! By the time you're to the other side you basically have an idea what you read and you think you might have actually enjoyed it...but your not sure!! Probably the worst experience of all the Halo books. Especially since I love this storyline and we wait about a year for each story to be written...then you finish it going..."that's it?", "That's what I waited for??"
Pretty sad overall!!

I looked forward to this book with great interest from the moment I found out that it would be handling a major Elite character's backstory. Sadly, I find myself underwhelmed with it. Writing-wise, it's about the level one would expect from a spinoff book of a video game. Essentially, it's not well written, not terribly well-characterized, and extremely poorly proofread ("cyrogenic" jumps out at you right on the first page-- not only should a proofreader have caught that, but a spellchecker should too). Needless to say, you need to be quite well-read in the Halo mythos for this book to make a whole lot of sense, as The Cole Protocol assumes an array of prior knowledge. What matters, then, is what it does for the canon as a whole.

I mainly read Halo novels for the worldbuilding, and the back history of characters we've come to know and love through the game. I don't expect each author to do equally well with all aspects of the Halo world, and this book is no exception. Captain (here, Lieutenant) Keyes gets a turn in the spotlight, and he's kept in-character, with a properly Keyesian, out-of-the-box maneuver at the end. There's a part played by Spartan Grey Team, and while I (only a mild fan of the Spartans) was satisfied with it, people who are focused on them will likely come away disappointed. Still, their interaction with other characters (ordinary humans and the Elites (Sangheili)) is interesting more for what it says about the other characters than what it illumines about the Spartans.

Where Cole Protocol shines is its depiction of ordinary humans. Nylund's books give a good military/UNSC perspective on the Human-Covenant war, but Buckell gives you a sense of what it's like to live there and be a civilian trying to make your way through a series of completely sensible, but still extremely onerous laws. You get a better sense of the Insurrectionist perspective here, and the Rubble (a ragtag civilization built by refugees, Innies, and miners behind enemy lines) is well depicted. Delgado, a civilian pilot caught in the middle, is an interesting character and a nice counterpoint to Keyes and the Helljumpers. Buckell also carries on the tradition of novels exploring AIs in the Haloverse-- Juliana, an AI on the verge of rampancy, has a small part that I wish were a bit larger, because it seems right on the edge of really exploring the ramifications of rampancy for people who depend on the AI (and for the AI herself), but skates away before dealing the subject much more than a glancing blow.

Which is the main flaw of the storytelling in this book, it tries to tell a few too many stories, and ends up giving short shrift to most of them. This is, sadly, especially apparent with what should be a selling point of the book, that it delves further into the culture of the Sangheili and tells the backstory of one of the most important Elites in the universe (Thel 'Vadamee-- who will be a bit more familiar to readers by story's end). The previous Halo novel, Contact Harvest, developed rather well the backstory of Halo's nefarious Prophet Hierarchs, and I had hoped for something similar for 'Vadamee and the Sangheili. Instead, Buckell bounces off every "warrior race" stereotype known to military SF and fantasy and settles nowhere in particular. 'Vadamee gets a lot of attention in the story, but is only thinly characterized-- though the one exception is that some good attention is paid to conflicting notions of "heresy" and showing the fault lines already present in the Covenant. Considerably better is the depiction of the Kig-Yar (Jackals). I'd even go so far as to say that a Kig-Yar leader named Reth somewhat steals the Covenant side of the story away from 'Vadamee, at least for being a bit more unexpected and interesting.

In sum, it's worth reading if you're a canon completist, but falls well short of its potential. I think the Haloverse is complex enough to support a much, much better book, and I continue to hope that one day we'll see that book. Until then, enjoy Cole Protocol for the things it manages to do well.

I found the prior book very refreshing, seeing how the humans and Covenent met. This one just continues with the characters I got to know in the past books. I often have difficulty keeping up with whats going on if I take a break from these books in the middle. I suggest reading the whole thing through, or at least repeating a paragraph or two if it's been a while.

Poor grammar and bad research. Very imaginative and many parts left out.Have read all other Halo books currently out, and parts of this book dont fit into the Halo timeline. Tobias even makes the base Halo storyline a joke, also stating that innies could be on the covie side. Many major events made up. Enough to anger any fan, this book is heresy unto the highest degree. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! The 11th age of bad books is at an end, and others shall hold the light, so that we may better mind the path.

This installment in the halo novel series, focuses on Key's early days. And the back story to how he became as respected as he was during the first Halo Game (Halo: Combat Evolved). It is a decent novel if you enjoyed the first five books then you'll enjoy this one. But to me something was missing this time around. Most likely its just because hes a new author trying to fit into a new mold.

By looking at the cover, you'd inevitably believe that this book would cover the "Cole Protocol" and that oft-mentioned, but obscure "Gray Team" that's hinted at thoughtout the Halo genre. As a halo FAN myself, I had high hopes for this book, especailly since the author, given something as obscure as the Gray Team, could've went in any direction with it.

Unfortunately, the book's climax is never reached. I read through an endless progression of "checkpoints" before the climax which was over in a few pages. The Gray team remains obscure and we hardly even get to see ANY of their capabilities. If you're looking for something more about SPARTANs and how awesome they are then look elsewhere. Killing nothing but a few Jackals and Grunts doesn't raise the coolness of what could've been an awesome storyline with the Gray Team. I'd have to say that this book did better than The Flood but it ranks just above it and above nothing else. I wanted more Gray Team and I didn't get that.

This book offers a great and distant setting prior to the fall of reach. It is an enjoyable story of the Halo universe and a great opportunity to get to know other Spartans-II. If you've read the other books you will find yourself right at home while reading this one.

If you do not play video games, or you are not aware of what Halo is, this book still offers a great science fiction tale for those who enjoy a good read.

I really enjoyed this Halo installment because it didn't have all the technical jargon that comes along with the other books and it had a very interesting storyline. I am someone who does not play the Halo games as heavily as i used to but i would definitely add this to your Halo collection if have not already and even though it is not that long it is still action packed and has a lot of good info in it.

Simply put, quite a good book. Although I will admit, this book is not for everyone. Essentially, if you like Halo, and the Halo book series, then you will like this book. I've also read Contact Harvest, the other three, and Ghosts of Onyx. For the uninitiated, this is not a book for you. The book makes references and allusions to other parts of the Halo mythos; so unless you are up to speed, the book would probably be ponderous, lacking in information, and probably not all that fun to read. For other people that have followed Halo, and liked the other books, go out and by this. Its not a difficult read, but a fun one. It reads like the books that came before it, and puts a human face on humanities struggle against The Covenant.

This book is awful. The writer utterly fails to establish any character or plot thread that provides any motivation to keep reading after the first page. None of the characters have any charm, there is no mystery or suspense to the story, and there's no expansion or exploration of the Halo universe.

This is a book without inspiration. Avoid it.