Halo: Glasslands
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Halo: Glasslands | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Attribution information | ||||
|
Author(s): |
||||
|
Cover artist(s): |
||||
|
Audio book narrator(s): |
Euan Morton | |||
| Publication information | ||||
|
Publisher: |
Tor Books (original) | |||
|
Publication date: |
October 25, 2011 (original) | |||
|
Media type: |
Print (Hardcover, paperback), Audiobook | |||
|
Pages: |
464 pages (original) | |||
|
ISBN: |
||||
| Part of Kilo-Five Trilogy | ||||
| ||||
Halo: Glasslands is the first novel in the Kilo-Five Trilogy by Karen Traviss.[3] It was released on October 25, 2011 on hardcover, paperback and audiobook.[4] A sequel, Halo: The Thursday War, was released on October 2, 2012.[5]
Set after the end of the Human-Covenant War in 2553, Halo: Glasslands explores the volatile political situation in the Halo universe following the end of the war.[3] The novel picks up directly where Halo: Ghosts of Onyx left off, with Dr. Halsey, Chief Mendez along with a group of SPARTAN-IIs and SPARTAN-IIIs stranded on a Forerunner shield world locked in a slipspace bubble in the remnants of the artificial planet Onyx. Meanwhile, Office of Naval Intelligence Director Admiral Margaret Parangosky assembles a black ops team known as Kilo-Five, which is assigned on a covert mission to sow discord between disparate Sangheili factions by any means necessary, as well as to arrest Dr. Halsey once she has been located.
Throughout the story, the moral implications of the SPARTAN-II program and those involved with it - particularly Dr. Catherine Halsey - are explored. In addition, the societal and religious impact the sundering of the Covenant had on Sangheili culture is explored in detail. Threads of the story also have connections to Halo 4.[6]
A preview of the second chapter was officially released by 343 Industries on October 12, 2011.[7]
Official summary[edit]
| “ | Though the Covenant has collapsed, humanity's war is far from over…
"The galaxy is in chaos. The aftermath of a star-spanning war has left everything in doubt - and the ruins of two once-mighty civilizations teetering on the brink of collapse. From this chaos, new adversaries will emerge, including a cruel and dangerous organization bent on exploiting the still-fresh passions and prejudices of the war for its own gain (and that's just on the human side). The Covenant-that-was, a seething mixture of religious zealotry and rival alien species, is trying to regain its primacy and find a new path back to its former glory." "Secrets and tragedies from humanity's distant and recent past will return to haunt us, and familiar heroes will be lost and found. And out of the chaos could come a new hope for mankind: a weapon unlike anything the galaxy has ever seen… but only if Dr. Catherine Halsey and the secrets she vanished with still survive and can be brought back home."[8] |
” |
Plot synopsis[edit]
The prologue begins with a narration from Catherine Halsey regarding the current situation within the core of Onyx. Continuing from where they left off, Catherine Halsey, Chief Mendez, and the surviving Spartans continue to traverse the shield world as they search for a food source, a way to revive Team Katana and a means of escape. With a sense of regret Dr. Halsey begins to wonder about her mission to save the SPARTAN-IIs and the whereabouts of John-117, Cortana, and Miranda Keyes.
The story begins months later on the former human colony New Llanelli in the Brunel system. A meeting is taking place between Captain Serin Osman, accompanied by Professor Evan Phillips, and Avu Med 'Telcam, a former Sangheili Field Master, now a speaker of the Servants of Abiding Truth. 'Telcam believes that Thel 'Vadam and his followers are traitors to the Sangheili's former religious beliefs and wants to restore their faith by killing Vadam. He requests for Osman to supply his group with weapons and a deal is reached, whereupon victory 'Telcam will leave the human race alone. Osman and Phillips then rendezvous with UNSC Battle of Minden and return to Earth.
At ONI Facility Bravo-Six in Sydney, Australia, Serin Osman and Admiral Margaret Parangosky discuss the formation of Osman's new team, Kilo-Five, and its mission to neutralize the Sangheili. Parangosky also believes Dr. Halsey to be alive, but tells Osman that she only needs to divert to Onyx when anything is found. Afterwards, two ODSTs, Corporal Vasily "Vaz" Beloi and Staff Sergeant Malcolm "Mal" Geffen, arrive at Bravo-Six where they meet another ODST, Lian Devereaux and Petty Officer Naomi-010, followed by Parangosky, Serin Osman, and Professor Evan Phillips. Parangosky then discloses the mission, explaining the objective to sow discontent and strife among the Sangheili and to keep them fighting amongst themselves by arming the Sangheili dissidents. Lastly, the group is told they will be using the UNSC Port Stanley for the mission and are introduced to AI Black-Box, or “BB”. Before Port Stanley heads out, the crew is notified that the UNSC Ariadne was having technical problems. The ship requested help from the insurrectionist-controlled colony of Venezia, but the colony refused to cooperate.
In Mdama on Sanghelios, Jul ‘Mdama, a former Shipmaster, heads out to Kaidon Levu 'Mdama's keep to see the Arbiter. There, Thel 'Vadam expresses his desire for unity and independence, and argues that the Great Schism led to their current situation. Jul says they should finish off the humans. However, Thel ‘Vadam believes it is foolish and plans to reach a peace agreement with humans instead. Jul continues his opposition, prompting Thel to tell the audience if they disagree they have the right to attempt to assassinate him. After Jul returns to his keep, their neighbor Relon and his brother are killed by the Servants of the Abiding Truth for demolishing a Forerunner monument. This leads Jul to contemplate the prospect of joining the Abiding Truth so he can assassinate the Arbiter. Later, Jul and fellow former shipmaster Forze travel to Ontom in order to meet with the Abiding Truth. Upon landing, they find a temple which appears to be of Forerunner origins. Jul and Forze are greeted by ‘Telcam and Jul tells him that he wants to join their cause, and ‘Telcam accepts. Soon after, they travel to the Aanrar Shipyard and steal the Unflinching Resolve, a frigate formerly captained by one of the shipmasters, Buran.
Inside the Forerunner Dyson sphere, the group comes across a Forerunner tower. Mendez decides to explore the structure and gestures for Lucy-B091 to cover him. Lucy spots something moving in the shadows and decides to investigate. Suddenly, she falls through a wall and finds herself in a Forerunner hangar. Surveying the area, she accidentally attacks and kills a Huragok, only realizing her mistake too late. More Engineers then approach and Lucy puts away her weapon in a gesture of peace. She tries to communicate to them, attempting to speak but is unable to. Outside, the rest of the group splits up in order to continue reconnaissance of the rest of the shield world while Dr. Halsey and Kelly stay behind in case Lucy returns. Eventually the recon team comes across a Forerunner city. Meanwhile, one of the Huragok communicates to Lucy using a panel and introduces itself as Prone to Drift. After realizing the Huragok have access to real-time information from outside the sphere, Lucy begs for the Huragok to allow her to communicate with the outside but he refuses. Lucy then asks Prone to take her to her friends. At first Prone is reluctant, but she promises not to let them harm him.
Port Stanley exits slipspace near New Llanelli and Osman arranges to meet with ‘Telcam. Kilo-Five then lands on New Llanelli and they drive a Warthog hauling a trailer full of weapons over to ‘Telcam, who surveys the crates and pr