Halo: Glasslands: Difference between revisions
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''"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."'' | ''"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."'' | ''"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."''<ref>''Halo: Glasslands'' back cover</ref>}} | ||
==Plot== | |||
Set after the events of ''[[Halo 3]]'' in [[2553]],<ref name="panel 1">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNDQN7nwZlw '''YouTube''': ''SDCC 2011: Halo Universe Panel Part 1'']</ref> ''Halo: Glasslands'' explores the volatile political situation in the [[Halo universe|''Halo'' universe]] following the end of the [[Human-Covenant War]].<ref name="release"/> | |||
The novel picks up directly where ''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'' left off, with [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey|Dr. Halsey]], [[Franklin Mendez|Chief Mendez]] along with a group of [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-IIs]] and [[SPARTAN-III Program|SPARTAN-IIIs]] stranded in a massive [[Dyson sphere]] within a slipspace bubble, now lying in the remnants of the artificial planet [[Onyx]]. While they explore the Forerunner construct and attempt to find a way out, ONI director [[Admiral]] [[Margaret Orlenda Parangosky|Margaret Parangosky]] assembles a black ops team known as [[Kilo-Five]], which is led by [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Serin Osman]], a failed [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]] candidate and a protege of Admiral Parangosky. The team also consists of a SPARTAN-II, [[Naomi-010]]; three [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]s, [[Vasily Beloi]], [[Malcolm Geffen]], and [[Lian Devereaux]]; and the AI construct [[Black-Box]]. They are accompanied by a [[civilian]] academic known as [[Evan Phillips]], who is notably one of the few humans fluent in the [[Covenant languages|Sangheili language]]. | |||
Kilo-Five is assigned on a covert mission to sow discord between disparate [[Sangheili]] factions by any means necessary, and later bring Dr. Halsey in once she has been located. Their mission takes them to various planets, including [[New Llanelli]], [[Venezia]] and [[Sanghelios]]. At one point, they accompany [[Terrence Hood|Admiral Hood]] on a diplomatic mission to meet [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]] on Sanghelios. Meanwhile in the Dyson sphere, [[Lucy-B091]] discovers a local population of [[Huragok]], who assist the human survivors in establishing communications with the ONI ships prowling Onyx's debris field. The shield world is eventually brought into normal space from its slipspace bubble by the Huragok, and Parangosky sends Kilo-Five inside to arrest Halsey, while ONI dispatches science teams to recover Forerunner technologies from the construct. | |||
Throughout the story, the moral implications of the SPARTAN-II program and those involved with it - including [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]] are explored. In addition, Sangheili culture and the impact the sundering of the Covenant had on their society is explored in detail. | |||
It has been noted that threads of the story will have connections to ''[[Halo 4]]''.<ref name="sparkast"/> | It has been noted that threads of the story will have connections to ''[[Halo 4]]''.<ref name="sparkast">[http://halo.xbox.com/Content/assets/en-us/Podcast/343Sparkast_005.mp3 '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''343 Sparkast 005'']</ref> | ||
==Appearances== | ==Appearances== |
Revision as of 12:15, October 26, 2011
Halo: Glasslands is the first novel in the yet-untitled post-war series by Karen Traviss.[1] It was released on October 25, 2011 on hardcover, paperback and audiobook.[2]
Official summary
Plot
Set after the events of Halo 3 in 2553,[3] Halo: Glasslands explores the volatile political situation in the Halo universe following the end of the Human-Covenant War.[1]
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 in a massive Dyson sphere within a slipspace bubble, now lying in the remnants of the artificial planet Onyx. While they explore the Forerunner construct and attempt to find a way out, ONI director Admiral Margaret Parangosky assembles a black ops team known as Kilo-Five, which is led by Captain Serin Osman, a failed SPARTAN-II candidate and a protege of Admiral Parangosky. The team also consists of a SPARTAN-II, Naomi-010; three Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, Vasily Beloi, Malcolm Geffen, and Lian Devereaux; and the AI construct Black-Box. They are accompanied by a civilian academic known as Evan Phillips, who is notably one of the few humans fluent in the Sangheili language.
Kilo-Five is assigned on a covert mission to sow discord between disparate Sangheili factions by any means necessary, and later bring Dr. Halsey in once she has been located. Their mission takes them to various planets, including New Llanelli, Venezia and Sanghelios. At one point, they accompany Admiral Hood on a diplomatic mission to meet Arbiter Thel 'Vadam on Sanghelios. Meanwhile in the Dyson sphere, Lucy-B091 discovers a local population of Huragok, who assist the human survivors in establishing communications with the ONI ships prowling Onyx's debris field. The shield world is eventually brought into normal space from its slipspace bubble by the Huragok, and Parangosky sends Kilo-Five inside to arrest Halsey, while ONI dispatches science teams to recover Forerunner technologies from the construct.
Throughout the story, the moral implications of the SPARTAN-II program and those involved with it - including Dr. Catherine Halsey are explored. In addition, Sangheili culture and the impact the sundering of the Covenant had on their society is explored in detail.
It has been noted that threads of the story will have connections to Halo 4.[4]
Appearances
Characters
- Akeyo Oduya (Mentioned only)
- Ash-G099
- Avu Med 'Telcam (First appearance)
- Black-Box (First appearance)
- Catherine Elizabeth Halsey
- Cortana (Mentioned only)
- David Agnoli (First appearance)
- Evan Phillips (First appearance)
- Emanuel Barakat Template:First mentioned
- Franklin Mendez
- Fred-104
- Jul ‘Mdama (First appearance)
- John-117 (Mentioned only)
- Kelly-087
- Kurt-051 (Mentioned only)
- Lian Devereaux (First appearance)
- Linda-058
- Lucy-B091
- Malcolm Geffen (First appearance)
- Margaret O. Parangosky
- Mark
- Miranda Keyes (Mentioned only)
- Naomi-010 (First appearance)
- Olivia
- Prophet of Truth (Mentioned only)
- Ruth Charet Template:First mentioned
- Serin Osman (First appearance)
- Terrence Hood (Mentioned only)
- Thel 'Vadam
- Tom-B292
- Vasily Beloi (First appearance)
- Tom Muir (First appearance)
Locations
- Brunel system (First appearance)
- New Llanelli (First appearance)
- Fied, Joori, and Urs system
- Sanghelios
- State of Mdama (First appearance)
- Bekan Keep (First appearance)
- State of Mdama (First appearance)
- Sanghelios
- Sol system
- Zeta Doradus system
- Venezia (First appearance)
Organizations
- Unified Earth Government
- Servants of Abiding Truth (First appearance)
Species
- Flood (Mentioned only)
- Human
- Huragok
- Jiralhanae
- Kig-yar
- Sangheili
- San 'Shyuum (Mentioned only)
- Unggoy (Mentioned only)
Vehicles
- UNSC Battle of Minden (First appearance)
- UNSC Dusk (Mentioned only)
- UNSC Glamorgan (First appearance)
- UNSC Infinity (Mentioned only)
- UNSC Port Stanley (First appearance)
- Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle
- Type-48 Light Assault Gun Carriage
- Tarasque-class heavy fighter
- M12 Force Application Vehicle
Trivia
- The cover of the novel was illustrated by former Bungie concept artist Eddie Smith.[5]
- Halo: Glasslands features Easter eggs that reference Red vs Blue, as Karen Traviss is an avid fan of the machinima series.[4][6]
- An excerpt of the novel's first chapter was released in the September 2011 issue of Official Xbox Magazine. The excerpt was then republished on Tor's official website.[7]
- An excerpt of the novel's second chapter was released on October 12th's Halo Bulletin on Halo Waypoint.[8]
Sources
- ^ a b Halo Official Site: Tor Books reveals title, cover art of first Halo novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss
- ^ Amazon.com: Halo: Glasslands (hardcover)
- ^ YouTube: SDCC 2011: Halo Universe Panel Part 1
- ^ a b Halo Waypoint - 343 Sparkast 005
- ^ halo.bungie.org: Re: Might be my favorite cover.
- ^ IGN, Halo Universe Fiction - Halofest
- ^ Tor.com - Halo: Glasslands excerpt, Chapter 1
- ^ Halo Waypoint - Halo: Glasslands excerpt, Chapter 2