Halo: The Fall of Reach
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Halo: The Fall of Reach | ||||
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Audio book narrator(s): |
Todd McLaren | |||
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Novel | |||
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This novel has received three adaptions, a comic series, an animated series, and an audio drama. | |||
Halo: The Fall of Reach is a Halo novel written by Eric Nylund published on October 30, 2001. The first Halo novel to be published, it serves as a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved.[2] The novel was reportedly finished in seven weeks,[2] eventually becoming a Publisher's Weekly bestseller with nearly 200,000 copies sold in the United States and United Kingdom.[3]
The Fall of Reach was reissued on August 3, 2010 by Tor Books, with the new reissued version including some content updates and additional content;[4] on June 28, 2011, Tor released the "Definitive Edition" of the novel, which fixes many of the errors introduced in the 2010 reissue.[5] A further reprinted edition was published in March 2019 by Gallery Books, featuring a slightly modified cover layout which no longer bears the title "Definitive Edition", but retains the 2011 text.[6] In 2026 the book will be included alongside its sequels The Flood and First Strike in an omnibus collection titled Halo: The Master Chief Omnibus, featuring further canonical fixes and new adjunct story content.[7]
A comic book adaptation series titled Halo: Fall of Reach, consisting of three story arcs was published by Marvel Comics and 343 Industries, starting with Boot Camp on September 14, 2010. It is followed by Covenant and Invasion.[8] In addition, the novel was adapted into an animated series which was shipped with the Limited and Limited Collector's Editions of Halo 5: Guardians.[9] The animated series was later released on Blu-ray and DVD.[10]
Official summary[edit]
| “ | Before the Human-Covenant War engulfed Halo, the planet-colony Reach came under attack by the Covenant, and Earth's specially trained and augmented warriors, code-named SPARTANs, stood alone to fight for humanity's survival. | ” |
Plot synopsis[edit]
The prologue takes place on the planet Jericho VII on February 12, 2535, and introduces the Spartans and their purpose. As the seemingly unstoppable Covenant war machine moves into place to glass Jericho VII, Spartan Red and Blue teams are sent to prevent the destruction of the planet. The Spartans manage to kill a thousand Grunts and even destroy a Covenant air strike with fougasses. However, the situation in space soon deteriorates, and the Spartans are forced to retreat before the surface of Jericho VII is glassed.
- Section I: Reveille
The story itself begins with Dr. Catherine Halsey and Lieutenant, Junior Grade Jacob Keyes on board the Han: a UNSC Vancouver-class courier. Traveling to the colony world Eridanus II, their mission is to identify a potential candidate, John, for Halsey's SPARTAN-II program. Dr. Halsey finds John in a school playground in Elysium City, where she determines his suitability for the program. Using a coin, she tests John's reflexes by flipping the coin in the air and having him identify the side it will land on. John catches it and correctly identifies the side: the eagle. During this time, Halsey gives John the coin, which is later taken from him.
- Section II: Boot
The plot then goes on to show, in detail, the brutal indoctrination and training regime that John and his fellow Spartans are put through. Chief Petty Officer Mendez trains the Spartan-IIs, showing them the many necessary virtues of a sol