User:TheArb1ter117/Sandbox2

The staff at Halopedia are happy to present our third ever review of a Halo novel! In this article, we will share our thoughts Troy Denning's latest novel, Halo: Outcasts. While the novel was released about a month ago (at the time of publishing this article) and we allow any of its content to be posted to the site, we have ensured that the first half of this review is spoiler-free, so you can safely read the first five questions if you have yet to complete the novel yourself!

If you would like to experience the novel for yourself, you can find it at Amazon (US or UK), Forbidden Planet, Simon & Schuster, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble.

Given that collaboration between people of varied opinions and backgrounds is core to the concept of a wiki, our review consists of a number of talking points with multiple editors giving their thoughts individually. This time, we’ve got Halopedia staff members BaconShelf, JackVibe, Sith Venator, and TheArb1ter117!

Please note that we were not asked by 343 Industries, Microsoft, or any other party to produce this review, nor were we asked to promote or praise the book.

Question 1
'What are your overall thoughts on Halo: Outcasts? Was it what you expected?'

BaconShelf:

JackVibe:

Sith Venator:

TheArb1ter117:

Question 2
'Is there any other Halo media that you think fans need to play, read, or watch before picking up Halo: Outcasts? Or any that you think would simply enhance the reading experience?'

BaconShelf:

JackVibe:

Sith Venator:

TheArb1ter117:

Question 3
'Prior to Halo: Outcasts, Troy Denning's Halo novels always followed the Spartan-IIs of Blue Team and/or the Ferrets, while the main characters of this novel are Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and Spartan-IV Olympia Vale—both of which have never appeared in any of his previous novels. How do you think Troy did in writing these two established characters?'

BaconShelf:

JackVibe:

Sith Venator:

TheArb1ter117:

Question 4
'Without revealing any key details, what did you think of the novel's exploration of the Created occupation of the galaxy and the lead-up to the Battle for Zeta Halo? How well does it bridge the game between the two?'

BaconShelf:

JackVibe:

Sith Venator:

TheArb1ter117:

Question 5
'For fans who haven't read any previous Halo novels and are unsure if they should start with Halo: Outcasts, what advice would you give to them? For the fans who have read previous Halo novels, which novels would you say feel most like Outcasts?'

BaconShelf:

JackVibe:

Sith Venator:

TheArb1ter117:

Summary
Ultimately, we at Halopedia greatly enjoyed Halo: The Rubicon Protocol and how it expanded the story introduced in Halo Infinite. While there were areas that we think could have seen further attention, the novel overall is fantastic and has earned from us a rating of 8.5/10!

This concludes our third review of a Halo novel! We will be continuing this with Kelly Gay's Halo: Epitaph next year, so any feedback on the format and content of this review is appreciated! In the meantime, you can check out our reviews of Halo: Divine Wind (here) and Halo: The Rubicon Protocol (here).

We’ll leave you with JackVibe’s beautiful mock-up of a poster for a theoretical Halo movie following the boat crew of Halo: The Rubicon Protocol (or TRP) inspired by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the discussion that led up to it.

(Editor's note: Jack has been promoted to the wiki's Graphics Lead.)