Forum:Halo: Broken Circle

Announcement
So... this happened. Can't say I'm not excited, even though a part of me was holding on to the hope of seeing a triumphant return of Nylund or Staten. Still, in terms of content, this novel represents a major step in the right direction: 343i seems to have finally gotten the memo that the fans weren't too big on the super-jingoistic flaunting of human supremacy of late and that there's more to the Covenant than just the savage, animalistic monsters Halo 4 and, to an extent, the Kilo-Five Trilogy, presented them as.

I really like the cover too. Very subdued and a major departure from the comic book silliness of the cover art for the otherwise phenomenal Silentium. It could easily pass off for a "proper" literary science fiction book cover (albeit with the difference that the cover actually seems to have something to do with the book's content, which isn't the case with SF novels most of the time).

The author is a complete unknown to me, for better or worse. Looking him up, he seems legit enough, though he's obviously no SF titan like Greg Bear (then again, few authors are). But he's no Karen Traviss either (in that he doesn't seem to have elicited any major controversies) which is always a plus.

Looking forward, 343's willingness to explore the distant past of the Haloverse makes me hopeful for a UNSC origins book I've been wanting to see for some time — a more grounded, harder SF story set during the early space age climate of the Interplanetary War and the related conflicts. --Jugus (Talk  | Contribs ) 05:08, 22 June 2014 (EDT)

The mystery planet
Any ideas as to the nature of the planet seen in the cover? From the decidedly Forerunner architecture it could really be anything - perhaps another variety of shield world or simply another, previously unseen type of installation. I just hope the story doesn't turn out to revolve around chasing after another Forerunner MacGuffin, though admittedly the Covenant-centric scenario would be more ideal for that sort of thing. Another possibility is that it's actually a High Charity under construction — the surface features do show some similarities to the city's dome. The seemingly complete planet underneath doesn't quite mesh with the idea of the city being built around a small chunk of the San 'Shyuum homeworld (I always did wonder how exactly the Dreadnought took a piece of the planet with it), though it could be another world being stripmined for materials.

The worst-case possibility is that the construct is a horrible misinterpretation of the nature of the quarantine shield around the San 'Shyuum home system, though I want to trust 343i (or their artists) to understand their own works enough not to make mistake on this scale. --Jugus (Talk  | Contribs ) 05:08, 22 June 2014 (EDT)

We know that a lot of the early Covenant's technology came from several Shield World installations that they stumbled across, allowing the Prophets to reverse-engineer more technology not derived solely from the dreadnought. If it was anything like Trevalyan, then it probably had ships, vehicles and Huragok, which would have been a significant jump in immediate tech level. The cover may depict one of those.--  Qura 'Morhek   The Autocrat     of Morheka   05:52, 22 June 2014 (EDT)


 * I'm convinced that the "planet" is a dilapidated Requiem-type shield world for the reasons mentioned above. I find it hard to buy into the idea that it's High Charity, though that theory is building up steam on the Waypoint forums. -- Our vengeance is at hand. Gravemind.svg ( Talk to me. ) 11:56, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * It's Shield World 0673 Codename: SURGEON (talk)


 * Doesn't quite match up with the book, which describes the shield world's exterior as a solid metal shell... unless it opens up at some point. --Jugus (Talk  | Contribs ) 15:44, 26 October 2014 (EDT)

Author
I haven't read anything that John Shirley has written, but I did some research on the guy. He is a majority of his novels seem to be steampunk related. He did create prequel novels for Borderlands, BioShock, Predator, and Watch_Dogs, and from what I hear, that BioShock novel was very-well received. He is adept at writing about politics and fictional religions and, as Wikipedia claims, his novels "reflects his tendency to create fantasy entertainment which is also political satire, or spiritual allegory". He also seems to actually do the research about the universe before he writes a novel:

So I feel hopeful that he can write a successful novel. And at least this time, the aliens cannot say "As the humans say..." - NightHammer (talk) 10:29, 22 June 2014 (EDT)


 * The only John Shirley work I'd heard of until yesterday was BioShock: Rapture. Simply put, the man seems to be the anti-Karen Traviss. When one author brags about doing minimal research and the other clearly invests a huge amount of time and effort into understanding the setting, there's no doubt who I'd rather have writing Halo novels. "I like to remain totally objective in my writing. Now who wants to hear me soapbox about a universe and characters I don't understand?" - Fake!Karen Traviss -- Our vengeance is at hand. Gravemind.svg ( Talk to me. ) 11:56, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * You had me at "anti-Karen Traviss" :P --  Qura 'Morhek   The Autocrat     of Morheka   20:45, 27 June 2014 (EDT)

Choice of subject matter
As I read the description, I wonder why they went back to the creation of the Covenant? Anyone else? I thought the next Halo Book would be about the Forerunners or maybe Flood, but the Dawn of the Covenant? Humph, interesting. Cheers, 76.17.73.143 08:06, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * I've wanted a novel about the formation of the UNSC (from the Rain Forest Wars to the Callisto Treaty) for many years. Barring that, how about one that focuses entirely on the Insurrection? Anyway, a Covenant origin story has always been third on my list. I just hope we get to see some of the major pre-Covenant events that led to the hegemony's founding before it jumps to the "present", which I'm guessing will take place in the first few centuries of the Covenant's existence. If the blurb is any indication, this story may shape up to be quite similar to The Duel. I'm looking forward to it. -- Our vengeance is at hand. Gravemind.svg ( Talk to me. ) 11:56, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * It does seem interesting. I'm wondering if we will see the Huragok, presuming they were discovered around that time. I wouldn't mind the story having similarities to The Duel, as it was one of the best Halo: Legends episodes (aside from the Sangheili anatomy). - NightHammer (talk) 12:12, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * Another thing I've always been curious about is how many species the Covenant have exterminated instead of incorporating. After all, we know there are other spacefaring species in the galaxy as of the 26th century. Perhaps there would be more were it not for the Covenant. Also, what's up with the Sharquoi? -- Our vengeance is at hand. Gravemind.svg ( Talk to me. ) 12:29, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * I've always assumed the Sharquoi were used mainly as beasts of burden.12:34, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * I'm wondering, when was the last time it was mentioned in media that the Covenant encountered other species that are not a part of the Covenant we know today. It may be one of those things that 343i is slowing trying to remove from the universe, or old lore that got revamped later on (like Master Chief being the only surviving Spartan-II). I find it odd that the Covenant would be willing to except the Unggoy, but not other species. Perhaps because the Unggoy were willing to do labour, while some species continued to fight the Covenant until it led to their extinction. Either way, it would be interesting to see if the Covenant did encounter previously unknown species. - NightHammer (talk) 12:43, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * Nothing can be more ignored than the second class of SPARTAN-IIs. Sith-venator Wavingstrider Fett helmet.jpg ( Commlink ) 12:54, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * Yep, I doubt we will ever hear about that again. Most of what we know about it is barely canon or from ilovebees. - NightHammer (talk) 13:01, 24 June 2014 (EDT)

I feel quite strongly that i love bees has been excised from continuity, despite occasional reassurance that it still counts. I've never cared for it, anyway. -- Our vengeance is at hand.  ( Talk to me. ) 13:09, 24 June 2014 (EDT)


 * Image is related. Sith-venator Wavingstrider Fett helmet.jpg ( Commlink ) 13:25, 24 June 2014 (EDT)

I'm very excited about seeing the origins of the Covenant. The Arbiter said there was honour in his Covenant once, and that there would be again - I'd love to see the Covenant before the machinations of the Prophets, intent on clinging to power, turned it into the monster it became. I always liked the idea of the Covenant starting out as a benevolent force, stewarding the Huragok, uplifting the Lekgolo, pacifying the Kig-Yar, saving the Unggoy from extinction. But by the start of the 26th century, it had slowly but surely entrenched itself as an expansionist colonial conqueror. The descent was slow, but inexorable, and the only solution was a purge via the Great Schism. And of course, showing the original Covenant gives us the model upon which the Arbiter would (presumably) be trying to rebuild his faction along the lines of. --  Qura 'Morhek   The Autocrat     of Morheka   20:50, 27 June 2014 (EDT)

I am hoping that we will see the San 'Shyuum-Sangheli War in maybe like 'Part One' or something, like in Halo: First Strike where we saw what happened after the end of Halo: The Fall of Reach, or maybe even like in Halo: Fall of Reach where the first few parts actually took place before the main story. That would be very, very cool. Also, can anyone else imagine a Prophet (San 'Shyuum) walking around fighting against Sangheli warriors? Yeesh, I guess there is a reason most of the battles in that war were Space Battles. Cheers, 76.17.73.143 14:25, 29 June 2014 (EDT)!

First Chapter
Here is the book's preview with Chapter 1! http://books.simonandschuster.com/Halo-Broken-Circle/John-Shirley/9781476783598#read_an_excerpt Codename: SURGEON (talk) 15:42, 26 October 2014 (EDT)
 * It was about time. What we see looks promising enough. The excerpt alone may have introduced more unique Sangheili cultural idiosyncrasies than all the Kilo-Five novels combined. --Jugus (Talk  | Contribs ) 15:44, 26 October 2014 (EDT)
 * Not to mention that the chapter is like fifty times more descriptive than the Kilo-Five Trilogy. It's very interesting and now I'm excited for November 4. - NightHammer (talk) 16:30, 26 October 2014 (EDT)

So I guess we can't start adding pages to Halopedia with info from the excerpt or does that break the spoiler laws? The Name is Gall. Sam gall.
 * We probably have spoiler tags anyways... but... let's do the articles with the proper templates... we should get to them... Erickyboo (talk) 17:27, 26 October 2014 (EDT)
 * It was released through an official channel so it's all fair game. --Jugus (Talk  | Contribs ) 03:01, 27 October 2014 (EDT)

Some extra thoughts. The writing is more descriptive than the Kilo-Five Trilogy but it also feels like it's on fast-forward most of the time. Within the span of the first chapter we've been to how many planets already? I also had some difficulty visualizing just how this shield world is supposed to work— from the description I got the sense it's structured like Requiem but the exterior shell is apparently very thin. The distance between the inner planetoid's surface and the inner "ceiling" also seems tiny, as the characters, while on a platform in the ceiling, can easily make out details on the terrestrial planetoid surface, smell its air, and descend there in a reasonable timespan. And then there this: "Below the craggy remnants of some ancient planetoid, it bristled with plant life, gleamed with streams and waterfalls." Where does the planetoid remnant fit in?

As an aside, "Enduring Bias" isn't a terribly original name for a monitor—given the "Bias" part I wonder if it's supposed to be a Contender class, but if so, why would one be left in charge of a random shield world? --Jugus (<font color="Gray">Talk  | <font color="Gray">Contribs ) 03:01, 27 October 2014 (EDT)


 * I Suppose we'll get to find out :D Sith-venator Wavingstrider  Fett helmet.jpg ( Commlink ) 03:38, 27 October 2014 (EDT)


 * Never mind about my rambling on the shield world, just re-read it and it actually says the ceiling was convex, hence the terrestrial environment was on the inner surface, like on a Dyson sphere instead of a Requiem/Shellworld type structure. There's just a planetoid there inside the thing to provide a "ceiling". The thing on the cover certainly doesn't match up with this, but it's not like artists haven't made mistakes before. --<font color="MidnightBlue">Jugus (<font color="Gray">Talk  | <font color="Gray">Contribs ) 13:14, 27 October 2014 (EDT)


 * Interesting to note that there's another reference to an unknown species - the ones who shot 'Crecka's ship to pieces, on the endges of what was then Sangheili space, clearly interstellar and powerful enough to damage a Sangheili starship. I don't know if it's tied to the apparent new species in Escalation, but I certainly hope it related to the strange ship that crashed on Alpha Halo. --  Qura 'Morhek   The Autocrat     of Morheka   03:58, 27 October 2014 (EDT)