Halo Lore Thread

wesleyshark said:
Saint's Testimony is up there for me too, easily. So far up there, in fact, that I can legitimately say that it's my 2nd favorite piece of extended fiction, behind the masterwork that is Silentium.

Saint's Testimony, though short, is exuberantly rich.

I'm with ya Monocle. If a longer piece was something he felt he could tackle, I'd definitely be all in for it.
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Stinkles is too busy with his main job, browsing Off Topic.
 
so the only halo book i read was Fall of Reach and the adaptation of the first game "the flood" which was absolutely dreadful.

I do love the series and the stories. Which are worth reading up on? There are a LOT of books..
 
7DollarHagane said:
so the only halo book i read was Fall of Reach and the adaptation of the first game "the flood" which was absolutely dreadful.

I do love the series and the stories. Which are worth reading up on? There are a LOT of books..
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I'm re-reading the entire series again to catch up in time for Halo 5.

The Fall of Reach was excellent and The Flood was a more straightforward adaptation. I recommend following through and reading First Strike, which is the next book released after The Flood (follows the surviving Spartan-IIs on Reach and what they did while Master Chief was at the first Halo ring). Terrific book.

From there, it's fair-game to go for Contact Harvest, The Cole Protocol, or continue where First Strike left off with Ghosts of Onyx, also an excellent book if I recall correctly. The former two are set in-between, starring separate protagonists in different places and eras (Sgt. Johnson and Gray Team, respectively).

I haven't read beyond Ghosts of Onyx but I've heard good things about Grasslands and the Forerunner trilogy.

Btw, are the 2010/2011 Tor reprints of the original three books worth getting, for anyone that's got them and seen the differences/additions?
 
Tyrus said:
Btw, are the 2010/2011 Tor reprints of the original three books worth getting, for anyone that's got them and seen the differences/additions?
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The differences in the books themselves are completely negligible, but the added short stories are worth a read I'd say. They're not particularly substantial, but they're good reads and open up some interesting doors. Including one a story that introduced Petra Janecek (of HuntTheTruth and Halo: Escalation) with an intriguing note about the Ark/Array that has yet to pay off.
 
7DollarHagane said:
so the only halo book i read was Fall of Reach and the adaptation of the first game "the flood" which was absolutely dreadful.

I do love the series and the stories. Which are worth reading up on? There are a LOT of books..
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Cryptum
Primordium
Silentium

Broken Circle

First Strike

Ghosts of Onyx
Glasslands
The Thursday War
Mortal Dictata

Hunters in the Dark

--Halo 4 happens here--

Saint's Testimony
 
Went to a launch party of sorts for the Chinese version of MCC, Frankie was there, he
confirmed that Saint's Testimony will have some ties with Hunt the Truth Season 2.
 
SmartWaffles said:
Went to a launch party of sorts for the Chinese version of MCC, Frankie was there, he
confirmed that Saint's Testimony will have some ties with Hunt the Truth Season 2.
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o rly??

Could see an AI potentially helping someone outside of ONI?

Or
BB
helping or hindering those efforts..
 
wesleyshark said:
Two very solid issues. Escalation has continued to improve over time, and it's really picking up steam as The Absolute Record arc begins. And Holy shit at that last panel.
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Seriously.. I think I pondered that OB could have been sent to the Absolute Record a few pages back. Since he wasn't on the Ark (where I'd realistically assume he'd be stationed), he had to either go somewhere else important or with the remaining Forerunners out of the galaxy.

Really excited to see how this ties into what we know about Halo 5. Either they're going to break or unleash something...
 
I read somewhere that the symbol on the new monitor was of 'the Mantle' but I'm not versed enough in my glyphs to know if that's correct or not.

It kind of looks like half the Janus key.
 
Captain Zyrain said:
I read somewhere that the symbol on the new monitor was of 'the Mantle' but I'm not versed enough in my glyphs to know if that's correct or not.

It kind of looks like half the Janus key.
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It's an eld for the Mantle of Responsibility- and yep- each half of the Janus key is the same shape as the center of the eld.

Like-a-so: (courtesy of Haruspis):

eld-janus.png
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It seems backwards on the new character.. wonder if that's significant or just an artistic mistake or reflection/etc.

I suppose I could see it being a new character.. but it sure would be cool to get some Silentium payoff :)

Edit.. for posterity.. if it happens, I TOTALLY CALLED IT(TM)! :)

Captain Zyrain said:
Ooooh.. maybe Offensive Bias resides in the
Absolute Record
! :D Seems like a good place to hole up for all eternity..
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Can't help but wonder if whatever happens at the Absolute Record will be tied into what Cortana tells Chief about the Domain being open. Perhaps this will also be what causes the Guardians to awaken?
 
wesleyshark said:
Can't help but wonder if whatever happens at the Absolute Record will be tied into what Cortana tells Chief about the Domain being open. Perhaps this will also be what causes the Guardians to awaken?
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That would make sense.. I suppose. At least regarding the Guardians. If the Absolute Record can show the location of every remaining Forerunner machine, it stands to reason it could activate them as well perhaps.

How it ties into the Domain.. who knows. I suppose if they find something that lets them tap into it like the Forerunners did, it could be revealed that the Domain just closed itself to Forerunners, and has been waiting for humanity to make contact.
 
Captain Zyrain said:
That would make sense.. I suppose. At least regarding the Guardians. If the Absolute Record can show the location of every remaining Forerunner machine, it stands to reason it could activate them as well perhaps.

How it ties into the Domain.. who knows. I suppose if they find something that lets them tap into it like the Forerunners did, it could be revealed that the Domain just closed itself to Forerunners, and has been waiting for humanity to make contact.
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The whole idea about why the Forerunners were dooming themselves to destroying the Domain was that it was embedded into the neural physics of the Precursor structures themselves; and since the Halo array disrupts that and annihilates Precursor structures, so too went the Domain.

If they bring it back in some form, I expect they're going to have to explain exactly how it survived when it would seem its very storage medium was destroyed, and whether the Domain and the knowledge of the Graveminds is in fact a distinction without a difference, or they operate by different principles.
 
Fuchsdh said:
The whole idea about why the Forerunners were dooming themselves to destroying the Domain was that it was embedded into the neural physics of the Precursor structures themselves; and since the Halo array disrupts that and annihilates Precursor structures, so too went the Domain.

If they bring it back in some form, I expect they're going to have to explain exactly how it survived when it would seem its very storage medium was destroyed, and whether the Domain and the knowledge of the Graveminds is in fact a distinction without a difference, or they operate by different principles.
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I imagine they COULD say that the Forerunners intimate knowledge of the Precursor technology.. and thus the Domain wasn't extensive enough to really 'know' how it works exactly. Perhaps the Domain is eternal, but the Precursor structures merely acted as 'receivers' to attenuate the Domain into our Galaxy or something.

I am still going to be very curious how they work getting access to it again.. and how humans get access to it, since I don't think that has ever been done before. I assume the two issues will be tightly related.
 
Captain Zyrain said:
I imagine they COULD say that the Forerunners intimate knowledge of the Precursor technology.. and thus the Domain wasn't extensive enough to really 'know' how it works exactly. Perhaps the Domain is eternal, but the Precursor structures merely acted as 'receivers' to attenuate the Domain into our Galaxy or something.

I am still going to be very curious how they work getting access to it again.. and how humans get access to it, since I don't think that has ever been done before. I assume the two issues will be tightly related.
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Really learning everything we know about the Domain made me think the Forerunners were as dumb as a bunch of rocks. You are using a device of unknown origins that does not actually store your information correctly, objectively, or even for long periods of time stably. And you found your courts and society on this? It's like we stored all of our history on hard drives that would randomly flip bits and turn the Declaration of Independence into a cat video, and shrug and say "hey, it's sacred."
 
Fuchsdh said:
Really learning everything we know about the Domain made me think the Forerunners were as dumb as a bunch of rocks. You are using a device of unknown origins that does not actually store your information correctly, objectively, or even for long periods of time stably. And you found your courts and society on this? It's like we stored all of our history on hard drives that would randomly flip bits and turn the Declaration of Independence into a cat video, and shrug and say "hey, it's sacred."
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Haha exactly!

I remember they mentioned somewhere in the Forerunner trilogy that all the information about the Forerunner/Precursor war was 'buried' and inaccessible by people of that time. I wonder who did that?

Perhaps the ancient Forerunner had a better control over the Domain, or a better link to it?

Then all the descendants just took it for granted. Kind of like how we'll start doing with the internet I'm sure.
 
LordOfChaos said:
Do I need to read the two before those? Couldn't get into them at first. Is it more or less self-contained, so I can start back at 19 to continue with Halsey and co?
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Really you should read:

Escalation 13-16 "Janus Key" arc

then

Escalation 19-24 "Absolute Record" arc

But we're only to 20 now so you have time!

Artwork for issue 23...

Halo_Escalation_23.jpg
 
Captain Zyrain said:
Really you should read:

Escalation 13-16 "Janus Key" arc

then

Escalation 19-24 "Absolute Record" arc

But we're only to 20 now so you have time!
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Check, that's what I was wondering, if 17 and 18 were skippable. I've read all of them before them, but when they started a new arc it didn't grab my attention in the 30 seconds my attention span gave it, lol. I just wanted to get right to the Absolute Record.
 
LordOfChaos said:
Check, that's what I was wondering, if 17 and 18 were skippable. I've read all of them before them, but when they started a new arc it didn't grab my attention in the 30 seconds my attention span gave it, lol. I just wanted to get right to the Absolute Record.
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17 & 18 introduces Spartan Tanaka who is in the next arc, and Halo 5, but it's nothing critical just character backstory really.
 
Nephtes said:
I'm replaying Halo 1-4 via Halo MCC in preparation for Halo 5, and I have a serious lore question.

Forerunner technology is EONS old, Covenant technology is literally alien... How Is Chief able to plug Cortana's chip into the computer systems on Halo, High Charity, and Requiem?

USB 10.0?

It's USB 10.0 isn't it?
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To justify it in my head-canon I went with convergent technology, just like convergent evolution. Maybe they both rely on crystals for high speed processing, and so they were compatible in that way, and as for the physical shape of the port maybe the covanant one could just adapt to any insert to accomodate legacy tech as well as other covanant species tech.
 
LordOfChaos said:
To justify it in my head-canon I went with convergent technology, just like convergent evolution. Maybe they both rely on crystals for high speed processing, and so they were compatible in that way, and as for the physical shape of the port maybe the covanant one could just adapt to any insert to accomodate legacy tech as well as other covanant species tech.
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AI data chips made of Playdough.. confirmed!
 
LordOfChaos said:
To justify it in my head-canon I went with convergent technology, just like convergent evolution. Maybe they both rely on crystals for high speed processing, and so they were compatible in that way, and as for the physical shape of the port maybe the covanant one could just adapt to any insert to accomodate legacy tech as well as other covanant species tech.
Click to expand...

Captain Zyrain said:
AI data chips made of Playdough.. confirmed!
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I've always chalked that off to simply being a player-friendly animation sequence. *insert Cortana into console* *she does stuff* For me, I never really need a good explanation as to how or why- it seemed to be a more simple way to handle it without having to surround it with exposition, etc.
 
Fuchsdh said:
Really learning everything we know about the Domain made me think the Forerunners were as dumb as a bunch of rocks. You are using a device of unknown origins that does not actually store your information correctly, objectively, or even for long periods of time stably. And you found your courts and society on this? It's like we stored all of our history on hard drives that would randomly flip bits and turn the Declaration of Independence into a cat video, and shrug and say "hey, it's sacred."
Click to expand...

But think about if we always had this stream of magical information, from the time we were just becoming a society. I think we may just find it sacred as well, and unlike real world religions of today, there would be an unrefutable collective experience of it to constantly reinforce it.

The covenant are a good analogy - finding Forerunner tech when you're already an advanced society like the humans is one thing. Growing up on plains with it when you're banging rocks together and flinging poop (or whatever ancient Sangheili and San'Shyuum did) is quite another, and the covenant ended up thinking of them as sacred, while we didn't.

I think it would be similar.

And things being flipped to cat videos? Have you SEEN the internet? We would definitely find that sacred!


In other news, done Escalation issue 20 - dat last panel indeed.
 
I was just playing Halo 4 again on MCC recently and I never realized that there is 3 consoles you can interact with before moving on. They don't provide much detail, though you do hear the Didact's name repeated in one of them.
 
So let's postulate how Forge could return in HW2. Slip space rupture? Hard light box?...ahem
 
You know, I've been wondering. Is the intro and end of Halo 2 Anniversary even canon anymore? Cause the conversation between Locke and the Arbiter in the Halo 5 e3 trailer seemed to imply that is their first meeting.
 
Kalentan said:
You know, I've been wondering. Is the intro and end of Halo 2 Anniversary even canon anymore? Cause the conversation between Locke and the Arbiter in the Halo 5 e3 trailer seemed to imply that is their first meeting.
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We will see. I don't think you can disregard it until we actually have the game in-hand. But they certainly were more like non-canon trailer hype pieces than normal cinematics.

krang said:
So let's postulate how Forge could return in HW2. Slip space rupture? Hard light box?...ahem
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Who says Forge is returning? The guy in the trailer looked like a Spartan without his helmet.
 
I've read all the novels except Broken Circle, New Blood, Hunters in the Dark and Saints Testimony. I plan to catch up on reading those but I've haven't touched Initiation or Escalation.

From what I can tell, Initiation doesn't contain a whole lot of important info as far as understanding the current state of Halo's lore, but I'd be more than happy to read them if they do. Now, Escalation seems to super important so I will certainly be checking those out before Halo 5 comes out. Don't get me wrong, I want to read all of the books/comics because I'm a Halo nut, but I'm sort of running out of time here.

So I was hoping someone could help me out deciding which novels/comics are most essential to having a solid understanding of the events and plot points leading up to Halo 5. I'm just not sure that with my busy schedule I'll have the time to read trough all of them. I'm just looking to read the most important ones first, and read the rest if I can find the time to do so before H5 comes out. Thanks!
 
I'd say to get the most out of Halo 5.. you should have a firm knowledge of:

Halo 4
The Kilo 5 Trilogy
The Forerunner Trilogy
Halo: Escalation
* Issues 8-10 "The Next 72 Hours"
* Issues 13-16 "The Janus Key"
* Issues 19-24 "The Absolute Record"
* The other issues are good, but likely not ESSENTIAL.
Hunters in the Dark

New Blood & Saints Testimony will likely add color to the overall Halo 5 experience but if you've played ODST and are comfortable with the idea of Buck as a Spartan, you can probably do without, but I'd still wholeheartedly recommend both of those.
 
I haven't been into Halo lore since like, 2011/2012 and after Halo 4 had very little payoff I kinda gave it up for a while but things seem to be getting interesting and I'm considering picking it back up in my free time, but, where do I even start? The books I have are:
Fall of Reach
Forerunner trilogy
Ghosts of Onyx
Glasslands

Though I haven't read ghosts of Onyx(someone left it at my house and I expected them to come get it, but they live on the other side of the country now) and I couldn't finish Glasslands or Silentium because they were kinda boring. I know before that the current day military stuff and the forerunner stuff wasn't very heavily connected so it wasn't hard to read one without the other, is it still that way and is there new material that focuses on those aspects of the Halo universe more than "modern day" stuff or is it all largely connected now?
 
Melophobia said:
I haven't been into Halo lore since like, 2011/2012 and after Halo 4 had very little payoff I kinda gave it up for a while but things seem to be getting interesting and I'm considering picking it back up in my free time, but, where do I even start? The books I have are:
Fall of Reach
Forerunner trilogy
Ghosts of Onyx
Glasslands

Though I haven't read ghosts of Onyx(someone left it at my house and I expected them to come get it, but they live on the other side of the country now) and I couldn't finish Glasslands or Silentium because they were kinda boring. I know before that the current day military stuff and the forerunner stuff wasn't very heavily connected so it wasn't hard to read one without the other, is it still that way and is there new material that focuses on those aspects of the Halo universe more than "modern day" stuff or is it all largely connected now?
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Rr1mdQz.gif


I... I.. uh.. I ...

Read Silentium. It's important, and amazing. Super Duper likely to be important going forward.

So is Ghosts of Onyx.

Everything is mostly connected at this point, at least stuff is being referenced a lot more.

But seriously.. Silentium. Now.
 
krang said:
Noone is saying that.

I said "how Forge could return", not "how Forge will return".
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Honestly Forge was the least interesting character in the series, so there's no point trying to come up with a convoluted reason (I guess it would involve "I randomly picked the portal that lead out of the shield world" or something. You can replace him with any sarcastic renegade Marine.
 
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