Used with permission from Microsoft

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary®

Halo has been one of the Xbox and Xbox 360’s premier exclusives since 2001.  A science fiction space opera epic of a first person shooter, Halo has chronicled humanity’s war with the fanatical alien Covenant and the unrelenting tide of the parasitic Flood for over ten years now.  With the release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition, we’ve chosen this series to begin offering our suggestions.

There are official Halo books are available at the Prince Rupert Library:

In addition, we at the library encourage you to check out the following selections as well:

• Ringworld

A man must take part in a dangerous expedition on a massive ring shaped object in space, seemingly abandoned by its mysterious creators, with an environment curiously friendly to human life on the inner surface and populated by religious fanatics.  Sound familiar?  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so you could probably take the very concept of Halo as a strong endorsement for Larry Niven’s Ringworld, the 1970s science fiction novel I just described above.  Although it is an obvious source of inspiration for Halo, Ringworld focuses on the exploration of the titular ring itself rather than interstellar warfare, so if you’re interested at all in the science behind the rings, or just looking for a (mostly) less violent adventure in a familiar setting, you’ll probably enjoy what Ringworld has to offer.

Inter-Library Loan  |  Audiobook

• Ender’s Game

One of the more intriguing aspects of the Halo fiction is the the idea of life on the edge of extinction.  Faced with an un-winnable war that could result in the end of the human race itself, the governments of the Halo universe are forced to make some choices that, beyond being morally ambiguous, would look downright evil in any other context.  But was it justified in the end?  If you’d like to see a deeper exploration of those themes, Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, would be right up your alley.  After barely withstanding two devastating alien attacks, Earth seeks the perfect general to ensure its survival of the inevitable third.  Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is the product of this desire.  Genetically engineered to be a genius and taken to an elite military academy to endure a brutal training regimen at an early age, Ender resembles a certain Master Chief in more ways than one, although his purpose is to command starships rather than small arms.  If you’re looking for a little action to go with your ethical quandaries (and if you like Halo, you probably are), you’ve also come to the right place.  As Ender attempts to preserve his team’s perfect record in the Battle Room games, a series of simulated zero-g battles organized like a sport, readers are treated to action scenes with an intensity almost never found in books. Ender’s Game comes as a definite recommendation to anyone who enjoys Halo’s take on military sci-fi.

Prince Rupert Library  |  Inter-Library Loan

• Aliens

If it were only a few years earlier, this recommendation would be totally redundant, as it would be a given that everybody has seen Aliens.  Nowadays, though, it’s entirely possible that some of you reading this haven’t even heard of it, and that just won’t do.  All you have to do is take one look at any of the marines in Halo to get a good idea of the massive debt it owes to Aliens.  Notable as a major source of inspiration for pretty much every sci-fi video game ever, (and plenty of movies too) Aliens’ stark military aesthetic and its hilariously clever, infectiously quotable wisecracking marines have basically become the gold standard for the fictional military of the future.  Oh, and it’s a pretty great action horror movie too.  Despite being a 25 year old sci-fi film, Aliens has barely aged a day since it came out, and is practically required viewing for anyone who even remotely likes Halo.

 Inter-Library Loan