Audiobook Club: Shadows of Reach
As part of our audiobook giveaway series with Simon & Schuster, we’re inviting Halo fans to join a community book club in our official Discord server, where we’ll focus on a new novel from the Halo canon every month until October. Join the #audio-book-club channel to listen along!
This month’s book club title is Halo: Shadows of Reach, a riveting story that sees Blue Team return to the decimated surface of Reach on a mission to infiltrate ONI’s CASTLE base and recover assets that may prove vital to challenging Cortana’s undisputed rule.
Halo: Shadows of Reach is written by Troy Denning, a New York Times bestselling author and a true heavyweight in Halo’s literary universe. The audiobook edition is narrated by award-winning audiobook narrator and broadcaster Sean Patrick Hopkins.
PLOT PREVIEW
2559. Cortana has subjugated worlds across the galaxy and imposed martial law under the rule of her Created. Beyond from her watchful gaze, the UNSC Infinity makes its way to Reach to dispatch the Master Chief and Blue Team on a secret mission.
Their orders? Infiltrate the ruins of ONI’s CASTLE Base and recover the one weapon that could turn the tide. It would be a cakewalk for a team of seasoned SPARTAN-IIs, if not for the Banished army searching the ruined planet.
Among the roving clans dividing Reach in thirds is Castor, a Jiralhanae chieftain still loyal to the old faith of the Covenant, who means to follow the humans in his quest to unearth the fabled Portal under the Mountain—a gateway that leads to the Ark.
CHARACTER GUIDE
Learn more about the events of Halo: Shadows of Reach with these brief character bios.
JOHN-117
Master Chief Petty Officer. A man of few words. In his latest mission, the Master Chief leads the Spartan-IIs of Blue Team to the surface of Reach to recover key assets from Dr. Halsey’s laboratory in CASTLE base.
Along the way, the Chief forms an uneasy alliance with a militia group to liberate the ruined city of New Mohács, punch through the Banished occupation, and ultimately obtain something that could be used to topple Cortana.
FRED-104
Perceptive, steadfast, and a natural leader. This combination makes him a formidable warrior at close quarters. In recent years, Fred has served as Blue Team’s commander, but he still often defers to the judgment of his former team leader, John-117. Beneath the Menachite Mountain, Fred unexpectedly encounters an old acquaintance with a critical message.
KELLY-087
The fastest Spartan. When not embedded in combat, Kelly enjoys listening to classic Earth “rock” music (whatever that is) as a meditative way to distract the thoughts that trouble a seasoned soldier’s mind. Her footspeed is unmatched among Spartans, rivaled only by her hair-trigger reflexes in a firefight.
LINDA-058
Renowned sniper. Linda’s resolve has been put to the test many times, and this mission is no different. After separating from the rest of Blue Team during a tense firefight, Linda resorts to the lone-wolf tactics that have typified her career as a Spartan ranger. Count on Linda to survive, no matter the odds.
DR. CATHERINE HALSEY
Possibly the Office of Naval Intelligence’s most prolific scientific advisor. Dr. Halsey is the progenitor of the SPARTAN program, a key architect of Project MJOLNIR, and the creator of Cortana. Working once more with the UNSC, Dr. Halsey has deployed Blue Team on a critical mission to recover assets from her lab within CASTLE Base that just might bring an end to her renegade progeny.
CASTOR
Castor is said to be the last dokab, a Jiralhanae religious elder, still faithful to the ways of the Covenant. Following the Created uprising, Castor pledged his cult, the Keepers of the One Freedom, to the Banished. Though his motives are held in suspicion by the movement’s upper echelon, Castor carefully maneuvers through the politics of rival clans to realize his true goal: travelling to the Ark and activating the Halo Array.
ESCHARUM
As Atriox's former mentor, War Chief Escharum was the only Jiralhanae trustworthy enough to hold the reins of the Banished in his stead. He last spoke to Castor three months ago, when he ordered the dokab to seek the hidden Portal under the Mountain. Infighting has spread in his absence, as the Banished commanders on Reach become discouraged that they should ever find the fabled site.
INSLAAN ‘GADOGAI
A Sangheili blademaster in the service of the Banished. ‘Gadogai is quick to take offense, and equally quick to seek retribution. Though formerly an assassin in the Covenant’s Silent Shadow unit, he has strayed from the Covenant faith. His role within the Keepers of the One Freedom is to represent Escharum—and watch Castor for any sign of duplicity.
BELLA DISTZL
A Reach native and a survivor of its fall. Bella has distinguished herself as a five-time victor of the Tantalus 10,000, a five-day, cross-continent, open-buggy endurance race. She’s the last person you’d expect to meet hiding in a foxhole on a planet crawling with the Banished, but the first person you’d put behind the wheel of a Warthog.
LIEUTENANT MAKS CHAPOV
First copilot of Special Delivery, the Owl infiltration craft escorting Blue Team to the surface of Reach. What he lacks in experience, Chapov makes up for in arrogance, headstrong reckoning, and a certain endearing determination. It’s clear that the young lieutenant idolizes the Master Chief, and his ace pilot skills eventually manage to impress even the war-weary Spartan.
GAME CONNECTIONS
Halo: Shadows of Reach occurs between the events of Halo Wars 2 and Halo Infinite. This novel tells a harrowing story from humanity’s desperate last stand against Pax Cortana (the UNSC’s designation for the transformed nemesis of Halo 5: Guardians).
Using the UNSC Infinity as a secret base of operations, Blue Team infiltrates Reach to recover assets that will prove indispensable to the creation of “The Weapon,” the Master Chief’s ally and partner in Halo Infinite and the forthcoming novel Halo: Edge of Dawn.
Among the “rehab pioneers” of the Viery Militia, we meet descendants of the industrial titans who established Reach as a thriving, wealthy colony in its heyday—a halcyon era that ended with the devastating fall of Reach, leaving only remnants of its culture behind.
Along the way, we encounter familiar characters from Halo 4 such as Dr. Catherine Halsey, Captain Thomas Lasky, and Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer (whom you might also recognize from last month’s Audiobook Club).
To learn more about the Halo novels, visit our Official Halo Book Guide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Troy Denning is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels, including Halo: Divine Wind, Halo: Oblivion, Halo: Silent Storm, Halo: Retribution, Halo: Last Light, a dozen Star Wars novels, the Dark Sun: Prism Pentad series, and many bestselling Forgotten Realms novels.
ABOUT THE READER
A student of neuroscience and speech pathology, Sean Patrick Hopkins has translated his understanding of human behavior & vocal performance into a career in storytelling. He has over 500 titles to his credit, and has been honored with Audie, Earphones, Odyssey, and SOVAS awards for his audiobook narrations.
AUDIOBOOK GIVEAWAY
Enter to win an audiobook copy of a new book-club title this month and next! To participate, react to the Halo: Shadows of Reach post in the #giveaways channel of the official Halo Discord server before September 8.
Stay tuned to @Halo on X later this month for more ways to win, and watch for a new Audiobook Club entry in October. See full contest rules and entry directions.
JOIN THE BOOK CLUB
Listen to Halo: Shadows of Reach in our Discord book club! To participate, simply join the #audio-book-club channel of the official Halo Discord server, where we’ll discuss the book, share favorite moments, and select a new title from the Halo universe to discuss in October.
Drop a comment in the discussion thread for a chance to find your words featured in an upcoming Halo Waypoint post! At the end of the month, we’ll host a special Spartan Chatter episode on Discord to discuss the audiobook and answer questions from the Halo community.