Halo: Cryptum | Spartan Chatter
"You are what you dare."
As part of the ongoing Audiobook Club in partnership with Simon & Schuster, we joined up with Franchise writer Alex ‘Haruspis’ Wakeford and special guest Chloe Bear to reflect on the late Greg Bear’s novel, Halo: Cryptum.
If you want to explore the Forerunner origins, learn more about Bornstellar, Chakas, and discover the Didact, grab your own copy of the audiobook today.
Looking Ahead
Next up is Matt Forbeck’s novella, Halo: New Blood.
While Spartans get all the glory, no soldier―not even the legendary Master Chief―wins a war on his own. Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck and his team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs) played a major role in saving Earth from all-out invasion at the end of the Covenant War―acts of bravery and ingenuity that did not go unnoticed by the United Nations Space Command.
Now, after many Spartans have been killed in battle and the Master Chief is listed as MIA, the UNSC decides to create a new generation of Spartans to defend humanity from threats both outside―and within. When they come to Buck with an extraordinary proposition, he is forced to make a life-altering decision. With the Covenant War finally over, is it time for him to retire to the sidelines for a life he could only dream about…or is he prepared to step up and become part of the military’s new blood?
We’ll see you at the end of the month for the next episode of Spartan Chatter!
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
Catch up on the community book club with great shouts from folks in our official Discord server!
- Gamehero24: Excited to join! I’m going to go back to June to catch up so I can dive in on this next!
- Attorney: Personally, Forerunners are the most fascinating aspect of Halo. Gives me vibes of how the European generations that grew up after the fall of the Western Roman Empire marveled at these structures and technologies that were far beyond their own capabilities and wondered about this advanced civilization which came before and built them.
- Cydon505: This book, and entire trilogy by extension, are the best stories in the entire Halo franchise, hands down. I love the cosmic horror elements of this book and the inevitable tragedy of the Forerunners’ fate as the overwhelming forces of the Flood close in. I reread this trilogy probably about once a year it’s just so good.
- DDog Dazamaan: Definitely found this book hard to get through on my first read; I wasn’t much of a reader, and generally had a difficult time wrapping my head around the concept of greater tech 100,000 years ago while the humans are almost cavemen-like. I’m enjoying it much more on this rereading, especially Riser!
- Almond: I get so much more from the book now that time has passed to make more connections.
- pins before posting: There is something so different about these books, a type of different alien wonder.
- Aaron: I think this book improves on repeat reading. The first time I read it I found it quite challenging as it’s essentially a whole new universe to learn and doesn’t have the familiar qualities of previous Halo books. However, as I’ve become more familiar with the characters, species, and politics of that era, I’ve enjoyed revisiting this book. Also, I love the new artwork that’s been made for this month and last month’s audiobook previews! Definitely looking forward to more of them with the next book clubs.
- Austin @ JumperScape: So glad we’re going over Cryptum. The Forerunner trilogy of books from Greg Bear are some of my favorite reads in the whole book series.
- JimFrigginLahey: Honestly that was such a great read. I immediately picked up Primordium after I closed the last page of Cryptum. I’ve only read the first chapter but I’m excited to catch back up with Bornstellar…
- GuyverTron: I love these Forerunner books so much. They have been called the “Dune of the Halo universe” for a reason. Every time I read them I pick up a detail I missed on previous reads. For instance, the end of chapter describes the remnants of where the Star Roads connected to the surface of this world.
- faded_scope: Just finished this one and definitely going to need another few listens to fully comprehend it all! Really enjoyed the perspective shifts and felt it worked really well, given it was “two characters” built into the same perspective at certain points.
We’ll see you at the end of the month to discuss Halo: New Blood!