Archief - Halo 4

Ok. Finally gunna speak my mind on Cryptum. On it's own the book is a decent scifi-novel with some good ideas, but it doesn't really feel like Halo. I've been a big fan of the Halo lore ever since I was drawn in by the Terminals in Halo-3, the greater story of the Forerunners, the Flood and Humanity added a whole new layer of depth to an already good game.
All through out the entire series Bungie has hinted and even flat out said the Forerunners were Human, from Guilty Spark's confrontation with the Chief in Halo-3, to the Prophets going as far as starting a war with Humanity after Mechatent Bias's revelation that Humans are living Forerunner. This was Bungie's story, the one they wanted ton tell and crafted over the course of a decade. This new story completely changes everything about the series, way more than Reach had. If Reach's story derailed canon, Cryptum outright nuked it.

Cryptum's story changing the Forerunners into a different, but somehow genetically related species to humanity makes the whole forerunner descendant/reclaimer business come off as dumb. Especially when you take into account that in the new canon Humanity and the Forerunners had competing civilizations and went to war with one another and the Forerunners outright hated Humans. This fact also clashes with the Halo-3 Terminals; according to the logs the Forerunner didn't know about Humans or Earth until right before the array was fired. All in all the new info without the significant rewriting of old books and games(Halo:CEA Terminals)makes the story from the original Halo Trilogy come off a non-sensical.

Cryptum feels off when it comes to Halo continuity not only because of the previously stated Human-Forerunner history, but it comes off as too much of a typical over the top scifi-opera that border lines on near fantasy story. Everything about the Forerunners seams over the top from their absurdly long life spans, magic like technology(creating full planets and even relocating them to other systems), the fact that all forerunners have there own life extending armor equipped with AIs. The de-evolution of Humanity and imprinting the survivors with genetic songs(gias) to trigger actions or memories, Didact's "Seed Ship"; he dropped a mechanical seed into the ground and it built itself into a giant ship. The mutations and memory swapping that somehow makes Borne Didact in the Librarians eyes. Some one with your lover's memories and a bit of their DNA does not make them that person. I thought that part was weird.

I really tried to like the book, but 343 and Greg Bear changed way too much. Given that all new books and the next Halo Trilogy are based on this new canon I think I'm gunna bow out. With all the changes made to the series it just doesn't feel like halo anymore. This is no longer the series I've loved since I was a teenager so this is not only a rant, but a goodbye to Halo. However I am looking forward to Bungie's next project, if they put half the effort into this new universe that they put into Halo I have no doubt it will be awesome.