| | |  | Books | Home » » Contact Harvest (Halo) | | | | | | | Description: | | This is how it began... It is the year 2524. Harvest is a peaceful, prosperous farming colony on the very edge of human-controlled space. But we have trespassed on holy ground--strayed into the path of an aggressive alien empire known as the Covenant. What begins as a chance encounter between an alien privateer and a human freighter catapults mankind into a struggle for its very existence. But humanity is also locked in a bitter civil war known as the Insurrection. So the survival of Harvest's citizens falls to a squad of battle-weary UNSC Marines and their inexperienced colonial militia trainees. In this unlikely group of heroes, one stands above the rest...a young Marine staff sergeant named Avery Johnson. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Joseph Staten | | Paperback:
| 400 pages | | Publisher:
| Tor Books | | Publication Date:
| October 30, 2007 | | Package Length:
| 8.1 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.7 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 71 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 Excellent storySep 05, 2010
Excellent back story to Sgt. Johnson's tale. I always wondered how the war between humans & covenant started out. voice acting well done for audio books. I could listen to jen taylor do voice acting for every book they come out with. Here's to the authors continuing their great work
 Pretty DecentJun 24, 2010
Spoiler!
There is a sex scene in the closing chapter. This doesn't in any way fit into the story. Its pretty much this guy and this chick (who they make sound old through the whole book, so try to work with that imagery) and they just start a'do'in it. Otherwise its was a good read.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Enjoyable Halo "History" - RecommendedMay 11, 2010
"Halo: Contact Harvest" provides important insight into the Halo Universe for fans who want to go beyond the games. I had previously read Halo, Books 1-3 (The Flood; First Strike; The Fall of Reach), so was very interested in filling in even more of the back story provide in this book.
Right off the start, it is obvious that Joseph Staten does not have the same writing style or flare for action that some of the other Halo authors have (i.e. Eric Nylund and William Dietz), but he more than makes up for it with his attention to detail and descriptive passages. While less exciting than the books farther up the time-line, this is an excellent history of both the human culture (touching on colonization and the "Insurrection") and the Covenant (explaining how several of the major species came together). I always enjoy the alien perspective and we get a lot insights into the mindsets and inner-working of the Covenant hierarchy.
The action centers mostly on Sergent Avery Johnson, a soldier who is haunted by his time fighting against human Insurrectionists and the loss of a close family member, who is sent to the remote planet Harvest to train a local militia. Surrounded by some additional eccentric characters, including recruits who are more farmers than soldiers and several Artificial Intelligences, Avery is far less than ready for the unexpected arrival of the first Covenant ship.
This is worthwhile read and a good starting place if you haven't read any of the previous Halo books. My only real issue is the inclusion of a "intimate" scene that really added nothing to the story line.
Recommended
CFH
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Great BookFeb 28, 2010
If you love the games, and like to read you have to read this book along with the rest of the serious as I did, as I was reading I could picture every character and place in my head and when I was done I had to play the games again LOL
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A different kind of HaloDec 11, 2009
When thinking of all the Halo series the first time author Josheph Staten's Contact Harvest seems like the odd child of the litter. The usual Halo standard it seems centered around an epic war story very heavy on action. This however focuses on a smaller more character driven plot.Although I wasnt enirely suprised. Staten is the author of the scripts for the halo trilogy and knows the characters he created better than any.
Synpothesis
Harvest is an agricultural powerhouse, the furthest colony from earth and a blip on the UNSC's radar. A famailiar face Avery Johnson ( a great sidekick in the games) is sent there to train colonial militia from the widespread threat of the insurgentsies. Soon after arriving there he recieves top secret reports from a superior officer of recent pirating in the nearby space. When it is found to a collection of alien races causing trouble the mission takes a bizzare, for the worse.
Humans are declared unholy and are sought to be eradicated.
Verdict
A nice change in pace from the normalcy of the standard run and gun halo novel. This takes a step back to the beginnng and shows how the war for humanitie's and eventually all organic life in the universe began. It was a fun read that gave great insight across the spectrum of Halo. It is an altogether diffrent style of Halo one that is appreciated by a devouted fan.
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