The Human-Covenant War, a desperate struggle for humankind's very survival, has reached its boiling point on the mysterious ring world called Halo. But the fierce Covenant warriors, the mightiest alien military force known, are not the only peril lying in wait.As the fortress world of Reach and its brave defenders were bombarded to rubble, a single cruiser fled the carnage with the battle's only human survivors-Captain Keyes, his crew of a few hundred marines, and the last remaining SPARTAN super-soldier, the Master Chief.With the cruiser's artificial intelligence, Cortana, concealed in his battle armor, the Master Chief crash-lands on Halo in the midst of a massive Covenant occupation. Curiously, the alien soldiers appear to be searching for something hidden on the ring. Built by a long-dead race, Halo harbors many deadly secrets, but one overshadows them all. Now the Master Chief must lead the scattered troops in a brutal race to unravel Halo's darkest mystery-and unleash its greatest source of power.

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However - just as the game - it's very action-oriented with a majority of the book being about how he tosses a grenade and sidesteps. Focusing on the action instead of the story or characterization gets a little boring. The first book really lets you get to know the characters AND lets you get in on the action.

Also, the other difference from the first book is that in "The Fall of Reach", the Covenant are tough and mysterious, making them interesting. "The Flood", the Covenenant are pretty dumb and easy to kill, which... well, which makes them dumb (regular marines puts them down with a bullet). Master Chief is inexplicably a lot less strong here also. It's like "The Fall of Reach" was played on HEROIC or LEGENDARY level, while the setting for "The Flood" was EASY level.

This is still a good read (unlike other series such as the STARCRAFT line), and you'll love it as long as you don't get your hopes up.

39 of 46 found the following review helpful:

Really Bad BookMay 28, 2003

I was excited to read The Flood because I really enjoyed the Fall of Reach (the first Halo book) and was looking forward to a new installment in the Master Chief's adventures. The great thing about the Fall of Reach was the creative license taken by that author to create a new universe and to explain the origins of the Master Chief as well as the war with the Covenant. Unfortunately, The Flood is more of a walk-through of Halo, the video game, then a good story. In my opinion, the author abandoned artistic license in his attempt to reproduce a level by level description of the game. At many points while reading the book I found myself wondering if the author wrote the story based on notes he took while watching someone play the video game.

The story-line in the book suffers from several major defects, including, but not limited to: (1) stilted adherence to the many missions and sub-missions found in the video game, including the necessity in many cases that each wave be separated by a door which the Chief must open, (2) the inclusion of automated non-player dialog found in the video game, (3) repetitious battle scenes between the Chief and the unending waves of enemies attacking the Master Chief (even the author starts describing these as "all too familiar"), (4) repetitious descriptions of weapon selection (switching from shotgun to rifle and back again) and reloading, (5) the Master Chief's unexplained inability to carry more than two weapons at time, even for short distances (even though the armor provides him with enough strength to flip over a jeep laying on its side), and (6) the ever present availability of reloads and replacement weapons. These aspects may make for great game play, but they make for a lousy book.

A better story would have been one which follows the essential elements of the game's story line but which provided a more detailed account of the actions taken by the Master Chief, the Marines and the Covenant.

When a movie is made into a video game, the video game must make certain sacrifices from the original story so as to improve game play. The opposite is also true: an action oriented video-game does not contain the level of character development necessary to support a written story line. In the case of The Flood, the author should have eliminated most of the game-play scenes (which provide minimal detail and maximum action) and created a more detail oriented story with better story and character development. I would recommend another of the author's books "Legion of the Damned" as a good example (think: The French Foreign Legion in space).

Do we really need chapter after chapter of the Master Chief shooting up wave after wave of the Flood, then Covenant, then Protectors, then all three combined? Much of this could have been eliminated in favor of a few strong chapters of story development. The story is so stilted in remaining loyal to the game that an observant reader can almost detect where level changes and cut scenes would have occurred in the video game.

I strongly recommend against this buying The Flood and I do not consider it to be a true sequel to the Fall of Reach. Play the game instead, you'll get the same exact story either way. Buyer beware.

16 of 19 found the following review helpful:

Fine book, just not what i was expectingApr 20, 2003
By Sir Poom A Lot
I've beaten Halo multiple times. No, i don't own the game. Yes, i've read the "Fall of Reach", yes, "The Flood" isn't perfect. I like this book, but it doesn't deserve a 5. The Master Chief seems...weak. The battles aren't written "right". IT skips thru verrrrrrrrrry important levels in diologue like "he ran through many corridors filled with covenant and flood. He took them out. After the 20th corridor..."
It bugs me. I like it. i don't love it.

On to the good:
"the flood" has a MUCH deeper storyline than the game. You learn things that weren't in it, and it make you want to play the game through parts that you already have beaten, just to hear "that one crucial line". The Master Chief is shown as an emotionless person, good or bad? You're choice. The ending about the marines is simply breathtaking. Cap'n Keyes is strict, and Cortana is funny. The flood are...well, they're the flood. Freaky creatures that need phsyciotrists. And food. The twists in this book are nothing new if you have beaten the game, but it makes you gasp if you haven't. A great companion with the "Fall of Reach", a completely awesome 5 star official prequel to the book and the game.Although "the flood" is slightly dissapointing, it's an awesome read. Buy it.

9 of 10 found the following review helpful:

A novel for the game?Oct 05, 2003
By Johannes P. Supan ""QuarterKnight04""
I was overexcited when I first saw this book being a huge fan of Halo. I bought it for $11.79 and finished half the book in less than a day. This book is an okay book for Sci-fi readers or Halo fans. If you beat the game, you might not want to read the book because it's like a walkthrough. But... Halo: The Flood also brings in the Human Covenant War through the eyes of other characters. You'll read about Sam Marcus, Capt. Keyes' killed and unknown comrades, and even about a Grunt called Yayap (Yayap makes you feel sorry for the Grunts and despise the Elites). I would recommend this book for young adults, there's a little too much of profanity (unless you're not sensitive).

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Not quite as good as Eric Nylund's book, but still not bad.Apr 08, 2003
By Maxwell
Eric Nylund's book (The Fall of Reach) added more to the Halo franchise by describing the origins of the Spartans, and the events that led up to what was actually depicted in the game itself. Since "The Flood" follows the events in the game very closely, it doesn't feel as fresh as the previous book. But William Dietz still does a pretty good job of bringing the story to life and making it interesting, considering the material he had to work with. Let's face it, the story in the game is basically one big fire fight. A good portion of this book are scenes lifted straight out of the cutscenes in the game. But Dietz does manage to add some new material as well. He includes a well thought out subplot about the Marines, and what happens to them in the Master Chief's absence. I actually enjoyed this part of the book the most. Dietz also depicts some events from the perspective of the Covenant, which also gave the book a bit more depth. All in all, this book is a good novelization of the game and fills in a few blanks as well.

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