originally posted in:Halo Archive
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Felt this was best placed in a group of Halo Lore-Masters. Spoilers and angry ranting ahead. Apologies.
I'm about three quarters of the way through Glasslands, and it's just god-awful. I don't even know what to say about it other than to say that I'm appalled by the way that Halsey is being portrayed throughout the entire book.
Just so you know I'm not just jumping on the bandwagon here, I was dismissive of what I'd heard about Traviss' portrayal, and was rather optimistic about what it would actually be. Now I can see for myself that Halsey has been turned from cool, calm, in-control, and dedicated to saving the Spartans she had left, into some sort of whiny, self-centered, psychopathic bitch concerned only with saving herself and benefiting from the events at Onyx. And the part with Lucy finally breaking her silence? [i][b]Are you -blam!-ing kidding me??!?!!![/b][/i] This "Halsey" is written so goddamn out of character, it's flat out ridiculous, and it makes me want to cry knowing that this shit is now considered canon for the universe I love. For the first time [b]ever[/b] (and when I say that, I mean it) I can't physically read some of this. I have to skip over it just to continue the story. What the actual [i]hell[/i], 343? It's like Karen Travesty had some sort of personal bitch vendetta against her, and was using this book as a way to rage against Halsey!
While my anger is by no means done, this post is getting too long. I have to ask. Is the rest of the Trilogy like this? Did I waste my money on a set of books I won't even be able to stand reading, or is the first the sole sufferer of Traviss' inexplicable wrath?
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I have yet to read Mortal Dictata, considering I've just started Game of Thrones, but I hopefully will before H5. I love the K5 trilogy. It's so much better than most of the books from the Bungie era. It has so many more dimensions than just hopeless and unending, 'gritty' human militaria: there's subterfuge and morality and Sangheili society. And I'm really glad with what 343 has done with Halsey. I even still like her as a human being, but now she's actually rounded and not just Bungie's infallible Mary Sue. Now the moral ramifications of her actions are catching up with her, both externally and internally, and it's fascinating to see.