Book Analysis

By: Matthew Barton

Date: 7/4/2015

For my first fiction analysis, I decided to tackle Halo: The fall of Reach, the first official
prequel to Bungie Inc.s 2001 video game megahit Halo:Combat Evolved, by Eric
Nylund, a New York Times bestselling and World Fantasy Award nominated author of
more than dozen books that have sold more than two-and a-half million copies.

The plot of Reach does not follow any one particular character, as the point of view
consistently alternates between characters, locations and factions with several time
skips, but overall the storyline is directly or indirectly related to the character evolution of
John, Spartan 117, better known as the Master Chief. Many other character arcs
surround his own, including those of Lieutenant (later Captain) Jacob Keyes, Dr.
Catherine Halsey and Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez. As the story progresses,
many more supporting characters come into the mix, such as Ensign William Lovell, the
artificial intelligence Cortana, and the numerous members of the Spartan Program.

Reachs storyline is decidedly gritty and violent, especially in the second half of the book
when the Covenant are introduced. Shortly after their advent, some chapters begin to
be set in Covenant characters viewpoints. Over the course of the book, the events that
happened right up to the eponymous Fall of Reach, Humanitys strongest and most
important military planet, which itself transitions to the beginning of Halo: Combat
Evolved.