In January 2012, Greg Bear wrote another entry in the epic Halo: The Forerunner Saga, which detail the life of Chakas after Cryptum left off and sometimes during the era of the Master Chief. Set both before and after Halo 3, Primordium details how Chakas became one of the most memorable game characters. Synopsis: In the wake of the apparent self-destruction of the Forerunner empire, two humans--Chakas and Riser--are like flotsam washed up on very strange shores indeed. Captured by the Master Builder and then misplaced during the furious battle in space, Riser and Chakas now find themselves on an inverted world where horizons rise into the sky and where humans of all kinds are trapped in a perilous cycle of horror and neglect. They have become both research animals and strategic pawns in a cosmic game whose madness knows no end--a game of ancient vengeance between powers who seeded the galaxy with life, and the Forerunners who expect to inherit their sacred Mantle of duty to all living things. In the company of a young girl and an old man, Chakas begins an epic journey across a lost and damaged Halo in search of a way home, an explanation for the warrior spirits rising up within, and for the Librarian's tampering with human destiny. This journey will take them into the domain of a powerful and monstrous intelligence who claims to be the last Precursor, and who now has control of both this Halo and the fate of the Forerunners and humans alike. Called the Captive by Forerunners, and the Primordial by ancient human warriors, this intelligence may control the fate of not only Chakas, Riser, and the rest of humanity, but of all sentient life.
The novel opens with a small passage from 343 Guilty Spark who tells the humans of how events came to be. The book is set primarily on the "rogue" Halo ring Installation 07, used by 05-032 Mendicant Bias during the events of Halo: Cryptum. It follows the journey of the humans Chakas and Morning Riser, former companions of Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting. After crash-landing on the Halo ring during Mendicant Bias' assault on the capital, they discover it has been used by the Master Builder's researchers to conduct research on humans. They are forced to make their way across the embattled Halo installation, with human companions Vinnevra and Gamelpar facing the Flood and rogue A.I. constructs on the way, while the Precursors' ancient plan of vengeance against the Forerunners is revealed. During their journey, they find their way into the Palace of Pain, the lair of the ancient entity known as the Timeless One, which has unleashed the Flood on the Master Builder's researchers on the installation. Despite the 300-some odd pages, this is the vast majority of the story. The novel comes to a climax with the Bornstellar-Didact (IsoDidact) killing the Primordia and Chakas, dying, gets his memories placed in a Monitor.
The novel is decent, great fun to read, but awfully long when things could've been shortened. Really, this novel felt like a novella attachment to Cryptum rather than the lengthy page count it needed to be. Still, I'd recommend this to long-time Halo fans.
The novel opens with a small passage from 343 Guilty Spark who tells the humans of how events came to be. The book is set primarily on the "rogue" Halo ring Installation 07, used by 05-032 Mendicant Bias during the events of Halo: Cryptum. It follows the journey of the humans Chakas and Morning Riser, former companions of Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting. After crash-landing on the Halo ring during Mendicant Bias' assault on the capital, they discover it has been used by the Master Builder's researchers to conduct research on humans. They are forced to make their way across the embattled Halo installation, with human companions Vinnevra and Gamelpar facing the Flood and rogue A.I. constructs on the way, while the Precursors' ancient plan of vengeance against the Forerunners is revealed. During their journey, they find their way into the Palace of Pain, the lair of the ancient entity known as the Timeless One, which has unleashed the Flood on the Master Builder's researchers on the installation. Despite the 300-some odd pages, this is the vast majority of the story. The novel comes to a climax with the Bornstellar-Didact (IsoDidact) killing the Primordia and Chakas, dying, gets his memories placed in a Monitor.
The novel is decent, great fun to read, but awfully long when things could've been shortened. Really, this novel felt like a novella attachment to Cryptum rather than the lengthy page count it needed to be. Still, I'd recommend this to long-time Halo fans.
