Teaser

In the wake of the Covenant War, the galaxy endures a fragile peace. But that peace is threatened by a deadly assault on UNSC personnel, and it falls to ONI to uncover the culprit before tensions erupt once more into armed conflict . . .

Review

This is a difficult book for me to review for two reasons, both of which I suspect are going to crop up again and again as I read through the universe of Halo tie-in fiction. If you’re thinking about picking up these books, then you might encounter these issues yourself, even if from a purely reading perspective, without the added burden of choosing to write a review.

The first issue is one of familiarity. This is the fourth Troy Denning Halo novel I’ve read, and I find myself at a loss for new things to say about them. Denning’s writing is as good as ever, the action flows nicely, and the characters are enjoyable. That’s not much of a review. For my reviews, I like to pick at something in a book that makes me think. Maybe a richer vein of theme, or some vague thought triggered by a line from the book. With Retribution, I’m coming up short. There is no Deeper Dive from me on this one. All of Denning’s books have been enjoyable, but they tread on the same ground. Good, strong military SF. But little to differentiate them from one another. And that, I think, speaks to the larger issue at hand.

Shared universes, especially ones expanded from a more famous story in a different format, often put a single story at their core. Star Wars is a massive setting, but most of it falls back on the Skywalker bloodline. Star Trek likewise centres the ships named Enterprise. That’s all well and good, but clinging to a single theme can be damaging. There’s more than one story in every universe, or else it’s a badly designed one. Naturally, Halo centres the Covenant War that is chronicled in the first trilogy of games. But it also centres the military, and in particular the Spartan programme, to an unfortunate extent. The Ferrets novels had the potential to be a lower-level story of undercover investigators and crime solving. Yet we again find ourselves travelling with a squad of Spartans. Yes, the story is still a good one, but it feels like a squandered opportunity for something new.

As I say though, Retribution is still a good book. I’m starting to wrap my head around all the terminology at play in the Halo universe, and the post-war galaxy is starting to deepen. For example, we get more insight into the fractured Covenant with every book, and the mystery of the Forerunners, and those they left behind, is clearly building towards something.

If you’re already a Halo fan, then this book will offer you another hit of adrenaline-fuelled entertainment. If you’re just on the hunt for interesting science fiction, however, this probably isn’t what you’re looking for.

Book Stats

• A Ferrets Novel (#2)
• Takes place in December 2553
• Published by Titan
• First published in 2016
• Military SF
• 321 pages