I just can't agree with that. I thought the book made characters more human is just about every aspect. I'm not quite sure how to explain this, but the books just don't seem as rigid in their plot points, which in my opinion, is a good thing. The books are certainly unpredictable, and the characters are certainly enjoyable. Plus, there's a good deal of humor. I laughed a few times in the books, and it's amazing how quick it goes from light humor to a more serious tone. Overall, I'd love to see more action, but the talking parts are fantastic.

I thought it was a thousand times better than Glasslands. Jul was developed [i]really[/i] well and I managed to connect to the characters a lot more, I especially enjoyed the bits with Phillips and how he felt guilty leaving Elar behind to die. Seeing the Pious Inquisitor pop up again from Halo 2 and 3 was pretty cool too.

I thought it was an amazing book, the same as I thought about Glasslands. Although, it's probably because Karen Traviss is my favorite author, so I'm biased towards her work.

i've read every halo book to date, but for the most part can't remember what happens in each of them haha

Loved it. Alas, like all the Halo books with the possible exceptions of Cryptum and Primordium, can't remember a lot of what actually happened. The Kilo-Five series got better and better, with its fantastic pacing and some of the finest characterisation and action seen in Halo books. Shame it's the end. What's that? It isn't? Well, if it's a trilogy, and it started with Ghosts of Onyx, then...

The book does a good job developing Jul, but unfortunately this book has many flaws that outweigh its bright spots. 1). Blue Team and the Spartan-IIIs are completely ignored in this book. This may be for the better since Traviss only managed to butcher characters in [i]Glasslands[/i], but considering this is an informal sequel to GoO, not having any of the characters that made Nylund's novels so great in their original characterizations is a bad decision. 2). The plot almost seems to rationalize the reason for Maggie's harsh behavior. How did the doctor on Onyx let Jul escape in a way that was completely preventable? 3). In the one scene that Halsey directly participates in, she is portrayed as a confused child. Am I supposed to believe that she is outsmarted by an AI whose entire infrastructure she developed in the first place? The same woman that managed to design MJOLNIR and the Spartan augmentations? Not believable. 4). Naomi's portrayal irks me. Traviss attempts to humanize her while simultaneously keeping her Spartan personality. It doesn't work. If Traviss wants to know how to pull this off more effectively, she should see how 343i handled the MC in Halo 4. That was a good combination of humanized soldier and killing machine.

As long as Osman is alive her additions to the expanded universe will suck shit.

/travissty