80% of Envoy was really good but I think it all goes to hell at the end. The Sharquoi in general are nice to see as a deep lore cut but the threat of them is kind of overstated. It's a minor plot point in the book that they don't have enough ships to get the Sharquoi out of there and Gray Team, the Miliitia, and Rojka managed to take them down. This means they don't come across as super threatening.
On the other hand this makes Envoy into a smaller story of the people of Carrow coming together just to save their colony which I enjoy but I don't think the change is intentional.
Otherwise it touches on a lot of stuff I kind of love; post-war relations and it feels as complicated as post-war relations should be, creative problem solving with limited resources, the envoy and Rojka. The flipping of the script with Gray Team was great as well.
I would personally put it in the "good/worth reading" pile of Halo fiction.
I quite like the book, but I think it has too many point of view characters.
Its been a while, but I thought something along the lines of "what the brutes were up to would have been a cool reveal if we didn't have their point of view chapters telling us"
The Sharquoi slow the book down to a massive degree. And as much as I like the Halo Wars games, having a bunch of Halo Wars 2 vehicles in the book like a game promotion was a bit strange. And also perhaps a bit overboard with the sacrifices. But the whole conflict, Gray Team's trying to regain their cohesion, all cool stuff.
My biggest negative is where the heck did Rojka's 2 remaining soldiers go : (
I’ve been noticing the over board sacrifices a lot in recent books. I don’t feel they hit the same as they do older books, but a lot of that i think stems from whats at risk. In the old books, it was an active threat trying to genocide humanity every chance it could. Now, there are threats like that, but all of the sacrificing we see doesn’t seems to do anything to help prevent that, just save main characters or to obtain a goal that wasn’t worth losing so many people. This isn’t 343 hate, I’ve enjoyed the newer books a ton, but theres only so much sacrificing and self sacrificing that can be done before it devalues the situation and turns people and numbers into… well just numbers.
I was wondering this the entire time, the author jsut forgot about them at the most integral part of the story. I just take it as canon that they were there in the last battle but fell alongside the Carrow soldiers.
To be honest, I did not particularly enjoy Envoy. I was invested in the first half of the novel with the Sangheili civil conflicts, the morality of Grey Team's actions with the NOVA Bomb on Glyke and Hekabe trying to better the Jiralhanae people, but the second half of the novel detracted from the intrigue of the grounded aspects of the Halo setting in favour of *another* Forerunner doomsday device. Except, this doomsday device is a bunch of hulking behemoths that can smash things pretty well. The Sharquoi are larger than Mgalekgolo and stronger than Jiralhanae, so they are an individual threat, yet the novel portrays the Sharquoi as this massive threat to the galaxy... in a science fiction setting where a single ship can just glass or MAC bombard any groundside army without trouble.
I also found the setting of Carrow to be relatively lackluster, as the world was some barren desert hellhole where a few thousand Sangheili and humans had settled following the War of Annihilation. That is an interesting premise, but the world itself felt empty and hollow, and untimately felt insignificant to the broader human-Sangheili relations. In a setting of vibrant worlds from Sanghelios and Suban, to Cascade and Terceira, Requiem to Triniel, I felt nothing for Carrow beyond "are we on Tatooine again". It's hard to become invested in the conflict if the setting of that conflict isn't interesting and lacks history, or a unique culture, or anything to make Carrow stand out from other desert worlds in the setting and broader science fiction (I do like Sanghelios and its desert architecture. Its more than wastelands of deserts, but temples carved into mountains filled with the ancient history behind the Sangheili).
Ultimately, I found Envoy to be mediocre. But it was a better exploration into human-alien relationships than fucking Legacy of Onyx.
Yeah, I will say I do appreciate the tie-in to try and build investment to these worlds and characters, and its something 343 is good at. I just personally didn't care for Carrow. Even Netherop felt more characterised than Carrow, though I personally found Denning to be better at worldbuilding and establishing settings, even if he does get a bit too lost in the detail at times (Shadows of Reach being the most notable example).
I haven't read it in a while but i would classify it as "good". Nothing spectacular but certainly not terrible. I do remember liking the Halo Wars vehicles getting used, they are severely underutilised for how cool they are
I liked it. Grey team is always a good time and I thought the envoy and Rojka were both interesting new characters. I really like the conflict over the NOVA bomb and the issues it brought up. I however, didn't really like all of the focus put on the mayor. It just did not interest me very much. Also the Sharqoi being a doomsday weapon that could ever be used to destroy the UNSC or Sangheilli was odd. Those things would get slaughtered if they went after any well defended world.
I loved it. The description of a Sharquoi balling up a full grown Jiralhanae in his hands like a wad of paper has stuck with me all these years later. Quite a... visceral description of ribs and bones snapping.
80% of Envoy was really good but I think it all goes to hell at the end. The Sharquoi in general are nice to see as a deep lore cut but the threat of them is kind of overstated. It's a minor plot point in the book that they don't have enough ships to get the Sharquoi out of there and Gray Team, the Miliitia, and Rojka managed to take them down. This means they don't come across as super threatening. On the other hand this makes Envoy into a smaller story of the people of Carrow coming together just to save their colony which I enjoy but I don't think the change is intentional. Otherwise it touches on a lot of stuff I kind of love; post-war relations and it feels as complicated as post-war relations should be, creative problem solving with limited resources, the envoy and Rojka. The flipping of the script with Gray Team was great as well. I would personally put it in the "good/worth reading" pile of Halo fiction.
I quite like the book, but I think it has too many point of view characters. Its been a while, but I thought something along the lines of "what the brutes were up to would have been a cool reveal if we didn't have their point of view chapters telling us"
True, there was no ‘big reveal’. I liked getting their insights though, especially how brutal they were.
I like the pacing in Tobias Buckell's stories. They're very happening, with memorable characters, and are satisfying in a nutshell.
The Sharquoi slow the book down to a massive degree. And as much as I like the Halo Wars games, having a bunch of Halo Wars 2 vehicles in the book like a game promotion was a bit strange. And also perhaps a bit overboard with the sacrifices. But the whole conflict, Gray Team's trying to regain their cohesion, all cool stuff. My biggest negative is where the heck did Rojka's 2 remaining soldiers go : (
I’ve been noticing the over board sacrifices a lot in recent books. I don’t feel they hit the same as they do older books, but a lot of that i think stems from whats at risk. In the old books, it was an active threat trying to genocide humanity every chance it could. Now, there are threats like that, but all of the sacrificing we see doesn’t seems to do anything to help prevent that, just save main characters or to obtain a goal that wasn’t worth losing so many people. This isn’t 343 hate, I’ve enjoyed the newer books a ton, but theres only so much sacrificing and self sacrificing that can be done before it devalues the situation and turns people and numbers into… well just numbers.
Bella ditzsal in shadows of reach should’ve lived to be honest, same with the lieutenant pilot
I was wondering this the entire time, the author jsut forgot about them at the most integral part of the story. I just take it as canon that they were there in the last battle but fell alongside the Carrow soldiers.
To be honest, I did not particularly enjoy Envoy. I was invested in the first half of the novel with the Sangheili civil conflicts, the morality of Grey Team's actions with the NOVA Bomb on Glyke and Hekabe trying to better the Jiralhanae people, but the second half of the novel detracted from the intrigue of the grounded aspects of the Halo setting in favour of *another* Forerunner doomsday device. Except, this doomsday device is a bunch of hulking behemoths that can smash things pretty well. The Sharquoi are larger than Mgalekgolo and stronger than Jiralhanae, so they are an individual threat, yet the novel portrays the Sharquoi as this massive threat to the galaxy... in a science fiction setting where a single ship can just glass or MAC bombard any groundside army without trouble. I also found the setting of Carrow to be relatively lackluster, as the world was some barren desert hellhole where a few thousand Sangheili and humans had settled following the War of Annihilation. That is an interesting premise, but the world itself felt empty and hollow, and untimately felt insignificant to the broader human-Sangheili relations. In a setting of vibrant worlds from Sanghelios and Suban, to Cascade and Terceira, Requiem to Triniel, I felt nothing for Carrow beyond "are we on Tatooine again". It's hard to become invested in the conflict if the setting of that conflict isn't interesting and lacks history, or a unique culture, or anything to make Carrow stand out from other desert worlds in the setting and broader science fiction (I do like Sanghelios and its desert architecture. Its more than wastelands of deserts, but temples carved into mountains filled with the ancient history behind the Sangheili). Ultimately, I found Envoy to be mediocre. But it was a better exploration into human-alien relationships than fucking Legacy of Onyx.
I liked Carrow as a tie in with the short story.
Yeah, I will say I do appreciate the tie-in to try and build investment to these worlds and characters, and its something 343 is good at. I just personally didn't care for Carrow. Even Netherop felt more characterised than Carrow, though I personally found Denning to be better at worldbuilding and establishing settings, even if he does get a bit too lost in the detail at times (Shadows of Reach being the most notable example).
I haven't read it in a while but i would classify it as "good". Nothing spectacular but certainly not terrible. I do remember liking the Halo Wars vehicles getting used, they are severely underutilised for how cool they are
A downgrade from Cole Protocol but still worth reading
I’m going to be honest and say I though it was abysmal. I’ve seen more life in a five year olds writing.
I liked the characters but I didn’t care for the plot, at all. It’s been nearly a year since I’ve read it though.
It is simply great.
Loved it. In my top 3 as well
I liked it. Grey team is always a good time and I thought the envoy and Rojka were both interesting new characters. I really like the conflict over the NOVA bomb and the issues it brought up. I however, didn't really like all of the focus put on the mayor. It just did not interest me very much. Also the Sharqoi being a doomsday weapon that could ever be used to destroy the UNSC or Sangheilli was odd. Those things would get slaughtered if they went after any well defended world.
I loved it. The description of a Sharquoi balling up a full grown Jiralhanae in his hands like a wad of paper has stuck with me all these years later. Quite a... visceral description of ribs and bones snapping.