The book of the award-winning game. And unfortunately in this case it's a bit too literally.

I had finished the game (the Anniversary Edition) just recently and it's awkward to read what you did in the game retold step by step. Even the scenery is described exactly as in the game in many cases to an absurd degree.

Yes, Dietz did give the Covenant soldiers names and voices. He let them play some minor parts as he did with the remaining ODST Helljumpers and the crew of the Pillar of Autumn. But it's nothing but scratching the surface to tell the story from three different points of view: Master Chief; the Covenant and the crew of the Pillar of Autumn.

After having read the Fall of Reach, this episode was a bit disappointing. Surely it allows non-gamers to experience the story, but gamers could as well replay the game on a higher difficulty and get a lot more satisfaction.

The book plays on safe and it feels as if Dietz was kept on a leash when he was commissioned to write the book. In fact he wasn't, he did exactly what he was supposed to do.

Halo: the Flood
written by William C. Dietz
ISBN 978-1-84149-421-0
Find it on Amazon.com - Find it on Amazon.co.uk

I'm a bit of a Halo fanboy. It all started with Halo 3 on the XBox360, after which I tackled Halo Reach and recently finished Halo Combat Evolved, the Anniversary Edition. There's still a box with Halo 3 ODST shrink wrapped waiting for a go... soon now, very soon.

I love the Halo games. It's a fast paced FPS with a descent and intriguing story board to drive every installment to its surprising conclusion. Being new to the Halo universe, Halo 3 was a bit of a shock but the tantalizing experience made me wanting for more.

After finishing Halo Reach I dug into Amazon to find some books that hopefully would satisfy my hunger and tell me the background stories on Master Chief, the Spartan program, Cortana, the Covenant, the Flood and all the other characters and story lines that intertwined in the different episodes.

So I started with the first book "Halo the Fall of Reach", written by Eric Nylund. And there it was, carefully laid out, filling all the gaps and answering the numerous questions I had. Nyland did a wonderful job in creating a believable Halo Universe in which he tells us how little John was taken from his home world to be transformed into John-117 better known as Master Chief.

The shady Spartan program, initially conceived as a means to control rebellious worlds, turns out to be humanity's best hope against the ruthless invasion of the Covenant. The book ends where Halo Combat Evolved, the first game starts, on board of the Pillar of Autumn with the Halo world in sight and the Covenant at its tail. By then, the Spartan program is reduced to one man, John-117 better known as Master Chief.

Time to put that book down and grab a controller.

Halo: the Fall of Reach
written by Eric Nylund
ISBN 978-0-7653-6729-7
Find it on Amazon.com - Find it on Amazon.co.uk