Halo: Primordium: Book Two of the Forerunner Saga: 9

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This book takes place starting at an event roughly two-thirds of the way through Cryptum, when everyone has been captured by the Master Builder. Somehow, Chakas and Riser have been misplaced in a chaotic situation and end up on a rogue Halo installation, now under the control of the mysterious Primordial and the rampant AI Mendicant Bias. The story is told through Chakas' viewpoint, and chronicles his journey alongside companions new and old across the surface of this great ringworld, in excruciating detail. It's a VERY interesting story and quite compelling at times. There are tons of genuinely fascinating concepts, ideas, events, and characters dotting the landscape of this story. The actual events and revelations are truly great and some are even moving. It's not perfect though. Characters' moods and emotions will sometimes change on a dime for seemingly no reason, and it feels at times like there's little genuine character development, which is a shame after Cryptum did such a good job at that. Story Hobby reviewed the book and gave it an 80% rating, calling the book a "big improvement" over the previous title, citing the exciting conclusion and more human centered story, but called the plot "weak". [39] Book Loons called it "slow", and said it was only with those familiar with the source material, but that the audio book was very good, and that it had an excellent surprise ending. [40] They wander around, and see massive forerunner ships repairing the damaged halo ring from the fighting. Vinnerva has a geas and helps guide them to where Riser may be. It points them in the direction of the old city, to which they must go around the village where Gamelpar is not welcome. They continue through the old city with walls to protect the inhabitants from other humans many years ago. The Lord of Admirals comments to Chakas that he had affection for Born. Lord of Admirals admits he also had affection for a warrior-servant he was in constant battle with. Didact and Chakas shrunk the halo to fit through a portal to the lesser Ark for repairs. Didact was on a mission from Librarian to save the species and specimens on the ring. The loyal forerunners to the council who were infected then stood down, as did Chakas. Bornstellar is now the Didact as the original Didact served as his template. He explains the humans are safe and will go with the survivors where they will live pleasantly. In the epilogue, Riser, Vinnevra and other humans are relocated on Installation 00 among many other species, where Forerunners watch over them until they are returned to their homeworld. At Riser's request, his people are relocated to a series of islands. Riser meets with the IsoDidact one last time before the Forerunners leave and the humans begin settling their new home. Mendicant Bias is tried for his crimes, and imprisoned on the Ark to think about atonement.

Wow, what a surprise this book has been. I came in expecting it to be the darker middle entry in a trilogy that would ultimately have a tragic-but-hopeful ending. This book is not that. It is dark to be sure, but in many ways, this hardly feels in any way like a sequel to Cryptum . The only thing that even reminds me that this is related to that book is that some characters reappear, and that it takes place on a Halo, but that's about it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but there's no doubt this book suffers a bit more than the first, despite its strengths. So around the halfway mark through my reading of the novel after blundering around blindly and trying to get through the endless walking and poking of dead corpses, I finally did some research into the Didact, Forerunners, the Primordial and pretty much everything (including spoilers). Imagine my surprise when the story started to become interesting for some reason and when I continued reading it was still boring despite knowing pretty much everything about the lore but it finally perked up during the final third of the book. The final third of the book hinted at points that actually piqued my interest and made me keep reading to find out more. The ending left everything off on a cliffhanger and strangely enough I want to find out more despite how bland most of the book was. My interest wasn't due to the actual book itself on its own merits but rather due to the fact that I wanted to find out more about the lore from where it left off. Otherwise the book is totally forgettable. A primordium is an aggregation of cells that is the first stage in the development of an organ or tissue. It is also a derivation of the term Primordial, which is a title given to the last Precursor. There’s also no action what so ever, while Cryptum was mainly talking and explanations there were at least a few space battles and engagements to keep things interesting. But in this – nada. You certainly see plenty of signs of action and the aftermath of fights but there’s no actual engagements depicted in any scenes. It’s like Greg Bear set out to intentionally have the book dodge any heart-pounding or fast paced action in favour of long repetitive travelling. But to be completely honest with you, even with these flaws the book is still worth getting for the ending. This journey will take them into the Palace of Pain, 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 Forerunners and Humans alike.I think I prefer Primordium to Cryptum, all-in-all. Both novels are essentially a long odyssey, the journey of one character that eventually leads to a climactic conclusion that shapes the lore of the series dramatically. After the Master Builder destroyed Charum Hakkor, and brought the last Precursor to this Halo, they carried out experiments on the Humans because they were resistant to the Flood. As it turns out this when the Master Builder was given permission to build the Halo's the Librarian demanded to be allowed to bring species from around the galaxy, to the Halo's as a means of preserving life since the weapons kill everything. Richard Mitchell (October 18, 2012). "Halo: Silentium concludes Greg Bear's Forerunner trilogy in March 2013". joystiq . Retrieved April 14, 2013. The novel is dedicated to Claude Errera, a long-time Bungie and Halo fan as well as the founder of halo.bungie.org.

Halo: Primordium is the second novel in The Forerunner Saga by Greg Bear and is the sequel to Halo: Cryptum. It was released on January 3, 2012, with an audio edition released simultaneously. [1] [2] The sequel to the novel, Halo: Silentium, was released on March 19, 2013. [3] This, of course, is literal; much of the book is spent with the readers following one character’s geas, which “pulls” her in the right direction. Having nothing better to ride hopes on, and some experience with the infallibility of the Librarian’s strange geas, Chakas follows along with it. This is perhaps the one real point of criticism that I have with the novel; it does seem meandering and aimless, and often (this is the Two Towers Syndrome: overlong and aimless). It’s also another point that mirrors Ringworld and a common complaint about Niven’s novel, too. However, Bear smartly plays with the rules of the Librarian’s geas as a plot device, which allows for the introduction of some horror into the novel. Through Chakas’ eyes we see plenty of Flood-based nightmares, and we catch a glimpse of the bizarre, beetle-like Primordial for which the book takes its name. Because it’s written in the same way as Bornstellar’s book it doesn’t make him feel like he’s someone out of his depth, caught up in bigger events and from a less developed society – it just makes him look like a frigging moron. To make matters worse, when you read the book you start to get the feeling Chakas was intended to be a mirror of Bornstellar – he was rebellious, youthful, sometimes naïve and his eventual fate has direct parallels to what happens to the forerunner. I would've loved to hear more about the Flood but instead I get the thoughts of a prehistoric human who can't comprehend what's going on. Greg Bear weaves an intriguing tale as Chakras tells his story of exploring the HALO and of actually meeting a Precursor. The story starts to clarify the Precursor / Forerunner conflict and the Floods connection to it all.The origin story touches on otherwise minor details and characters in huge way. We learn also the truth of Guilty Spark 343, his creation and not only what but who the monitors really are. I thought Bear's writing style truly captured the essence and desperation of this being a lynchpin time in the universe, where the librarian not only placed the fate of the Forerunner civilization in Chakas, but the fate of the entire universe itself.

Nigel Seel (February 7, 2011). "Book Review: 'Halo: Cryptum' By Greg Bear". Science Fiction.com . Retrieved March 20, 2013.Jason Hamilton. "Book Review: Halo, Primordium (2012)". Story Hobby.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013 . Retrieved April 15, 2013.