Halo: Evolutions Paperback – November 24, 2009

Typically, I’m not a big fan of anthologies, at least in book-form; in fact, most of the time, I tend to actively dislike them. There’s just something about the abbreviated format that represents a big turn off to me - if I’m going to read a story, I want to be guaranteed the time to really get to know the characters and become invested in the story, and in most cases, book anthologies simply don’t offer me that opportunity. So the fact that I enjoyed “Halo: Evolutions” as much as I did is a HUGE testament both to the individual writers of the stories included therein, as well as the editorial team tasked with organizing the project. This might be my favorite pieces of “Halo” canon yet, which I can hardly believe.Of the 11 stories included in “Evolutions,” I dug 8 of them. And even with the stories that I didn’t necessarily like, there were none that I actively hated or that I regretted reading – another huge plus. Whether it’s Eric Nylund (!!!) writing an awesome “diary” retelling of the life and death of Preston Cole, or Jeff VanderMeer and Tessa Kum doing an “Aliens”-style take on the Flood, or B.K. Evenson delving into the trials of the “prodigal son” of Spartans, the majority of the stories here are not only compelling reads that serve to flesh out the “Halo” universe in cool new ways, but they also – and this is vital – don’t feel abridged or constrained by the anthology format. There’s no sense whatsoever that things are being rushed along or edited down to the point of triviality – each of the 8 gems here feel like they’ve been given the chance to properly build and expand at their own pace. More anthology editors should look at the way that “Halo: Evolutions” was written and structured – as a compendium of individual works, it’s about as good as you can find.

Wow were to start, first this anthology has so many good stories spanning both the Covenant war and it's aftermath that it's hard to pick just one to talk about, it should also be noted that the Flood dose make an appearance as well in a story that has an 'Aliens' type feel and we do read about the life and possible death of Admiral Cole who if you've read the rest of the books and or played the games you would know of the Cole protocol. I highly recommend this book for all science fiction fans.

As with many anthologies you tend to get a mixed bag of stories, most are good, some are great and one is especially bad, sorry Robt Mclees, Palace Hotel did not impress. Halo: Evolutions is a good value anthology, with a lot of bang for your buck, so to be perfectly blunt, some of the under performing stories could of been cut without any loss to the book as a whole. Interestingly some poems were added in-between the stories as well which was an unexpected surprise.The stories are very much in the vein of other Halo books, focusing on the Spartans, UNSC and ONI personnel with some insight into the Covenant species as they make their way through a bitter galactic war and some of its consequences after it ends. Not surprising as many of the Halo book authors are featured in Halo: Evolutions. The most interesting stories are the ones that give insight into the Halo universe events and people and that don't focus on just plain action, we have the games for doing that.The stories that impressed me were: The Mona Lisa; Human Weakness; The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole and the interesting bite of Xenoarchaelogy at the end. Not surprisingly these stores are the big hitters with a lot of pages devoted to them, so the authors got the time to breath life into them with characters that developed. They also offered insight into the Halo universe which is what makes these types of stories interesting to me. All out action stories that do not progress the understanding of the universe just plain bore me. I need characters to care about and these stories delivered. Not to say other stories didn't deliver but I don't need to know more about Spartan 117.Halo: Evolutions is a worthy addition to the Halo universe that gets better the further you read. Just make sure you buy the single volume, and not those 2 volume knock-off's that are out there to confuse you.

"Halo: Evolutions" is a collection of short stories set in Halo universe and, since there are different authors contributing, they all have different feel and perspective from each-other. Being a fan of the Xbox games and having read all of the other novels, this book an easy choice for me. Not all of the stories are great, but they are all fairly good and add more depth and insight into the worlds of Spartans, Covenant, and even the Flood.This is not the place for those new to Halo books to start (I recommend  Halo: Contact Harvest  or  The Fall of Reach (Halo, Bk. 1) ), but it is an enjoyable set of diversions for those who are already hooked.Highly Recommended!CFH

Ok, so far ive read about 350 pages of the book, almost all of the short stories. Havent read the most popular, The impossible life and possible Death of Prestone J. Cole, but I know that one is great. I was afraid i was gonna find miself reading short stories that had no purpose whatsoever on the cannon, and I would get Bored, but still I gave it a try because its Halo. I found my self reading non-stop to whatever storie the book is offering, some of them are more complelling and atractive than others, some explore more the universe, some less. I Prefered DIRT, the life of a Marine from Harvest, theres one of Black Spartans, wich youll find very cool and interesting, one of two spartan III that seem like twisted kids used to killing aliens (really cool).The mona Lisa, its kinda long, but it well written and it makes you fill you are in an Alien film. For me, those are the best so far, but the others are good as well. I Do recomend this book to any Halo Fan. I dont know if a non fan is gonna get lost from time to time, since the book is full of terminology from the Halo Universe (not a lot, but every now and then).cant wait for the Forunner Trilogy.

This book is better than I thought it would be. I have loved every story so far, and although I found the start to one of them boring, after I got 1/4 of the way through that story, I was gripped to it. I am 3/4 of the way through the whole book and it's great, I only bought this because I wanted something to read until glasslands came out and I had read all of them including Cryptum.The only thing that isnt so great is the poems, and they arent necessarily bad, I am just not interested in poems.IF you don't have any Halo Evolutions books, just buy this one. The difference between Halo Evolutions, Halo Evolutions Volume 1 and Halo Evolutions Volume 2 is Halo Evolutions Volume 1 and 2 are just Halo Evolutions, but split into two books. They have a little extra content, but as they are £5 each, for the sake of £3 extra, you hardly get anything extra.If you already have this book, don't buy volume 1 or 2, they are just reprints with a few extra pages. :)

DO NOT EXPECT A WRITTEN VERSION OF 'LEGENDS'!This is a very dark set of stories especially the Alienesque novella - I'm trying not to give any spoilers.Being a huge Halo fan I really enjoyed these stories but like 'Legends' and with any collection some are better than others.Don't expect the Mater Chief in every story, these are tales from the Halo universe.I would recommend this book but it's probably not a great introduction to the Halo worlds for someone who's never played the games etc, but then that would be difficult for me to judge.If you like Halo get this book.

I liked all previous books about the Halo universe and this is no exception. Although it's not one continious story but a bunch of different stories it is still a must have for those who liked the other books. I prefer one large story but it gives you a chance to read about interesting things happening all over the universe. Some stories happen during pieces you play through in the game, so it will feel familiar, which is amusing. All stories where great, but some less than others. It's also a quite large book so it'll keep you reading for a longer time than the previous books. Can't wait for the next one!

Arrived fast, just get it, it is basically a collection of small stories from the halo universe, brand new stories that is from different timelines and different perspectives i.e. Human and Covenant. Any halo Fan should love this item, I did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this for someone who plays the Halo games but I also and found it a very good read.