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

Product Information

Before you even begin to start on Primordium there’s a question you need to ask yourself. That question is “Have I read Halo: Cryptum?” If your answer is no, then go read it. Don’t even bother trying to start with Primordium, you’ll just end up very lost.

Having met, in the first book of this series called "Cryptum", the Didact: who is a Forerunner warrier frozen in the Cryptum, Bornstelllar: the inquisitive young Forerunner who releases him, and Chakas and Riser: two human variations on the planet Erde-Tyrene this book carries on with the discovery of an Autonomous Mechanical Intelligence (Forerunner Monitor) device by a science team. Greg Bear. "Greg Bear: News". Greg Bear.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013 . Retrieved April 15, 2013. a b c d e Charlie Jane Anders (October 26, 2010). "Behold the cover to Greg Bear's first Halo novel in its full glory". io9 . Retrieved March 20, 2013. 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] Chakas spirit tells him Genebender is more about unity than division. They see 7 or 8 types of humans gather in the hundreds in a large meeting hut. Master Builder was all about division and creating war within the humans. Supposedly Gene don’t want dat.A primordium is an aggregation of cells that is the first stage in the development of an organ or tissue. In the context of the novel, it is a derivation of the term Primordial, which is a title given to the last Precursor.

This means that until the final couple of chapters not much "happens" - where Cryptum followed Bornstellar's journey through the galaxy to become the IsoDidact (which I still don't understand fully), Primordium follows Chakas as he travels the length of Installation 07. I can imagine that if you're reading this book and not listening to the audiobook version while doing something else, much of this book would be kind of boring. I didn't find that to be the case, but I was also painting miniatures and stuff while listening to I didn't really have to worry about being bored. 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.

Table of Contents

Greg Bear (November 5, 2010). "How Video Games Changed Our Science Fiction Fantasy". Kotaku . Retrieved March 22, 2013. Greg Bear (August 25, 2012). "Greg Bear: Discussion Board". Greg Bear.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013 . Retrieved April 15, 2013.

As with Cryptum, the scientific prowess of the Forerunner is such that it becomes ridiculous to bother considering. It’s magic, folks, Bertrand Russel and all; thankfully the concept of living with someone much smarter but less capable is not foreign to fans. Or, at least, not as foreign as the janky Forerunner worldbuilding that was foisted on us in the previous novel. The developing relationship of Chakas and the Lord of Admirals is a key point of the novel; Primordium shares many similar themes with Cryptum, chiefly among them submission to destiny. Chakas can’t stop the Lord of Admirals from showing him things, from explaining things, and he can hardly control it on the few occasions when the alter-ego tries to seize control of Chakas’ body. However, where Cryptum was about the responsibility to society, to doing what’s right no matter the risks, Primordium is much more personal. This is, quite simply, a novel of survival and searching for one’s friend. In the process she also made it so Forerunner and Human souls would attach themselves to the psyche of various individuals. Both Chakas and Grandfather (Gamelpar) have these souls in them, and they did battle thousands of years ago.

I think your enjoyment of this novel can seriously depend on whether you read it yourself or whether you listen to the audiobook version, because the narrator of the audiobook is none other than Tim Dadabo, the voice of 343 Guilty Spark himself - near the end he even uses the flanger effect that Guilty Spark has on his voice in the games. In general he is an excellent narrator, he speaks with the same inflection when voicing Guilty Spark which is fun, but he does voices for every character and they're all very good - almost too good, his old man voice for Gamelpar is downright eerie. Greg Bear (October 12, 2011). "News: Halo Primordium". Greg Bear.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013 . Retrieved April 15, 2013. Jason Hamilton. "Book Review: Halo: Cryptum (2011) by Greg Bear". Story Hobby. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013 . Retrieved March 20, 2013. Captured by the Master Builder, misplaced during a furious battle in space, they now find themselves on an inverted world where horizons rise into the sky, and where humans of all kinds are trapped in a perilous cycle of horror and neglect. For they have become both research animals and strategic pawns in a cosmic game whose madness knows no end--a game of ancient vengeance between the powers who seeded the galaxy with life, and the Forerunners who expect to inherit their sacred Mantle of duty to all living things. To Gamelpar and Vinnevra, the old abandoned city speaks of glory days and happiness. To Chakas and the LOA, it speaks of forerunner treachery. They find a strange egg shaped structure in the city that is very large, and is possibly the Librarian’s way of speaking to people. Charum Hakkur once called the Eternal. The Halo starts to shake as if making new land, and they get to the edge of the halo where they see thousands of humans below. They notice the curled up spider looking Beast/Primordial on disk, perhaps in control of the human migration below. He moves them in a structure, perhaps the palace of pain.

Terrific first two books of trilogy written by Greg Bear, to me. I rate them both higher than they are being given other places. The first novel has the main character travel to several different planets and there are several different species of high interest to the apparent or supposed happenstance of the novels. The main three characters had me totally immersed in what was written about their times. You have asked me to tell you about that time. Since you are the last true Reclaimer, I must obey. Are you recording? Good. Because my memory is failing rapidly. I doubt I'll be able to finish the story. In the wake of apparent self-destruction of the Forerunner empire, two humans--Chakas and Riser--are like flotsam washed up on very strange shores indeed.At first, the monitor describes his childhood and youth as Chakas, and how he met his companion Riser. He then recounts the events of Halo: Cryptum from Chakas' perspective and explains how the Librarian's geas caused "old spirits", or genetically imprinted personalities of humans who fought in the human-Forerunner wars, to surface within him and Riser. After the Didact, Bornstellar and the two humans are captured by the Master Builder at Janjur Qom, Chakas is separated from the others and is put into stasis. 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. Didact takes Chakas to meet the primordial. He explains his physical form is already dead, and will become the keeper of biological records for humans and testing on the ring. Chakas will serve Didact and Librarian, and could only simulate motions of his old physical form. They are going to heart of the old mendicant bias. In the intro, Chakas appears to be an AI hundreds of centuries old in modern time. He claims to have once been a human. Interesting.