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Joseph Staten
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Halo: Contact Harvest (5) Paperback – April 9, 2019

by Joseph Staten (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,705 ratings
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The New York Times bestseller—part of the expanded universe based on the award-winning video game series Halo!

2524. Harvest is a peaceful, prosperous farming colony on the very edge of human-controlled space. But humanity has unknowingly trespassed on holy ground—straying into the path of the aggressive, theocratic empire known as the Covenant. What begins as a chance encounter between an alien privateer and a human freighter soon catapults all of mankind into a struggle for its very existence.

But humanity is also currently locked in a bitter civil war of its own: the Insurrection. With resources strained to the breaking point, the ultimate survival of Harvest’s citizens falls to a squad of battle-weary UNSC Marines and their inexperienced colonial militia trainees. In this unlikely group of heroes, one will stand above the rest—a young Marine staff sergeant named Avery Johnson....
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 6
    Halo (Standalones)
  2. Print length
    416 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    April 9, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    5.31 x 1.1 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1982111690
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1982111694
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph Staten is the senior creative director at Microsoft and was the writer and creative lead for Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3, as well as Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Halo: Contact Harvest and the novella Halo: Shadow of Intent. He lives with his family in Washington.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gallery Books (April 9, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982111690
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982111694
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 1.1 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,705 ratings

About the author

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Joseph Staten

Joseph Staten

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Joseph Staten started with Bungie Studios in 1998, and has since served as a writer and designer for ONI (2001) as well as writer and cinematics director for HALO (2001) and HALO 2 (2004). Currently writing HALO 3, Joseph is also working with Peter Jackson's newly formed game development studio, Wingnut Interactive, writing and designing an as-of-yet unannounced game set in the Halo universe.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
1,705 global ratings
There's an unnecessary "adult" scene needlessly tacked on.
1 Star
There's an unnecessary "adult" scene needlessly tacked on.
Found this on my bookshelf and then remembered it was the one with the blatant tacked on adult scene. It was the worst when reading out loud in the car. (Pre-audiobook as you can see from the 2009 date in my photo.) It tanked my faith in that Halo author.
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Top reviews from the United States

knewcomb
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible story, well told, mature writing.
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
This book does everything a Halo novel should. It explores the Halo universe, gives insight into the history of Humanity and the Covenant, and tells a riveting science fiction story. Johnson was the perfect protagonist for this story. A hardened veteran of a marine but not quite the supersoldier Spartan; he's still a very-much vulnerable human that connects is to the Halo games. The love story between the two human AI was brilliant and touching. Probably the most essential part of the book are the chapters told from the perspective of the Covenant. You really get a unique person from each of the species in the story, from the lowly Grunts/Unggoy to the monstrous Brutes/Jiralhanae. Not only do you learn about the character of each species, bur there is a lot of information given about the history of the forming of the Covenant and the politics that have governed it over the ages. Since the author was one of the original writers for Halo 1, 2, and 3 all of this information feels more solid and true to the tone of the games.

After reading "The Fall of Reach", I was slightly disappointed. The book felt rushed and under-developed, and maybe targeted towards a less mature reading audience. "Contact Harvest" suffers from none of that, feeling like a much more developed story that takes it's time and shows rather than tells. I rate this book a 5/5, a must read for any Halo fan, and a great choice for any lover of science fiction that wants to start with the Halo universe.
2 people found this helpful
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JJCEO
5.0 out of 5 stars The beginning of a saga!
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2012
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The year is 2524 and humans have spread across the galaxy using faster than light slipspace travel. The United Nations Space Command (UNSC) controls the newer colonies and provides administration and support for fledgling startups. The planet Harvest is one of the furthest outposts of human colonies. Harvest is named for the fact that the planet is dedicated to growing food and feeds many of the other colonies whose environment is not as ideal as Harvest's.

Several ships have disappeared around the Harvest system and the colony wants to raise a militia to be able to defend itself against possible hostile insurrectionists. The UNSC and ONI Office of Naval Intelligence send Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson and Staff Sergeant Byrne to start up and train a militia at the request of the Harvest government. These two Sergeants are taken off the front lines of the insurrection civil war to teach Harvest to defend itself.

Unknown to the humans on Harvest, a coalition of aliens called the Covenant have several ships in the area. They are attracted by sensor readings that indicate the presence of cherished Forerunner relics on the planet's surface. Forerunner relics are the basis of the Covenant religion and provide much of the technology that is copied by the Covenants for their own use.

The aliens attack a ship carrying some relics which is actually a trap to catch the alleged insurrectionists. The ship is carrying Johnson and Byrne and they successfully defend the ship and are able to kill several of the Covenant invaders and they are shocked to discover that they are fighting aliens. The attacking ship is destroyed and a Covenant ship controlled by the Jiralhanae (Brutes) picks up a couple of survivors.

Under pretense of a discussion with the humans a meeting is arranged on planet side and the Brutes use the opportunity to kill as many of the leaders as possible. Harvest is faced with an alien force that has higher technologies and better weapons and stands no chance in an all-out war. What follows is one of the better sagas of the Halo story and one that you will enjoy.

This is the first and flawed contact with the Covenant that results in all-out war and hatred between the humans and the Covenant forces. I have read all of the books in the Halo franchise of stories and this is one of the better ones. Joseph Staten and Eric Nylund are the two best authors of books in the Halo series and I strongly recommend the books written by them. I certainly have enjoyed them and I believe you will also.
5 people found this helpful
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C. Hill
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Halo "History" - Recommended
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2010
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"Halo: Contact Harvest" provides important insight into the Halo Universe for fans who want to go beyond the games. I had previously read  Halo, Books 1-3 (The Flood; First Strike; The Fall of Reach) , so was very interested in filling in even more of the back story provide in this book.

Right off the start, it is obvious that Joseph Staten does not have the same writing style or flare for action that some of the other Halo authors have (i.e. Eric Nylund and William Dietz), but he more than makes up for it with his attention to detail and descriptive passages. While less exciting than the books farther up the time-line, this is an excellent history of both the human culture (touching on colonization and the "Insurrection") and the Covenant (explaining how several of the major species came together). I always enjoy the alien perspective and we get a lot insights into the mindsets and inner-working of the Covenant hierarchy.

The action centers mostly on Sergent Avery Johnson, a soldier who is haunted by his time fighting against human Insurrectionists and the loss of a close family member, who is sent to the remote planet Harvest to train a local militia. Surrounded by some additional eccentric characters, including recruits who are more farmers than soldiers and several Artificial Intelligences, Avery is far less than ready for the unexpected arrival of the first Covenant ship.

This is worthwhile read and a good starting place if you haven't read any of the previous Halo books. My only real issue is the inclusion of a "intimate" scene that really added nothing to the story line.

Recommended

CFH
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Top reviews from other countries

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Joan Sandoval
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy bueno
Reviewed in Mexico on April 20, 2023
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Excelente calidad
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DeeDee
5.0 out of 5 stars If you like the Halo Universe, and enjoy reading...
Reviewed in Canada on January 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
First and foremost, I will not spoil the contents of this book, other than that noting it's a really good read if you already enjoy Halo, Master Chief and his fellow Spartans.

The Halo game franchise has a great character driven story set in a massive backdrop, but only so much of that backstory can be told and explored through the game series. There is so much more to the Halo Universe worth exploring, and through books is the best medium to do it by.

The great thing about these series of books is:
1.) If you enjoy reading well crafted sci-fi genres, Halo's well worth the read on it's own, no gaming required
2.) Your not a gamer, or maybe a casual gamer where fast paced shooter style games isn't your forte
3.) Your a gamer, played through all the games main stories and want more Halo stories in the Halo universe
4.) The books have the advantage of covering the story in the game without needing to play the game
5.) Books are able to explore and expand further into the Halo universe beyond the games
6.) There's more to Halo than just the Master Chief alone, there's a diverse cast of characters and their stories, including other Spartans
7.) You get to experience the Halo universe through other characters and perspectives other than solely Master Chief's

Simply put: If you want more of the Halo story, these books are where to turn to. Give this book a read, you won't be disappointed.
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I. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars First contact with the fiendish Covenant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2023
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This is the fifth novel in the Halo series and it is a kind of prequel to the earlier volumes. This volume is written by Joseph Staten, whose style is rather different from the authors of the other volumes I’ve read.
This novel focuses on Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson who appeared in The Flood, the second novel in the series. It is set about 25 years before The Flood, though, and begins with Avery and his comrade in arms, Staff Sergeant Byrne, hunting down the insurrectionists who are rebelling against colonial rule from Earth. Both of them are then assigned to train a couple of platoons of militiamen on a planet called Harvest – the name indicates its role as the breadbasket of the empire. It’s while they are training these recruits that Avery and Byrne make first contact with the Covenant. This leads Avery to encounter another first contact: the naval intelligence officer, Jilan al-Cygni. She is the only female character in the novel. Notably, there are no female recruits in the militia, despite the fact that we’ve already seen female Spartans and women in a variety of combat roles in the earlier novels. This novel was written in 2007, so in that respect – the scarcity of female characters – it already feels dated. This leads me to one of my perennial gripes about the Halo series: that despite the fact that they are set 500 years in the future, with massive advances in spacefaring and other technologies, the humans’ military hardware – and their military tactics – feel very twentieth century. Given the brain power of the AI in these novels, the technology must be there to run wars against rebels and aliens using software and drones rather than human beings, but obviously humans in combat is a major feature of the series.
Having said that, this novel has less combat and more plot and character development than the earlier novels. It also gives us a lot more insight into the various creatures that make up the Covenant. I’ll quickly get another gripe out of the way: this writer uses the aliens’ own terms for themselves rather than the names that humans gave them, as in the earlier novels (names like Hunters, Jackals, Prophets etc.), so it can be slightly confusing: are these the same creatures we’ve seen before, or new creatures? Having said that, the chapters involving the aliens are well done and I especially liked the friendship that develops between the Unggoy Dadab and the Huragok Lighter Than Some. We also learn that it’s almost by accident that the Covenant’s top species, the San’Shyuum (Prophets), decide that humanity must be wiped out rather than press ganged into the Covenant like the other creatures that make up the Covenant’s lower orders. It’s the result of complex politics and even more complex theology.
I’ll say no more about the plot. Readers of the earlier novels know that the first contact with the Covenant leads to a galactic war that threatens to destroy humanity.
I’d recommend this novel to anyone who plays Halo, or anyone who likes a bit of sci-fi escapism.
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Giulio Catania
5.0 out of 5 stars per appassionati
Reviewed in Italy on October 9, 2023
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ottimo capitolo per iniziare a capire la trama della saga di halo, consigliato ai fan
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Gigi
5.0 out of 5 stars Nickel !!!
Reviewed in France on December 11, 2020
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Nickel !!!
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