Halo: Mortal Dictata: Book Three of the Kilo-Five Trilogy: Volume 13

Nice trilogy but there are far better authors

Es Halo, una maravilla. Nada mas que decir. Trama, narración, justo lo que uno espera de una buena novela de ciencia ficción.

I liked the aspect of this was written and the linking between this book and events related to Canon and this was a enjoyable book to read.

The deeper story of halo has always had great potential for becoming a truly epic and emotional saga on par with game of thrones or lord of the rings. This book takes the first steps toward becoming that. The emotional horrors that are the result of the Spartans being abducted as children and brainwashed, for all parties involved are perfectly demonstrated in this book, as is the resulting narrative. I do think that the emotional part of what halo can be does fall short in this book, but is is the best I have ever seen in regards to showing what a deeply visceral and grittingly realistic expression of human emotions the halo franchise can be!

Not every book strikes an emotional chord with me, but this one did. Maybe it's because I'm a father myself of a boy 6, and a girl 3. My boy being about the same age as the Spartan-II's when they were abducted as children. As a result I was really sucked in to the Naomi story-line. There were a couple of parts where I got a little misty-eyed, and this book affected me. It made me give my kids extra hugs afterward. I know, it sounds cheasy. I felt sadness reading the parts that described Naomi's abduction, how scared and upset she was, and how painful it was for Staffan to lose his daughter. If you have played Spartan Ops in Halo 4 and watched all of its cut-scenes, this book gives you some additional insight as to why Osman orders Sarah Palmer to execute Dr. Halsey. It made me hate her a little as well for abducting all those kids and putting them and their parents through hell. Overall I thought it was a great ending to an awesome trilogy. Loved this book.

I've been a fan of the Halo novels for a while, and I really enjoyed the previous two books by Karen Traviss (Glasslands and Thursday War), so I was looking forward to this book to wrap up the Kilo-5 trilogy. I thought that the previous two books were excellent, but this final one blew away my expectations. It was a tremendously engaging read--like many people I often use the phrase "couldn't put it down", but this time it was true. Karen Traviss created an incredibly human, believable, compelling ensemble of characters for the trilogy and she outdid herself with her writing this time. Even the artificial intelligence she wrote, Black-Box, comes across as more human and relatable than the protagonists of many other bestselling novels I've read, and I dare say some of the people that I actually know.While the past Halo books were fun expansions of the games' universe with bits of history, world-building, and action, this trilogy--and especially Mortal Dictata--went far deeper than that. Mortal Dictata is a beautiful, deep exploration of morality, justice, and what it means to be human, at a level that I never expected out of the Halo novels (and I say that as an avid reader and fan of them) and it has earned a position as one of my three favourite books. It gives us a look at the minds of people who have done great things and terrible things to ensure the survival of the human race through a brutal war, and brings us along for the ride as they deal with the consequences of those actions.If you need a reason to read this book, it is this: Mortal Dictata asks us how far is too far to go when extinction is a real and immediate threat; if it being a novel based on a game series makes you think it won't make you question not only your views on the subject, but the very notion of there being a right answer, I assure you that it will when it shows you--side by side and in vivid, living colour--the benefits and the human costs of actions taken for the greater good.