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The Forerunner Saga

Author	Greg Bear
Language	English
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print, eBook, Audiobook

The Forerunner Saga is a series of three science fiction novels by Greg Bear, set in the Halo science fiction universe. The trilogy consists of Halo: Cryptum , Halo: Primordium, and 'Halo: Silentium, released in 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively.

Background

Greg Bear is the author of Cryptum and its two sequels.

Greg Bear was 343 Industries' first choice to write a trilogy of books based on the history of the Forerunners and another mysterious race known as the Precursors. Bear had been writing a book entitled Hull Zero Three when he was approached to be the trilogy's author. At the first meeting with Bear regarding the book, he was told that it should be a "classic Greg Bear giant – in the vein of Eon, Anvil of the Stars and so on", but inspired by Halo and its extended universe. The book and author were announced on April 6, 2009. 343 Industries' General Manager, Bonnie Ross, stated that the back and forth with Bear made "the whole experience better", and was preferable to assigning the author his task with no feedback. Halo franchise development director Frank O'Connor stated, "The enigma of the Forerunners is really at the heart of the drama and mystery of the Halo universe ... in all the games and the books so far we've only scratched the surface of the terrible events that engulfed the Forerunners and the Galaxy they protected 100,000 years ago". Although nothing was forced upon Bear in terms of story templates, he had numerous and comprehensive discussions about the history of the Halo universe and the major events of the Forerunner history had already been established through the information hidden in Halo 3. O'Connor said that the book is meant to have a "hard sci-fi" feel with a "hint of space opera, in the mold of Banks, Reynolds and Bear himself."

The book's cover was designed by Sparth, an artist at 343 Industries known for his "futuristic vistas". The artwork was taken directly from art made for Halo 4. O'Connor explained that the cover was intended to "capture the essence and scope of the book and more importantly, the Forerunner universe." The art is supposed to convey "the sense of wonder that all our main protagonists feel at the scale and scope of Forerunner technology."

Bear was given a notebook weighing 10 pounds (4.5 kg) filled with story materials; each page was colored and coded so that any leaks could be traced back to him.

Microsoft and Bear revealed he was working on an untitled book series dealing with the Forerunners in 2009; Tor revealed the name, cover, and release date for Cryptum on October 8, 2010.

On July 19, 2011, Tor Books revealed the cover, title, and release date of the second book in the Forerunner Saga. On October 12, 2011 the book was completed and submitted to the publisher. On December 28, 2011 the first chapter of the book was made available on the publishers website and chapters 2, 3, and part of 4 were made available on the Halo Waypoint website. Video game website Kotaku was given a five-minute audio clip of the book being read by Tim Dadabo, who voiced the character of 343 Guilty Spark in previous Halo games. At a Comic-Con panel on the Halo Universe, Frank O'Connor stated that the book would have "resonant connections" with Halo 4. Bear stated that the interactions of the humans and the Forerunners were some of his favorite parts of the Forerunner trilogy. On April 12, 2013 Tor Books ran a promotion giving away the entire book trilogy to one participant.

Greg Bear posted on his site on May 3, 2012 that the third book of the Forerunner trilogy would be released in January and had a working title of Halo: Silentium. The book had its title, first cover and release date announced by Tor Books on July 11, 2012, with a release date of January 8, 2013, for the hardcover, e-book and audio book. On August 25, 2012 Bear stated the book was complete and in revision. On November 8, 2012 Bear stated that he had finished writing the book. Release was later moved off to March 2013 until the release of Halo 4 to avoid revealing any plot details about the game. From February 13, 2013 to the books release, encrypted messages were sent out from the halo waypoint website that allowed fans to unlock additional halo content, and were also included in the paperback and e-book versions. A week before the books release, an excerpt of the first chapter was posted on the publishers website, and the second was on the Halo Waypoint website.

Bear used the Forerunner designs and images from the Halo video games as an inspiration, and it showed him there had to be an emphasis on builders within the Forerunner civilization. The books cover was designed by Sparth, in a collaboration with Gabriel Garza, and with design help for the Didact sphere provided by Glenn Israel.

Synopses

Setting

Cryptum takes place approximately 100,000 years before the present day in the Halo universe, telling the story of the Forerunners before their disappearance. It revolves around the journey of a young Forerunner, Bornstellar, and two humans, Chakas and Morning Riser, and how their lives change when they meet a Forerunner warrior, the Didact. The Forerunners are a type-two civilisation on the Kardashev scale; they can build artificial planets and control stars. Forerunners are divided into classes by occupation, they are (in order of rank): Builders, the architects of the Forerunners' megastructures, Miners, Lifeworkers, experts in medicine and biology, and Warriors. Bornstellar's family are politically important Builders and particularly wealthy, enabling them to own an entire planet. Warriors introduced in this book called Prometheans were later featured as antagonists in the video game Halo 4.

In the Halo universe, humans had advanced to a comparable level of technology to the Forerunners but, after losing a war with them, all human technology was destroyed and their intelligence reduced, leaving them in a subsistence economy with measures to prevent redevelopment of electronics. Humans are aware of the other, space-faring races, but their interactions are limited to visits from Forerunners as they do not have the technology to make contact themselves, they live in wooden buildings and have only primitive steam engines. The San'Shyuum (or Prophets as they are referred to in the Halo games) were also defeated by the Forerunners but their technology was not destroyed; they were instead confined to their home solar system and forbidden to manufacture weapons.

Characters

The protagonist of Cryptum and Primordium is a young Forerunner named "Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting" although he is more commonly referred to as just "Bornstellar". He is from a long line of Builders, but he is disgruntled with the Forerunners' status quo. Bornstellar's curiosity leads him to prehistoric Earth where he meets the humans. He is imprinted upon by the Didact, gaining many of his traits and Bornstellar is referred to as IsoDidact in Silentium.

Chakas is a human youngster of a species known as Chamanune, one of many varieties of the genus Homo. He is the protagonist of Primordium at the end of which he is converted into 343 Guilty Spark, an artificial intelligence. Morning Riser (full name: Day-Chaser Makes Paths Long-stretch Morning Riser) is a Florian (Homo floresiensis) about half the height of Chakas but of similar intelligence.

Bornstellar and the humans awaken the Didact, a Warrior class who was one of the commanders of Forerunner military in the Forerunner-human war. He was exiled to stasis after coming into conflict with the Master Builder, the leader of the Forerunners who is responsible for the creation of the titular Halo superweapons. The Didact (later referred to as Ur-Didact) is married to the Librarian, one of the most powerful and influential Lifeworkers to have lived. She is a Lifeshaper, the highest rank a Lifeworker can achieve, and is responsible for indexing every species in the galaxy in the Ark.

Cryptum

The story starts as Bornstellar makes his way to "Erde-Tyrene" where he meets the two humans Chakas and Morning Riser, who serve as his guides. Bornstellar is seeking Precursor artifacts, relics from an extinct but technologically superior civilisation. The humans lead Bornstellar to a ring island where they find and activate the cryptum of the Didact. The cryptum preserves the Didact in an indefinite sleep. Bornstellar begins to suspect that the artificial intelligence in his suit of armour has conspired to bring him to the island, and that the humans held subconscious knowledge allowing them to aid in waking the Didact. After the Didact recovers from his slumber, he conscripts Bornstellar, Chakas, and Riser, taking them on a quest given by the Librarian who has provided them a state-of-the-art space ship, hidden for thousands of years beneath the island. Aboard the ship Bornstellar learns about the Forerunner war with humankind 10,000 years prior. Forerunners went to war with humans and San 'Shyuum when their expansion began encroaching on Forerunner worlds. After their defeat the Librarian saved the human race from extinction and planted a genetic command known as a "geas" in them, the cause of Chakas and Riser's subconscious knowledge. It is later revealed that the humans and San 'Shyuum were united against the Flood, a parasitic alien species that controls its host, and attacked only the Forerunner planets with Flood infestation.

The Didact and his makeshift crew travel to an ancient Precursor planet, Charum Hakkor, where humans had once also settled. The Didact is disturbed to find that many of the Precursor structures on the planet have fallen into ruin; Precursor structures were thought to be completely indestructible. The Didact also discovers that a prisoner, ensconced in both Precursor and human containment methods, has escaped. They travel to the nearby planet of Faun Hakkor, another formerly human-settled world, to find it stripped of all sentient life, its ecosystem in peril. The Didact sponsors Bornstellar's first mutation, a vital part of Forerunner growth, imprinting himself upon Bornstellar. The Didact's memories, tactics and experiences are shared with Bornstellar, giving him insight into the context of the Forerunner-human war and the planets the crew had just visited.

When attempting to visit the San 'Shyuum home world, the four are captured by Builders, commanded by the Master Builder. The Didact and humans are held prisoner, but Bornstellar is returned to the care of his father because of his family's status and power. On his family's home world, he uses the time and peace to reflect on recent events, and allow the imprint of the Didact to fully assimilate into his thoughts. He overhears an argument between his father and another Builder, from which he learns that his father was one of the chief builders of the Halos. The Didact opposed the Builders' decision to construct such a weapon, hence his exile. It is soon revealed that the Master Builder is being brought up on charges and that the Halo weapons had been recalled, but one of the rings had gone missing. Bornstellar is called to a Forerunner core planet to testify against the Master Builder, who has been put on trial for crimes against The Mantle, a Forerunner philosophy that values the preservation of life over all else. Just as the trial is about to begin, an AI, Mendicant Bias, betrays the Forerunners and intends to use the combined power of the Halos to begin wiping out the Forerunner race.

In the ensuing battle to save the planet, several Halos are able to escape, their own AIs enacting failsafe protocols. Bornstellar manages to escape with the help of a young council member and a guard. They escape through the same portal as the Halos but lose power and drift for an unknown amount of time before being recovered by Lifeworkers. The portal has carried them to the Ark, the massive structure that serves as a construction site for Halos and also a haven for the Librarian's work. The trio are healed, and Bornstellar meets the Librarian, which brings up conflicting thoughts and feelings, due to his imprint from the Didact. She informs him that the Master Builder executed the Didact soon after Bornstellar was sent back to his family. With the news that the Didact is gone, Bornstellar resolves to take his place. The book ends with a narration from the Didact/Bornstellar, revealing that the escaped prisoner was the last Precursor, known as Timeless One. Through a conversation the Didact had long ago, it is learned that the Precursors created the Forerunners, only for the Forerunners to rise up and eradicate the Precursors, except this one, who now seeks revenge.

Primordium

Primordium is presented as the recollection of events by 343 Guilty Spark when he was still Chakas to operatives of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence. Chakas starts the story from what happened after he, Born, Didact and Riser witnessed the testing of Halo on Charum Hakkor. Afterwards he and Riser were taken prisoner by The Master Builder and thrown on Halo Installation 07. Like every human, Chakas is also carrying a spirit within him given by The Librarian (Didact's wife). The spirit within Chakas is of Forthencho, who was once the human in charge of Charum Hakkor's defenses and had fought the Didact for years in the Human-Forerunner war.

On Halo, Chakas befriends Vinnevra and her grandfather Gamelpar and the three of them proceed to follow Vinnevra's geas; seeking a safe place. Unbeknown to them, the installation’s beacon had been reset and they now head towards The Primordial’s lair - The Palace of Pain. They soon reach their destination and witness the Primordial guiding all the humans who had followed their geas to the Palace of Pain. After witnessing The Primordial, they decide to head in the opposite direction and after a long journey they reach the shores of an ocean. There they find a ruined city with Forerunner corpses and a Gravemind locked in a cell pleading for death and freedom.

After crossing the ocean, the trio are found by a Lifeworker who accompanies them with several other humans and a giant ape named Mara. While sleeping at night in the refugee center, Chakas is greeted by Riser who warns him not to trust the Lifeworker. Later it is revealed everyone except the three of them are illusions cast by the monitors who are there to extract their spirits and store them as monitors. After breaking out of the illusion they are joined by Riser while Gamelpar dies due to old age. Forthencho converses with the spirit of Yprin Yprikushma within Riser who was responsible for excavating Precursor ruins and moving the Primordial to Charum Hakkor, which Forthencho has disapproved of.

The group is finally bought to The Palace of Pain by a transport, where they are greeted by Mendicant Bias. The spirits within all humans are extracted and Mendicant Bias promises them revenge on Forerunners. Those who oppose are killed. Forthencho lies to Bias that Chakas has agreed to help them and they are transported to the Silent Cartographer. As Halo is on a collision course with a nearing planet they try to save it by interfacing Chakas through an infected Forerunner into Halo's system. A fleet led by the Didact then appears from the other side of the planet and the Didact purges Mendicant Bias from Installation 07. Chakas then merges with the Didact to move the halo through a portal. To do so, however, the halo must drop several pieces of itself, thus reducing its diameter to its current size.

The Halo survives and Chakas and The Didact visit The Primordial, who has been imprisoned in a reverse time capsule (which speeds up time experienced within enclosure). He reveals that Precursors have decided Forerunners are not meant to inherit the Mantle (they have failed their test), but humans have been selected to be tested now instead; once Forerunners are eliminated, humans will be tested by Flood to check their worthiness for inheriting the Mantle. Didact then disintegrates the Primordial by turning the time dial to full and Chakas is converted into a monitor and is pleased to learn that his friends survived. The story ends with the now powered down monitor been ejected out into space, but not before a partial memory imprint of Chakas/monitor is transferred into the ship's computer. Shortly thereafter he takes control of the ship. It is then revealed that it was Chakas who was converted into 343 Guilty Spark. He is now seeking the spirits of Riser and Vinnevra, for whom he seek the Librarian.. He puts the ship's crew to sleep and takes off.

Plot summary

Like the first two novels in the Forerunner Saga, Silentium is framed with an in-universe conceit, being presented as a series of Forerunner logs under investigation by ONI in the modern era. The files in question are said to have been extracted from two sources: the carapace of a deceased Catalog (designated Forerunner remains #879) and a damaged monitor. Both the "Bornstellar Relation", the fictional document that encompasses the narrative of Halo: Cryptum and ONI's recovery of 343 Guilty Spark which acts as the framing device for the plot of Halo: Primordium, are referenced.

In the opening chapter, a Senior Juridical sent under the orders of the Master Juridical meets Haruspis, the guardian of the Domain. He demands to be granted access to classified information pertaining to the Precursors and crimes against the Mantle, but Haruspis refuses him, telling that no one has such authority. Just as the Juridical tells Haruspis that he does have the authority to bypass him, the Domain itself suddenly requests to testify to the Juridical, who is quickly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of knowledge the Domain forces into him.

On Erde-Tyrene, Catalog observes the evacuation effort of the planet. Catalog is here to investigate the Battle of the Capital, which resulted in the deaths of the entire Old Council, and demands a testimony from both the Librarian and her husband - the IsoDidact, formerly Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting. However, a warning of an approaching Flood fleet results in the IsoDidact having to leave to defend the territory, so Catalog is sent off with the Librarian. While it accompanies her, she tells it about the events that led to her becoming a Lifeshaper, and her growing split from the original Didact due to their differing opinions about humanity.

Over a thousand years earlier, shortly before the Ur-Didact went into exile, he and the Librarian gathered together at their estate on the world of Nomdagro. An associate of Haruspis visited their home and helped guide the Ur-Didact in the Cryptum's preservation process. After the Didact's exile, things continued to deteriorate on the Forerunner political scene. To remain seen as an asset to the Master Builder, the Librarian proposed an expedition to a local galaxy known as Path Kethona to learn about the Flood's origins. Legend dictated that 10 million years ago, ancient Forerunners journeyed to Path Kethona, but actual records detailing this journey had long since vanished. The Old Council approved of this venture and the ship Audacity was constructed for the long journey to Path Kethona. The crew consisted of the Librarian, a Builder named Keeper-of-Tools, a Miner named Clearance-of-Old-Forests, and two Lifeworkers named Chant-to-Green and Birth-to-Light. Arriving at Path Kethona, the crew of Audacity would find it seemingly completely devoid of life. However, they discovered that Precursor architecture existed this far out of the Milky Way. Amongst the artifacts was a vast fleet of ancient Forerunner vessels of war. The Librarian and her crew scanned the Forerunner vessels and found nothing of true interest; any records inside had been destroyed thousands of years ago, as they were uploaded in binary.

Eventually, the Librarian, Keeper and Chant discovered a planet with a civilization of primitive Forerunners confined to the planet and lacking any form of advanced technology; however, the planet's ecology is completely based upon Forerunner genetics. The crew land on the planet to encounter the natives in person. As the Librarian meets the locals in person without armor, an old female, Glow-of-Old-Suns, suddenly bites her. However, this has a practical purpose: the microbes in her mouth allow the Librarian to understand the natives and opens up their history for her. The Librarian queries Glow-of-Old-Suns about the origins of her people and is taken to a valley where she learns that the history of the natives is contained within a vast growth of moss - an organic Domain. By accessing this information reserve, she would learn that Warriors drove the Precursors to Path Kethona during the Forerunners' genocidal campaign against their creators ten million years earlier, and that the planet's inhabitants were descendants of Forerunners exiled there as punishment for refusing to partake in the destruction of the Precursors.

Back in the present, we are reunited with the Ur-Didact as he emerges from a stasis-bubble on a broken-down Builder hulk drifting in a Burn, the designation for a Flood infected star system. Also on-board is a former Promethean named Sharp-by-Striking, another Catalog and a Builder named Maker-of-Moons. We learn Sharp lost favor with Faber and Maker was going to give Catalog testimony against Faber, so all three found themselves on the broken ship as well. Their destination is a Flood-infested world called Uthera Midgeerrd. Eventually a Precursor artifact with slithering star roads appears and threatens to destroy the ship. The Ur-Didact, willing to confront whatever lies in the Precursor artifact, remains on the ship while the others escape; only Catalog stays to accompany him.

The Ur-Didact and Catalog are captured by the Gravemind and the Ur-Didact's sanity is severely shaken by the resulting encounter. The Gravemind then reveals the true nature of the Precursors. They did indeed reject Forerunners for the Mantle and intended for humans to hold it. The Forerunners did not accept this and drove the Precursors from the galaxy and beyond. Some Precursors survived by going dormant, others became powder that could regenerate their old selves in time, but time rendered it defective and it only created sickness and disease. The Precursors vowed that none of their creations would rise against them again and that all life would suffer and be in perpetual agony, through their new form as the Flood.

Back in the Orion complex, Forerunner defenses continue to fall as formerly dormant Precursor artifacts across the galaxy begin to reactivate, with their immense power bolstering the Flood's already enormous forces. The Master Builder is revealed to be alive and well. He rescued the Ur-Didact, who was given power once again. A meeting occurs on Nomdagro between the IsoDidact, Ur-Didact and Librarian that does not go well. Arguments ensue and the Ur-Didact reveals the Gravemind drove him mad and that he would not let humans attain the Mantle. The Flood arrives and ravages Nomdagro as the Audacity and Mantle's Approach leave towards the greater Ark, now the last bastion of the ecumene.

On the greater Ark, Omega Halo is there in anticipation for a Flood assault. A power struggle ensues between the IsoDidact and other Forerunner commanders who think the Ur-Didact should instead lead them. The Master Builder manages to regain control for him and the IsoDidact by revealing that the Ur-Didact is being used as a pawn for the Gravemind; after Faber had recovered him, the Ur-Didact conveyed him a sadistic message from the Gravemind which had absorbed Faber's family.

A massive Flood fleet led by Mendicant Bias arrives and chaos erupts. In that confusion, the Ur-Didact uses a Composer to compose human populations being stored on Omega Halo and retreats towards Requiem. The Librarian follows behind him, grieving for the loss of her humans. Monitor Chakas is tasked with saving the rest of the humans on the Ark and taking them to the lesser Ark, still hidden from the Ur-Didact and the Flood. The IsoDidact and the remaining Forerunner commanders with Faber in tow go to the Halo and activate it to buy time. Although the pulse destroys some of the Precursor star roads and part of the Flood fleet, both the greater Ark and Omega Halo are soon destroyed by the star roads. Faber remains behind while IsoDidact and the other commanders attempt to escape, but they begin to plummet to their deaths as the Halo is torn apart. Chakas manages to save the IsoDidact and takes him to the lesser Ark via Faber's personal slipspace portal.

At the lesser Ark, the remaining six Halos are assigned their monitor caretakers in preparation for their distribution across the galaxy, Installation 07 having been deployed years prior. The IsoDidact has a brief conversation with Chakas, in which he gives him his new designation, 343 Guilty Spark, and assigns him to Installation 04. The IsoDidact then asks Chakas if he would fire the rings, were it his choice, but receives no response.

On Requiem, the Librarian sneaks aboard with the Audacity by trailing behind the Mantle's Approach. Requiem's defenses also view her as a friendly and let her in. The Librarian finds Endurance-of-Will, a Promethean and former love interest of the Ur-Didact. Endurance reveals that the Ur-Didact is using the essences of the composed humans and Prometheans to build an army of mechanical Promethean Knights, with which he plans to defeat the Flood and eradicate all species who might challenge the Forerunners in the future. Despite resenting her for being chosen by the Ur-Didact instead of her, Endurance is eventually convinced to help the Librarian take down the Ur-Didact and seal him in a Cryptum. Once done, the Librarian tasks Endurance to watch over the Didact for as long as she can. As she leaves Requiem for Earth, the Librarian is confronted by a large group of Knights and wonders if Endurance chose to become one herself.

The Librarian then draws the Flood towards Earth to allow the IsoDidact to fire the seven Halo rings. She sends Chant-to-Green off to the lesser Ark with the planet's remaining humans and passes her title of Lifeshaper on to Chant while remaining on Earth herself. During her last days on Earth, the Gravemind sends down ancient human essences, including the Lord of Admirals, to reveal that the Domain was created by the Precursors as the collection of wisdom from over 100 billion years of knowledge and that it was ingrained in Precursor architecture for safekeeping. In short, the Domain is the mythical Organon. Sadly, the Librarian realizes that the Halos will destroy all of this, and that without the Domain, the Ur-Didact will spend the eons to come in complete silence, dwelling on his own rage and madness. As she watches the Portal's construction, she sincerely hopes humanity will one day inherit the Mantle.

At the lesser Ark, the IsoDidact activates the rings while Offensive Bias fends off Mendicant Bias' fleet, allowing the rings to fire before the latter can reach the Ark. In the end, 343 Guilty Spark reflects on the Halos working their power throughout the galaxy. In that instant, he receives the first signals of a young, previously unknown civilization, which is swiftly extinguished by the Array's pulse. Compartmentalization processes then erase large portions of Spark's memory and he forgets his old life.

Epilogue

A code to a hidden audio epilogue, titled "Rebirth", is included in the form of Forerunner symbols featured in some of the chapter headings for the novel. The code can be used on Halo Waypoint to unlock a forty-minute narration by Greg Bear, describing the reintroduction phase from the perspective of Riser. Having survived the destruction of the greater Ark, 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 on a series of islands. Riser meets with the IsoDidact one last time before the Forerunners leave and the humans begin settling in their new home. Days after, a new code was revealed, adding 5 additional minutes to the epilogue, describing the trial of Mendicant Bias after its defeat at the Battle of the Maginot Sphere.

Marketing

In the weeks before release, Tor Books released Chapter One for free, and Chapter Two was made available on the Halo Waypoint website. Tor also ran seven giveaways of the other Halo novels and action figures.

Release and reception

Cryptum

An unabridged audio book, narrated by Holter Graham, was released alongside the print edition on January 4, 2011. Upon release Greg Bear did book signings attended by Frank O'Connor. Following its release, Cryptum reached number 22 in the New York Times Best Seller List in the Hardcover Fiction category. It also spent five weeks on the Los Angeles Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller list, reaching number 17. Publishers Weekly noted that the book was a bestseller in the hardcovers category in early September 2011 at Borders.

Cryptum was met with varying reviews. Dr. Nigel Seel of sciencefiction.com called it tired, unoriginal and boring, saying, "It's hard to care about the flimsy characters, the plot is wearily over familiar, the hero is passive throughout and overall, not enough happens." He criticised the characters as stereotypical and the plot being far too slow, concluding, "This is one for the die-hard Halo fans." Hilary Williamson of Book Loons also considered Cryptum appealing only to Halo fans, but praised Graham's narration. The author of Artistic Gaming's review of Cryptum found it difficult to like the book's characters due to the condescending tone of Bornstellar, also concluding that it is only suited to diehard fans. Portland Book Review's Missy Wadkins felt differently. She thought the characters complex and found it comparable to an interesting history lesson. Her review further contrasted Dr. Seel's by recommending it to all science fiction readers, not just Halo fans. Jason Hamilton of Story Hobby also praised the novel; he complimented Bear's creation of a completely different culture to humanity and his balance of providing the reader with enough information to maintain interest without letting on too much and ruining the suspense.

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Primordium

At San Diego Comic-Con on July 14, 2012 Bear signed copies of the book. Halo: Primordium was on the New York Times Bestseller List: Hardcover Fiction for the week of January 7, 2012 at number seventeen. The Los Angeles Times had the book on its Bestseller List for two weeks, at number 16 and then at number 14 for the weeks of January 22 and January 29. Publishers Weekly listed the book at number seventeen on their Bestsellers Hardcover Fiction for the week of January 16, 2012.

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". 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.

Silentium

The book debuted at number eight on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller list and number thirty-five the following week. On the New York Times "Combined Hardcover and Paperback Fiction" List it was listed at number twenty four for the week of April 7. The book entered USA Today's Top 150 books on March 28, 2013, and peaked at number 128.

On July 14, 2012 at San Diego Comicon, Greg Bear signed books from the Forerunner Trilogy and a fan won a poster of the book cover. The day the book was released, Bear signed copies at the University of Washington, and three days later at the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore. The book was one of Barnes and Nobles March 2013 "Bestseller's Picks" On April 12, 2013 Tor Books ran a promotion giving away the entire book trilogy to one participant.

External links

• Read a Halo: Cryptum excerpt on Tor.com