Admittedly a slight step-up from its predecessor, both in writing-style and storytelling, “Halo: Meridian Divide” is another YA-style-take on the “Halo” mythos that, while entertaining enough in its own right, also doesn’t do much to inspire. While never altogether unpleasant to read, Cassandra Rose Clarke’s follow-up to “Battle Born” is also never particularly compelling, either on a story or character level. Throw in the fact that much of what’s here is highly distinctive of other, better “Halo” novels, and it’s hard to recommend “Meridian Divide” to any but the most ardent of “Halo” completionists. halo5 s Chris The Lizard from Planet X410 8

Halo: Meridian Divide by Cassandra Rose Clarke is a Young Adult tie-in novel based on the Halo video game franchise, and the second book of the “Battle Born” trilogy.

Set in 2548 late into the Human-Covenant War. We get to see the adventures of Colony teenagers Evie, Dorian, Saskia, and Victor continue, with Spartan Owen-B096 joining them again as well. The resourceful teens previously managed to evacuate their city during a Covenant invasion and escaped the moon they called home. Now they must return and attempt to thwart the Covenant's continued search for Forerunner relics.

We get to see the four main characters grow and evolve as they are once again put to the test. Whereas in the first book, they're fighting for the survival of their family and friends, the stakes are raised this time around. The teens need to learn to broaden their perspective and see the bigger picture, and here they discover if they have what it takes to help all of humanity.

I enjoyed the story and the jump back into the Halo universe, learning a little more about various things we've seen before. From a plot perspective, I sometimes felt they were playing things a little too safe and too predictable. There were some twists, and one at the end that definitely surprised me, but there were other parts that felt they were just setting things up for more stories in the future in a very obvious way.

Overall, Meridian Divide is a fun dip into the universe of Halo. If you haven't already, definitely check out Battle Born book 1 first - if you that one, give this a read too. It'll make the wait until Halo: Infinite just a little bit shorter.sci-fi video-game-tie-ins young-adult1 Josh10

Honest opinion. I think the first book of this two-part series was probably better, but overall it was a nice change in perspective. Instead of the story being about the big galactic war, you're more focused on a specific group of people. And their journey through everything. More micro than macro, kind of reminds me of the movie Cloverfield1 Matthew Ochal360 9

God Please please please1 Heidi67

While the first book in the Battle Born series wasn't awful, the second is a significant improvement. Where the first felt very middle school, whiny teenager sympathetic, this felt a little more high school and the characters were really coming together because they cared about one another, not just because of the circumstances they were thrown into (though there was a fair bit of that). I also really appreciate that for a book based on a video game franchise, it would translate well into a spinoff game. I really wanted to dis Dorian's character, but he serves as a fair foil to the rest of the team and voice of a skeptical audience.

The only thing I'm having a bit of trouble with is how Owen-B096 is portrayed. I know we can't expect to love every Spartan written but he seemed the flat, ONI drone stereotype that most other novels fight against. I hope we get more complexity for him in the next story (if there is one). Also hoping for Saskia to get that redemption she craves and reckoning with her parents, and for Evie to really come into her own. 1 Ricky Beckett147 11

In the previous book of this duology, we left Evie, Victor, Dorian, and Saskia agreeing to ONI’s recruitment to return to their home planet Meridian to prevent the Covenant from finding whatever Forerunner artefact they’re looking for because if they do, they’ll leave and glass the planet. But even if they do find it first, the Covenant will still glass the planet, so Meridian is doomed no matter what. Yet the fate of humanity is more important than one planet. But first, they need to do some quick, intensive training. That’s where this book begins.

The Covenant seem to come across as naïve morons against four even more naïve high schoolers when in the other books, the Covenant are a terrifying force to be reckoned with. This discontinuity makes the story barely believable. It also seems uncharacteristic of ONI to bet the entire fate of Meridian on the skills of amateur high schoolers, although they could just be desperate. Maybe I’m just being nit-picky; this is a young adult novel, after all. And to be fair, it’s not just the four of them against the Covenant. There’s also Meridian’s militia, a Spartan, and some UNSC marines. But most of their success seems to amount to dumb luck, but I suppose that’s necessary when you write a story that hinges on a quartet of immature teenagers acting as amateur soldiers.

Their immaturity definitely comes out as a character flaw, especially during a part when they find out that the Spartan, Owen, lied to them about something in the previous book. The lie had to do with how long the Covenant has been on Meridian, and they’re all extremely upset about it. But the lie doesn’t compromise their mission or anybody’s lives, and Owen’s lie is easily justifiable because he was under orders not to reveal that information and it wasn’t relevant to their survival at the time. So basically their anger just amounts to their feelings being hurt, their young self-entitlement to being told everything, and their naïveté about the negative outcome that would’ve happened if the military did what these kids think they should’ve done. This isn’t a flaw of the book. I said, it’s just a character flaw. Usually, however, character flaws are written in a way where you sympathise or somewhat sympathise with the character, but I found myself siding with Owen instead of the main protagonists. It was an annoying part of the book to read just because they were so immature and petty about it and dwelling on it for too long. Saskia seems to be the only reasonable one out of them all. Maybe I would think differently if I were a young adult reading this, since I would be closer in age to Evie, Dorian, Victor, and Saskia. I don’t know if it’s my being older or my pragmatism that makes me side with Owen and ONI.

All that being said, the ending is really good. I won’t say whether you find out what exactly the Forerunner artefact is and what it does, but there is an unexpected ending that brings in some later Halo lore you don’t see coming. Thijs303 4

This is kind of a meh book, in the Halo universe and out of it.

On the one hand, the characters are somehow more bland here then in the previous one. But the personal conflict is more present.

I say present and not interesting, because the protagonists are acting a bunch of teenagers.
Yes, I know they are teenagers, but they are also teenagers who have completed basic training, to the point where there's hardly any difference with the regular militia they're fighting along with. Yet they act in a way that should get them court-martialled on several occasions and are possible grounds for worse for basically disobaying direct orders on the battlefield and possibly desertion.
Their winy attitude gets annoying.

That being said, the story itself holds up and un last time the presence of a Spartan is more then warranted.

I do how the twist at the end has a connection to a certain Sgt. A. J. J.
Even though I have my doubts about even that. Lets say it's a controversial twisthalo Ellie7 6

Not sure what I expected from a Halo young adult series, but so far it's pretty underwhelming. Much less character growth than the first Battle Born, and in some areas, the characters seemed to grow less mature and more childish throughout this story. The ending... No spoilers but it's a bit strange. I guess we'll see where they take it, but it worries me how it might conflict with existing canon.

I'm not sure who this book is for, because I figure young adults would get more enjoyment out of the normal Halo books than these. And younger children might be more able to relate to the characters, but they probably wouldn't be interested in Halo in the first place. The characters are supposed to be roughly 18 now, but they still act young children, even more so than in the previous book. Sean BaiAuthor 2 books27

As the first ever Young Adult Halo novel, this book was a lot better than I thought it would be.

The action near the beginning doesn't delve into a lot of descriptions, but that's for a good reason. The main characters are around 17 years old. They are not soldiers. The story isn't told from the perspective of Spartans or ODSTs. The story is told from the perspective of scared young adults. And as the book progresses, there is more description of combat because the story comes to a head. They can no longer run from the Covenant. They cast away their fear and fight the Covenant to save their friends and family.

The four main characters each have their distinct personalities and skills. In the beginning, it was a little difficult to figure out who was who, but by the end of the book, I had a better understanding of which character was which.

I look forward to book 2.favorites science-fiction-books video-game-books Anthony Dorsey68

A much improved sequel over the predecessor. The plot was much more engaging especially in the second half which is also where the four protagonists really came into their own. That said, the first half didn’t do them much favors as it was hard to remember which character I was following. The conflicts also became more more interesting than in the first book which I felt was a decent YA booking trying to be a Halo book. This one definitely felt more a Halo novel particularly after that turning point halfway through. I’d definitely recommend these Battle born books to other Halo fans and I hope they go through with the final act of this trilogy. Samuele Martinelli162

The first half of the book felt forced to me, and reading it I was “better that the trilogy didn’t closed, already this seems stretched too much”. It was a 3 stars at that point.
The second half instead I really d it, and the ending of the book left me eager to read more. It was 4 stars.
That’s why the final 4 stars.

The book overall was never really boring and it had its peaks of action and emotion. It might be that I’m biased since I love the mystery behind Forerunners that lives before Halo 4. I really wished the trilogy would’ve been completed, I would’ve d to see the four of them in a final adventure. JoyAuthor 1 book9

I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed the first one. It was a solid addition to the series, but I wish that they were able to continue with at least a third book as it ends in a real cliffhanger!

I loved watching the characters develop in their roles in the group as well as their individual personalities. The twists and turns weren't remarkable, but still an enjoyable read, especially for anyone who enjoyed the first book Alex DoveAuthor 3 books4

Honestly it just felt things were happening, randomly, sporadically, but not in any meaningful or well-thought out way. There was also a whole subplot about whether ONI was good or bad that felt really heavy handed, yet muddled.
Overall not worth it. I even question the need for a young adult series when the rest of the Halo books are perfectly accessible to, and what younge adults interested in this would be drawn to anyways. space-laser Drew DeYoung25

It’s a Halo YA novel with well simple but effective characters and well written action scenes. It delivers exactly what it offers.
A very minor critique would be that the children protagonists call the aliens by their “proper” racial names rather than the simpler more identifiable nicknames (brute, elite, etc) often which felt odd. Otherwise it was really fun.
The audiobook narrators (there’s a different one for each POV) are fantastic. Mark Green2

Great book, looking forward to the next iteration

This is a good series, written a little differently than most of the halo novella and I it. A fresh portrayel of the halo universe seen through younger eyes. Elodie Cunningham39 2

A little less focussed and somewhat more contrived than the first, but still a really good read with well-defined characters. Andrew_24

Could not even finish it Jayna Rubich15

I couldn't finish. 100 pages in and I was never given reason to care. Only Halo book I have never been able to complete. A total let down. Jlhamri28

Weirdly boring
Dellina Strelow80

Loved it, I believe the Jr novels are good, maybe even better than the regular ones. Loved the narrator too. Sam Nicholson479

6/10books-in-order Andrew Bulthaupt466 15

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