I’ve been a big fan of the Halo novels in general as the original game just really struck me story wise and I wanted to read more. To this day Contact Harvest is probably my favorite so far. Well that is until I read Halo Evolutions which has become a challenger. Halo Evolutions is a collection of short stories from various authors including Eric Nylund, Karen Traviss and Tobias S. Buckell. And it is all of the tales told by each author that gives this book, and the Halo universe, many unique voices. It also takes you on a journey through the universe and introduces you to some interesting characters.

The stories jump around the timeline of events in Halo, so you can read about first contact with the Covenant as well as to one that takes place after events in Halo 3. You also get to learn about some characters and storyline such has what happens when Cortana is held by Gravemind at the end of Halo 2 to what may have happened to Preston Cole. There are some stories that fall a little short of what I would have hoped they’d be, but all in all it’s a great collection.

To me I felt that “The Mona Lisa” by Jeff VanderMeer and Tessa Kum and “The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole” by Eric Nylund were my two favorite stories out of the bunch. “The Mona Lisa” tells the tale of some Marines sent to check out a derelict ship and wind up being picked off one by one by the Flood, and even though it seems like a space zombie story it does add in some interesting elements to how the Flood operate, as well as some great moments which I don’t want to spoil.

But the story in “The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole” we can learn more about Preston Cole whom we don’t really see much of even though he is an important character. Nylund also took the interesting approach of telling this tale through the correspondence between two people: “Surgeon” and “Usual Suspects.” We get to learn more about the man and speculate on whether he is alive or dead. The way in which it is written kept me engaged as well.

All in all the book is a must have for any lore fans of the Halo universe. Not only are the stories engaging but it also fills in some gaps that were empty. The stories of the marines, and even a lone Sangheili, really draw you into the universe and make you think more about events on both sides of the fence. I really hope that they plan to release another short story collection as I think it’s  a great avenue to get in depth with the people and races in Halo.