Ah, the young, impertinent academia of Bungie.net. I think we can all agree that our written work is perfectly sound. But there's no need for mud-slinging or name calling or indirect accusations of being exasperatingly obtuse. So let's cut to the chase. When it comes to the written fiction of Halo, I think we can all agree to disagree. All of them have a different style, approach, tone and flow of prose, as can be expected. And each writer was chosen for his/her previous work. But all represent indescribably small slices of the universe that we love -- for various reasons. I liked all of the novels apart from [i] The Flood. [/i] That may, of course, be the result of having very little time to write the novel. Dietz only had five weeks to crank it out. And the result was an alternative, though choppy, viewpoint of [i] Combat Evolved [/i] where the Master Chief came across completely differently to the Nylund standpoint. But I shouldn't be defending Dietz, really. Nylund himself only had five weeks for [i] The Fall of Reach. [/i] And that turned out okay. NOTE I said okay and not brilliant. But the novel brought all of the necessary points across and gave us the original backbone of Halo canon and history. I like Nylund. His style is action orientated, which is good for providing an initial high and setting the scene clearly and concisely. But his novels do lack some depth. But they're not flat by any means. Greg Bear on the other hand is lord and master of sci-fi opera. He creates a grand canvas of possibilities. But I sometimes feel a little detached from the characters. But that's just my taste I suppose. Or is it my desire for the Forerunners to turn around to humanity and say 'Sorry for the misunderstanding. Can we be friends?' Traviss on the other hand presents little in the way of action or grand space-opera settings, but has a talent for bringing out the humanity in a character and making the plot a more personal adventure, with plenty of intrigue. I love her [i] Gear of War [/i] books. The portrayal of each 'gear' is realistic and colourful. And that is reflected in her writing of Kilo-5. But as fans, we are privileged. We have seen the Halo universe from every angle. Almost. We know things the characters don't. Or we think we know. As for the direction of Halo, of the franchise we care about, we have to recognise the fact that 343i will obviously want to play things their way, to set them apart from Bungie -- put their stamp on Halo. I don't believe Halo is turning into something it's not. I believe it's turning into something it was destined to be. Bungie planted the [i] Geas [/i] of Halo, 343i are simply awakening it.