: Aside from this though, my problem with Mortal Dicta is that it's plot just
: seemed lacklustre. At the end of the day, Kilo-5's mission was to capture
: a single covenant ship, not even a big ship. The whole time I was reading
: it all I could think was that if this were a Nylund book, a task as simple
: as capturing a single covenant ship would've been handled in less than a
: chapter, with the team moving on to pursue a considerably more ambitious
: objective (e.g. destroying the Unyielding Hierophant, the battle of Onyx
: etc). It might seem shallow of me but I just expect something grander from
: a Halo story.

You're not alone. It was Pious Inquisitor this, Naomi that, and the conclusion of this story arc was so disappointing. In the end she was merely a vessel to continue another story. She served no serious purpose other than as a setting. Wasted potential in so many ways.

: The book didn't really do anything to push the universe forward, I assume
: this is because they didn't want to step on the toes of Halo 5, but with
: no real mention of the Chief, the Arbiter, Blue Team, Infinity, Requiem
: (aside from passing references), it's hard to feel like the book really
: meant anything.

It was filler, but it was more to advance the backstory and personality of the cast more than anything. The only thing I would say has any implications is the relationship between Naomi and her father, Staffan.

: And still too many "as the humans say" lines.

: But really, apart from the Halsey-hate, it wasn't a bad or unenjoyable book,
: it just didn't really meet my expectations for an entry in the series.

Yep. :(