And it never really occurred to me how awkward (?) it is. Let me try and explain... first, I like Nylunds writing and am grateful for what he brought the Halo universe. The awkwardness isn't his fault, it's from the fact he was writing the entire backstory for a 30(!) year war. With all we know now from the fiction occurring in between, much of the novel seems-again- awkward. Even with the 2011 reissue.

I was an avid defender of defending the canon of TFoR, but now I take the whole novel with a grain of salt.

However, I also noticed some other interesting tidbits I've never noticed thAt Nylund introduced that the Halo universe (I think) has yet to address.

Subliminal conditioning or learning while in cryo

Deja once told John, without explaining why, that multiple AI are not allowed to be in close proximity...my first thought was THE ASSEMBLY!, but then I remembered AI can move through computers systems easily, so what's the big deal about a few projecting their avatars in close proximity?

How many people actually worked or contributed to SPARTAN-II and MJOLNIR...not just Halsey. I know Kilo-5 really painted her as the bad guy, but at least acknowledged others were complicit, but there is plenty more to explore here

I have not but I'm at work and can't remember