Broken Circle was a pretty fun read. Much of it kept me excited and on my toes waiting for the next big thing to happen. Fortunately, I got plenty of that. However, though, they always seemed to come to fast for me to grasp my head around or even just appreciate. I like it when things get to the point when necessary, and I can see the merit, but we ventured off to the Ussan colony Refuge a little too soon both in the 8th century BCE and 26th century CE.

Concerning the latter, I never found myself enjoying reading about the modern day Ussans warring against each other and seeming to wither away in the colony. All of it was sprung on us so suddenly. It was a mess of proper nouns thrown at us. There were so many characters, exposition, etc. that was essential to paint this picture of some 3400 years of progress. Honestly, I don't think it was all necessary, not now or at least at the scale it was. I just didn't find myself caring. Not when something that interests fans as much as the Great Schism ended so abruptly with yet another trademark "stumbling on a Forerunner installation" by the former Prophet of Clarity, Zo Resken, and his crew.

I won't analyze the entirety of Broken Circle just yet, not at least until someone else brings up a topic, but there is one thing that truly entranced me about this novel. Before The Thursday War, Sangheili women were largely painted as these dainty, demure, rather unimportant figures inhabiting the abandoned keeps of Sanghelios. Then came Raia 'Mdama. She made it her personal mission to fuck up the lives of whomever would threaten her child and have harmed her husband, be it the Arbiter or human spies. With Broken Circle, not one Sangheili woman was destined to be in the background, foraging for food or caring for the childlings. SooIn 'Xellus was a scientist, seemingly seen as an equal by her husband, the Kaidon of the Ussans. Lnur 'Mol was a young, headstrong in the Ussan colony whom was an inhabitant of an empowered keep of Sangheili women that prided themselves on not only their care for their keep and their childlings, but also in its defense to an extent that we'd only see a Zealot fight heretics.

This novel is all about ushering in more feminist ideals into the universe and especially for women. Better yet, many Sangheili men seem rather accepting of these empowered women. Ussa 'Xellus, upon the moment to begin his people's exodus to the Refuge, noted that carrying an egg was typically a woman's duty. Yet, he saw that as a leader, he picked them up to the safety of a ship's battle plating. He never really saw this as beneath him or something that made him less of a man. Tersa, whose clan name I have forgot, was infatuated with the aforementioned Lnur. Observing her, he noticed this: "[He] warmed to her even more. Her refusal to be completely cowed by the ancient gender roles was strangely attractive. It suggested she might be capable of bold intimacy, as well as bold action." I love this. Like Lnur, I don't necessarily stray too far from the antiquated role of my gender, but we find comfort and purpose in it in our own way because we want to do it. Also, just like Lnur and the women of her keep, I want nothing more than to be a warrior as well as a mother.

Both Ussa and Tersa seemed intrigued by these independent women in their lives. Honestly, I can see them having supported progressive ideals as the Ussan colony progressed through the early years of their civilization. Unfortunately, there seemed to be few, if any, women noted in the story of the 26th century Ussan. To close this topic, I'll quote Tersa again on pondering about Lnur: "Privately, [I] wondered if the time would come when some Sangheili female would try to rebel in a more significant way." I really hope this is not just a passing remark and rather a hint towards the future of Sangheili civilization. Patriarchy needs to wither away as quickly as the last Hierarchs did.

So, yeah, Broken Circle kinda seemed like it was a teaser to something. It never felt like it would be a standalone tale in the Haloverse. It seems like it has greater implications for the future of the universe and that's kind of why I was a bit let down. They tried to pack a little too much in here at a very fast pace which I did not care for. The Epilogue seemed to be a pittance of what should have been a grander occasion reuniting these two Sangheili civilizations after so many generations.