If you’re eager to find out what Master Chief and Blue Team were up to just prior to the launch of Halo Infinite, then there’s nothing that can keep you from accessing a whole book about it. Currently, it is just a little more than the cost of a low-priced cup of coffee. The official Halo account has recently disclosed that ‘Halo: Shadows of Reach’ by Troy Denning is included in December 2025’s Amazon Kindle Monthly Deal. For the remainder of the month, the eBook can be yours for a mere $1.99. This price is unbeatable if you consider the story that is intended to bridge the gap between Halo 5 and Infinite.
In case you missed the main idea: the Chief in ‘Shadows of Reach’ takes Blue Team, which consists of Linda, Fred, and Kelly, back to the planet Reach. You are likely aware that this was the site of complete annihilation in the earlier games. What they want to accomplish? To bring back something which has a very slim chance of, maybe, one day, being of use in the struggle against Cortana and her Created forces. It is a return to their roots in a world that has been rendered uninhabitable, and as the tweet states, it ‘might just change the outcome.’ Heavy stuff indeed.
The reactions from the players were… well, there was quite a range of responses, which is pretty common for the Halo lore these days. Some were really ecstatic. The user Glitchymagic called it ‘fantastic’ and praised the author’s insight into Blue Team’s characters as well as the gritty combat. Another user, writeousluthern, gave it 4 out of 5 stars and remarked that it is the book to read if one wants to find out what happened in between Halo 5 and Infinite, even though it does not provide answers for everything. And then there were the instant buyers, like ParadoxHalo117 who simply stated ‘Snagged it right up’ and BossJ03L with ‘Nabbed, thank you so much.’ So the deal is truly working.
However, wait a minute, what was I saying? Oh yes, the other side of the coin. Although some players are super excited about the story’s new route, there are others who feel the opposite way. Honest to goodness, the tweet’s comments section could easily be mistaken for a battlefield full of conflicting opinions. One complaint was often voiced and shared by the speakers: why is the vital lore hidden in books and not in games? User stijnoo1 bluntly stated: ‘Again important lore put in a book which most of the community doesn’t read… Only a few people like that.’ Another one, Crash_Tise, made a sharp analogy: ‘I like how Bungie went out of their way to make a game covering the fall of Reach… meanwhile ya’ll made a game building up to a new galactic war… only for the next game to skip over that war entirely.’ Ouch. This is a sensation that has been around for quite some time—that Halo 5 made this enormous war with Cortana, which Halo Infinite just kind of fast-forwarded through.
There were complaints about 343 Industries’ storytelling era giving totally opposite messages. User troubleshot51 was very straightforward to say: ‘Dawg, let’s keep it real. 343 trashed the story of halo. There is no massive fan base anymore.’ Another one, SroIhm, referred to it as a ‘bronze tier era’ and proposed the idea of ‘wiping out the post 3 heretical lore.’ Ouch! It is quite apparent that there is a part of the player base that regards the narrative choices since Halo 4 as… to say the least, divisive.
On the other hand, the debate sometimes had pure as well as simple Halo moments. One person said ‘wort wort wort’—the signature Elite battle cry—and another answered ‘Pazole,’ which is… I don’t know, but it seems like an inside joke. And then there was the user lastchalice who wrote ‘Amazing Halo book. Lechatelierite!’ which is apparently a mineral from the book and has become a meme? The community is weird and wonderful.
So what could be the takeaway from all this? If you are a lore seeker, or perhaps just wondering what the Chief was doing prior to being left on that Halo ring in Infinite, then ‘Shadows of Reach’ is an absolute must-have at the price of two bucks. It is a straight link between two top-notch games, showcasing the classic Spartan-II team dynamics that many players love. The offer is valid on Amazon until December 31, 2025, so you have time but not forever.
Regardless of whether you consider 343’s storyline a piece of art or a mess, a cheap ebook is a low-risk opportunity to cover some empty spots. Maybe it changes your opinion about the campaign. For those interested in other platforms, similar story debates happen around games on PlayStation and Xbox.
