Line #34 Literature/HaloNewBlood


1	[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f0f032e0ee34ed1632ad0f6cec2a5889.jpg]]
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3	''Halo: New Blood'' is the first short novel in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise, written by Matt Forbeck. Set primarily in the years following the Human-Covenant War, the story explores what happened to Edward Buck and the rest of ODST squad Alpha-Nine (plus Veronica Dare) after the end of ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'', including how Buck became the [[SuperSoldier Spartan-IV]] we see in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''.
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5	Originally released as a digital exclusive in 2015, it received a print edition in 2016 which includes an additional short epilogue.
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7	!!Contains Examples Of:
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9	* AnachronicOrder: Since the story is framed as Buck giving a report, it jumps between different points in time, with some chapters even being tangents of previous ones.
10	* BackForTheDead: After being absent from ''Halo'' media for over five years, [[spoiler:the Rookie]] returns only to be killed in a flashback.
11	* BerserkButton: As a child, Mickey was bullied at the orphanage he grew up over his parents being Insurrectionists. As a result, Mickey is pretty testy about being compared to his parents. [[spoiler:Buck uses this to provoke Mickey into attacking him after Mickey betrays Alpha-Nine to the United Rebel Front]].
12	* BigDamnHeroes: One of Buck's flashbacks is about a previous squad of his rescuing Sarah Palmer back when she was still an ODST. Eight years later, Palmer and her Spartan-[=IVs=] pay him and his squad back, though [[spoiler:they arrive too late to save the Rookie]].
13	* BrokenFaceplate: [[spoiler:After Mickey turns traitor, Buck beats him so badly that he ends up completely shattering his faceplate.]]
14	* CallBack: Both "Vergil"/Quick to Adjust and Sadie Endesha from ''ODST'' make an appearance, while Musa from ''ComicBook/HaloInitiation'' and Jun from ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' both have fairly big roles as Buck's superiors in the Spartan program.
15	* CruelMercy: [[spoiler:When Buck defeats Mickey, the latter begs the former to shoot him, rather than turn him in to face a court-martial. Buck decides to let him live.]]
16	* CurbStompBattle: One Spartan-IV vs. a full camp of Insurrectionists? ConservationOfNinjutsu fully applies here.
17	* DrillSergeantNasty: Captain O'Day and the other instructors in the Spartan-IV program, despite many of their trainees already being decorated veterans, with the justification being that they need to be broken out of their bad habits.
18	* EmpoweredBadassNormal: The first chapter reveals that Buck, Romeo, and Mickey have become Spartan-[=IVs=] sometime after the war.
19	* TheFellowshipHasEnded: By the end of the story, Buck and [[spoiler:Romeo]] are the only members of Alpha-Nine still serving with the UNSC, with ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' and WordOfGod indicating that even those two ended up being assigned to separate fireteams shortly afterwards.
20	* FirstPersonSmartass: To the point where the reader can pretty much hear Creator/NathanFillion's voice in their head.
21	* {{Flashback}}: Most of the story is basically Buck telling a series of these.
22	** FlashbackWithinAFlashback: Sometimes Buck goes off on tangents; for example, when he recalls meeting Spartan-[=IVs=] led by Sarah Palmer at the end of one chapter, the next chapter flashes even further back to a previous mission where he met Palmer when she was still an ODST.
23	* FramingDevice: The story is framed as Buck being debriefed after a mission in 2555.
24	* GoodOldFisticuffs: We get to read what a fistfight between two fully armored Spartan-[=IVs=] is like, with it being described as sounding "like thunder rolling down the slope".
25	* IShallTauntYou: After getting captured by Insurrectionists, Romeo and Buck pull a twofer, [[spoiler:the former escaping by provoking Mickey to push him down a slope (while still protected in full armor), which draws away all the rebels (minus Mickey) as they try to chase him down, which then allows Buck to provoke Mickey into swinging his rifle at him, giving Buck a chance to disarm him]].
26	* TheMole: Dare warns Buck that one of his fellow Spartan-IV trainees has connections with the United Rebel Front; [[spoiler:said traitor is foiled before he can blow up the S-IV training facility, but not before planting the seeds of treachery into Mickey's mind]].
27	* OfficialCouple: The novella makes it clear that Buck and Veronica are this. That said, both of them are too dedicated to their jobs to ever get married and have kids.
28	* PlotTriggeringDeath: [[spoiler:It's the Rookie's death that leads to Buck deciding to become a Spartan]].
29	* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway:
30	** [[spoiler:When the Rookie is captured by Insurrectionists, Captain Ingridson uses him as a chip to try and get the rest of Alpha-Nine to surrender. Buck and Romeo decide to stall while Mickey and Dutch sneak up on the Innies. It doesn't end well for either Ingridson or the Rookie.]]
31	** Later, when [[spoiler:Dr. Schein gets the drop on Buck and holds him at gunpoint, he tries to pull this on Romeo. However, Romeo, being the jerkass he is, just ignores him; Schein is so flabbergasted at this that he gives Buck the opening he needs to knock him out]].
32	* PutOnABus: [[spoiler:Dutch]] decides to retire from the military after [[spoiler:the Rookie's death]], though Buck later mentions that he still tries to keep in touch.
33	* RecapEpisode: One chapter is basically Buck retelling the entire plot of ''Halo 3: ODST''.
34	* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: Despite being a colony kid, Buck has very little regard for the Insurrection, whose members he views as self-righteous maniacs fostering unneeded conflict.
35	* SuddenSequelHeelSyndrome: [[spoiler:Mickey]] ends up defecting to the Insurrection, having become disillusioned with the UNSC after [[spoiler:the Rookie]]'s death.
36	* ToAbsentFriends: When Jun catches Buck at a bar, the latter decides to have them both drink to [[spoiler:the Rookie's memory]].

Context Literature / HaloNewBlood