The flood

Best-selling writers Nylund (www.ericnylund.net) and Dietz (williamcdietz.com) expand on the foundations of the megapopular Xbox videogame series of the same name (Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3) in the first three of five entries in this military sf epic. The Fall of Reach is a sort of prequel, describing the life and background of Halo hero Master Chief and more. The saga continues in The Flood, essentially a novelization of the first Halo game. The third entry, First Strike, provides a transition from the end of the first Halo game to the beginning of its follow-up, Halo 2. Nylund's two titles are more satisfying than Dietz's, perhaps because he had the liberty of supplying details and cohesion in the Halo universe, while Dietz had the difficult task of rendering a videogame into prose. The narration by multitalented Todd McLaren (toddmclaren.com) is flexible and intense across all three titles. Part of a franchise, these audiobooks are of definite interest to public libraries. [Audio clips available through www.tantor.com; also available as a boxed set (3 MP3-CDs. retail ed. ISBN 978-1-4001-2031-4. $29.95).--Ed.]--Denise A. Garofalo, Mount Saint Mary Coll. Lib., Newburgh, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.