the way the Nylund sidelines characters who were developed early in the book as the Master Chief takes precedence but overall praised the book highly. Nylund's character development and the ethical challenges presented to the Master Chief were praised however and reviewer Josh Carter considered it superior to either of the previous books. When Phil Jones reviewed the book for Science Fiction Crowsnest he found that "the combat does get somewhat tiresome" but concluded that the book was a good, easy read and "as spin-offs go, it's not bad." The First Strike audiobook was also well received, reviewer Cliff Bakehorn commenting that "Todd McLaren did a good job narrating", as well as finding it to be "an exciting story throughout." References External links Military science fiction novels First Strike Novels set on fictional planets 2003 novels 2003 science fiction novels Del Rey books