YMMV / Halo: The Thursday War

• Hilarious in Hindsight: Parangosky notes several times that she has appointed Tom Lasky to be the eventual Captain of the UNSC Infinity, and anticipates he'll be ONI's man when he takes control. In Halo 4, Lasky ends up sabotaging Osman's orders to kill Halsey, someone Parangosky personally despised. If Osman's reaction in Halo: Escalation is anything to go by, Parangosky would probably have had to be sedated when she found out.
• Salvaged Story: Karen Traviss' first Halo book, Halo: Glasslands, was despised by the fandom for demonizing the scientist Catherine Halsey while portraying her rival Admiral Parangosky as a model of honesty. In reality, both of them have committed plenty of unethical acts to defeat both the Insurrection and Covenant. Thus, in this book, Parangosky was now depicted as more sinister and ruthless (willing to starve an entire species by secretly making their crops and meat inedible) while Halsey gets some sympathetic reveals, such as that she still cries over the death of her daughter Miranda Keyes.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Although the book isn’t one of the most acclaimed Halo novels. It’s generally agreed that it is at least better than the previous novel of the trilogy.