Mechwarrior: Dark Age #19: Blood Avatar (A BattleTech Novel) [Paperback]

Ilsa J. Bick (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mechwarrior | Publication Date: December 6, 2005

When a body turns up in Farway and the Denebola Bureau of Investigation offers to help identify the murder victim, Sheriff Hank Ketchum knows he's in over his head. Detective Jack Ramsey digs into the case and discovers evidence that puts Farway at the heart of a conspiracy. Original.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Roc (December 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 045146074X
• ISBN-13: 978-0451460745
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,246,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Among other things, I was an English major in college and so I know that I'm supposed to write things like, "Ilsa J. Bick is (fill in the blank)." Except I hate writing about myself in the third person like I'm not in the room. Helloooo, I'm right here . . . So let's just say that I'm a child psychiatrist (yeah, you read that right), a wannabe surgeon, a former Air Force major--and an award-winning, best-selling author of short stories, e-books and novels. Believe me, no one is more shocked about this than I . . . unless you talk to my mother.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars detective novel with drops of Science-Fiction, May 16, 2006

By 

R. Pannier (Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mechwarrior: Dark Age #19: Blood Avatar (A BattleTech Novel) (Paperback)

I am disappointed with this novel. Not that it would be poorly-written - on the contrary, it is very enjoyable. But I see it as a copy-paste of a detective novel that would have been adapted in the BT universe. There are a few mentions of the Battletech but no `Mech, and the story is set on a single planet that looks too much like 20th Century America to have the feeling of Science-Fiction.

And you'll have to give up trying to guess the identity of the murderer: you'll never meet the character before the end.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Violent and pointless, January 8, 2006

By 

Mr. Cynical (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mechwarrior: Dark Age #19: Blood Avatar (A BattleTech Novel) (Paperback)

Ilsa J. Bick strikes again, slipping in a trashy, violent, and overly graphic plot, and slapping the Mechwarrior title on it.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a Battletech Novel, January 15, 2006

By 

Bruce Carter "Omnireader" (South Bend, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mechwarrior: Dark Age #19: Blood Avatar (A BattleTech Novel) (Paperback)

Despite having "A Battletech Novel" printed on the cover, along with the Mechwarrior Dark Age logo, this is not a Battletech novel. This is a murder mystery/intrigue novel wedged into the Battletech universe, with absolutely no relevant connections to the Battletech storyline until the last dozen or so pages. In addition, it has problems even as a spy thriller due to numerous factual (The most egregious of which being that at one point a medical examiner digs a slug out of a body and states that they can identify it by the firing pin mark. Firing pin marks are on the end of the shell casing where the pin strikes the primer, not on the bullet.) and continuity errors. It also suffers from the novice mystery writer's fault of cramming the answer to everything in the last 10 pages instead of building the solution. Overall, a wholly unsatisfactory entry in the Battletech/Mechwarrior library.