Customer Reviews

Mechwarrior: Dark Age #20: Trial By Chaos (A BattleTech Novel)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There is so much that I would like to say here, but I will be brief and to the point. I have read fifty books in the Battletech series, all of the books in the previous Mechwarrior series, and all of the Mechwarrior Dark Age books.

This book is one of the best that I have read in any Battletech series. I look forward to the next one this author writes in this series.

The only thing keeping this book from 5 stars for me is the slow start. It is very well written and Steven York does a good job in building your interest in the characters. Understanding that a bit of back history is needed to understand why the Ghost Bears Galaxy named Raging Bears are on Vegan; the beginning is slow but informative.

Midway through the book the story really picks up, and it never slows down. With a very strong finish you are left wanting to know what will happen next to this world. If you are a fan of the Mechwarrior/Battletech novels this is worth picking up.

This was a surprisingly solid work of fiction in an extremely unpredictable story arc concerning the quality of its authors. I've always been a fan of the Ghost Bears themselves, and their progressive adaptation in the face of changes across the Inner Sphere was well addressed throughout this novel. Solid characterization, an able grasp of the social aspects of a very liberal element in what's regarded as an already liberal clan...Mr. York definitely did his homework.

My only (albeit minor) issue with the work itself is one that's been a common theme for most of the Dark Age authors; the Mech combat. This aspect has ranged from 'completely-missed-the-mark/watched-episodes-of-Go-Bots-for-research' to 'just-a-little-funky'. There was nothing major in this novel, but there were a number of odd quirks that indicated to me that the author likely could've paid a little more attention to this aspect of his work. There were also a couple of minor pacing issues, but all and the same, these weren't heavy enough to me to detract from a full five star rating.

All in all, Mr. York has created a seriously compelling element within the Dark Age universe, which after some completely inadequate entries, could use all of said element it can get. I truly hope that this individual is retained for further work in the Battletech universe as a whole.

I just finished this book and I must say that the action and the political struggles were in the best proportions possible. The idea of a "Final Hope Codex" is fantastic. Hopefully Roc and Wizkids will see that Mr.York should be piloting the next novel about "The Ragin Bears" and the struggle to become citizens of Vega. I would dare to suggest that Mr. York be the man to write further stories about The Ghost Bears, as this is one of the least known Warden Clans within the Dark Age univesrse.

I am shocked at the positive reviews. This book started out so good with a decent mix of action and interesting political intrigue. By the end though this book turned into utter garbage and it made me root for the Draconis Combine. I mean come on! Clans become all about family and love. The Raging Bears became the Raging Gay Bears. Over all this book was dull and lacking in mech action. I would recommend skipping this one.

9 times out of 10 I agree with reviews of Battletech/Mechwarrior novels, but I was taken completely aback by this one. For starters, the only reason I gave this one two stars instead of one was because I have never given a mechwarrior product one star and just couldn't bring myself to do it. I have numerous problems with this novel, but I'll cover just a few of the big ones. For starters, the first half of this novel is nothing but a blatantly transparent allegory to America's situation in Iraq. I mean, c'mon - the toppling of a ruthless warlord in a desert, inter-tribal strife, the assumption that creating a constitution to create a new governmnet would bring about peace, etc, etc. Taking ideas from history is one thing, but I didn't care for this one at all. Second, this novel (excluding the 4 page epilogue), spans 10 days. In those 10 days, the author undoes every aspect of the clans the the Battletech/Mechwarrior universe has spent dozens of novels establishing. (spoiler!) Actually, they change about half-way through, so within 5 days, the main clan characters in this novel (high-ranking, bloodnamed clan mechwarriors) suddenly decide that the whole clan philosophy is wrong and that the opposite is true and they suddenly choose to defend love with their lives. Lastly, the clan mechwarriors in this novel are nice (from the beginning), both to freeborns and lower caste members alike. Is this really the same Mechwarrior universe I've been reading about since the late 80s? The novel also leaves numerous questions unanswered, which, frankly, I hope never are. Granted the idea of "The Final Codex" is plausible, it certainly isn't original and I really don't think it was a good choice. Oh well. I believe, from this point foreward, I will skip all the "side story" novels and will just stick to the main ones.