Customer Reviews

Mercenary's Star (Battletech, No 7)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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The Gray Death Legion, a mercenary group formed by Grayson Death Carlyle, takes on its first assignment -- to train rebels on a Draco world in anti-mech tactics. But when their way off the planet is destroyed, they must ally with the untrusting natives to free the capital city, the only way off the planet. Personally, I found this book very entertaining. It deals with freedom, loyalty, and life. This story will keep you reading way into the wee hours of the night. A must for any Battletech reader!

While this book might not crack the top 10 for many people, it's my all time favorite! Now I must admit that I am a fan of Battletech before FASA sold the rights, but this book was a large reason why.

The second book about Grayson Carlyle and The Gray Death Legion, this book is where the Gray Death Legion is really formed and Carlyle's character develops into something special. William H. Keith Jr. paints some very colorful and entertaining characters that grow on you so fast that you'll hit emotional highs and lows as they train and suffer through this Kurita held planet's rebellion.

A must read for any fan of Battletech, even those new to the game. While it's built in a time than Wizkid's version of Battletech this is what the original game was all about. Give it a try as it's well worth a shelf all it's own.

I only wish this book could have made it to the big screen. I imagine the opening scene of Bannockburn (a Riflemen Mech) standing within the jungle in camo paint as a couple of fighters screeching overhead. Then all hell breaks loose...

Happy reading and good hunting!

The first Battletech novel I read was Decision At Thunder Rift. By the end of that book, I was fully invested in the fate of Grayson Death Carlyle and his fledgling mercenary unit, the gray death Legion. Mercenary's Star picks up where Thunder Rift left off, with the Legion accepting their first real contract.

Hired to assist insurgents in the draconis Combine, Mercenary's Star is focused, enjoyable fiction. Carlyle and Lori Kalmar are sympathetic leads, protagonists you want to win. The plot develops quickly, and Keith's writing is descriptive, but not overdone.

For someone new to the Battletech universe, I think the Gray Death books are a good place to start, and will guide players into the world. It's also just a fun read. Sure, you won't have any stunning insights into the human condition, but this is escapist entertaining science fiction that does not insult you intelligence.

Good fun.