Patriot's Stand: A Battletech Novel (Mechwarrior: Dark Age, No. 9) [Mass Market Paperback]

Mike Moscoe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2004

Grace O'Malley's ragtag forces stand valiantly against the fearsome Roughriders-determined to write their planet's history in the scorched wreckage of the battlefield...

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Roc; First Thus edition (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451459709
• ISBN-13: 978-0451459701
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,174,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting interlude, April 14, 2004

By 

J. Chovan "bronx" (San Bernardino, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Patriot's Stand: A Battletech Novel (Mechwarrior: Dark Age, No. 9) (Mass Market Paperback)

When I first began this novel, I thought that I would be disappointed. The story seemed to be moving slowly and predictably-A desperate defense by the underdogs foils the nefarious plans of the well-armed, well-disciplined mercenary troops. However, the story is not that simple. In this story, the underdogs do fight back, but the catch is that the mercenary troops they are supposed to fight against end up having reservations about fighting them, which affects the outcome. This tale deals more with honor amongst soldiers than it does with the fall of the HPG net, but it provides a nice escape from the main Dark Age storyline. No faction plays a major role in this novel; however, Patriot's Stand could end up as a jumping off point for some of the more colorful characters introduced. If you are interested in the complete Dark Age world, then this book fits in nicely, but if you are desperately hoping to find out more about your favorite faction or why the HPG net is down, you can probably live without this one. Just bear in mind that you will miss a well-written novel with an interesting angle on the Mechwarrior world.

4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing IMHO, January 19, 2011

By 

Revhellhouund - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Mechwarrior: Dark Age #9:: Patriot's Stand (A Battletech Novel) (Kindle Edition)

Having run out of books in another series, I turned to Mechwarrior:Dark Ages to tide me over. I am not proud, but a man has to do what a man has to do. Anyway, I confess to enjoying them, but let's be honest, they are not fine literature. I enjoy that I can read a few pages or chapters and put them down...that is until this one. For some reason, I couldn't put it down. Yes, the villain is about as big a stereotype as you will ever find, but the situation and story were different from the others.

So four stars. I enjoyed it more than that, but my my degree in literature and self-respect simply won't let me score it that high.

4.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling tale of citizens fighting to defend their home, January 22, 2005

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Patriot's Stand: A Battletech Novel (Mechwarrior: Dark Age, No. 9) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Republic of the Sphere has basically collapsed in the two years since the HPG interstellar communications grid went down. Clans and Houses are making power grabs all over the galaxy, and most of the now-isolated planets are finding out that ignorance is not bliss. Alkalurops is a seemingly insignificant little mining planet out in the middle of nowhere - galactically speaking; its people are simple miners and farmers. They have always stood up and fought for themselves in the past, but their noble ancestors never had to face Mechwarriors in hellish BattleMechs. When a raiding party lands on the planet and begins confiscating equipment and supplies, a lot of folks - mostly urban types - stand back and freely give what true patriots would never surrender. Not so in the small town of Falkirk, where a spunky redhead with Scotch-Irish blood coursing through her veins leads a group of citizens willing to fight for what is theirs. Using mining Mechs crudely fashioned with whatever kind of offensive weapons the local engineers can fashion, Grace O'Malley and her militia take on the raiders and, as much by luck as anything else, live to fight another day. One thing is made clear by this limited engagement, though - the people willing to defend Alkalurops are going to need help if they are going to hold on to their land and their lives.

After a robust assembly of the people's representatives, Grace heads off-planet to hire some skilled professional soldiers of the planet's own. The Roughriders, under the command of Loren J. Hanson, are the first to turn her away with impossible payment demands; little does Grace know that the Roughriders have spent time on her planet already. In the end, Grace comes home with a loose grouping of professional soldiers tasked with turning her homegrown militia into a fighting force. Time is short, as the raiders soon return to Alkalurops with more than raiding on their mind. Then, as if things aren't bad enough, the Roughriders' client, as much a mystery to Hanson as he is to Grace, drops in with a bevy of his own Red and Black henchmen. Grace and her band of hastily trained but deeply committed patriots must come up with a novel way of fighting for their land and freedom, but it won't be easy. They know who the real enemy is, but they also have to take into account the Roughrider troops still ostensibly holding true to their contractual obligations.

A lot of these Mechwarrior Dark Age novels are basically the same: one planet faces an incursion by enemies of some sort, be they seekers of power, wealth, or both. This ninth book in the new series really has a spirit of its own, however. The citizens of Alkalurops are not trained fighters; they are just regular people who would rather die fighting for their land than see it stolen by ruthless brigands. Their strategies and tactics definitely qualify as unconventional. It makes for an especially interesting conclusion, as this is a battle that cannot be avoided. If you like your battles by the book, or you lust to see battalions going head to head across a traditional battleground, you won't find much of that here, but it seems to me that the most realistic of battles are never fought by the book.

The local politics of Alkalurops adds great depth to the story, as does the work of some intriguing intelligence agents. Basically, the fight itself isn't half as interesting as the preparations that come before it. I should also note that this story really plays out as a local affair; while a couple of intriguing questions arise, Patriot's Stand essentially takes place within a geopolitical vacuum rather far removed from the large-scale crumbling of the Republic itself.

Good characters make for good novels, and Patriot's Stand features a couple of good ones. I will admit that I felt a few of the characters could have been threshed out a little more, the villain is a real paper tiger, and the story behind the story of the villain was left a little nebulous, but it is hard not to like L. J. Hanson, and I must say it was a real joy to get to know Grace O'Malley. The planet may be Alkalurops, but the freedom fighters here sound a whole lot like the kind of Terran settlers who once fought for and won independence from Great Britain - they are patriots of the highest order.