New Reviews: Gray Death Novels

[theCrowe]

Hi folks. I'd consider myself somewhat new to the battletech world and after a dabbling in some games and beginning my own collection of 'Mechs i have decided to read as many of the novels as i can to better get acquainted with the universe, its history, its characters etc. so as and when i get time i intend to share my reviews of the novels as i go through them. Hopefully to spark a little conversation, some nostalgia in older readers, interest in new readers, who knows. I'm not going into much detail plot-wise assuming most folks have read these books already and know what happens but also hopefully to limit spoilers for those who haven't. That said, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.

I'll get to Thunder Rift first, as soon as i get a chance. thanks.

[theCrowe]

Decision at Thunder Rift: William H. Keith Jr.

As an introduction to the vast universe of Battletech this book works really well. The planet of Trellwan isn't at the heart of everything, steeped inn history and politics, it's just some backwater border planet. The protagonist is a 20 year old son of a mercenary commander, so while he has all the martial training he'll need to become the hero he hasn't got the experience yet. Both situations combined allow the reader to learn and discover along with Grayson as we follow his first faltering steps into the dizzying world of giant military robots and sneaky bearded jumpsuit waring bad guys.

I found it a good introduction to some of the different Mechs, the Marauder, Locust, Shadowhawk, Wasp and Stinger feature heavily amongst others, their respective load-outs, strengths, weaknesses, capabilities are presented well without turning every fight into stat-heavy battle report.

Keith has Trellwan spinning much more slowly on its axis than earth and as a result one day and night lasts something like the length of two weeks time on earth. This simple thing makes for some interesting weather, topography and architecture which really helped bring this planet to life, sadly a trick I havn't seen repeated in any other battletech novel i've read so far.

The highlight of the book for me was the ambush in the mech bay which i thought was done really well.

A low point was perhaps the realisation that Gray goes from a homeless street orphan (ok that's a bit of n exageration, he's not exactly Oliver Twist) to the de-facto planetary Military Commander in practically no time at all, Which while stretching believability was probably necessary to move the plot along at a reasonable pace. So sure, put a 20 year old in charge, why not, lets just keep it rolling.

All in all this was a great read. I'd recommend it to anyone trying to get a handle on what Battletech is all about. Superb introduction, my thanks to William H. Keith Jr.
 

[Mendrugo]

Thanks for the review.

William H. Keith put far more effort into designing his planets than any of the other early authors, and usually included a preface with information about climate, history, rotation, mass, etc.  He was also the editor for the BattleTechnology magazine, and his planetary writeups there were also magnificently detailed.

I'm still not entirely convinced that Keith intended Carlyle's Commandos to have been a mercenary outfit.  Numerous little things indicate to me that they're a small unit of House Regulars as of the start of "Decision at Thunder Rift."  Everyone later assumed the Commandos were mercenaries all along, since Grayson formed the GDL as a merc unit, and they may have been formally retconned that way, but my read is that they were a unit like the Crescent Hawks - a small unit that exists off the regular TO&E.  While the elite Crescent Hawks served as Katrina Steiner's troubleshooter lance, the Commandos were more suited to garrison and cadre duty.

[Frabby]

I'm still not entirely convinced that Keith intended Carlyle's Commandos to have been a mercenary outfit.  Numerous little things indicate to me that they're a small unit of House Regulars as of the start of "Decision at Thunder Rift."  Everyone later assumed the Commandos were mercenaries all along, since Grayson formed the GDL as a merc unit, and they may have been formally retconned that way, but my read is that they were a unit like the Crescent Hawks - a small unit that exists off the regular TO&E.  While the elite Crescent Hawks served as Katrina Steiner's troubleshooter lance, the Commandos were more suited to garrison and cadre duty.

Yeah, but whatever the original intention was, subsequent canonical sources (with Keith's name on it - the Commandos are even referred to as mercs in later Keith books!) have muddled the issue to the point where the Line Developer did a FASA Two-Step and clarified the issue through an official ruling here.

[theCrowe]

Thanks for your input Mendrugo. It would make more sense that they are negotiating the settlement if they are a house unit.               

[theCrowe]

Mercenary's Star: William H. Keith Jr.

Grayson and his eponymous "Legion" struggle to make ends meet with a nigh suicidal contract which just so happens to put them in the vicinity of another smack in the chops for our our favourite red spandex waring space Duke. Some hapless Scandinavian jungle dwellers are having a hard time keeping Kurita paws off their planet's resources and their desperate last chance gambit is that the GDL will train their rebel forces to oust the snakes. The Legion crashes in, guerilla-smacks the bungling Kuritans and trains a cadre of locals before the capture of Grayson's number one Lori Kalmar (and destruction of her beloved Losust: shed a tear) necessitates a risky rescue which turns into the final battle to free Vietnam... I mean Verthandi from the opressive Draconis Combine. The GDL fight like crazy almost losing, the free verthandi rebels and rioting citizenry join the fight to turn the tide and eventually the Lyran Commonwealth deign to send in some help.

Along the way we meet a few more interesting characters, Davis McCall, who makes his debut in the beautifully named Bannockburn(an RFL-3N Rifleman) with a rookie mistake letting some Kurita Aero-jock shoot him in the back, even after Grayson specifically told him to watch for air cover. Don't know why I can't seem to forget that particular moment, perhaps as an Ulsterman I was hoping my friendly Scots neighbour would put on a better show for us, but then I was bitterly disappointed and before you know it he's rigging the Phobos up to be a paddle steamer and doing Star Trek Scottie impersonations.

anywho... I enjoyed the scenes with Sergeant Rammage teaching the kids to knee-cap mechs with satchel charges and set ambushes. The rescue of the captive ladies was another of the better battle scenes where it wasn't all stompy Mechs in another big guns slug fest.

The gratuitous fire torture dungeon where the chief interrogator got his kicks was a bit of a cheese ball bad guy moment, especially as he dies in flames oh so very poetically. That said the Kuritan's treatment of Sue Ellen Klein was used to great effect as I liked the transformation in her character as she went from young lover to betrayed dupe to bitter agent of vengeance.

Some of the internal politics of Verthandi folks helped to make it a planet with its own history and problems to deal with that you the reader and the GDL couldn't really get inside. I didn't mind that I didn't always know who was who and whathaveyou regarding their issues, it doesn't matter in the end.

All in all the whole Verthandi debacle was engaging and varied and full of colourful moments. Lots of love, laughter and liberation of Lyran loyal locals. ok that's enough alliteration for one review. Suffice to say I enjoyed this one, Many Thanks to William H. Keith Jr. for another top read.  O0

[theCrowe]

The Price of Glory : William H. Kieth Jr.

We begin this story with the GDL (that's Gray Death Legion, for anyone who hasn't caught my nifty acronym) wrapping up a champaign which they successfully fought under contract to the Free Worlds League. By now the Legion has grown in size and reputation and as a reward for their latest victory the FWL has given them a home on Helm which comes with its own unique baggage.

At the fall of the Star League a library memory core and military facility were hidden here and a Comstar Precentor Emelio Rachan is bent on recovering or destroying the memory core at all costs. To this effect he has enlisted Lord Garth Duke of Irian to destroy the GDL's reputation in a murderous plot which sees them outlawed and fighting for their very existence while trying to uncover the plot and the hidden Star League treasures before they are wiped out.

This for me is probably the best Gray Death story so far, and not just because of the returning characters that we already know and love from previous books. McCall shows his chops in the final battle and Ramage gets his moment of glory singlehandedly delivering the legion from radio jamming and certain doom with his downright PBI bad-assery. Hassan Khaled still just broods in the corners all mysterious and dark but by now we're diggin' his style so that's cool. All this while Lori and Gray have their lovers' tiffs and leadership burdens.

So added to all this it appears the GDL are none too tight on their background checks when applications come in as the legion is riddled with spies. The first Judas to spring from the woodwork is a Marik agent named Graff, his betrayal, killing of lots of drop ship crew, defection back into Marik ranks, capture, interrogation and subsequent escape and death all serve to speed the plot on its merry way. Then there's this other guy called King who I initially thought was just a red-coat to send along with Grayson on some deadly mission but then it turned out he was an agent too, but this time for the reddest coat in the inner spere, None other than the Regent of Red, The scion of Scsrlet, the Barron of Burgundy (go on folks come up with more if you can) Duke Hassid Ricol himself, the very nemesis of the GDL, who as it turns out is actually their ticket out of this mess. who'd-a-thunk-it? I really enjoyed this little twist, the playing with how far the Duke can be trusted, if he would really come through in the end, if Grayson really had any other choice. I also liked the opportunity to lift the veil on Ricol and get to know him a little better as a character and not just as a somewhat distant adversary.

Also making I think its first appearance is the by now (form me anyway) very familiar theme of Comstar being a little bit darker than appearances might suggest. The question of how far Precentor Rachan's actions were sanctioned by official Comstar governing bodies hangs in the air after the fact possibly tainting the whole organisation with the responsibility for the Sirius V massacre.

Particularly poignant writing from Keith in the final battle as our beloved Legionaries fight and suffer like stoic heros he has us look on with the jubilant Marik forces jeering and celebrating their demise. The kind of stuff that makes a reader yell in anger at the page on a busy train to the alarm of fellow commuters.

As a Kurita player I'd also like to point out that the respective Davion and Steiner agencies approached by Grayson on this occasion really dropped the ball and Kurita's own best dressed Duke shone like a beacon of intelligence and enlightened self interest. So well done that man, even if a copy of the Helm memory core did reach the NAIS before you handed your one over (in ransom for your Duchy) to Teddy Kurita. Ricol still made it possible, so the next time any of you miserable subjugated worlds complain "What have the Combine ever done for us?" you can add that to your list of concessions.

So Grayson et al go on their merry way (while Daddy Carlyle no doubt spins in his hastily dug mass grave) and we feel that they've fought the good fight, suffered and sacrificed a lot for their honour their name and their status as an all time legendary mercenary force. You just almost wish they were still wanted for that crime they didn't commit just so they could be more like the A-Team. If you need help, and you can find them, maybe you can hire The Gray-Team!    *theme tune*


ok so that's it for the Gray Death Legion for now. Once again i'll heartily thank William H. Keith Jr. for another great book, and thanks to you for reading my reviews. Please add to the conversation, if there's anything i've missed, miss-read or am way off on please point it out. Comment on your own views on these books, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks

[Luriael]

it's been a while since you began this thread but I just joined and I find it very interesting.

I just finished reading Thunder Rift and let me tell you that your review is pretty much spot on. I haven't read anything else, yet, from Keith but where I believe he shines the most is when describing the BT worlds and technologies.

Where I find it is harder, and it might just be because it's the first novel in the series, is the characters. They don't have much depth to them and pretty much every emotion seem to be either black or white. Even the few plot twists are almost cliché and easy to see coming. Until the third part of the book, I honestly found it hard to read but glad I kept to the end because the conclusion (without going into any spoilers) is worth the read.

[theCrowe]

Thanks for your input Lauriael.

If it's character development you want in your battletech novels i'd direct you towards "Wolves on the Border" if that doesn't do it for you then I don't know. My own review of Wolves on the Border is in the pipeline as I'm working on another trilogy right now. I enjoyed re-reading it in anticipation, it's a firm favourite.


 The real story advancing books by Stackpole are well loved but he doesn't write that kind of character novel.

[Luriael]

Alright, so I just finished the GDL trilogy and I must admit that the legion grew up on me. William H. Keith seems to be getting better at handling his characters although many still feel 2 dimensional. Carlyle's going from hate to indifference without any kind of warning toward Ricol jumps to mind as I write this. 

His battles are awesome, once again the writer seems to grasps his worlds better than his characters throughout the whole series. All in all, this is a good trilogy and as theCrowe stated, you see a real dark side of ComStar.

Nice review :) Will read your others for sure!