Sturm auf Arc-Royal is one of the German language exclusive novels published by Ulysses Spiele. If Sarna is correct, they are to be considered apocryphal. This one certainly has to be, but first things first.
The author, Stefan Burban (who is almost certainly reading this forum, iirc), tells a simple yet effective story. In the midst of the FedCom Civil War, Johann Steiner, a distant cousin of Katherine Steiner-Davion seeks for glory after having to sit out most of the war. Without consulting the LCAF command, he assembles a RCT and attacks Arc Royal, while most of the Kell Hounds and Clan Wolf warriors are absent. The task of defending the planet falls to two rivalling commanders, Daniels Sunders from the Hounds and Kevlin Connors from the Wolves, who have to overcome mutual distrust and disdain in order to defeat the overwhelmingly strong enemy.
As I said, it is a relatively simple set-up, but it serves its purpose well. The relations between WiE and Hounds indeed deserve a closer look than the canon novels allow, and the characters – while flat as cardboard – illustrate the frictions as well as the struggles to overcome these frictions. The story unfolds quickly and is quite exiting, despite the fact that the story elements themselves are pretty conventional and rather predictable. The battle scenes are done competently, so there is a lot to like.
However, the author often oversimplifies complex aspects. The biggest problem is that he apparently understands the conflict as struggle between Steiner/the Lyrans and the heroes. It is always about the “the Steiner troops” or “the Lyrans” doing evil, as if the ARDC and the Kell Hounds were not loyal to Steiner themselves and as if they were not Lyran. At no point you get the impression it is a civil war, rather it feels like a conventional war against invaders from a foreign nation. A lot of potential is lost by making the FCCW a simple “Steiner” vs “Davion” (or Hounds and Wolves in this case). It is ok for some characters to have a simple world view, but others should be more conflicted, and the omniscient author should be aware of that. It does not help that “the Lyrans” of this novel are a bunch of clichéd Nazi-like villains never shy of committing war crimes. I personally like to stress a lot that Lyrans are not just Germans-in-Space, and sure as hell they are not Nazis-in-Space.
Of course, there was never an assault on Arc Royal making this novel apocryphal; in fact I think the story would have worked better without the FCCW context in the first place. There are quite a few possibilities for Clanners and Spherers to work together, and if you decide for a civil war scenario, you have to play it out like a civil war.
tl/dr:
It is a very well executed but thoroughly conventional story that is too conventional for its own good and setting.
3 out of 5 Stars /// Steiner fans, pro-Katherine and anti-Katherine alike, may subtract one more star.
