Author Topic: Review and Discussion: Heir to the Dragon  (Read 3700 times)

Luriael

  • Warrant Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 525
Review and Discussion: Heir to the Dragon
« on: 26 May 2015, 21:40:36 »
The opening scene is the assassination, or discovery, of the Coordinator so you know you're in for a ride! From the get go we are introduced to Takashi Kurita and his son Theodore, most importantly; to the dynamic of their relationship.

This book begins before the Fourth Succession War and even before Dragon on the Border and follow the life of Theodore as he graduates from the academy, to his quasi exile in the Legion of Vega and finally to his ascension as Gunji-no-Kanrei.

It gives us an unprecedented look at what started as your usual 80's Asian bad guys and turns out to be probably one of the most intricate and interesting House of the Battletech universe. Shown is the complexity of the universe as Theodore will face many dangers and not just from the battlefield. On one side you have the Rasalhague dissidents wanting to use him as a pawn; on the other you have Myndo Waterly, with her secretive ComStar, wanting to move her plan along and use Theodore as a tool to make the Davions fall from grace.He also have to deal with his relationship with his own father that seems to want him to fail at every corner! Will Theodore Kurita be able to reform the DCMS the way he wants it or will his relationship with his father destroy the very House he is trying to save?

***Spoiler Warning***

So here we are, the one book everyone told me I should read. I was glad to see that Robert Charrette was the one to write this book as I believe he did a good job with Wolf on the Border.

Once again the action is good, well described and the plot moves along very well. The book is lengthy and you get incredible insights into the Draconis Combine, and not from the enemy's point of view which is a first as you usually see them through FedSuns or Mercenaries. It is interesting to see the other side of conflicts, a bold move from FASA to get rid of the good guy/bad guy plots and to really turn Battletech into a more complete universe.

Unfortunately this book suffer from the same problems Wolf on the Border and the Warrior Trilogy; it tries to cover too much even if it's a lengthy novel. I get they had to introduce Teddy and that they had to set the table for the coming trilogy (Clan Invasion) but so much is crammed into this story that sometimes it is hard to follow. The Rasalhague arc starts strong yet seems to go out as a wet firecracker with the botched attempt at Takashi's life. One chapter, Teddy moves to the Legion of Vega where they are misfits and then one stand off in a cafeteria and five pages later they are one of the best the DCMS has to offer.

My belief is Charrette should have focused on the old vs new ways of the DCMS, delve deeper into the yakuza and how fundamental those changes were for the Draconis Combine. The Legion would have been a good vessel for him to explain the changes brought by Theodore and how it could have clashed with old school soldiers. As much as the pages spent explaining his training in the academy and showing how hard his father was with him were interesting ones, knowing the scope of this novel they should have been spent later in Teddy's life and get better details of what is obviously the focus of this book.

Bottom line, this is a very good book and once again I am impressed with Robert Charrette's skills. I believe it sets very well the tone for the Clan invasion and starts to show the increasing craziness of a ComStar under the reign of Myndo Waterly plus it gets to reintroduce what I believe to be the most underrated Steiner of them all (even if he shines later on as Mr. Focht). I'm not disappointed by this book and I wish half of the original books were as good as this one, which I believe is far superior to Wolf on the Border.
"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                               - Aleksandr Kerensky

Orwell84

  • Lieutenant
  • *
  • Posts: 875
Re: Review and Discussion: Heir to the Dragon
« Reply #1 on: 28 May 2015, 06:33:21 »
Good review. Couldn't have summed it up better myself  O0

I agree that it did feel a bit incomplete in places - Rasalhague's independence and the Ronin War comes and goes in two chapters, for instance. For all that, Heir to the Dragon is still firmly within my top 5 BT novels. As far as "too much, too little space" goes, I suppose there was only so much Charrette (or Stackpole) could pack into a print novel, and more books weren't viable.

My belief is Charrette should have focused on the old vs new ways of the DCMS, delve deeper into the yakuza and how fundamental those changes were for the Draconis Combine. The Legion would have been a good vessel for him to explain the changes brought by Theodore and how it could have clashed with old school soldiers. As much as the pages spent explaining his training in the academy and showing how hard his father was with him were interesting ones, knowing the scope of this novel they should have been spent later in Teddy's life and get better details of what is obviously the focus of this book.

Are there any BattleCorps stories that cover this aspect? They might fill in the gaps here.


One of the best things about HTTD for me was that Charrette humanized the Combine and gave BT some useful grey area rather than the good guy / bad guy characterization that previous novels had delivered. Teddy K and Takashi were well-drawn characters, both flawed and at odds but still striving for the same goal. I came away with the impression that Teddy mirrored the realm he shepherded - flawed but interesting and not simply the evil empire of FedCom propaganda.

Subhash Indrahar was another favourite of mine, a man fond of the father and the son yet willing to work against either or both if he felt it in the Dragon's best interests. The rest of the supporting cast were a memorable bunch, and I often wondered what happened to Esau Olivares (mister feather-in-his-ear) after Marfik. Ditto for Michi Noketsuna, at least until I got my hands on Wolf Pack.

As an aside, I've recently been wondering whether a similar novel, published at the same time and focused on Thomas Marik and his rise to power during the same post-4SW period, might have had the same positive effect for the FWL that HTTD did for the Combine. Bringing the League to life as a faction, ComStar and Waterly's manipulation, maybe contrasting Thomas with Teddy K and their different realms but similar challenges,
All Clan totems are equal but some are more equal than others.

"The Succession Wars solved no problem. Their effects, both immediate and indirect, were either negative or disastrous. Morally subversive, economically destructive, socially degrading, confused in their causes, devious in their course, futile in their results, they are the outstanding example in Spheroid history of meaningless conflict."
The Third Star League's view of the Succession Wars, plagiarised from an ancient Terran historian's judgement of the Thirty Years War.

Luriael

  • Warrant Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 525
Re: Review and Discussion: Heir to the Dragon
« Reply #2 on: 28 May 2015, 19:52:16 »
As an aside, I've recently been wondering whether a similar novel, published at the same time and focused on Thomas Marik and his rise to power during the same post-4SW period, might have had the same positive effect for the FWL that HTTD did for the Combine. Bringing the League to life as a faction, ComStar and Waterly's manipulation, maybe contrasting Thomas with Teddy K and their different realms but similar challenges,

I wondered the same, why has there been no 'original' book about the FWL in the 80's? The League seems to me like it would be a nice setting for a few books, especially around the time of the Clan Invasion with Marik's son being sick and all the inner conflicts funded by the FedComs.

I do agree that HTTD is a top 5 and is above the Warrior trilogy. As a matter of fact, this book must be read before diving into the Clan Invasion as Takashi and even Teddy have so much depth if you are aware of HTTD.
"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                               - Aleksandr Kerensky

Wolverine

  • Warrant Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 492
Re: Review and Discussion: Heir to the Dragon
« Reply #3 on: 29 May 2015, 00:33:48 »
nice review, this is in my top 5 BT list as well.  I wish he had more time to dive into Marcus Kurita and his family as well as the cabal trying to stop Takashi.
J
"It's called the Awesome for a very good reason"

A. Lurker

  • Major
  • *
  • Posts: 4641
Re: Review and Discussion: Heir to the Dragon
« Reply #4 on: 29 May 2015, 09:41:09 »
The rest of the supporting cast were a memorable bunch, and I often wondered what happened to Esau Olivares (mister feather-in-his-ear) after Marfik.

Well, he's the viewpoint character in the "Fighting Withdrawal" vignette in Total Warfare set in 3039, so we know he was at least still alive (and apparently CO of the Eleventh Legion of Vega) by then.

theCrowe

  • Master Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 261
Re: Review and Discussion: Heir to the Dragon
« Reply #5 on: 09 October 2015, 18:48:29 »
one of my first BT novels way back and still a strong favorite. Nice succinct review too which it has to be said isn't an easy task for this story in particular.

 I recently picked it up but failed to complete only getting as far as Marfik.

a couple of things i either missed or got confused about in my first reading?

who's the ginger guy? the sneaky assassin type.
and who's the kid they're trying to assassinate at the end that escapes?

This book also covers two of my all time favourite Kuritan personalities Michi Noketsuna who we met in WotB getting a much appreciated encore, and Fuhito Tetsuhara's Exploits in Katana Kat (a noble family mech sporting the kind of non-standardized spelling any 80's brand would be proud of)

Luriael

  • Warrant Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 525
Re: Review and Discussion: Heir to the Dragon
« Reply #6 on: 13 October 2015, 18:32:58 »
one of my first BT novels way back and still a strong favorite. Nice succinct review too which it has to be said isn't an easy task for this story in particular.

 I recently picked it up but failed to complete only getting as far as Marfik.

a couple of things i either missed or got confused about in my first reading?

who's the ginger guy? the sneaky assassin type.
and who's the kid they're trying to assassinate at the end that escapes?


This book also covers two of my all time favourite Kuritan personalities Michi Noketsuna who we met in WotB getting a much appreciated encore, and Fuhito Tetsuhara's Exploits in Katana Kat (a noble family mech sporting the kind of non-standardized spelling any 80's brand would be proud of)

The ginger guy, could it be Ninyu Kerai Indrahar? Subhash's adopted son.

The only assassination attempt I recall is Takashi's at the end as the yakuza misinterpret Teddy's wish and order a hit on the Coordinator?
"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                               - Aleksandr Kerensky

 

Register