Gray Death Rising

[Known Glitch]

The new story was definitely worth the wait.  Nicely written Mr. Schmetzer.

And it isn't a spoiler since it is on the cover - questionable decision to ruin the surprise right up front - very nice job bringing back one of the most iconic mechs in the Inner Sphere.

Also regarding the cover - why does Bel look like she's been doing meth?

[Spirit Cat Refugee]

The new story was definitely worth the wait.  Nicely written Mr. Schmetzer.

And it isn't a spoiler since it is on the cover - questionable decision to ruin the surprise right up front - very nice job bringing back one of the most iconic mechs in the Inner Sphere.

Also regarding the cover - why does Bel look like she's been doing meth?

Jason Schmetzer wrote this? Gonna have to get it then.

As for the meth-face, clix had the same problem where critiques of all the pretty and beautiful faces on pilots (male and female) led to the artists thinking ugly was realistic. Ugly ain't more realistic, normal doesn't equal ugly. Luckily Bel looks nice enough in Legends.

[Angrii]

Ugly sounds pretty darn realistic to me... And hey, not everyone is always at their best. Lack of sleep and genetics play a role in the haggard look (speaking from painfully true experience).

[Caesar Steiner for Archon]

I was glad to see Malthus chicanery in this one. They're pretty clearly positioned as the bomb ticking under Regis' throne, and collaborating with them is the one really egregious act her character has committed, so reminding us that the one-world gray blotch on the TR map isn't just sitting there idily was a good move.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Just finished it.  Good story, hope to see them get some full-sized novels where they actually wind up taking on an opponent that's an actual threat to them at some point.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

So a random thought I had: I believe that this is the first time we've seen a Silver Bullet Gauss Rifle described in fiction?

[MarauderD]

Feel free to use spoiler tags.  Out of curiosity, what model of Marauder do they get?  [spoiler]MAD-11D[/spoiler]?

[Caesar Steiner for Archon]

It's a custom restoration job from Odessa that seems to have the same main guns as the 11D, but we don't get a full nuts and bolts breakdown of it.

[MarauderD]

I haven't read the book, but that Marauder would slot in nicely with the Regent, Gargoyle C, and Shadow Hawk I believe they are currently fielding.  Maybe I'll have to pick it up, since I enjoy Schmetzer's stuff.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

It's a custom restoration job from Odessa that seems to have the same main guns as the 11D, but we don't get a full nuts and bolts breakdown of it.

The description makes it sound like it was simply upgraded to the 11D.  Despite that modification requiring the replacement of basically everything but the cockpit.

[Marveryn]

The description makes it sound like it was simply upgraded to the 11D.  Despite that modification requiring the replacement of basically everything but the cockpit.

giving that its a generational  mech it may field an entire different set of weapons from any known mods.  What i know from the book it has at least has PPC but it doesnt mention if they are clan or inner sphere.  The book itself was good, slightly disappointed at first cause i read the first two book but the lsat book made up for it.  It is nice to see some Tamar March action and this one did not disappoint.  It is also nice the author brought up the point that the legion is constantly being betray by someone at least this time it didnt involve someone within the unit which is a change of pace from some of the earlier books. 

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

giving that its a generational  mech it may field an entire different set of weapons from any known mods.  What i know from the book it has at least has PPC but it doesnt mention if they are clan or inner sphere.

It makes it clear that they are Clantech ER Peepers in one scene, when Ronan thinks about how the ER PPCs are lighter yet more powerful than the PPCs it originally used when Grayson piloted it.

[BrianDavion]

I think the 11D is also being presented as the "standard" marauder for the ilclan era isn't it?

edit: no wait that's the 7R.

[Caesar Steiner for Archon]

The description makes it sound like it was simply upgraded to the 11D.  Despite that modification requiring the replacement of basically everything but the cockpit.

I think if the author wanted to say "It's a MAD-11D now" they would have said "Ronan's dad had it upgraded to an 11D model" not "the techs on Odessa did a full custom rebuild on it," so maybe he didn't want to fully commit yet.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Or maybe it was just too awkward to work it into a sentence.  There aren't too many ways you can take a MAD-3R and give it  Clan ER PPCs and a Silver Bullet GR without compromising the armor unless you do a full 11D upgrade.  And somehow I doubt Ronan's parents said "here's your great grandfather's mech.  We upgraded the weaponry but had to strip half the armor off it to do so.  Please try to bring it back in one piece."

His parents own a planet, it's not like they couldn't afford to buy the best upgrade on the market for him.

[drakensis]

I'm enjoying this much more than I did A Rock and a Hard Place. It doesn't get as much into Ronan and Bel's heads as the latter did for Grayson and Lori, but it does also have more action.

Curtain is also a fun addition.

[Pat Payne]

It's a custom restoration job from Odessa that seems to have the same main guns as the 11D, but we don't get a full nuts and bolts breakdown of it.

The text does explicitly say it is Gray's MAD but upgraded. I'm not sure exactly how much they could upgrade to 11D specs without getting into a "Ship of Thesus" situation -- whether it is functionally a 11D now or if some things like armor or actuators or skeleton had to be kept so that it is still substantially Grayson Carlyle's 'mech.

I loved all three stories and am digging the new Legion. It was one of the big catalysts (no pun intended) in getting me to buy into the IlClan era.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Well, we've seen examples before of upgrades that functionally rebuild everything besides the cockpit.  That series of stories about the Grasshopper, for example.