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Title: A Call to Arms (MechWarrior: Dark Age #2) by Loren L. Coleman ISBN: 0-451-45912-1 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.71 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A complex, action-packed Mechwarrior thriller
Comment: Whereas the first book in the Mechwarrior Dark Age series features rather sparse military engagements, this second book in the saga, Loren L. Coleman's A Call to Arms puts the metallic behemoths in the field and supplies us with one battle scene after another. As a BattleTech newbie, I was more than ready to see somebody bring out the big guns and have a hot and heavy free-for-all. This novel is not all about action, however, and herein lies its real strength. The main character is a very human, likeable, and essentially normal young man whom we watch mature as a citizen, patriot, leader, and hero; by the end of the book, he is a far cry from the young man we met early on. The most commanding presence in the book, strangely enough, is not the main character at all but a ravishing, mysterious female Mechwarrior who remains elusive in the minds of the reader throughout the entire story.
Raul Ortega never wanted to be anything but a Mechwarrior; even though the Republic thrived under an extended era of peace, Raul thirsted for combat and a chance to prove himself. His dream almost came true, but by the narrowest of margins Raul came up short in his Mechwarrior qualification tests. Now he is a customs agent on Achernar, his dreams of leading a Mechwarrior into combat seemingly dashed. Then the Steel Wolves arrive and bring war to Raul's planet. Achernar's military significance in the universal scheme of things is its working Hyperpulse Generator Station. Some 85 percent of the planets in the Republic lie in isolation following recent, coordinated, very effective attacks on the interplanetary communication network. The Steel Wolves, genetically engineered soldiers, come to Achernar determined to gain control of the HPG station. The planetary militia is initially unprepared and outgunned by the awesome and swift attack of Steel Wolf forces, and the dicey military situation on the planet is further complicated by the Achernar militia's questionable alliance with the Swordsworn on the planet, a group with an agenda entirely their own. When military engagements take place, the dynamics of different groups working together and sometimes against one another makes it difficult to predict how everything will play out.
Then there is Tassa Kay, a mysterious visitor to Achernar who just so happens to be a highly skilled Mechwarrior herself. She joins forces with the militia, marching her own personal Legionnaire into one fight after another. Tassa proves to be a most enticing and unquantifiable player in events. Owing no allegiance to the Republic or, seemingly, to any entity besides herself, she is a hard nut to crack, and the secrets she obviously carries keep the suspense of the story alive and kicking over the course of the entire novel. Tassa also plays a key role in the human element of the story. Raul is fascinated by her, and his odd but continually evolving relationship with this woman he barely knows spells trouble with a capital T between Raul and his fiancée. This romantic angle of the story may help the reader forge a personal bond of sort with the characters, but in my opinion it is the only real weakness in the book. While the complexity of Raul's relationship with Tassa makes for a compelling angle to the story, I never sensed any kind of truly significant connection between Raul and Jessica, and I oftentimes thought of Jessica as standing outside the story looking in.
I waited quite a while to dip my foot into the BattleTech universe, holding in my head the unqualified assumption that these books were somehow a second-rate form of science fiction. I could not have been more wrong. A Call to Arms features fascinating characters, thrilling military clashes, ever-building suspense and mystery, and an overall complexity I found quite impressive indeed.
Rating: 4
Summary: The Cast of Characters
Comment: For once it was nice to have a hard-luck, not hugely skilled protagonist. After years of Kai, Victor, Phelan, Natasha Kerensky, and other warrior luminaries, seeing Joe Average was a good change of pace.
And as for the new mystery babe Tassa Kay, once you figure out who she is, all you old-school Wolf's Dragoons loyalists will laugh so hard you cry.
Rating: 5
Summary: Balance of Action and Intrigue
Comment: This book is one of the very best BattleTech novels I've read. It combines a nice balance of "palace intrigue" and guns-blazing action.
We follow the strategies of the Steel Wolf clan's commander, Torrent, who is trying to take over the planet for his clan. Also, the conflict is heated further by the meddlings of a kind of private army called the "Swordsworn." These Swordsworn pretend to be defending the Republic, but they have a hidden agenda that is self-serving, and a raw grab for power. Then last, there is the planet's native government, trying to defend against these factions.
All these intrigues explode into conflict, and they result in hot action at a number of points in the book. But as in many of these books, bullets alone cannot solve the problem. Raul and the planet's defenders have to unravel the skein of entangled betrayals and loyalties. In the end, strategy and craftiness by Raul and his friends prevail where bullets alone have failed.
Another fascinating character is Tassa Kay, a beautiful and mysterious woman who flirts with Raul repeatedly. She is also a master mechwarrior. Her Ruyken mech is a fascinating ride for a fascinating pilot. Bring her back in future novels, please!
The book's protagonist, Raul, is a kind of futuristic "Horatio Alger" -- the poor "loser" who makes good and prevails. Raul is a failure who has "washed out" from military cadet training. But with the onset of a war, and because of several extraordinary happenings, he winds up piloting one of the planet's few battlemechs. And piloting it very well-- turns out that Raul is a "natural" -- a gifted mechwarrior.
Every aspect of this book deserves praise. The descriptions, the characters -- who seem sympathetic and real -- and the plotting. As for the "Dark Age" setting of the current battletech books-- I am still groping to understand it, but am willing to give it a chance. I do wish the editors would include more graphics such as drawings or maps. The maps that are supplied seem wrong somehow. One cannot find some of the very planets that are key to the story. Are these old graphics that were dragged out of someone's drawer, rather than commission new graphics?
There are some "dumb" errors in dates. Some of the chapter heading dates substitute "May" for "March," which is what they should read. There are a few other inconsistencies or errors of detail that suggest the copy editing is pretty thin at the publisher's. However, these books are not Shakespeare-- they are intended to meet a popular demand and probably go through the publishing cycle pretty rapidly. So we can live with it.
Some of us have read a number of Loren L. Coleman novels during the years that BattleTech novels have been coming out. We have seen him go from a green rookie writer toward greater experience. At this point, he is really getting good. Keep it up, Mr. Coleman!
All in all, folks, purchase of this book is money well spent.
Patrick J. Callahan
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Title: A Silence in the Heavens (Mechwarrior Dark Age, 4) by Martin Delrio ISBN: 0451459326 Publisher: WizKids, LLC Pub. Date: 03 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Truth and Shadows (MechWarrior: Dark Age #5) by Martin Delrio ISBN: 0451459385 Publisher: WizKids, LLC Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Service for the Dead (Mechwarrior Dark Age, 6) by Martin Delrio ISBN: 0451459431 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: By Temptations and By War (MechWarrior: Dark Age) by Loren L. Coleman ISBN: 0451459474 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: 02 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Fortress of Lies: A BattleTech Novel (MechWarrior: Dark Ages, 8) by J. Steven York ISBN: 0451459636 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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