It's like Rambo meets A Canticle for Leibowitz.

Grayson Death Carlyle and the Gray Death Legion, having completed their duties for House Marik, look forward to returning to their new home on the planet Helm. But before even arriving they discover that they are now marked as outlaws, and foes to all. What happened? And what does it have to do with their new home?

I sometimes hear this book described as the first that must be read for Battletech, but that is the usual mistake of thinking that metaplot importance is the same thing as general importance, or quality. People are so linear about things! And I liked it, but it is an incredibly downbeat book, which is a bold move structurally, the equal of making Lord of the Rings scouring of the Shire a book-length event.

What makes this book for me is the characterization of Grayson. While still every bit the action hero and badass tactician, the weariness of his position and his growth as a character is particularly on spotlight here. The book also continues to emphasize the role of others in Grayson's success and what constitutes his wisdom, and the scenes (and plot results) of Grayson learning politics and coming to grips with the motivations that started him doing things in the trilogy is great.

Of the trilogy, this is the one that feels the most like a war story, where there is the most of the sacred and profane of war, along with the weariness. The body count is high, though it tends to be characters introduced for that purpose. The weakness is the antagonists. While the final showdown is classic and well-executed, the principal opposition is somewhere between a madman and Inspector Javert. The book tries to make his motivations a surprise, and I do not think it works, though I had the advantage of knowing what would happen, so maybe it works better that way. But I do not think this is the case because of how much time the book spends in a sort of 'what's this mystery man doing?' mode with him or laying clues that you can follow, but only so much.

It is a weird place to end the series, but it is an ending about hope and the promise of what is to come, and the process of learning the importance of hope, as seen through a protagonist who has had to learn that the slow way. It is somewhat heady stuff for a game about selling little army men to geeks, but take your optimism where you find it, I say.

"So You've Decided to Read Battletech" - Review 15

The third book in the Saga of the Gray Death Legion and the best book in the saga (so far.).

Review:

The action is up, the tension is up, the stakes are up, and the characterization is up.

Assessment:

A pretty good story.

Lasting Impressions
In this section, I return long after reading to give my remembered impressions. Did this book stand the test of time?

Yes. I recall it fairly fondly. It was tense and exciting and the resolution is still memorable.

It's a good book and a fitting end to the trilogy. There are some great twists and I'm glad some other mechs got some time in the sun. That being said Gray never changes.

This is the conclusion of the Gray Death trilogy (starting with Decision at Thunder Rift) and you should really read them in order to get the full benefit of the story arc.

Price of Glory picks up just after Mercenary's Star and, as usual, William H. Keith likes to get the action rolling early and then just keeps it coming! It's a similar style to Mercenary's Star which is good as I really enjoyed that! Familiar characters build on their roles and Grayson Carlyle continues to dazzle the universe with his godlike abilities. That's the main downside to the book actually: Grayson's inability to fail despite making catastrophically poor decisions at several points. Granted, he's only 24 and perhaps the author's intent is to show that through poor impulse control and decision-making that reeks of a failure to recognise mortality, but I don't think so as Grayson ponders good mortality very specifically in this book. That said, I don't think this is a critical flaw. It stops this being a four-star book, but it remains eminently enjoyable to fans of awesome action involving giant fighting robots!

This trilogy (but especially the last two) are a lot of fun. They're heavy on action and surprisingly well plotted. It's a bit simple admittedly, what with the cackling, murderous megalomaniac bad guy (a feature of books two and three) and the do-no-wrong good guy but (and I feel this is a really big but) the background universe plot that happens off the pages of these books and what happens to and with the "bad guys" in this series hints at a much broader canvas that is only glimpsed through this trilogy. I'll be coming back for more!

It's worth noting that there's an awesome collection of information about Battletech at http://www.sarna.net/, including mech specification and pictures, which I found to be a very nice adjunct to the novels. Just beware of spoilers! It's very easy to stumble onto major plot points while reading background information on mechs via the copious links (it's a wiki).

Solid "shoot-em-up" book, which should really be the main thing you're looking to get out of any Battletech book. I enjoyed it more than Mercenary's Star, but I think Decision at Thunder Rift is still my favorite of the trilogy.