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A review by lkedzie
The Price of Glory by William H. Keith Jr.
3.0
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.
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.