Ghost War
by Michael A. Stackpole
MechWarrior: Dark Age (#1), BattleTech Novel Reading Order (65), BattleTech (DE) (MechWarrior: Dark Age — MWDA 01), BattleTech (CAT36200)
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IN A TIME OF PEACE...For generations, the Republic of the Sphere has known a Golden Age of peace. Mighty BattleMechs, once kings of the battlefields, now aid the reconstruction of war-torn worlds. But when terrorists destroy the interstellar communications net, each planet is thrust into isolation. Suddenly old hatreds resurface, and a people who have never known war face the prospect of it firsthand...
A MYSTERIOUS NEW THREAT ARISES...
Sam Donelly is one of the best LumberMech jockeys on show more the planet, wielding his 'Mech's fifteen-foot chainsaw with the grace and precision of a surgeon. Caught in a skirmish with revolutionaries, he soon finds himself a rebel recruit. But Sam is no mere lumberjack, and if his true identity is discovered, the repercussions could be disastrous not only for Sam, but for the entire Republic...
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Member Reviews
In retrospect, Ghost War is not a typical BattleTech novel, but I can't say I mind overmuch.
I have to admit, Stackpole's novel holds a special place for me; it's the first BattleTech book I read, and is more or less responsible for my subsequent purchase of the 92 other (English language) novels in the series, plus an assortment of sourcebooks.
Given that I naturally have it up on a rather high pedestal, I was half-afraid that when I reread it recently it wouldn't hold up. Fortunately, for the most part, it did.
The novel served well as an introduction for me, because it was written to serve as an introduction for new readers; with its jump into the setting of MechWarrior: Dark Age, Ghost War had to not only introduce the changes in the show more 65-year gap, but also make itself accessible to players of MWDA who weren't familiar with the BattleTech setting.
But now that I've read the rest of the books and gone back to it, how does it stack up?
Pretty well, I think.
Ghost War is a spy novel at heart. Stackpole maintains control of the pacing and plot, letting the reader get a sense of the big picture only when Sam Donnelly does. Even across the multiple planets and settings, Stackpole still manages to spend time developing his fairly sizable cast. In a way, this book is more revealing about everyday life in the Inner Sphere than most books before it; Stackpole spends quite a bit of time out of the cockpit, on the ground among the "common" people. When many of the books before and after this focus on the nobility and their 'Mechs, it's a welcome change of pace.
The book isn't perfect; the narrator occasionally veered into Corran Horn's speech patterns ("Enable help files, please"), but overall I thought the two characters were fairly distinct. And despite the occasional slip in dialogue and the new look at the universe, Stackpole never lost the sense of the BattleTech setting.
If you're a BattleTech or MechWarrior fan and are looking to get started with the novels, or indeed are a fan of Stackpole's books in general (which is what brought me to the book in the first place), you could do far worse than Ghost War. show less
I have to admit, Stackpole's novel holds a special place for me; it's the first BattleTech book I read, and is more or less responsible for my subsequent purchase of the 92 other (English language) novels in the series, plus an assortment of sourcebooks.
Given that I naturally have it up on a rather high pedestal, I was half-afraid that when I reread it recently it wouldn't hold up. Fortunately, for the most part, it did.
The novel served well as an introduction for me, because it was written to serve as an introduction for new readers; with its jump into the setting of MechWarrior: Dark Age, Ghost War had to not only introduce the changes in the show more 65-year gap, but also make itself accessible to players of MWDA who weren't familiar with the BattleTech setting.
But now that I've read the rest of the books and gone back to it, how does it stack up?
Pretty well, I think.
Ghost War is a spy novel at heart. Stackpole maintains control of the pacing and plot, letting the reader get a sense of the big picture only when Sam Donnelly does. Even across the multiple planets and settings, Stackpole still manages to spend time developing his fairly sizable cast. In a way, this book is more revealing about everyday life in the Inner Sphere than most books before it; Stackpole spends quite a bit of time out of the cockpit, on the ground among the "common" people. When many of the books before and after this focus on the nobility and their 'Mechs, it's a welcome change of pace.
The book isn't perfect; the narrator occasionally veered into Corran Horn's speech patterns ("Enable help files, please"), but overall I thought the two characters were fairly distinct. And despite the occasional slip in dialogue and the new look at the universe, Stackpole never lost the sense of the BattleTech setting.
If you're a BattleTech or MechWarrior fan and are looking to get started with the novels, or indeed are a fan of Stackpole's books in general (which is what brought me to the book in the first place), you could do far worse than Ghost War. show less
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229+ Works 25,269 Members
Michael A. Stackpole started his career as a role-playing and computer game designer before turning to writing. He lives in Arizona. (Publisher Provided) Science fiction and fantasy author Michael Stackpole was born in Wausau, Wisconsin in 1957. In 1977, he sold his first gaming project to Flying Buffalo Inc. He received a BA in history from the show more University of Vermont in 1979. Before becoming an author, he was a role-playing and computer game designer. In 1987, FASA Corporation hired him to write the Warrior trilogy of Battletech novels. Besides the Battletech novels, he is best known for his Star Wars and Dragoncrown War Cycle novels. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
MechWarrior: Dark Age
30 works (#1)
BattleTech Novel Reading Order
101 works (65)
BattleTech (DE)
62 works (MechWarrior: Dark Age — MWDA 01)
BattleTech
123 works (CAT36200)
Belongs to Publisher Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Ghost War
- Original title
- Ghost War
- Alternate titles
- Mechwarrior: Ghost War
- Original publication date
- 2002-12
- People/Characters
- Sam Donnelly (ForestryMech pilot); Janella Lakewood (Knight of the Sphere, Republic of the Sphere); Mr. Handy; Mason Dunne (Ghost Knight, Republic of the Sphere); Victor Steiner-Davion (Paladin of the Sphere, Republic of the Sphere); Nicodemus Niemeyer (Colonel, Public Safety Department, Capital District, Basalt) (show all 56); Catford (Major, mercenary); Aldrington Emblyn; Perason Quam (food critic, Manville Journal); Bianca Germayne; Bernard Germayne; Teyte Germayne; Alba Dolehide (mercenary); Kai Allard-Liao; Devlin Stone; Max Leary; Natasha Kerensky; Morgan Hasek-Davion; Andy Harness; Ichabod Reis; Stefan Amaris; David Lear; William Gaskin; Amanda Poole; Gus Michaels; Isis Marik; Omi Kurita; Burton Davion; Daoshen Liao; Katana Tormark; Tara Campbell; Jacob Bannson; Consuela Dagmar; Nessa Davion; Hohiro Kurita; Aaron Sandoval; Thomas Lakewood; Andrea Lakewood; Kitsune Kurita; Minoru Kurita; Katherine Steiner-Davion; Yvonne Steiner-Davion; Achilles Germayne; Hector Germayne; Ivan Germayne; Aldrington Emblyn; Sarah Germayne; Becky Shaw; Baxter Hsu; Perason Quam; Tawanna Thurin; Gavin Prin; Tacitus Germayne; Gilles de Rais; Joan of Arc; Kim Knutson
- Important places
- Helen (Republic of the Sphere); Basalt (Republic of the Sphere); Acamar (Republic of the Sphere); Epsilon Indi (Republic of the Sphere); Fletcher (Republic of the Sphere); Ingress (Republic of the Sphere) (show all 16); Northwind (Republic of the Sphere); Caph (Republic of the Sphere); Proserpina (Republic of the Sphere); Ozawa (Republic of the Sphere); Ankaa (Republic of the Sphere); New Rhodes III (Republic of the Sphere); Towne (Republic of the Sphere); Murchison (Republic of the Sphere); Galatia (Republic of the Sphere); Terra (Republic of the Sphere)
- Epigraph
- Wise men think twice before they act once.
—Ancient Terran proverb - First words
- I once heard someone complain that the two most abundant things in the universe were hydrogen and stupidity, but she declined to say which led the way.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)No, my friend, I don’t, which is exactly why I am one.
- Publisher's editor
- Silverstein, Janna
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.6
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 196
- Popularity
- 167,243
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.54)
- Languages
- English, German, Hungarian
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 2
