Decision at Thunder Rift

Probably two hundred pages of build up for what was a very satisfying Mech battle at the end, but it took a lot of perseverance to get there. I did like the Battletech universe lore, and the very vivid descriptions of how Mechs actually work. It really does match up quite well to the mechanics of the miniatures game and will give me some cool perspective for the next time I play the game.

I believe this was the first real Battlebook novel release outside of a short story collection. It was written to show an example of how the Battletech universe and system works and does this fairly well. The only thing really missing is examples of AeroSpace fighters although I believe they come along in the next book.

It's not full of technical jargon, a problem with some of the future novels that assume the reader is familiar with the Battletech universe. References to the political situation of the time period are explained as well.

The only problem I have with the book is that the members of the Grey Death Legion have this annoying habit of making their head shots and taking out enemy mechs with a single blow. That's unrealistic of show more the game which makes it hard to do. To me this was done in an attempt to limit the combat portions of the book. Not a negative but just unrealistic to me. show less

This is Battletech at it's best. A cohesive action and intrigued filled plot with very likable protagonist.

A young mechwarrior survives a surprise attack on a back edge world and leads the fight to take it back, so as to give his clan a chance to survive. Looks to be the start of a sub-series about this particular branch of merc mechwarriors.