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BattleTech Universe #50
By Blood Betrayed
Harley Rassor is a simple farm boy in a complex techno-universe - more than happy to work the land of planet Slewis with his father. His restless older brother left to join the elite merc corps, Able's Aces... and paid with his life. Now, Harley's father want him to join the fight - and learn what happened to his brother.
What he learns is that the Aces are in turmoil. His instructor - tough-as-nails Lieutenant Livia Hawke - also happens to be his brother's ex-lover. Rumors of suspected payoffs and setups are commonplace. And the entire unit is in danger of being disbanded.
Then pirates launch a devastating raid on the Rim Collection's resources, sparking an all-out fight that will put the Aces in the thick of battle - and reveal to Harley that there are worse things in war than death...
What he learns is that the Aces are in turmoil. His instructor - tough-as-nails Lieutenant Livia Hawke - also happens to be his brother's ex-lover. Rumors of suspected payoffs and setups are commonplace. And the entire unit is in danger of being disbanded.
Then pirates launch a devastating raid on the Rim Collection's resources, sparking an all-out fight that will put the Aces in the thick of battle - and reveal to Harley that there are worse things in war than death...
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1999
4 people are currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Blaine Lee Pardoe
94 books117 followersBlaine Pardoe is a New York Times Bestselling and award winning author of numerous books in the science fiction, military non-fiction, true crime, paranormal, and business management genre's. He has appeared on a number of national television and radio shows to speak about his books. Pardoe has been a featured speaker at the US National Archives, the United States Navy Museum, and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. He was awarded the State History Award in 2011 by the Historical Society of Michigan and is a silver medal winner from the Military Writers Society of America in 2010. In 2013 he was awarded the Harritt Quimby Award as part of the induction ceremony at the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame. Mr. Pardoe is also a member of the League of WWI Aviation Historians.
His books have even been mentioned on the floor of the U.S. Congress. His works have been printed in six languages and he is recognized world-wide for his historical and fiction works. He can be followed via Twitter (bpardoe870)
His books have even been mentioned on the floor of the U.S. Congress. His works have been printed in six languages and he is recognized world-wide for his historical and fiction works. He can be followed via Twitter (bpardoe870)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 18, 2019
While not a bad book, at the same time it wasn't particularly striking. It was certainly an odd choice of title especially given how the book ends, but I guess I can see how this would make sense.
The book has some interesting characters and a decent perspective of the whole life in the Periphery situation that doesn't get a lot of focus in other Battletech books. The actual story and the supposed conspiracies and related plots didn't make for all that compelling narrative, but at least some of the combat was pretty good.
The book has some interesting characters and a decent perspective of the whole life in the Periphery situation that doesn't get a lot of focus in other Battletech books. The actual story and the supposed conspiracies and related plots didn't make for all that compelling narrative, but at least some of the combat was pretty good.
March 3, 2024
Great read
Great read, very interesting subject about one of the smaller nation's and mercenary commands and the constant clash against pirate's. Some very interesting characters and plot twists.
Great read, very interesting subject about one of the smaller nation's and mercenary commands and the constant clash against pirate's. Some very interesting characters and plot twists.
May 9, 2024
I love my battletech but emotional at the end though but good book to ready
July 10, 2025
Nice plot line, but it was very obvious that there were two different authors which became a distraction for me.
November 12, 2013
As far as the BattleTech/MechWarrior brand of storytelling goes, it might not aim for the literary connoisseurs out there. Still even for a book that has the blurb "based on the bestselling computer game" on its front cover, this particular title came out a bit lacking.
The basic premise of the book is simple; farmer boy with hidden talents (Luke, is that you?) follows in the footsteps of his deceased brother by enlisting with a mercenary unit which oversees the safety of the backwater planetary neighbourhood he calls home. He leaves behind the idyllic village where they hunt alien deer and bake musty cookies for the thrill of the battle, at the controls of a hulking machine of destruction. He soon learns that his brother's unit was totally wiped out, except for the unit commander. As our young hero comes to serve under said commander he must face the possibility of a traitor in the unit.
The book then plods along as the enemy pirates begin a series of strikes on his unit, and the reader is briskly swept along from battle to battle all the while struggling to endure every clichéd character template known to the genre. Naive and prodigal hero (check), tough warrior chick (check), hard as rock cigar-chewing sarge (check), bear-type fatherly unit commander (check) as well as a duel between good and evil where there can be only one conclusion. Once our hero learns the true identity of the traitor he is at least half a book behind the reader and at that point the book has already deteriorated into a plot worthy of perhaps Schwarzenegger.
In the book's defence though, it has a lot of merit as an entry-level dish. Those unfamiliar with the BT/MW concept will have their hand held neatly through the concepts of Mech warfare without all the confusing politics and clan concepts which normally flesh out the story universe. The inclusion of a sector map and drawings of a couple of the Mechs featured in the book are also a welcome inclusion. All in all, the books is a decent coming of age-novel for the younger reader, but must be considered an underwhelming title in the long running BT/MW-universe.
The basic premise of the book is simple; farmer boy with hidden talents (Luke, is that you?) follows in the footsteps of his deceased brother by enlisting with a mercenary unit which oversees the safety of the backwater planetary neighbourhood he calls home. He leaves behind the idyllic village where they hunt alien deer and bake musty cookies for the thrill of the battle, at the controls of a hulking machine of destruction. He soon learns that his brother's unit was totally wiped out, except for the unit commander. As our young hero comes to serve under said commander he must face the possibility of a traitor in the unit.
The book then plods along as the enemy pirates begin a series of strikes on his unit, and the reader is briskly swept along from battle to battle all the while struggling to endure every clichéd character template known to the genre. Naive and prodigal hero (check), tough warrior chick (check), hard as rock cigar-chewing sarge (check), bear-type fatherly unit commander (check) as well as a duel between good and evil where there can be only one conclusion. Once our hero learns the true identity of the traitor he is at least half a book behind the reader and at that point the book has already deteriorated into a plot worthy of perhaps Schwarzenegger.
In the book's defence though, it has a lot of merit as an entry-level dish. Those unfamiliar with the BT/MW concept will have their hand held neatly through the concepts of Mech warfare without all the confusing politics and clan concepts which normally flesh out the story universe. The inclusion of a sector map and drawings of a couple of the Mechs featured in the book are also a welcome inclusion. All in all, the books is a decent coming of age-novel for the younger reader, but must be considered an underwhelming title in the long running BT/MW-universe.
July 7, 2018
Part of the Mechwarrior series, it doesn't really have anything to do with events going on in the Battletech universe at the time of its setting.
This makes it a good read for someone new to the setting, or that just wants a decent standalone sci-fi novel.
The title is a dead giveaway, so the ending comes as no surprise, but there's good action backed up with fairly well written characters.
This makes it a good read for someone new to the setting, or that just wants a decent standalone sci-fi novel.
The title is a dead giveaway, so the ending comes as no surprise, but there's good action backed up with fairly well written characters.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews