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Saga of the Gray Death Legion #8
The Dying Time
Only days after the demise of legendary warrior Grayson Death Carlyle, the mercenary forces of the Gray Death Legion are called into action. Their mission is to protect Hesperus II in the Isle of Skye. With civil war raging, it is vital that the planet's famous Defiance BattleMech production facilities not fall into the hands of the enemy. Seeing the Lyrans and Davionists at each other's throats, the Skye separatists have seized the opportunity to instigate a new rebellion, and they too threaten the safety of Hesperus II and its factories.
Now commanding the Legion is Lori Carlyle, widow of Grayson. But what Lori doesn't realize is that her troops are little more than pawns in the continuing hostilities between the factions of Victor Steiner-Davion and his ever-cunning sister, Katrina - and that the Gray Death are about to enter a battle they are meant to lose.
If there is one constant in this universe, it is that pawns are made to be sacrificed...
Now commanding the Legion is Lori Carlyle, widow of Grayson. But what Lori doesn't realize is that her troops are little more than pawns in the continuing hostilities between the factions of Victor Steiner-Davion and his ever-cunning sister, Katrina - and that the Gray Death are about to enter a battle they are meant to lose.
If there is one constant in this universe, it is that pawns are made to be sacrificed...
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 12, 2019
Buen final para una serie.
Si te gusta el universo BattleTech esta es una saga que se puede leer sin haber leído todas las novelas.
Si te gusta el universo BattleTech esta es una saga que se puede leer sin haber leído todas las novelas.
July 16, 2020
Wow, this was a heavy book. I sort of knew that it was coming based on previous wiki reading, but I don't think anything could have fully prepared me for this. Because as the title indicates, there's a heck of a lot of dying that happens here. After all, this is the last book in the Saga of the Gray Death Legion and every story needs an ending.
It's a little weird that the story of the Legion was not concluded by the author who most contributed to their story, this being William H. Keith. But Gressman does a pretty decent job of putting this story together.
This story is a series of rather heavy, emotional losses for the Legion but is told in a manner that doesn't give the reader much time to really feel or reflect on the different deaths and losses. And sorry for the spoilers. but that's deaths as in plural and there's no getting away from that. But given the different beats of the conflicts and the ups and downs of the battle for Hesperus II.
Gressman has a particular knack for military combat and he has some of the best battle sequences I've read in a BattleTech book. And we're not just talking about Mech combat - his chapters dedicated to the space battle in the Hesperus system and even some of the infantry action all quite thrilling and really bring the action home.
This is a tricky book to read with mechs from all corners of the Inner Sphere and some serious implications for the Gray Death Legion and maybe even the Lyran nation as a whole given the complications presented by Skye.
It's a little weird that the story of the Legion was not concluded by the author who most contributed to their story, this being William H. Keith. But Gressman does a pretty decent job of putting this story together.
This story is a series of rather heavy, emotional losses for the Legion but is told in a manner that doesn't give the reader much time to really feel or reflect on the different deaths and losses. And sorry for the spoilers. but that's deaths as in plural and there's no getting away from that. But given the different beats of the conflicts and the ups and downs of the battle for Hesperus II.
Gressman has a particular knack for military combat and he has some of the best battle sequences I've read in a BattleTech book. And we're not just talking about Mech combat - his chapters dedicated to the space battle in the Hesperus system and even some of the infantry action all quite thrilling and really bring the action home.
This is a tricky book to read with mechs from all corners of the Inner Sphere and some serious implications for the Gray Death Legion and maybe even the Lyran nation as a whole given the complications presented by Skye.
November 18, 2018
Set towards the end of the civil war, this sees the Gray Death legion defending the 'mech production facility on Hesperus on behalf of Katrina Steiner. They're up against separatists from the Isle of Skye hoping to force Steiner's hand into granting them their independence.
Bit slow to get going, with not much 'mech action until the second half of the book. It starts on a fairly depressing note and that doesn't improve much as the story reaches its conclusion.
This novel hoists itself on it's own petard - Katrina Steiner is the "big bad" of the civil war, so even though the Gray Death are a mercenary unit working for her, they can't exactly go and stomp all over forces working against her.
The Gray Death have been a big part of the Battletech novels since early days, and it seems like a major disservice to them to finish their part in the story in the way which this book does.
Bit slow to get going, with not much 'mech action until the second half of the book. It starts on a fairly depressing note and that doesn't improve much as the story reaches its conclusion.
This novel hoists itself on it's own petard - Katrina Steiner is the "big bad" of the civil war, so even though the Gray Death are a mercenary unit working for her, they can't exactly go and stomp all over forces working against her.
The Gray Death have been a big part of the Battletech novels since early days, and it seems like a major disservice to them to finish their part in the story in the way which this book does.
October 8, 2024
My Least Favorite
This is my least favorite BattleTech book so far.
SPOILER ALERT
The death of Gray was bad enough but killing off Lori, too, ends the original Gray Death Legion.
Didn’t like this one bit.
This is my least favorite BattleTech book so far.
SPOILER ALERT
The death of Gray was bad enough but killing off Lori, too, ends the original Gray Death Legion.
Didn’t like this one bit.
June 3, 2020
The civil war is tearing apart good women and men.
November 12, 2013
There is an end to all things, and in this case it is the end of a famed mercenary unit, the Gray Death Legion. Set in the furious civil war raging within the Lyran Alliance, illness has just claimed the life of the founder of the legion, Grayson Death Carlyle, leaving his widow Colonel Lori Kalmar-Carlyle in command.
Before coming to terms with their loss however, the legion is contracted to Hesperus II, a vital manufacturing planet now targeted by rebellious forces seeking to liberate it from the Alliance. The assignment is complicated further by the fact that the legion was once commissioned to crush the very garrison it is now sent to bolster.
As the Gray Death attempt to settle into their new role ominous signs of an invasion begin to appear and before long they must face a sizeable invasion of Skye separatist forces as the battle for the planet's strategic facilities begins. The legion must fight back the relentless intruders in a series of battles where each foot gained must be paid for dearly.
It is a chilling conclusion to the Saga of the Gray Death Legion and a convincing narrative of the madness that is war.
Before coming to terms with their loss however, the legion is contracted to Hesperus II, a vital manufacturing planet now targeted by rebellious forces seeking to liberate it from the Alliance. The assignment is complicated further by the fact that the legion was once commissioned to crush the very garrison it is now sent to bolster.
As the Gray Death attempt to settle into their new role ominous signs of an invasion begin to appear and before long they must face a sizeable invasion of Skye separatist forces as the battle for the planet's strategic facilities begins. The legion must fight back the relentless intruders in a series of battles where each foot gained must be paid for dearly.
It is a chilling conclusion to the Saga of the Gray Death Legion and a convincing narrative of the madness that is war.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews