Ghost Bear's Lament: Part Two

Battletech: BlitzKrieg #2

by Steven Mohan Jr.

A ruthless predator is stalking Star Colonel Richard Bekker of Clan Ghost Bear—time. Once he was a rising star, the hero of the Damian disaster. But all that ended on the world of Tukayyid where Bekker’s bright future—and the entire Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere—were stopped cold.
Two decades later, Bekker is a warrior with an undistinguished history that hides a shameful secret. Even worse, in a culture that prizes youth, he is old, old enough to be relieved of duty. And when Clan warriors are relieved they don’t retire—they’re turned into cannon fodder.

Then Bekker is challenged to a Trial of Possession by the head of a new bandit kingdom, a man who seems little better than the terrorists Bekker is tasked to hunt.

A man named Devlin Stone.

And maybe, just maybe, the Trial will offer him a chance to win the greatest prize imaginable—a new place in the universe.

Genres: Science Fiction

149 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 28, 2012

About the author

Steven Mohan, Jr. has professionally published more a half million words of military science fiction including the BattleTech novel A Bonfire of Worlds. He has sold original fiction to markets as diverse as INTERZONE, POLYPHONY, and PARADOX, as well as several DAW original anthologies. His short stories have won honorable mention in THE YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION and THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR and he has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Reviews

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in this duology focused on Bekker as an individual warrior. And it acts as a perfect setup for this follow-up story that relies on our understanding of his nature to better appreciate how he handles himself in battle. And wow, the lack of BattleMechs in the first part is more than balanced with the sheer number of battles we go through in this story.

Bekker is depicted as quite the shrewd tactician with a propensity for creative use of the environment and other constraints and a particular tenacity when it comes to facing against overwhelming odds. And this makes for some great action across the book, but all still focusing on him being an honorable warrior.

I wouldn't mind following more adventures featuring him in a leading role.

[John Somers · Rating 3 out of 5]

12/20.