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The Warrior Trilogy #2
BattleTech Legends: Warrior: Riposte: The Warrior Trilogy, Book Two
THE GAUNTLET IS THROWN…
Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner have united two Great Houses of the Inner Sphere in a marriage that upsets the balance of power among the stars. Though some hope this may bring an end to centuries of war, Maximilian Liao of the Capellan Confederation has enlisted the aid of two highly placed Davion traitors to destroy Hanse Davion and the Federated Suns from both within and without.
But in the distant star chambers of the Capellan March and Draconis Combine, the warlords of Maximilian Liao are honoring a different and more deadly vow: to wage an unholy war that threatens to rip apart the vulnerable worlds of the Federated Suns. As Davion ’Mech commander Andrew Redburn and his mercenaries streak into battle, an explosive clash of metal and men signals the return of a formidable foe. Interstellar legend Yorinaga Kurita has returned to stake his claim as the most bloodthirsty warrior of all. For both men, it is do-or-die combat that could ensure the triumph of a glorious new alliance—or result in total annihilation…
Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner have united two Great Houses of the Inner Sphere in a marriage that upsets the balance of power among the stars. Though some hope this may bring an end to centuries of war, Maximilian Liao of the Capellan Confederation has enlisted the aid of two highly placed Davion traitors to destroy Hanse Davion and the Federated Suns from both within and without.
But in the distant star chambers of the Capellan March and Draconis Combine, the warlords of Maximilian Liao are honoring a different and more deadly vow: to wage an unholy war that threatens to rip apart the vulnerable worlds of the Federated Suns. As Davion ’Mech commander Andrew Redburn and his mercenaries streak into battle, an explosive clash of metal and men signals the return of a formidable foe. Interstellar legend Yorinaga Kurita has returned to stake his claim as the most bloodthirsty warrior of all. For both men, it is do-or-die combat that could ensure the triumph of a glorious new alliance—or result in total annihilation…
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
July 12, 2017
-Exitosa en su propuesta.-
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro La gran alianza (publicación original: Warrior. Riposte, 1988) Comstar sigue con sus propios planes mientras se viste de cordero, la casa Davion y la Steiner se unirán por matrimonio mientras planean un golpe entre bambalinas durante la ceremonia, a la que acudirán representantes de alto rango de otras casas, todas con sus propios planes secretos de expansión. Y es que pronto estallará una nueva guerra de sucesión en la Esfera Interior. Segundo libro de la trilogía El sol y la espada.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro La gran alianza (publicación original: Warrior. Riposte, 1988) Comstar sigue con sus propios planes mientras se viste de cordero, la casa Davion y la Steiner se unirán por matrimonio mientras planean un golpe entre bambalinas durante la ceremonia, a la que acudirán representantes de alto rango de otras casas, todas con sus propios planes secretos de expansión. Y es que pronto estallará una nueva guerra de sucesión en la Esfera Interior. Segundo libro de la trilogía El sol y la espada.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
March 5, 2013
Warrior:Riposte is the second in the Warrior Trilogy, continuing from Warrior: En Garde. The marriage between Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner is being planned, but not all of the guests are going to be happy. This marriage is going to change the balance of power in the Inner Sphere and Marik, Liao and Kurita will have to respond.
I'm rereading these books and it's interesting knowing how things are going to end up. The decisions and actions that people are taking have different meanings knowing the outcome. This book has more politics and less battles than the previous book, but it's building up for the climax in the third book.
I'm rereading these books and it's interesting knowing how things are going to end up. The decisions and actions that people are taking have different meanings knowing the outcome. This book has more politics and less battles than the previous book, but it's building up for the climax in the third book.
March 28, 2014
Much improved from the first installment; not that that's saying much. The action was less formulaic, the characters more developed. Still suffers from forced and overwrought emotional dialogue. I'm pretty sure a good editor could reduce this trilogy to a single novel and vastly improve the quality in the process. However, for what it is, it was okay.
May 10, 2021
3028. The Inner Sphere has been rocked by the news that Prince Hanse Davion, ruler of the Federated Suns, is to wed Melissa Steiner, the Archon-Designate and heir to the Lyran Commonwealth. This union will unite almost half of the human race under one banner. The Draconis Combine, the Free Worlds League and the Capellan Confederation are opposed to the union but, after a failed assassination attempt on Melissa's life risks open war, seem powerless to stop it. As the governments of humanity gather on Terra for the wedding of the century, former enemies find themselves united in common cause as they begin to realise that ComStar, the priesthood-conglomerate that rules humanity's homeworld, has been keeping a dark secret from them...
Picking up after the events of En Garde, Riposte continues Michael A. Stackpole's Warrior Trilogy. Set in the BattleTech universe - think Game of Thrones meets Pacific Rim - this trilogy is a wildly ambitious work which sets to tell the stories of both individuals and cultures clashing a thousand years in the future, when wars are fought with building-sized robotic war machines called BattleMechs. En Garde was a fun but extremely busy novel which had more storylines and character arcs going on than most thousand-page epic fantasies, making for a novel with a cracking pace but on occasion could feel rushed,
Riposte calms down that pace and has a bit more time to smell the roses. There's still a lot going on but it's mostly a continuation of the first book's storylines rather than introducing new ones, allowing the story to breathe a lot more.
The book is divided into two general sections. The first section, before the wedding, is mostly setup as we rejoin the characters. The Kell Hounds mercenary group are recovering from the tough battle they fought in the first volume, Andrew Redburn's meteoric career rise is continuing and Justin Xiang (formerly Allard) has been recruited to serve in the Capellan Confederation's intelligence division, where he now directly contests the plans of his father, the Federated Suns' intelligence chief. This section is low on action but high on intrigue, and is mostly well-handled.
The wedding is the centrepiece of the novel and shows how you can use a wedding in an SF novel to completely upend the balance of power in a story without murdering everyone present (cough). The wedding arguably remains the most notable gamechanging moment in the BattleTech universe (or maybe the second, after the events covered in the subsequent Blood of Kerensky trilogy), even being live-reenacted at GenCon 1988 as a clever way of kicking off the BattleTech miniatures battle tournament. It's a fun scene which, oddly, we don't get to see the full events of, with Stackpole choosing to cut away at the key moment to events elsewhere and we only see the aftermath in flashback, which is mildly disappointing. It does make the second part of the novel much more of an all-out war novel, with major characters in action on the front and setting things up for the concluding part of the trilogy.
Some of the weaknesses of the first novel remain - the book veers at times towards melodrama and pulp, entertainingly realised but old-fashioned by today's standards - but others are solved. The first novel made it appear that Houses Steiner and Davion (based on European powers) were the "good guys" and Houses Liao and Kurita (based on Asian powers) were the "bad guys" (House Marik continues to mostly be ignored at this stage), This book throws that into considerable doubt and makes the setting more morally grey across the board, which is more interesting, and instead encourages readers to sympathise with individual characters rather than their polities. Another weakness is that some key characters from Book 1, most notably Melissa Steiner, all but vanish in this second volume, making their storylines feel curtailed.
Still, Warrior: Riposte (***½) is a fun action-SF novel set in a well-realised universe of giant stompy mechs fighting other giant stompy mechs.
Picking up after the events of En Garde, Riposte continues Michael A. Stackpole's Warrior Trilogy. Set in the BattleTech universe - think Game of Thrones meets Pacific Rim - this trilogy is a wildly ambitious work which sets to tell the stories of both individuals and cultures clashing a thousand years in the future, when wars are fought with building-sized robotic war machines called BattleMechs. En Garde was a fun but extremely busy novel which had more storylines and character arcs going on than most thousand-page epic fantasies, making for a novel with a cracking pace but on occasion could feel rushed,
Riposte calms down that pace and has a bit more time to smell the roses. There's still a lot going on but it's mostly a continuation of the first book's storylines rather than introducing new ones, allowing the story to breathe a lot more.
The book is divided into two general sections. The first section, before the wedding, is mostly setup as we rejoin the characters. The Kell Hounds mercenary group are recovering from the tough battle they fought in the first volume, Andrew Redburn's meteoric career rise is continuing and Justin Xiang (formerly Allard) has been recruited to serve in the Capellan Confederation's intelligence division, where he now directly contests the plans of his father, the Federated Suns' intelligence chief. This section is low on action but high on intrigue, and is mostly well-handled.
The wedding is the centrepiece of the novel and shows how you can use a wedding in an SF novel to completely upend the balance of power in a story without murdering everyone present (cough). The wedding arguably remains the most notable gamechanging moment in the BattleTech universe (or maybe the second, after the events covered in the subsequent Blood of Kerensky trilogy), even being live-reenacted at GenCon 1988 as a clever way of kicking off the BattleTech miniatures battle tournament. It's a fun scene which, oddly, we don't get to see the full events of, with Stackpole choosing to cut away at the key moment to events elsewhere and we only see the aftermath in flashback, which is mildly disappointing. It does make the second part of the novel much more of an all-out war novel, with major characters in action on the front and setting things up for the concluding part of the trilogy.
Some of the weaknesses of the first novel remain - the book veers at times towards melodrama and pulp, entertainingly realised but old-fashioned by today's standards - but others are solved. The first novel made it appear that Houses Steiner and Davion (based on European powers) were the "good guys" and Houses Liao and Kurita (based on Asian powers) were the "bad guys" (House Marik continues to mostly be ignored at this stage), This book throws that into considerable doubt and makes the setting more morally grey across the board, which is more interesting, and instead encourages readers to sympathise with individual characters rather than their polities. Another weakness is that some key characters from Book 1, most notably Melissa Steiner, all but vanish in this second volume, making their storylines feel curtailed.
Still, Warrior: Riposte (***½) is a fun action-SF novel set in a well-realised universe of giant stompy mechs fighting other giant stompy mechs.
December 20, 2020
Riposte is the second book in the Warrior trilogy and I enjoyed this book a lot more than the first. Some of the misgivings I had with Stackpole's first book were basically fixed within this volume. The overall story design was absolutely great though and there were many occasions where such big reveals were happening that it was a real page turner and I found it hard to put down. I really wish my time wasn't so consumed in other places or else I would have easily finished this in a week instead of three.
Riposte's major event is the wedding between Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner. In the first book Warrior: En Garde we saw the outcome of just trying to get Melissa transported to the Federated Suns and with this installment we find out after she has arrived safely. Given how combat oriented the first book was, I was surprised to see Riposte was mainly focused on political machinations. Granted there is a lot going on in all the five houses, so it really can take up a lot to get through it all, so it is understandable. But it's only the last handful of pages that are really 'Mech combat oriented, so if you're here for battles, you might be disappointed.
One of the interesting things with the wedding is Hanse Davion brought all the houses together to celebrate on Terra with ComStar as host. So, as readers, we all got some serious insight into the clandestine world of ComStar and there seems to be awfully big things brewing behind the scenes there. House Marik was the only major house rather absent from the story and had no major presence other than being around or being mentioned in conversations.
I feel I should also point something out about this wedding. If you're just stumbling into the series you may find the whole arranged marriage thing a bit strange and disturbing. Just the fact that an eighteen year old girl would be marrying someone in their forty's is kind of not cool. But you have to remember, when BattleTech was designed they basically had the general setup of medieval times in space. So, all the trappings and weirdness of the royal structure is going to appear in this universe, just like it did in human history and everyone is going to think it's all perfectly normal. Luckily this seems to be just a royalty thing and the other relationships that are built with characters are far more normal.
There are two major stories developing here. The first one is centered around the Kell Hounds with Morgan Kell returning after the death of his brother, an inevitable event. With Morgan's return, because of Yorinaga's re-activation in the first book, the Kell Hounds start moving towards a final face off against the Genyosha, which I'm sure is coming in the third book. The second is the continued tale of Justin Xiang and his new life in the Capellan Confederation in employ to House Liao. This would eventually come to a head as he and House Davion would try to out spy each other, which is harder than it seems when dealing with the somewhat unhinged Maximillion Liao. However, I really love Justin's overall tale and I found myself wondering "...but how is Justin's side responding to this?" as we are told about other events.
The one and only major missed opportunity in this book, and maybe it will come about in book three, is that Kym Sorenson, Justin's girlfriend from the first book (and Davion spy) was around on Terra. I was waiting for their chance meeting, but it never happened. I am not surprised about Justin's response to his brother Daniel Allard, but I was really interested to see what would happen if he ran into Kym, especially with Justin escorting Candace Liao. In fact, I wanted to read more about Justin and Candace and I felt the book lacking in that particular area. However, again, a lot of this might come to a head in the third book, so we'll just have to wait and see.
When the 'Mech battles erupt in this book Stackpole did a far better job of describing the combat. In fact his strategy for conveying large scale combat was pretty good. He no longer tried to tell the goings on of multiple units and instead just stuck with one 'Mech's combat. For example, Redburn's full lance was attacking Goliaths at one point, but for the chapter in question we strictly stuck with Redburn. We saw combat from his perspective pretty much exclusively and this made it much easier to follow. This is largely how William H. Keith Jr. approached 'Mech combat and I am glad Stackpole seems to have adopted it as well.
In the end, I really enjoyed the book. Middle books are always difficult to read and I'm sure write, because you never really feel all that satisfied with everything. I think the problem is that this was supposed to be setting up a major even in the BattleTech universe, so to tell the full tale would take at least two books and the middle book really serves as setting the stage. It sort of ends on a bit of a cliff hanger and I do look forward to reading the next installment to find out what happens!
Riposte's major event is the wedding between Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner. In the first book Warrior: En Garde we saw the outcome of just trying to get Melissa transported to the Federated Suns and with this installment we find out after she has arrived safely. Given how combat oriented the first book was, I was surprised to see Riposte was mainly focused on political machinations. Granted there is a lot going on in all the five houses, so it really can take up a lot to get through it all, so it is understandable. But it's only the last handful of pages that are really 'Mech combat oriented, so if you're here for battles, you might be disappointed.
One of the interesting things with the wedding is Hanse Davion brought all the houses together to celebrate on Terra with ComStar as host. So, as readers, we all got some serious insight into the clandestine world of ComStar and there seems to be awfully big things brewing behind the scenes there. House Marik was the only major house rather absent from the story and had no major presence other than being around or being mentioned in conversations.
I feel I should also point something out about this wedding. If you're just stumbling into the series you may find the whole arranged marriage thing a bit strange and disturbing. Just the fact that an eighteen year old girl would be marrying someone in their forty's is kind of not cool. But you have to remember, when BattleTech was designed they basically had the general setup of medieval times in space. So, all the trappings and weirdness of the royal structure is going to appear in this universe, just like it did in human history and everyone is going to think it's all perfectly normal. Luckily this seems to be just a royalty thing and the other relationships that are built with characters are far more normal.
There are two major stories developing here. The first one is centered around the Kell Hounds with Morgan Kell returning after the death of his brother, an inevitable event. With Morgan's return, because of Yorinaga's re-activation in the first book, the Kell Hounds start moving towards a final face off against the Genyosha, which I'm sure is coming in the third book. The second is the continued tale of Justin Xiang and his new life in the Capellan Confederation in employ to House Liao. This would eventually come to a head as he and House Davion would try to out spy each other, which is harder than it seems when dealing with the somewhat unhinged Maximillion Liao. However, I really love Justin's overall tale and I found myself wondering "...but how is Justin's side responding to this?" as we are told about other events.
The one and only major missed opportunity in this book, and maybe it will come about in book three, is that Kym Sorenson, Justin's girlfriend from the first book (and Davion spy) was around on Terra. I was waiting for their chance meeting, but it never happened. I am not surprised about Justin's response to his brother Daniel Allard, but I was really interested to see what would happen if he ran into Kym, especially with Justin escorting Candace Liao. In fact, I wanted to read more about Justin and Candace and I felt the book lacking in that particular area. However, again, a lot of this might come to a head in the third book, so we'll just have to wait and see.
When the 'Mech battles erupt in this book Stackpole did a far better job of describing the combat. In fact his strategy for conveying large scale combat was pretty good. He no longer tried to tell the goings on of multiple units and instead just stuck with one 'Mech's combat. For example, Redburn's full lance was attacking Goliaths at one point, but for the chapter in question we strictly stuck with Redburn. We saw combat from his perspective pretty much exclusively and this made it much easier to follow. This is largely how William H. Keith Jr. approached 'Mech combat and I am glad Stackpole seems to have adopted it as well.
In the end, I really enjoyed the book. Middle books are always difficult to read and I'm sure write, because you never really feel all that satisfied with everything. I think the problem is that this was supposed to be setting up a major even in the BattleTech universe, so to tell the full tale would take at least two books and the middle book really serves as setting the stage. It sort of ends on a bit of a cliff hanger and I do look forward to reading the next installment to find out what happens!
November 4, 2020
Warrior: Riposte is the second book in the Warrior Trilogy by Michael A. Stackpole. This trilogy is part of the Classic Battletech series of books. In this one, the marriage of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner is supposed to presage a new era of peace and prosperity, but Hanse Davion has other plans.
As the Kell Hounds come to terms with Patric Kell's death, Morgan Kell must fight the battle he fled from years ago, the battle of Mallorys World. He must once again face Yorinaga Kurita, who will stop at nothing to destroy the Kell Hounds and Morgan Kell.
This book sees the start of the fourth succession war. It is well-paced and a good mix of action, character development, and political machinations, and sets the stage for adventure of an epic scale. A must-read for anyone who is a fan of Battletech.
As the Kell Hounds come to terms with Patric Kell's death, Morgan Kell must fight the battle he fled from years ago, the battle of Mallorys World. He must once again face Yorinaga Kurita, who will stop at nothing to destroy the Kell Hounds and Morgan Kell.
This book sees the start of the fourth succession war. It is well-paced and a good mix of action, character development, and political machinations, and sets the stage for adventure of an epic scale. A must-read for anyone who is a fan of Battletech.
January 22, 2023
The "BattleTech Legends: Warrior" trilogy hasn't been particularly interesting to me. I found the first book to be mediocre, and this second entry to be boring in the extreme. Things I didn't like:
1) When you think of BattleTech, do tedious dinner parties come to mind? No? Well, what about exciting adventures in political weddings? Still no? Don't you enjoy reading pages of dinner conversation at a wedding reception? No? Well, then this is not the book for you. I am being a bit too caustic here but the fact remains that if you like reading Battletech books for the battlefield action, this book will leave you sorely disappointed as the mechs only go to war in the last fifty pages or so. The rest is comprised of lovers flirting, dinner conversations, and wedding arrangements. I think Stackpole was channeling his inner Tolstoy - this aspect of Riposte reminded me greatly of War and Peace - but it just didn't work here and resulted in a slog of a novel.
2) There are a lot of characters in this book but they were all the same to me: military-minded men (and a few women) who were incapable of seeing any aspect of existence outside of a military lens. These characters were so one-dimensional that in real life if they were to take a seat next to you and start a conversation, you would excuse yourself quickly as there is only so much "mechwarrior this and mechwarrior that" that any sane person could stand for long. As a result, all the characters in this book were thoroughly forgettable.
3) The politics were convoluted. To be fair, I have always found BT politics to be byzantine, but in this novel I found them to be almost impenetrable, resulting in my indifference as to who controlled what star system as they all sounded the same to me.
I will be continuing on with this trilogy just because I am a completionist. But this Warrior series is proving to be a dude for me.
1) When you think of BattleTech, do tedious dinner parties come to mind? No? Well, what about exciting adventures in political weddings? Still no? Don't you enjoy reading pages of dinner conversation at a wedding reception? No? Well, then this is not the book for you. I am being a bit too caustic here but the fact remains that if you like reading Battletech books for the battlefield action, this book will leave you sorely disappointed as the mechs only go to war in the last fifty pages or so. The rest is comprised of lovers flirting, dinner conversations, and wedding arrangements. I think Stackpole was channeling his inner Tolstoy - this aspect of Riposte reminded me greatly of War and Peace - but it just didn't work here and resulted in a slog of a novel.
2) There are a lot of characters in this book but they were all the same to me: military-minded men (and a few women) who were incapable of seeing any aspect of existence outside of a military lens. These characters were so one-dimensional that in real life if they were to take a seat next to you and start a conversation, you would excuse yourself quickly as there is only so much "mechwarrior this and mechwarrior that" that any sane person could stand for long. As a result, all the characters in this book were thoroughly forgettable.
3) The politics were convoluted. To be fair, I have always found BT politics to be byzantine, but in this novel I found them to be almost impenetrable, resulting in my indifference as to who controlled what star system as they all sounded the same to me.
I will be continuing on with this trilogy just because I am a completionist. But this Warrior series is proving to be a dude for me.
August 27, 2019
OK... I read this trilogy when I was about sixteen or seventeen. It was the first "river novel" I had read... the first one in which I could see the points of view of all characters, all of them thought they were "the good guy", and all of them were working at the same time.
I thought it was wonderful, fascinating, incredible, and I couldn't wait to read something like this in fantasy.
I don't know what I would think if I could read it now. I, for one, love Battlemechs, even if they make zero sense both from the physical and from the strategical point of view. I don't think you have to know the game to enjoy the novels (I read the novels first and knew the games afterwards)... I just think you have to enjoy the great scope of different lines of action across the galaxy, with different factions doing different things, all of them affecting the others.
June 2, 2020
Bad fanfic is bad
My god, this thing not only reads like a mix of the worst tropes of 80s action flicks, it’s full to the guts of protagonists wearing the thickest of plot armour, sudden and inexplicable emotional outbursts or unbelievable reactions to benign situations. Some events are overexplained to the point of patronising, others are barely explained but critical to the plot. Key events are glosses over while troop movements are super-detailed and tedious. And of course, it’s chock full of rampant orientalism and a dose of sexism while it’s at it.
My god, this thing not only reads like a mix of the worst tropes of 80s action flicks, it’s full to the guts of protagonists wearing the thickest of plot armour, sudden and inexplicable emotional outbursts or unbelievable reactions to benign situations. Some events are overexplained to the point of patronising, others are barely explained but critical to the plot. Key events are glosses over while troop movements are super-detailed and tedious. And of course, it’s chock full of rampant orientalism and a dose of sexism while it’s at it.
June 21, 2018
Hanse Davion is just so smart, or everyone else is stupid.
February 10, 2014
A bit long for what it is, and the writing is a bit subpar, but the plot is getting a little more complex and interesting.
September 6, 2025
Wow. How did we go from En Garde to this? Being the second book in the Warrior Trilogy, my expectations were realistically high as Stackpole established in his first entry characters and plot threads that had me genuinely interested. As I stated in my review of En Garde, Justin Xiang/Allard was definitely the most interesting character in the first book. Yes, there were other characters that we dipped into other chapters that had a "cool" factor to them, but Justin, to me, makes the book. The biggest cardinal sin of Riposte is that Justin takes a seat on the bench, in an analyst role for the House Liao. I get that in the Battletech Universe there needs to be some spying here, some battle tactics there, etc. But the role Justin played in the first book was far more interesting than anything he did here. His character arch felt halted in ways. The pacing of the book itself didn't lend well to this character either. There were some intense moments that I nod my appreciation for that moved Justin's character further, but for much of the book, Justin plays as a coach, calling plays for troop movements that just didn't appease me and what I loved with the character to begin with.
The next big problem I had with this book was the pacing. And boy oh boy, is this a slog. I'd say this has to be the most boring Battletech book that I've read thus far. 3/4 of this thing is a stupid wedding. (A wedding, important to Battletech lore yes, but nevertheless still boring). I don't need to have things blasting the entire time in order for me to have a good time, but my word, I haven't felt so annoyed since I read The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring and looked at how much I read and said aloud, "I can't believe we are still in the Shire." This is the exact feeling I had with this book. The wedding was a huge vessel for a lot of the conflicts to intersect and mingle with one another. (Which I did appreciate). But the wedding moments, most of which were uninteresting to me, really just went on too long. There was only one quick action diversion, but even that couldn't resuscitate my interest. While yes, I hated how long it took for Melissa freaking Steiner to get hitched, I did admire some dialogue discussions that were had outside of my favorite character, Justin. Morgen Kell is proving to be an interesting character, and there's still much mystery between him and Yorinaga that we still have yet to have seen play out. I was excited to see previous characters grow and develop, but Stackpole suddenly introduces another handful of new characters that I'm not as interested in as the previously established ones. Characters that I wasn't interested in before are getting more time and that fascinated me, but adding more wood to the fire is just making it too hot for me at this point. I want to see and experience the growth that has already been plentifully established.
The last 1/4 of the book is basically straight action. Is it great, no, not really. Directly after the wedding, (no joke the next chapter) We are thrust into a Davion invasion of a Liao world. There was one battle that was fun to read, but the rest felt rushed, and it didn't add much for me in terms of what makes these battles special. Stackpole performed much better in his Mech' battles in his previous entry.
The book is sprinkled with its fun moments. The positives that I have for this book are in those sprinkles. It's a sprawling "TV Show-like' experience where you get to be immersed in the Battletech universe, which is cool to an extent. At times, it felt like I was just reading a lore book entry on Battletech that hints at future conflicts outside of the trilogy. This book definitely feels more of a set-up piece versus a great addition to the trilogy, and I feel that the wedding is evidence of that. Stackpole was able to put the universe on pause while everyone attended this thing and while things were happening, it felt like nothing was moving forward in the plot at the same time.
I'm interested to see where the third book takes this trilogy. Again, I hate comparing to other authors, but I felt William H. Keith Jr.'s books progressively improved, whereas I enjoyed Stackpole's first book, but his second didn't lend well to moving the plot. Sometimes there are some stumbling blocks we need to get through in order to really enjoy the final product. I'm hoping that's the case with this series and that this book will guide me into a satisfying conclusion.
The next big problem I had with this book was the pacing. And boy oh boy, is this a slog. I'd say this has to be the most boring Battletech book that I've read thus far. 3/4 of this thing is a stupid wedding. (A wedding, important to Battletech lore yes, but nevertheless still boring). I don't need to have things blasting the entire time in order for me to have a good time, but my word, I haven't felt so annoyed since I read The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring and looked at how much I read and said aloud, "I can't believe we are still in the Shire." This is the exact feeling I had with this book. The wedding was a huge vessel for a lot of the conflicts to intersect and mingle with one another. (Which I did appreciate). But the wedding moments, most of which were uninteresting to me, really just went on too long. There was only one quick action diversion, but even that couldn't resuscitate my interest. While yes, I hated how long it took for Melissa freaking Steiner to get hitched, I did admire some dialogue discussions that were had outside of my favorite character, Justin. Morgen Kell is proving to be an interesting character, and there's still much mystery between him and Yorinaga that we still have yet to have seen play out. I was excited to see previous characters grow and develop, but Stackpole suddenly introduces another handful of new characters that I'm not as interested in as the previously established ones. Characters that I wasn't interested in before are getting more time and that fascinated me, but adding more wood to the fire is just making it too hot for me at this point. I want to see and experience the growth that has already been plentifully established.
The last 1/4 of the book is basically straight action. Is it great, no, not really. Directly after the wedding, (no joke the next chapter) We are thrust into a Davion invasion of a Liao world. There was one battle that was fun to read, but the rest felt rushed, and it didn't add much for me in terms of what makes these battles special. Stackpole performed much better in his Mech' battles in his previous entry.
The book is sprinkled with its fun moments. The positives that I have for this book are in those sprinkles. It's a sprawling "TV Show-like' experience where you get to be immersed in the Battletech universe, which is cool to an extent. At times, it felt like I was just reading a lore book entry on Battletech that hints at future conflicts outside of the trilogy. This book definitely feels more of a set-up piece versus a great addition to the trilogy, and I feel that the wedding is evidence of that. Stackpole was able to put the universe on pause while everyone attended this thing and while things were happening, it felt like nothing was moving forward in the plot at the same time.
I'm interested to see where the third book takes this trilogy. Again, I hate comparing to other authors, but I felt William H. Keith Jr.'s books progressively improved, whereas I enjoyed Stackpole's first book, but his second didn't lend well to moving the plot. Sometimes there are some stumbling blocks we need to get through in order to really enjoy the final product. I'm hoping that's the case with this series and that this book will guide me into a satisfying conclusion.
October 30, 2017
Riposte (an attack made immediately after a parry of the opponent's attack) is book two of the Warrior trilogy, and there's no point in reading it if you've not read Warrior: En Garde (warn the participants to take a defensive position) and you don't intend to read Warrior: Coupé (an attack or deception that passes around the opponent's foil tip).
As far as the story is concerned, things are pretty awesome here! The plot that was setup in Riposte tumbles along at a rapid pace, the long-awaited wedding finally rolls around and is full of surprise, the Kell Hound story is fleshed out, the big names take their positions for the grand finale and, of course, the Justin Xiang story not only continues but there's what appeared to be some "big twist" foreshadowing toward the end of the book that I'm deadly curious to see if I'm misreading between the lines on!
The chapter chronology isn't jumping around anymore and I felt that this book was a little tighter than the previous one, certainly with regard to magic plot point pivots.
As far as the story is concerned, things are pretty awesome here! The plot that was setup in Riposte tumbles along at a rapid pace, the long-awaited wedding finally rolls around and is full of surprise, the Kell Hound story is fleshed out, the big names take their positions for the grand finale and, of course, the Justin Xiang story not only continues but there's what appeared to be some "big twist" foreshadowing toward the end of the book that I'm deadly curious to see if I'm misreading between the lines on!
The chapter chronology isn't jumping around anymore and I felt that this book was a little tighter than the previous one, certainly with regard to magic plot point pivots.
May 3, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed Riposte more than the first book in the Warrior series, Engarde! There were actually a few moments in the book that I found rather amusing and even laughed a bit at some of the situations Liao found themselves in, specifically with dessert plates. Riposte has few 'Mech battles throughout the story, but it is filled with enough subterfuge and espionage to keep readers intrigued. This book covers the beginnings of the Fourth Succession War and references characters and events that are explained prior and elsewhere, so picking this book up without having some basic background story, you will more than likely be lost. None-the-less, if you have any passing interest in the Battletech universe whatsoever, you will enjoy your time with this trilogy.
Despite actually having to read through a wedding ceremony I felt that it was a solid addition to my personal library.
Despite actually having to read through a wedding ceremony I felt that it was a solid addition to my personal library.
November 24, 2024
Good enough sequel. Stackpoles writing is juvenile, and the characters are painfully two-dimensional. He plays into as many stereotypes as possible because... well I dont know why. I think he just wasnt very wise when he wrote this. All male characters are always rugged and handsome, always have gorgeous women falling all over them at all times, and always have some hidden agenda that the most skilled minds in the Inner Sphere cant peice together. The dialogue between some characters is boring and uninspired, and he resuses a lot of the same phrases. At times it felt like he didnt have an editor (he may not have, I havent checked).
All that said, its still sweet, sweet, cheezy BT lore, and I love it. The espionage and petty political rivalries were done well in this book. Justins character is done well again, and his motivations are believeable. Generally, unless you really want a mediocre retelling of lore, Id say skip this entry and check Sarna instead.
All that said, its still sweet, sweet, cheezy BT lore, and I love it. The espionage and petty political rivalries were done well in this book. Justins character is done well again, and his motivations are believeable. Generally, unless you really want a mediocre retelling of lore, Id say skip this entry and check Sarna instead.
September 27, 2020
There are two types of people who should read this book:
1: People who love Battletech lore and want to read an in-depth account of some of the most important moments in the history of the Inner Sphere.
2: People who are really into courtly fashion in the 31st century.
Most of the book takes place around the wedding between the ruler of the Federated Suns and the heir to the throne of the Lyran Commonwealth. This is one of the major moments in Battletech history, but it means that a lot of the book is people in fancy clothes going to parties.
The other major moment in the book has no in-book context or set-up and only gets a page worth of text. To someone who wasn't already familiar with this particular moment in Battletech lore, I have to imagine it would have felt like a pointless non-sequitur or a bit deus ex machina just thrown in at the end of the book.
1: People who love Battletech lore and want to read an in-depth account of some of the most important moments in the history of the Inner Sphere.
2: People who are really into courtly fashion in the 31st century.
Most of the book takes place around the wedding between the ruler of the Federated Suns and the heir to the throne of the Lyran Commonwealth. This is one of the major moments in Battletech history, but it means that a lot of the book is people in fancy clothes going to parties.
The other major moment in the book has no in-book context or set-up and only gets a page worth of text. To someone who wasn't already familiar with this particular moment in Battletech lore, I have to imagine it would have felt like a pointless non-sequitur or a bit deus ex machina just thrown in at the end of the book.
August 20, 2018
Im Gegensatz zum ersten Band der Reihe gibt es hier sehr viel weniger Kämpfe, die ersten zwei Drittel des Buches entspinnen die Handlungsansätze von En Garde auf der persönlichen, vor allem aber politischen Ebene -- aufgelockert durch eine James Bond-artige Episode.
Um so wirkungsvoller kommt das Kampf- nun schon Kriegsgeschehen zurück und steuert mit den begleitenden Verwicklungen auf den Cliffhanger zu.
Insgesamt ein deutlich besserer Teil.
Um so wirkungsvoller kommt das Kampf- nun schon Kriegsgeschehen zurück und steuert mit den begleitenden Verwicklungen auf den Cliffhanger zu.
Insgesamt ein deutlich besserer Teil.
October 3, 2019
Classic battletech in all its glory
This trilogy is a must read for anyone who is a fan of battletech, old or new. This is the second book of the trilogy and sees the start of the fourth succession war. Well paced and a good mix of action, character development and political machinations, this sets the stage for adventure of an epic scale.
This trilogy is a must read for anyone who is a fan of battletech, old or new. This is the second book of the trilogy and sees the start of the fourth succession war. Well paced and a good mix of action, character development and political machinations, this sets the stage for adventure of an epic scale.
February 15, 2019
More Battletech. The book is decent for the subject matter and it further fleshes out a pivotal moment in Battletech history.
Read
October 15, 2019Fun read
September 26, 2021
More of the same.
July 28, 2022
A couple nice twists and surprises. Stackpole is a beautiful story-teller.
October 31, 2022
Unlike most follow up efforts that known to be a trilogy, looking at you Back to the Future II, Riposte is an interesting and strong story in it's own right.
February 6, 2023
Wove together a great story in the second book of this trilogy, a lot of the characters came into sharper focus in this novel. Left me feeling very excited for the final book of the series!
May 4, 2023
Better than the first Stackpole book but still not great. Still, entertaining and cool to read about some key events in the Battletech universe. I'll probably keep reading the series for that reason.
July 10, 2023
The politicking sure is politicking now! And what a wedding, gosh.
October 2, 2023
Absolutely loved this one!
May 15, 2023
The BattleTech universe writers generally get the big picture stuff right. The leaders of the five successor states are each plotting to enlarge their empires and make cost/benefit analyses with varying levels of rationality in this pursuit. BattleTech's politics are very much grounded in a realist political philosophy with a dose of bounded rationality. This is a good move because while in real life political actors might act irrationally, in fiction with giant stompy robots, you have to be careful not to do anything extra to break suspension of belief.
If you are into the battletech setting you can generally read all the big picture stuff in BattleTech sourcebooks but it can seem a little dry. There is only so many times you can read about A battalion of B regiment landing on planet C and losing xx% of its personnel and equipment to D battalion. The fiction on the other hand can transport the reader into the thick of events and make them more invested in the characters involved. Stackpole is probably the best of the BattleTech fiction authors at this. He balances the space opera elements of espionage, romance, action and adventure with the political maneuverings and sweeping changes of the source books very well.
That said, the dialogue is often extremely cheesy and the need to shoehorn mechs into everything makes the setting seem a little ridiculous compared to a more grounded setting like heavy gear. At least it is good for a laugh when a character tries to explain to another how to woo a woman using references to mech combat.
Riposte is another fun novel in the Warrior Trilogy. That it covers a major event in the BattleTech narrative which advances the timeline makes it worth checking out for fans of the setting. The premise is basically the political marriage of the Steiners and Davions finally happens and then predictably all hell breaks lose. Also comstar are trying their best to manipulate events in the background (but so is everyone else).
If you are into the battletech setting you can generally read all the big picture stuff in BattleTech sourcebooks but it can seem a little dry. There is only so many times you can read about A battalion of B regiment landing on planet C and losing xx% of its personnel and equipment to D battalion. The fiction on the other hand can transport the reader into the thick of events and make them more invested in the characters involved. Stackpole is probably the best of the BattleTech fiction authors at this. He balances the space opera elements of espionage, romance, action and adventure with the political maneuverings and sweeping changes of the source books very well.
That said, the dialogue is often extremely cheesy and the need to shoehorn mechs into everything makes the setting seem a little ridiculous compared to a more grounded setting like heavy gear. At least it is good for a laugh when a character tries to explain to another how to woo a woman using references to mech combat.
Riposte is another fun novel in the Warrior Trilogy. That it covers a major event in the BattleTech narrative which advances the timeline makes it worth checking out for fans of the setting. The premise is basically the political marriage of the Steiners and Davions finally happens and then predictably all hell breaks lose. Also comstar are trying their best to manipulate events in the background (but so is everyone else).
July 29, 2020
Better than En Garde! Possibly because Stackpole had written a novel before....
Part of my Battletech nostalgia tour. Alas, Battletech Center. I knew it, Horatio.
Part of my Battletech nostalgia tour. Alas, Battletech Center. I knew it, Horatio.
February 12, 2022
More mechs, more intrigue! The world of Battletech, at least as portrayed by Stackpole, has a very “families of Amber” feel to it, with the same level of conniving, if not the same level of intelligence, between its denizens.
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