Flight of the Falcon

BattleTech Universe #73

by Victor Milán

A Clan Jade Falcon force is en route to eradicate the Steel Wolves - but its true mission is the subjugation of The Republic of the Sphere. Constrained by an imposed peace for decades, the Falcons embark on their most spectacular war in generations - and their lust for blood runs hot...

Siblings Malvina and Aleks are Jade Falcon's best and brightest MechWarriors. Each achieved high command at a young age, and their bond is strong, but so is their rivalry. While Aleks believes warriors should protect the weak, Malvina is obsessed with dark visions of power and glory. If the leader of the Clan is destined to rule the Inner Sphere, then Malvina's first step toward seizing that role for herself is to conquer The Republic... or utterly destroy it.

On Skye, Tara Campbell faces a major invasion with too few Highlanders to beat it back. Some in the Planetary Council want to negotiate with the invaders to spare Skye the frightful carnage visited on other worlds. Now Tara - The Republic's greatest defender - finds herself fighting dissension at home when unity is needed in the face of Skye's greatest crisis ever...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks

294 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Victor Woodward Milán was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics. In 1986 he won the Prometheus Award for Cybernetic Samurai. He has also written several shared universe works for the Forgotten Realms, Star Trek, and Wild Cards Universes. He has also written books under the pseudonyms Keith Jarrod, Richard Austin (Jove Books The Guardians series), Robert Baron (Jove Books Stormrider series), and S. L. Hunter (Steele series with Simon Hawke, who used the pen name J. D. Masters). He also wrote at least 9 novels under the "house name" of James Axler for the Harlequin Press/Gold Eagle Books Deathlands series & Outlanders series.

Reviews

[Kavinay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting catch up on Clan life. In fact, all the Jade Falcon stuff is pretty good. However, the actual prose itself is quite clunky, as if it was dictated first. The voice is choppy at points and makes you wonder if the book could have benefited from some more editing.

[Josh Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

"So You've Decided to Read Battletech: Dark Age" - Review 10

Clan Jade Falcon enters the DA like a ravening Mongol horde.

DA Callbacks

The Taras, Bishop and Campbell, return to stand once again against a clan invasion. And where there's Tara Campbell, there is Anastasia Kerensky.

Review:

Good. Dark (which is not to my personal taste, but it certainly increases the stakes). The action was some of the best I've read in BattleTech thus far. The mixed force tactics were engaging and fun to imagine. The antagonists were sociopathic, but with just enough pathos to make them almost relatable. The best thing about this book, and the thing that makes it better than most DA books I've read thus far, is it explores an interesting conflict of ideals between the two Jade Falcon leaders. It wasn't deep, but it was more philosophy than the rest of the DA books combined :)

Assessment:

Dark, but good.

Lasting Impressions
In this section, I return long after reading to give my remembered impressions. Did this book stand the test of time?

Yes. I still distinctly recall the central conflict between honorable, Knight-like warriors and Melvina's brutal Ghengis-Khan-inspired tactics. I don't recall it being a great book, but I recall it being good with an interesting premise.

DarkAge Tier List
from favorite to least favorite

Scorpion Jar
Service For the Dead
A Silence in the Heavens
Flight of the Falcon
Target of Opportunity
Fortress of Lies
By Temptations and By War
A Call to Arms
Truth and Shadows
Ghost War
The Ruins of Power

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the tenth book in the Mech Warrior Dark Age series. This series is a continuation of the Battletech series. The books in this series, like the books in the original Battletech series, are by various authors. This one is by Victor Milan. The Republic of the Sphere has known a long period of peace and prosperity. Then the interstellar communications network a.k.a. the HPG net is destroyed by terrorists and many planets in the Republic find themselves cut off from the rest of the galaxy with communications taking weeks or even months. Unrest leads to several factions on several planets trying to overthrow the local governments and seize power for themselves.
In this one, the Clan Jade Falcon has decided it is time to reclaim it's place in the Galaxy and finally subjugate The Republic of the Sphere. Lead by siblings, Malvina and Aleks Hazen, they plan on attacking several planets in Prefecture IX with the planet Skye as their final objective. After pacifying the planets in Prefecture IX they plan on attacking Terra itself!
Tara Campbell and her loyal Highlanders are once again sent to defend the Republic of the Sphere and the planet Skye. She faces opposition from several high ranking officials on the planet but she finally persuades them that only with her help can they hope to defeat Clan Jade Falcon. Even then she will find herself having to accept help from a completely unexpected source.
This book is another great addition to this series and a must-read for fans of the BattleTech/Mechwarrior series and fans of Military Science Fiction.

[Grantcorp · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Flight of the Falcon" is Victor Milán's first entry into the Dark Age storyline and it hit me straight in the gut. As the factional infighting within the Republic of the Sphere is spreading like wildfire, a new threat appears on the horizon. A force of Clan Jade Falcon warriors has returned to the Inner Sphere and are cutting a path through the Lyran Alliance, havoc and destruction following in their wake.

Hell-bent on tearing down the Republic of the Sphere and thereby rescuing the corrupt humanity from itself, two prodigal Jade Falcon commanders struggle over the principles of war, one seeking a compassionate takeover, the other calling for the total destruction of everything defiled. In their path stands the planet of Skye, where a fragile peace exists between the different factions located there. It is now up to these defenders to try to put an end to the Falcon onslaught.

This book had me in a steady grip from start to finish. The intensity of the Falcon crusade is told in a brilliant and haunting fashion, as the madness of war spreads like a cancer through the hapless worlds standing in their path. The inner struggle within the Falcon force is also depicted well, as they grow more zealous with each battle won. Although there are a couple of less impressive subplots the tension in the main narrative is never letting go, and this book comes highly recommended for any Mechwarrior fan.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Dark Age novel I had been waiting for and it's one hell of ride. With the Republic Of The Sphere starting to fracture apart due to rising factions and infighting due to the collapse of the HPG network we see the return of the most vicious enemy the Inner Sphere as ever seen, the Jade Falcons.

There is much going on in this novel and it had me glued to every page. I said things were really starting to heat up in the last novel and it seems like everything has finally started to boil over. It looks like war, real war, has finally returned. If you're a fan of the BattleTech universe I really think you'll enjoy this one and if the rest of the novels in this series are any bit as good we're in for a great ride.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

How that proving ground trilogy should have ended. A competent writer taking the same characters and putting through meaningful challenge and nicely mirroring the ending with how it all began for them. A nice little job in improving the material. The added "Not Laveau" character was an extra nice touch with his traces to another favourite old character. Kind of weird his great grandma trained him when you think of how old she was when she'd teach him these skills but it's a sci-fi, I'll allow for some fun licence. Not a bad job at all, fairly enjoyable, and probably the best so far of the Dark Age novels. We can only hope they continue to progress like this but I have my doubts.

[kevin brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

Another in book in the Dark age series.
I have read the first 10 of these on kindle.
But now have to continue to read the in Massmarket paperbacks as the series has disappeared from Amazon?
Such a shame.
You will as I did hopefully like this book and it’s plot twist.
And with in it you may find the creation of a plot and character who will be the Nemesis of all the Inner Sphere?

[Eduard N. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, no. I forced myself through one third of the book, reeling from the merchants thanking god for seeing clan warship to the inconsistent personality of Aleks Hazen on Chauffee. Descriptions are heavy handed, characters flat, and the grand story is better to be read in less detail in a Dark Age sourcebook.

There are better BT books to read.

[Brandon Lovell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Choppy, at best

This was by far my last favorite Mechwarrior book. Aleks, anticlimactic. Malvina, psycho. Kerensky, useless. TC a relatively weak hero. The Duke...pointless. The whole story was choppy and all over the place. I had to force myself to finish it.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the fact that you have a better vocabulary than most BattleTech authors, sir, but please lay off the "erstwhile"s.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite out of the series. Shows large scale battles and how the clans think. Small plot twists that will be issues in the later books. The author does a good job summarizing what happened in the other books.