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banazir's review
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
captainpash's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
kynan's review against another edition
3.0
Warrior: En Garde is book one of the Warrior Trilogy by Michael Stackpole and comprises an early and important part of the Battletech universe backstory involving the imminent conjoining of the Steiner and Davion Houses and the machinations, political and otherwise, that are occurring around this event.
The bones of a really good story are present in this book, but the writing isn't up to entirely unearthing it. It turns out that En Garde is actually the first work of Michael Stackpole's to be published (although I believe he wrote one other fantasy novel before this that initially failed to get accepted) and I think this explains the neophytic style.
I finished the Gray Death trilogy by William H. Keith immediately before wading into Stackpole's Warrior trilogy and, because of that, En Garde seemed a bit lackluster in comparison for a number of reasons:
- The mech fights aren't as gripping;
- characters make really jarring (and plot-pivoting) statements/decisions seemingly out of the blue;
- there are more than a few things that sorely strain the boundaries of willing suspension of disbelief, the whacky hand-based deus ex machina or the magical hidden Cicadas spring to mind (it's hard to explain exactly what the problems are without wandering into spoiler territory);
- all of the chapters start with a timestamp and in Book 1 specifically (and once in Book 4), this timestamp may go backwards. I found myself having to constantly go back to the previous chapter to determine where we were in the story after I got confused by a rewind at one point. I can see why it was done the way it was, there are specific chunks of plot being set up, but perhaps there was a less jumpy way to write it down;
- there's some ludicrously purple and overwrought prose: "Another ninja, dressed in shadow and smelling of death, sprang over the barricade." combined with a suspiciously thesaurus- like vocabulary (although to be fair I did learn the word "argent").
BUT, all griping aside, I still enjoyed the book. There are big things afoot here, things that will change the shape of the Successor States and despite the somewhat abrupt writing I have genuine interest in what comes next for the characters that made it out the other end alive.
Finally, there's also the fact that Mr Stackpole wrote another 14 Battletech novels after this one (not to mention the much vaunted X-Wing series) and, as one Redditor put it "...it's fascinating watching him grow as an author". I'll be diving into book two looking forward to some slightly tighter writing and a continuation of a compelling story!
The bones of a really good story are present in this book, but the writing isn't up to entirely unearthing it. It turns out that En Garde is actually the first work of Michael Stackpole's to be published (although I believe he wrote one other fantasy novel before this that initially failed to get accepted) and I think this explains the neophytic style.
I finished the Gray Death trilogy by William H. Keith immediately before wading into Stackpole's Warrior trilogy and, because of that, En Garde seemed a bit lackluster in comparison for a number of reasons:
- The mech fights aren't as gripping;
- characters make really jarring (and plot-pivoting) statements/decisions seemingly out of the blue;
- there are more than a few things that sorely strain the boundaries of willing suspension of disbelief, the whacky hand-based deus ex machina or the magical hidden Cicadas spring to mind (it's hard to explain exactly what the problems are without wandering into spoiler territory);
- all of the chapters start with a timestamp and in Book 1 specifically (and once in Book 4), this timestamp may go backwards. I found myself having to constantly go back to the previous chapter to determine where we were in the story after I got confused by a rewind at one point. I can see why it was done the way it was, there are specific chunks of plot being set up, but perhaps there was a less jumpy way to write it down;
- there's some ludicrously purple and overwrought prose: "Another ninja, dressed in shadow and smelling of death, sprang over the barricade." combined with a suspiciously thesaurus- like vocabulary (although to be fair I did learn the word "argent").
BUT, all griping aside, I still enjoyed the book. There are big things afoot here, things that will change the shape of the Successor States and despite the somewhat abrupt writing I have genuine interest in what comes next for the characters that made it out the other end alive.
Finally, there's also the fact that Mr Stackpole wrote another 14 Battletech novels after this one (not to mention the much vaunted X-Wing series) and, as one Redditor put it "...it's fascinating watching him grow as an author". I'll be diving into book two looking forward to some slightly tighter writing and a continuation of a compelling story!
unrulyshoggoth's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
keta's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It's like reading an early 90s anime.
kavinay's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting way to set the table for the 4th succession war.
Like a lot of Battletech fiction though, the handling of culture and race in the 80s hasn't aged well. It's a thousand years in the future and race relations in the Inner Sphere are so silly that you're left practically welcoming the eventual clan invasion to wipe the slate clean of racially segregated interstellar empires. Argh.
Still the plotting is interesting enough and Stackpole is at worst a bit corny and at best a great weaver of wide-ranging cast.
Like a lot of Battletech fiction though, the handling of culture and race in the 80s hasn't aged well. It's a thousand years in the future and race relations in the Inner Sphere are so silly that you're left practically welcoming the eventual clan invasion to wipe the slate clean of racially segregated interstellar empires. Argh.
Still the plotting is interesting enough and Stackpole is at worst a bit corny and at best a great weaver of wide-ranging cast.
jasonmehmel's review against another edition
2.0
I'd never read this book as young Battletech fan, but it had such a point of prominence in the fictional history of the universe that I'd built up a lot of expectations.
I was looking for something easy to read and it delivered on that, with a continually moving plot and battle scenes aplenty. The writing does the job of explaining everything very clearly, and that can't be ignored; I've definitely read worse action!
This sounds like I'm damning with faint praise, and that might be true, but I also think that this book in some respects leans on the fictional universe it's drawing on for it's dramatic impact. If I were deeply immersed in that universe all the time, I might get more of a frisson of excitement as various prominent characters are revealed. Also, it's references to the drama of previous books both drains some of the drama in this book but does give it a more expansive feel, which is exactly what a fictional universe based on a wargame and roleplaying game needs. So I think this book delivers to that demographic well, but bereft from that context, it loses some of it's impact.
Some of the dialogue and internal monologues suffer from being either expository or extremely on-the-nose, but again, this book and it's universe isn't about exploring the subtleties of human interaction. It's about important events in a galactic scale.
So I do understand why these are missing, or at least not prioritized, but after reading authors like Guy Kay or Ursula K Leguin, I did find myself missing that extra level of detail.
I was looking for something easy to read and it delivered on that, with a continually moving plot and battle scenes aplenty. The writing does the job of explaining everything very clearly, and that can't be ignored; I've definitely read worse action!
This sounds like I'm damning with faint praise, and that might be true, but I also think that this book in some respects leans on the fictional universe it's drawing on for it's dramatic impact. If I were deeply immersed in that universe all the time, I might get more of a frisson of excitement as various prominent characters are revealed. Also, it's references to the drama of previous books both drains some of the drama in this book but does give it a more expansive feel, which is exactly what a fictional universe based on a wargame and roleplaying game needs. So I think this book delivers to that demographic well, but bereft from that context, it loses some of it's impact.
Some of the dialogue and internal monologues suffer from being either expository or extremely on-the-nose, but again, this book and it's universe isn't about exploring the subtleties of human interaction. It's about important events in a galactic scale.
So I do understand why these are missing, or at least not prioritized, but after reading authors like Guy Kay or Ursula K Leguin, I did find myself missing that extra level of detail.
steve_tj's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
amandak6647's review
5.0
A really great piece of Battletech fiction that really nails the world building and details of the setting. The characters are interesting and likable and while some of the dialogue can be a bit clunky, it’s never enough to sour the experience. If you like the Battletech universe you really need to read this trilogy and Stackpole’s Blood Of Kerensky trilogy.
inferiorwit's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Death, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, War, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Violence