Just finished reading the book this morning - only took me three hours - and I thought in honor of the end of the Proving Grounds trilogy, I would make a top 10 list of CBT's worst moments in the novels. Please note - Commancho's Cabeleros have three spots on here!

Worst Moment #10 - Phelan shoots his arch-rival Conal Ward in "Natural Selection", and promptly draws a Circle of Equals around him. This is obviously against Clan custom. I always hated Phelan . . .

#9 - In the novel "Hearts of Chaos", the Kurita commander commits seppuku, with Cassie Suthorn (sp?) looking on as his "honorable" opponent. Come to think of it, I would kill myself too if I'd gotten beat by her.

#8 - Victor lobs off ilKhan Lincoln Osis' head in "Prince of Havoc", while Lincoln mutters something like "My God, what have we done?" Please - he was raised from birth to do this! His only fault was failing.

#7 - Kai at Twycross - flashy, but utterly lame. I hate Kai too.

#6 - Archer Christophari defeats a Jade Falcon Star Colonel in a Vulture ("Operation Audacity"), who promptly gifts Archer with his whole cluster of troops. Whatever happened to fighting to the death? Do even the Clans not care anymore?

#5 - The Red Corsair. Nuff said.

#4 - Joanna kills Natasha Kerensky with a jump jet in "I am Jade Falcon". Kerensky deserved a better death than this. In the same novel, the stuff about Wolf and Falcon genetic mixing is horribly lame too.

#3 - "Far Country." Nuff said.

#2 - In the novel "Black Dragon," ISF Director Subhash Indrahar's wheelchair sprouts missiles. He then promptly blasts through a window, sending his enemies and his little cackling self off into space. It reminded me of the final battle in "Empire Strikes Back." But come on - missiles??

And finally the #1 Worst Moment from CBT - In "Close Quarters", Cassie uses a "person-to-mech fighting style." EXCUSE ME? A WHAT? A lady with a knife should not be able to take down a Battlemech, under no circumstances. It's like taking an Abrahms tank down by yourself - no way!

Please feel free to add your own worst CBT moments to the list.

'Zeke Crow's piloting. 'Nuff said.

cartwheeling mechs

Martin Delrio being permitted to write anything in the BT universe.

Very nice list AsburyGrad. I'd blocked Indrahar's missile-chair out of my memory. Christ.

Agreed, his BT books are horribly transparent. Who the heck writes Jonah Levin into his book and have him sit out the BATTLE OF TERRA! I would hope a Paladin of the Republic, especially one with brand new Atlas, WOULD USE IT TO DEFEND EARTH!!! And what about the Republic Armed Forces? What are they doing? Taking a break? We haven't seen them once show up to a battle in any of the MWDA books. Where's this "Stone's Lament?" Aren't they supposed to be a super elite Republic Regiment? Hello, guys? IT'S TIME TO GET YOUR GAME ON!

Is Tara Campbell some kind of door mat, or what? Let's see, the Steel Wolves attack once, the Highlanders fight them off without support and understrength. Six months go by. No reinforcements from Terra, Campbell does not call in any back up for Northwind. Hey, the 1st Kearny could've fought off Anatasia Kerensky and her Tin Puppys on their own. I mean, come on. THEN, the 'Wolves attack again. This time, they burn the city of Tara, Northwind's Capitol, to the ground along with a good number of the inhabitants. There's a bonus, the Paladin, Ezekial Crow betrays the Highlanders and Tara Bishop after giving her a little Knight action on the side. What does Campbell do? She takes her understrength force and goes to Terra, the home of the Knights of the Sphere and all there Paladins to save it from a Steel Wolf invasion. When she gets to Terra, she's dissed by the exarch!

You know what, Tara Campbell, after being insulted by the Exarch, should have said the following(ala Raul Ortega):
"We're going back to Northwind, and leaving Terra for the Wolves!!!"

Wow. I haven't read Service for the Dead yet. Is that what happens? Campbell goes to Terra and gets rebuked? No wonder the Highlanders are an independent faction and not the veteran unit of the RAF like the Ghost Legion and McCarron's Armored Cav. are to the Swordsworn and House Liao. I guess we know what part of the storyline was dictated to Delrio that they had to include in their trilogy now.

I suppose this means that Campbell will start wrapping herself ever tighter in the rhetoric of republicanism and will begin surreptitiously agitating for the recreation of an "honest" Republic on Northwind and spread it from there.

Very interesting. It's a pity the Highlanders didn't take Irian, they're going to need all they help they can get once they start getting denounced on Terra. Although that would have been quite a supply line to keep up, irregardless of cargo movements being masked by the Silence.

Legerdemain, you're reading too much into this.

It's just the lazy cliched conceit that "the bigwigs never believe the action hero until it's too late and the enemies are attacking".

In Delrio's lame novels, Tara Campbell is the action hero, and Jonah Levin (thanks, dartboard!) is the bigwig, and he says "McGarnagle, we do things by the book here on <Terra>".

And Tara says "my book" and shoots Anastasia Kerensky, but not before her ejector seat whisks her away to safety and she curses "I'll get you next time, Campbell" while shaking her fist and whipping off her top.

And then Jonah Levin says "Okay, Campbell, you've earned my respect, my admiration, and a kickas$ vacation."

And Tara Campbell says "Kerensky, you just got downloaded" and everyone laughs, and the credits roll as a Lalo Schifrin tune plays.

In other words: don't read much into the Delrio novels, especially as applies to the MW:DA galactic-political situation. The HL are independent of the RotS because of the power blackout, and the fact that they're just their own military organization.

Thanks for the summary Kinra. <looks glum>