I just finished Stackpole's latest novel, Masters of War. I havn't completely digested it, but here are some of my initial thoughts.

-Corbeau acurately predicted one of the biggest suprises in the novel.

-Strangely, the clanners only get clan 'mechs and the Inner Sphere troops only get Inner Sphere 'mechs. Also, there isn't a single design in the entire book that was manufactured after the initial clan invasion, with the exeption of two Jade Phoenixs.

-A Daishi finally turns up!

-The book dosn't resolve the main conflict that well, but focuses on the personal relashonships of the characters.

wait a minute, the book is out already?

Aparently. It was on the shelf at the local Barnes & Noble.

I don't believe it is supposed to be released until the third, but one of the local bookstores here has had it on the shelves for a few days. Since it isn't a major book for sales (unlike say, Harry Potter books), they don't really pay attention to the release date usually and put it out when they get it.

Hmmm...maybe I should hit up B&N for lunch today...

*nods to Mushroom* Sometimes you just get lucky.

I picked it up and finished it yesterday. Overall it was an enjoyable read, though Anastasia's perfection is beginning to bother me.

The big surprise was the action of the Wolf Clan. I won't spoil it for those who have yet to read it, but suffice it to say the MechWarrior universe is getting a shake-up.

corbeau, could you pm me what happens? I doubt I'll be reading the book, and I'm still interested in what happens.

You might to look at this thread:

http://forums.classicbattletech.com/...c,16790.0.html

over at the official Classic Battletech site.

I got the novel and it was a good read. I had to read it more than once so I could get all that has happened with in this novel. There are so many things that happenes in this novel to take in to consideration. One is what will the Wolves do next? Will they all join together? Will there be a an all Wolf war? Who is gonna kick who's but next? And what will ol' Kerensky do next? If you haven't read this book you should.

I thought this was one of Stackpole's best, by far. Very good read.

Overall, I also feel that the quality of the MW books has picked up considerably, starting with "Surrender Your Dreams" back in early '06 IIRC.

I think Stackpole used only original CBT designs - and kept the Clan Mechs with the Clans and the IS Mechs with the IS - just as a stab at the whole Dark Age/AoD timeline. A gentle stab, mind you, but a stab nonetheless. Remember, FASA/WizKids owed him a great deal of money for a very long time . . .

Finally, I had a few big questions that I was hoping would get answered, but weren't (unless I missed it). How old is Katherine again? She wasn't much younger than Victor, IIRC, and he was 104 or so when he keeled recently. She has to be ancient . . . and yet, Stackpole does not mention her age or how she looks after the eighty-year time jump.

Related question: Alaric is clearly her kid somehow. Was she allowed to contribute to the trueborn DNA database? He also believes that Victor Steiner-Davion is his father - I think Katrina tells him this. How did that happen?? Did the Wolves steal Vic's DNA and mix it with his own sister's to make Alaric? Are there a whole batch of sibkin running around with this parentage? This is pretty unusual stuff, IMHO, even for the Clans.

It's been a while since I read the book, so some of this may be off due to my forgetfulness. But nonetheless, a very exciting read.

Late 2006. I think the quality had been improving long before that, though. Since The Scorpion Jar in late 2004, IMO.

Katherine was born in 3032.

We aren't told.

No one really knows, it eludes that he could be from Vlad Ward or Victor as a father, and Trillian or Katherine. In a few places the name changes to Katrina so who knows?

Katherine prefers to be called Katrina after her illustrious grandmother.

Trillian? Vlad? No, the book quite clearly states that Alaric's parents are Katherine and Victor. Or, at least, that's what Alaric thinks and we really have no reason to suspect it's not true.

Maybe victor was at a party and got drunk..REALLY DRUNK..and the rest was a blur ( of course Galen would have been ther going "Vic you shouldn't be doing this ").:laugh:

Man, 2007 has been a long year for me so far! lol Thanks for the correction.

Sometimes you scare me, roosterboy.

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Back on the Alaric thing: this guy has quite a lot of legitimacy through his blood. Connection to both House Steiner and House Davion, and Clan Wolf through his mother's capture and his own battlefield prowess. That's quite a load of potential power, if he could ever solidify it.

I had suspicions about a character introduced back in "Ghost War" - Victor and Omi's son. He had ties to Steiner, Davion, and Kurita . . . and was also a Republic Knight IIRC. Another person who could have a lot of potential, if they ever return to him in the fiction.