Without Question
Spoiler Feee Review
Editor's Note: Catalyst Game Labs was kind enough to provide an advanced review copy of this work so that I could write this review.
So, once again we find ourselves in the Battletech Universe. Without Question is a sequel of sorts to Bryan's earlier work A Question of Survival and picks up with the majority of those characters. The story kicks off with a telling of one of the major battles depicted in the Tamar Rising Sourcebook. The Jade Falcons under Jiyi Chiustu Stage a desperate defense against the enraged Hell's Horses.
The characterization of this battle was excellent. The tension and the desperationof the defenders was palpable throughout the telling of this tale. The Ghost Bear sibkin from A Question of Survival are front and center throughout this section of the novel, and they mature as humans. These recent graduates into the Jade Falcon Touman are tested by the universe around them and are forced to grow beyond what they think of themselves.
The battle of Sudeten is the first of 4 parts of this book, and gives a new reader a solid understanding of the major players in this version of Clan Jade Falcon. This helps a great deal for the other three parts of the novel.
If the first part of the book is the battle of Sudeten, then the other three parts are the Battle of the soul of Clan Jade Falcon. In order to secure their position, the Falcons have to expabd outward, attempting to recover the worlds within their Occupation Zone that were looted and cast adrift in the build up to the Terra Trial.
This is new ground for the Falcons, and they must adapt or be destroyed. There are twists and turns throughout these parts and hard choices that confront all of our principal characters.
The Highs:
The Opening Prologue should be added to every Battletech novel set in this era. It is a succinct explanation of how we got to here.
Mercenary Co-Ops should get more usage in general.
The Journey that Jade Falcon goes on is full of twists and turns, but i think the journey is absolutely worth the read.
The slice of life elements are essential. As a reader, those scenes remind me that these are people with their own wants and desires.
The Lows:
Some of the Chapters are very short. They detail a specific scene or event, and then we move to another chapter. Some could be folded together as the events covered are continuations of things that already happened.
The Pacing (as an extension of the issue above) can be irritating. There are several major events that serve as chapter conclusions. The perspective then ping pongs to another event someplace else and you as a reader are trying to catch back up ti that other plot.
Note: these are very minor critiques, i loved the book overall.
Final Verdict:
A story about change and growth amongst the ruins of the once proud Jade Falcon clan. There is still hope for these birds to rise like the Phoenix, and these stories are as engrossing as they are fun.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
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