An old-school action movie in a book
This summer, I finally managed to read my old German copy of Decision at Thunder Rift! To be fair, I didn’t have high hopes about its quality. I just wanted to read a BATTLETECH novel to see whether I would like it or not. In short: I liked it. I liked it so much that I’m going to read Mercenary Star, the next book in the series. But, let me try review Decision at Thunder Rift without spoilers.
Science-Fiction novel
Author: William H. Keith Jr.
Publishing Year: 1986
Pages: 352
set in the BATTLETECH universe; 1st part of a trilogy
Thirty years before the Clan invasion, the crumbling empires of the Inner Sphere were locked in the horror of the Third Succession War. The great Houses, whose territories spanned the stars, used BattleMechs to smash each other into rubble.
Grayson Death Carlyle had been training to be a MechWarrior since he was ten years old, but his graduation came sooner than expected. With his friends and family dead and his father’s regiment destroyed, young Grayson finds himself stranded on a world turned hostile. And now he must learn the hardest lesson of all: it takes more than a BattleMech to make a MechWarrior.
To claim the title of MechWarrior all he has to do is capture one of those giant killing machines by himself.
If it doesn’t kill him first.
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80ies vibes!
BattleMechs were destroyed. Fuel tanks were blown up. Bad guys got what they deserved. In short, action and combat scenes felt really tense and alive. They were just about technical enough, and the pace kept me engaged throughout nearly 400 pages *. Sure, being a product of its time, some scenes and dialogs feel a bit dull and cheesy. But definitely not in a bad way. Don’t read this book if character development is your thing. Reading Decision at Thunder Rift very much felt like watching a good 80ies action movie. Being a fan of this kind of movies, I enjoyed reading it. The protagonists were courageous Mechwarriors, evil looking bad guys, and sexy women with not too many clothes on. After all, temperatures quickly rise in the cockpit of a BattleMech…
World Building and setting
Apart from all the action, William H. Keith, the author, really did a great job at introducing the reader to the BATTLETECH universe. He does this by injecting small digestible snippets of lore at just the right moments in the story. It takes place on Trellwan, a harsh and desolate planet 85 light years from Earth. The extreme seasonal changes in Trellwan’s atmosphere due to the planet’s slow rotation around its red giant sun really convince. Before the story even begins, the reader can consult Trellwan’s data, maps, and the day-night cycle. There’s also a handy appendix in the book, explaining all the terms and vehicles in text and picture.
Story
BATTLETECH, often compared to Game of Thrones in space, of course oozes intrigues, politics, and conflicts between the great Houses. These Houses fight for dominion in the Inner Sphere, the part of space humans colonized. Under these premises, the story of treason, survival, leadership and revenge unfolds. Decision at Thunder Rift is the first novel in the Gray Death trilogy.
Graysons Death Carlyle, a young MechWarrior in training, is garrisoned on Trellwan. He suddenly finds himself alone in a hostile environment due to a shift in the political power. And all hell breaks loose! Apart from surviving, he needs to gather troops and military equipment quickly to fight the oppression. But his real motive to strike back, is way deeper and more personal.
Verdict
It’s a bit pulpy and cheesy. It can be predictable at times. Nonetheless, it’s a fantastic, quick, and laidback read. It is enjoyable when you simply want to just read something simple and straightforward. The perfect literature for a summer vacation. Despite all the 80ies action film vibes going on, I found the intrigue and story line actually clever and interesting. Interesting enough to put the next book in the trilogy on my reading pile. And lastly, do you need any prior knowledge of the BATTLETECH universe? In my opinion, you don’t. Everything slightly more specific is explained with enough detail. This gives a good understanding and feeling of the fictional world.
Ultimately, I hope this review convinced you to give Decision at Thunder Rift a go. I can highly recommend it for the aforementioned reasons.
* 396 pages in the German version