The Last Charge (Mechwarrior: Dark Age, No. 29)

One thing that has been missing from many of the earlier Dark Age novels, in comparison to Classic Battle Tech books, was the focus of major campaign battles. The last charge returns to those roots in continuing the story started in Fire at Will: A Battletech Novel (Mechwarrior: Dark Age, No. 28) with the invasion of the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth by the Lyran and Wolf Forces.

This book does well to show the invasion through the eyes of Anson Marik the leader of the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth who is seeing his nation fall apart around him, but at the same time it is hard to have any sympathy for the man as is personifies the classic school yard bully. Without giving away any spoilers, I can say with the conclusion of this books the door is open to many questions and obvious controversy and struggles for the Lyran...Read more

This was perhaps one of the most boring novels I have read in the Mechwarrior series. It lacked action and focused too much on the boring, egocentric character of Anson Marik. I kept waiting for some action, which didn't materialize till the end. I miss the old Battletech that was more attuuned to Mech action instead of boring political intrigue.

Throughout the Dark Age story arc, I've had the nagging feeling that very few of its collective authors correlate to any real degree. This seeming lack of communication has resulted in a number of one shot novels that seemingly have little to no impact on the overall fiction (or are just simply awful...yes, I'm referring heavily to Ilsa Bick, Mike Moscoe, and Robert Vardeman here), or as it is in the case of this book, the thorough butchering of characters that have been previously established.

First and foremost, the ruler of the splinter Marik state is completely ridiculous. He's not necessarily unlikeable, he's just simply unapproachable. He engages in verbal tirades that paint him as nothing more than a simpering adolescent who's had his favorite toy taken away, who then tends to lapse into zone-out modes as if someone flipped his shutdown switch. This man would be unable to order from a fast food menu, let alone run a collection of systems generously referred...Read more