Jennifer Brozek's Ghost Hour

 

Life is good when you can revisit an old favorite in a new way. It's even better when the new stuff is enjoyable. Enter Jennifer Brozek's <i>Ghost Hour</i>, a newly release Battletech novel. It's a Young Adult novel, which is something I wish they had when I was young enough to fit into the demographic. Ah well, I've got two daughters in the YA age group now. I still loved this thing.

We all know that the Young Adult genre really began with J.K. Rowling. Before Harry Potter readers went straight from childrens books to the big leagues. I kind of feel like this is probably closer to Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows than Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. Like Deathly Hallows, Ghost Hour does not shy away from the cost of war. The body count is pretty high and the anguish the characters feel at losing their friends and family members is real.  Ghost Hour is a rough read in a good way.

Seriously, there is a lot here that is honestly kind of gut-wrenching. Brozek herself has served as I mentioned when I reviewed the first in the Battletech YA series, The Nellus Academy Incident. It shows here, as she exposes the dark side of war better than the vast majority of Military Science Fiction authors I've read. With a lot of authors you see the glory side of war. Maybe a friend or two gets lost along the way, but they're nearly forgotten for most of the rest of the story. Maybe a spouse is left behind somewhere (and if you haven't seen the film We Were Soldiers you need to because it does this well, too) but the reader never hears about the anguish they feel not knowing what's going to happen to their loved one. There is a lot of that here, although it is people that are serving wondering about their loved ones who are also serving. It's pretty deep. 

That's not to say that there aren't some really awesome slam, bang slugfests, because there are. No one loves a good old-fashioned 'Mech battle like the guy who used to set them up on his bedroom floor and leave them there because they lasted for weeks and trust me, I'd know if they weren't done right, but they are. There are plenty of explosions to keep even the most hardened grognard among the Battletech elite happy. I mean, unless they're the "OMG EVERYTHING AFTER <insert year here> SUCKS" camp, in which case they can go cook along with their character. I mean that literally. Double heat sinks FTW!

For the record, no Ghost Hour does not go that deep into the tech. At least not for the most part. I will confess to not having seen the latest edition of BT, and there is apparently at least one new weapon that I'm not aware of but totally could have used in my mixed Battletech and Mechwarrior RPG campaign even though it wouldn't have been invented in 3050 because GH takes place a century later, but...

Yeah, I'll stop whining now. But still, it was cool. 

And for those still wondering, no you don't have to have a very good understanding of the technology of Battletech to enjoy Ghost Hour. There is a glossary at the back if you have any questions. Those with just a passing familiarity will find the story extremely easy to follow. With one exception, Brozek keeps to the classics of the series. And if you like tabletop war-gaming at all, you can always check Battletech out. I love it. I used to run a mixed Mechwarrior TTRPG/Aerotech/Battletech/Battletroops campaign and I loved it.

This series is about a bunch of cadets who won't stay in their place when their planet is attacked and  go rogue and try to fight the war before they're out of training. I find this to be a lot of fun, even if it often works the other way in the real world. (During World War II, training times were reduced and West Point classes graduated early.) It was still a rollicking good time and a good representation of members of the military and their desire to be involved in "the real thing" whether they're ready for it or not. Although these kids do appear to be about as ready as anyone else ever was. 

At the end of the day too, it's the kids that make the book. It should come as no surprise to anyone who reads my reviews that it's characters and what happens to them that really get me into a work of fiction. The thing is that the main characters in Ghost Hour are precisely the kind of people I can respect and worry about. They go through an awful lot, but they never give up. For most of the book they're losing or just taking a pasting they can't really do much about. They don't care. Actually that's wrong. They DO care. They just don't let it stop them. They keep fighting. These cadets are soldiers in the truest sense of the word. 

Probably the only part about Ghost Hour that I didn't like is that it reminds me how much easier it is to find quality YA SF/F these days than it is to find quality regular SF/F. Outside of what Stephanie Meyers tried to pull (and yes, I tried reading Twilight. It was terrible. I gave it to my sister and she gave it to her daughter. And yes, Bella was a teen and it was YA. Some terribly angsty, sparkly vampire craptacular YA but still YA) I haven't seen a single YA Science Fiction or fantasy novel that I haven't enjoyed. I can't necessarily say the same of the adult samplings I've seen.

I have to mention the main villain, however briefly. I tend to be pretty sympathetic to people who are just doing their duty. I'm an American who thinks that Yamamoto Isoroku was a respectable guy. I still can't feel the slightest bit of sympathy for the antagonist of this one though. I won't say if anything happens to him but he deserves nothing but the worst. Still, it makes reading the book more fun if you really want to see the bad guy get his.

Overall, I don't really have much choice except to tell you to buy this book. I realized partway through Ghost Hour that it wasn't a sequel to the book I thought it was and now I have to go back and buy the first one in the series (when I got the email I thought this was the sequel to The Nellis Academy Incident. I guess that's why my mama always told me not to think. She says it always gets me in trouble.)I'm kind of bummed because I've spoiled part of it, but I'm really excited because there's more to read.

Well, and there's a preview of the sequel to Ghost Hour at the back of the book. I didn't read the preview. I never do. I am, however, looking forward to reading the whole book and find out how this ends.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Crashed Dropships

Ghost Hour
Jennifer Brozek
Catalyst Games Lab, 2020

Ghost Hour is available at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Jennifer Brozek's Battletech: The Nellus Academy Incident

(Author's Note: This review is dedicated to the memory of friend, grognard, and brother-in-gaming Jason Caldwell.)

WARNING, WARNING, WARNING: Blatant fanboying ahead. I've loved Battletech for twenty-fivish years. I make no apologies for it, but you have been warned.

I have, in the past, admitted to possessing a love of both Young Adult literature (I blame J.K. Rowling) and Science Fiction. You were just warned about my fascination with the Battletech universe. (It occurs to me that I haven't been to the Battletech Universe website in far too long.) I guess that's why I'm in love with Jennifer Brozek's Battletech: The Nellus Academy Incident. Seriously. Those are some hardcore cadets. The plot moves. The kids perform in combat and action abounds.

I'll be honest: The beginning of this thing had me a bit worried. B:TNAI starts out as a bunch of cadets from the Nellus Academy find out that they'll be touring a refueling station in space. It sounded like a photo op kind of thing. I immediately became concerned because Battletech novels have always been about fighting.  It's not Knitting Tech, it's Battle Tech. Actually, that's not totally true. Ilsa Bick did a BT novel that was a detective story. It was good but I wanted a more traditional BT novel. I wanted to go to war. I wanted to see some serious action. I got over it quick. This book is action packed.

I don't want to get into too many spoilers because that's not my style but suffice it to say that things take a left turn at one point. What seems like a joyride is actually not a joyride. I hate to use a comparison to Scooby Doo, but I think I'm going to have to. The gang shows up in town, things aren't how they originally seem and then everything goes to Hades. That's awesome though. I didn't see things going the way they went but it actually made sense than it did.

Also at the beginning, The Nellus Academy Incident really felt like it was going to be a mystery novel. When the big plot twist hits that changes quickly. This thing goes from a whodunit to a canwesurviveit at the drop of a hat. The kids adjust quickly and that makes sense. The Nellus Academy is a military academy. It's what they've been trained for.

I like the way these kids work together. It feels real. One would expect an author to show her cadets in a panic. It's not realistic when you've got a trained group working together but it's the cliche. Brozek is better than that. I wonder if she's had actual military service because these kids react correctly. They use their advantages unashamedly. They instantly know what their hierarchy is based  on existing rank. They don't always agree on a course of action but they do follow orders.

Another reason that I suspect that Brozek may have some military experience is her firm grasp on the principle of Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome. Brozek's little unit manages to find ways to do what they need to do even when they don't have the tools that they're used to. These kids don't screw around. If an opportunity to get closer to their objectives shows itself they do what they need to do.

That's not to say that the cadets are perfect. They do make mistakes. They don't always move precisely when they need to. They find themselves having trouble dealing with losses. They're people. That's what I want to see in any work: Believable protagonists worth rooting for. And believe me, these cadets are worth rooting for. It would have been way too easy for them to just go with the flow and hope the enemy would show some mercy. They didn't because they were trained better than that. Good for them.

Of course, one of the biggest thrills of Battletech is the 'Mechs. I don't want to spoil too much here, but we do get to see some 'Mech action. We get dropships and aerospace fighters too. This thing goes a bit bonkers at one point and that's not a good thing. It's an AWESOME thing. There is nothing so pleasing in a Battletech novel as when it all drops in the pot and things start to explode. Brozek does a good job of keeping the action that we need to see crystal clear and sharp and the background violence where it belongs... in the background.

Something else that Battletech has always done well, and that Brozek does well, is political intrigue. There are troubles brewing on the border of the Free Worlds League and the Lyran Commonwealth. It's about to get ugly and the opening moves are occurring. This is what our heroes find themselves dropped into. It's the foundation of the entire story. It works.

Oh, and since I mentioned the Free Worlds League...

It's nice to see something set in the FWL. We don't see much of them. They weren't involved much before the Clan Invasion. They weren't really part of the Clan Invasion. I don't remember hearing anything about them in the Mechwarrior: Dark Age either. I mean, they exist but we don't hear a lot about them. So kudos to Brozek for putting her story in an area that really needs a story. I'd love to see more.

Oh, and by the way, I'm excited. Brozek has a Young Adult Battletech Trilogy coming soon. I can't wait to read it. The e-book that I received had an excerpt in it but I don't do excerpts. I will say that if she writes this well in this universe I have more than enough confidence in her to lay down some loot (err... ok, plastic some loot over the internet. I miss having easy access to a local bookstore.) for a copy. I want to see more stuff go boom! Brozek has more than proven that she's got the skills to make it happen and keep it entertaining. I do find it a bit strange that Battletech: Rogue Academy will be the first YA BT trilogy. I did read the blurb though. That looks good. I'm geeked.

I don't really have any major complaints about the book. Brozek did a really good job here.  Usually a blatant fanboy such as myself can find an excuse to bitch about a book because it's not perfectly perfect but I don't have one. So good job, Jennifer Brozek. Take a bow.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 ER PPCs

Battletech: The Nellus Academy Incident
Jennifer Brozek
Catalyst Games Lab, 2018

Battletech: The Nellus Academy Incident is available for purchase at the link below: