Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining read.
Review: Battletech books have always been fun 300-page novels. And Ghost War is certainly that but no more. Credit has to be given to Stackpole for using a different perspective and having the unenviable job of taking the Dark Age storyline on its maiden voyage. He holds up rather well, his writing is often smart and sometimes clever even if the story isn't. But Stackpole has fun fleshing out the Dark Age universe and does a good job painting a gritty covert war undermining a peaceful era.
However the story is long on exposition and short of everything else. Many pages are chewed up by the main character explaining some plan, part of history or motives of other characters. The main character himself is almost James Bond-like. He can charm the ladies, outsmart the local government and is always one step ahead of his enemy. When all else fails, he happens to be a crack Mechwarrior. Thus since he cannot fail there is little suspense. By the end of the book the reader is still left with the big questions from the start. Ghost War is more of an elaborate prologue to MechWarrior Dark Age than anything else.
Still it's fun and it's good to see something fresh in the Battletech storyline.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book for non-series readers
Review: First off, I'm a huge fan of Battletech and the subsequent Mechwarrior derivatives so I'm a little biased to begin with. While not having read many (maybe one) of the novel series, I decided to see what the Dark Age direction was like. I was pleasantly surprised. Stackpole does a fantastic job of telling an intricate, conspiritorial story. The plotline is very well thought out and it a treat to work through. If you enjoy a rich story, this book is a good fit.
Rating:
Summary: Vintage Stackpole - but different from "usual" Battletech
Review: For those who've read a lot of books by Michael Stackpole, they will be pleased to see him go back to a first person narrative and a brash, active, go-for-it type of hero (easily compaired to Wolfgang Kies). For those who've read tons of Battletech-novels, this one might seem very different from Stackpole's other books in the series. There are hints of the larger picture in this universe, the so-called center-thread Stackpole used to "own" before ... but the events are not of the same magnitude: the plot is about single planets (perhaps indicative of the communications problems that define this new era) instead of star-spanning realms or even the whole Inner Sphere. Then again, as it was probably intended, it is a good jumping-on point for new readers (new players of the new game) with only minimal referals to all that happened a century before.
My only real "beef" with the book, is that 95 % of the story could just as easily have been set in another story- or game-universe (heck, it would've been a good Wolf & Raven story) ... with only a few Mech-battles thrown in.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not Stackpole's best...
Review: I actually give this book about a 3.5... The only flaw with this intriguing introduction to the Dark Age of the Inner Sphere is that, at times, things seem to work out a little too well for the protagonist, Mason Dunne. Most of the time, his plans go exactly as he wants them to go. Also, if he is ever beaten, he just shrugs the bruises off and goes about his life the next day like nothing happened at all. If this doesn't deter a reader, then this novel is worth a chance. Fans of the Battletech series and the Dark Age collectible game would thoroughly enjoy this introduction to the latest saga of the mighty MechWarriors of the 32nd Century.
Rating: 
Summary: A Slow Start
Review: I believe that when a person picks up a book like this they are looking for military sci-fi and for the most part the Battletech/Mechwarrior books have been just that. Interesting characters and plots should be a central part of such novels but what we all want from military science fiction is some good old battle action to go hand in hand with it.Mechwarrior Dark Age (the game on which these novels are based on) is a game about combat, about battles, about tactics and just good ol' stuff getting blown to bits. I would think if you are looking to get more people excited about this game you would want to convey that idea through these novels. Yes, its a good idea to set up the universe your dealing with, breath life into it as it were, but here with Ghost War we have too much "talking the talk" and not nearly enough "walking the walk". Michael Stackpole has written some wonderful Battletech novels which usually start out slow and build, giving lots of backround but also thrilling battle scenes. This novel is a lot of backround and always the promise that some thrilling battle scene is just over the horizon, but its not until the very end that we finally get a battle which is too short and just leaves you flat. I am not saying you should skip this altogether but if you do read it don't let the lack of action stop you from getting the second novel in this new series, "A Call To Arms", because you battle action fans will be rewarded with that one. W.
Rating: 
Summary: My first Battletech reading experience, and I'm impressed
Review: I came into this book knowing absolutely nothing about the Mechwarrior or Battletech universe, and I naively had my doubts about the caliber of novels in this specific genre. Maybe it's the fact that I associate Battletech with PC and console gaming, but I was afraid this was just going to be a rather simplistic novel that served little purpose beyond framing a context in which huge metallic monsters can go at each other tooth and nail. My doubts turned out to be incredibly unfounded. I found Ghost War to be a complex, surprising, challenging read that combined action, drama, and well-placed bits of humor in a finely crafted package. I did worry that I would be at a disadvantage here, not having read any of the earlier Battletech novels, but this first entry in the Mechwarrior: Dark Age series may well have posed fewer problems for me than for many of the Battletech gurus out there. Knowing nothing of the earlier history, I had no worries or questions about changes that had taken place in the Battletech universe during the preceding and apparently murky Golden Age of Peace spoken of here from the vantage point of 3132-3133. Much of that earlier history would seem to be minimized, in fact, because the computer network basically holding the Republic together over "the missing years" has now been taken out by unknown offenders, doing much to isolate the individual planets. With interplanetary communication greatly reduced, society's unsavory forces begin to climb back out of the shadows. Racial and cultural tensions increase, and greedy men seize the opportunity to play their little games of power. With internecine conflict simmering on a number of planets, the Republic finds its golden era of peace greatly threatened from within. Fortunately, the Republic has certain individuals trained to observe, report, and work to forestall messy new conflicts in its sphere of influence. Special operatives dubbed Ghosts can be sent to infiltrate questionable planet-based organizations and work to ferret out the identities of the true bad guys out there, and the hero of this novel is one of the best. The story actually threw me for a bit of a loop about one hundred pages into it. I would like to say that Ghost War kept me guessing, but in all honesty I was so unprepared for what happened that I wasn't aware I should have been guessing in the first place. Battletech and Mechwarrior veterans are far too knowledgeable to fall for the plot device that zinged me, I imagine, but I did indeed get zinged. For this reason, I will refrain from really going into any detail about the plot. I have sort of looked down upon series books of this type in the past (it's shameful, I know), but I vow to change my attitude from this point on. Ghost War is an intricate, carefully woven story that keeps the reader on his toes until the very end. My first Battletech novel will not be my last, and I can only hope that other Battletech authors can rival the talent of Michael A. Stackpole.
Rating:
Summary: My first Battletech reading experience, and I'm impressed
Review: I came into this book knowing absolutely nothing about the Mechwarrior or Battletech universe, and I naively had my doubts about the caliber of novels in this specific genre. Maybe it's the fact that I associate Battletech with PC and console gaming, but I was afraid this was just going to be a rather simplistic novel that served little purpose beyond framing a context in which huge metallic monsters can go at each other tooth and nail. My doubts turned out to be incredibly unfounded. I found Ghost War to be a complex, surprising, challenging read that combined action, drama, and well-placed bits of humor in a finely crafted package. I did worry that I would be at a disadvantage here, not having read any of the earlier Battletech novels, but this first entry in the Mechwarrior: Dark Age series may well have posed fewer problems for me than for many of the Battletech gurus out there. Knowing nothing of the earlier history, I had no worries or questions about changes that had taken place in the Battletech universe during the preceding and apparently murky Golden Age of Peace spoken of here from the vantage point of 3132-3133. Much of that earlier history would seem to be minimized, in fact, because the computer network basically holding the Republic together over "the missing years" has now been taken out by unknown offenders, doing much to isolate the individual planets. With interplanetary communication greatly reduced, society's unsavory forces begin to climb back out of the shadows. Racial and cultural tensions increase, and greedy men seize the opportunity to play their little games of power. With internecine conflict simmering on a number of planets, the Republic finds its golden era of peace greatly threatened from within. Fortunately, the Republic has certain individuals trained to observe, report, and work to forestall messy new conflicts in its sphere of influence. Special operatives dubbed Ghosts can be sent to infiltrate questionable planet-based organizations and work to ferret out the identities of the true bad guys out there, and the hero of this novel is one of the best. The story actually threw me for a bit of a loop about one hundred pages into it. I would like to say that Ghost War kept me guessing, but in all honesty I was so unprepared for what happened that I wasn't aware I should have been guessing in the first place. Battletech and Mechwarrior veterans are far too knowledgeable to fall for the plot device that zinged me, I imagine, but I did indeed get zinged. For this reason, I will refrain from really going into any detail about the plot. I have sort of looked down upon series books of this type in the past (it's shameful, I know), but I vow to change my attitude from this point on. Ghost War is an intricate, carefully woven story that keeps the reader on his toes until the very end. My first Battletech novel will not be my last, and I can only hope that other Battletech authors can rival the talent of Michael A. Stackpole.
Rating:
Summary: Good for new readers
Review: I have played Battletech games before but I have never read a single book this was my first. It did start slow, however that was necessary to set up the story. I enjoyed this book just like all of his others. If you like Talion: Revenant you will like this.
Rating:
Summary: Where did they hide all the mechs?
Review: I was absolutely excited for this series to start as I have been following battletech for quite some time now and hundreds of dollars later. Anyway, I'm pretty well read in BT (I own 60+ novels & field manuals) and had a lot of expectations for this new series. The premise for the whole new series is absolutely captivating with this idea of a Republic now in ruins because of some secret & coordinated breakdown of all but a few hpg's. Unfortunately, that's all I have been excited about thus far. One of the things that kept me reading BT so much was having the TRO's on hand so I knew what the mechs were and what their capabiliities are. Now with all those damn vehicles & infantry running around, it has become very confusing. I guess I've got to hunt down the new TRO's. I've got too many questions still (I just finished Book I of the proving Grounds Trilogy; that title makes no sense to me either) and I'm starting to get worried that this mystery about the hpg breakdown and this business about the forming of factions is going to go on forever (much in the same way Katrina's murders were never proved for so long). How in the world does someone get to be a Knight of the Republic? Or even a Paladin? Why is it these people are treated like gods, like they were ordained to be protectors of the universe? Where did all the mechwarriors go? Did they die of old age? Why choose Victor to be the only one alive? If the Republic can field a mech for each Knight and each Paladin and so on, what keeps them from issuing martial law and going around planet to planet stomping factions out? Why just send one person (in most cases without a mech) to "fix" things? I absolutely appreciate the political & social aspect of the BT novels but there is way too much talking and not enough mech action. Didn't anyone hide any mechs much in the way that Comstar hid warships for so long? Lastly, what is happening in the rest of the IS? I noticed in the maps that came with each MW:DA book that (with the exclusion of the Republic) none of the boundaries have changed. All in all, I give this book 5 stars for being the first book in what "could" become a powerful and intriguing series. It also gets 5 stars for some outstanding writing by a venerable author. Go out and buy his other books; non-BT related that is! I am concerned that this series could die becuase of poor writing. WizKids, please bring back some of the original BT writers (i.e. Pardoe, Keith, Gressman, Thurston, Billis, Charette, Milan, etc.)!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great book by a great writer.
Review: I was at a loss for words after reading this book. It was great! I have read many of Stackpole's STAR WARS books, but loved his work with GHOST WAR. Many people complain it doesn't have enough combat, but it's good. It shows the way the Republic of the Sphere is starting to tear. After Devlin Stone outlawed most BattleMechs there isn't much. The books is also very interesting. I'm not a fan of First person books, but this made me happy. I love this book, and suggest that everyone read it.
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