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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Jade Phoenix enters the pantheon of legendary warriors, Jul 15 2004
Falcon Guard completes The Legend of the Jade Phoenix Trilogy, the story of the remarkable Jade Falcon warrior Aidan Pryde. He earned the bloodname of Pryde in Bloodname, but as this novel opens he has never been able to rid himself of the taint surrounding his name. He was a trueborn warrior, but he earned his warrior status in a second, illegal Trial staged by his training commander Ter Roshak, posing as a freeborn to do it. Although he later declared his true identity, earned the right to keep his warrior status, and went on to win a Bloodname against incredible odds, he still had not distanced himself from his scandalous history. Even now that the long-awaited assault on the Inner Sphere has begun, his command has been relegated to mop-up actions far from the front lines of battle he yearns to fight in. Until now, that is.He has been given command of the Falcon Guard, a throwaway group of old warriors and insubordinate, troublesome fighters marked by a disgraceful defeat on the planet Twycross, but it still represents a chance to fight on the front lines for the glory of the Clans against the Inner Sphere planets - and to show how effective a commander he can be. With his loyal freeborn friend Horse by his side, he calls upon Joanna, the Falconer who trained him and with whom he has had a long and complicated history, to whip the misfits into shape. Among his new charges is his own daughter - although he does not know he has a daughter or, as a trueborn warrior born of artificial genetic manipulation, really even understand the concept of parenthood. The battlefield of Tukayyid will determine the outcome of the Inner Sphere invasion; victory opens the way for the invasion of Terra itself, but defeat establishes a 15-year period during which the Clan can do nothing to advance their forces. For Aidan Pryde, it is the chance to achieve the honor he has always sought, to remove forevermore the taint attached to his name, his career, and his genetic heritage. Thurston brings the field of battle to vivid life in these pages, offering readers a thrilling look at a massive engagement of Battlemechs and warriors in a fight for victory, pride, and heritage. It's a thrilling, satisfying conclusion to a classic Battletech storyline.
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