Böcker av Blaine Lee Pardoe

A RACE TO VICTORY... Terra. Birthplace of humankind. Cradle of the Inner Sphere. For centuries, it has been the Clans' ultimate prize. As prophesied by their founder, Nicholas Kerensky, the Clan that conquers Terra shall ascend above all others to become the ilClan, ruler over the rest of the Clans. And its leader shall become the ilKhan, and will lead the Inner Sphere into a new era. And now, nearly a century after the Clan Invasion, two Clans race to be the first to reach Terra. On one side is Alaric Ward, Khan of Clan Wolf, a brilliant warrior and complex mix of the best of the Clans and the Inner Sphere. He comes to save the Inner Sphere from itself, intending to construct a new empire among the stars. His main adversary is Chingis Khan Malvina Hazen, the brutal, ruthless leader of Clan Jade Falcon. Forged in a tradition where only the strong survive, she leads her touman not to save the Inner Sphere, but to raze it to ashes and rebuild it according to her own twisted vision. All that stands between them and a decisive victory that will reshape the Inner Sphere forever is the impenetrable barrier shielding Terra from invasion, not to mention the forces of the once-mighty Republic, which has no plans to surrender without a vicious fight...the only question is, who will reach Terra first?

A PRIZE WORTH THE RISK... Despite years of effort, ComStar has been unable to repair the HPG interstellar communications grid. Now the Republic is taking a hands-on approach to fixing the problem. An active hyperpulse generator can turn its planet into a tempting target. So when ComStar appears close to reactivating the HPG on Wyatt, the Republic takes steps to counter any threats to the world-at a time when ComStar is determined to prove that it's once more a force to be reckoned with... Knight-Errant Alexi Holt is assigned to defend Wyatt for the Republic. But her greatest challenge is to protect Tucker Harwell-a genius possessing unmatched HPG skills-from the invaders who will certainly try to capture him. Both the Oriente Protectorate and Clan Spirit Cat have an interest in Wyatt. The first seeks to control the man who can fix an HPG, the other is looking for a safe haven. Unsavory characters will also step forward. After all, though a reactivated HPG makes Wyatt a target, Tucker Harwell is the biggest prize of all...

FAR FROM HOME... Exarch Devlin Stone, hero of the Word of Blake Jihad and architect of the Republic of the Sphere, has returned only to find his beloved nation under siege and in danger of breaking apart. As threats bear down on the Republic from all sides, Stone and his inner circle must move fast to bolster Terra's defenses from all who seek to conquer the birthplace of humanity. However, not all of his allies have heeded Stone's call to arms. Former Exarch Damien Redburn, who left Terra to defend the Republic's borders from the rapacious Clan Wolf, was cut off when the walls of Fortress Republic rose. Without support or reinforcements, Redburn, the Fidelis, and Countess Tara Campbell's Highlanders have held the line against the Wolves for years, but the never-ending campaign has pushed all of them to their breaking points. Is Stone's return genuine, or a carefully crafted hoax? Can Redburn be brought back into the fold, or has he gone rogue for good? In the end, Stone, Redburn, and their allies must each decide their path before tensions can erupt in a clash that could shake the very foundation of the Republic...

JUMP BACK INTO THE COCKPIT!Picking up the battle standard for BattleTech fiction, Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine continues the tradition of hard-hitting stories set in the war-torn interstellar future of the 31st century and beyond. Fire up your 'Mech's fusion reactor, secure your neurohelmet, and wade into battle with stories from the merciless front lines of the Clan Invasion and other eras, conspiracy theory articles, game scenarios, and more from veteran BattleTech authors, fan favorites, and some new recruits.Featuring: Michael A. StackpoleBlaine Lee PardoeKevin KillianyCraig A. Reed, Jr.Chris HusseyJason HansaLance ScarinciMichael J. CiaravellaPatrick WynneAaron Cahall

VICTORY AT ANY COST...Jump into your BattleMech cockpit, fire up your fusion engine, and charge into the fray with two BattleTech novellas from Philip A. Lee and bestselling writer Blaine Lee Pardoe.A Splinter of Hope Violent expansion of the Capellan Confederation and the Draconis Combine has cost recently crowned First Prince Julian Davion both his mentor and countless Federated Suns worlds. To rally his people, he funnels the fires of justice into an ambitious yet risky campaign to retake a vital system: New Syrtis, the occupied capital of the Capellan March. However, the Capellan people have fought dearly for their prize and will do anything in their power to hold onto it. Will Julian's gamble preserve the future of the Federated Suns, or is the invasion doomed before it even begins?The Anvil Khan Malvina Hazen of Clan Jade Falcon is known throughout the Inner Sphere as a merciless, bloodthirsty tyrant. The next target for her scorched-earth, take-no-prisoners tactics is the Lyran Commonwealth world of Coventry: a persistent stain on the Jade Falcons' history. But not all Falcons follow Malvina's lead. Ordered to take Coventry at any cost, Galaxy Commander Stephanie Chistu wishes to see her Clan victorious, but no victory is worth the Jade Falcons losing their very soul. To stand up to tyranny and find an honorable path forward for her Clan, she must balance the razor's edge between duty and honor-or die trying.

SEMPER FIDELISIn the year 3060, the reborn Star League has destroyed Clan Smoke Jaguar, conquered their home world Huntress, and scattered the few remaining Jaguar warriors to the winds. Now the League seeks to end the Clan invasion for good by using former Smoke Jaguars against their own people.Meanwhile, two bitter enemies seek to salvage a future for the last Jaguars in existence: Trent, who betrayed his wayward Clan to help them regain their honor, and Paul Moon, a disgraced warrior torn between his pledged loyalty to the Star League and a duty to the Smoke Jaguar civilization he was born to protect.But power-hungry predators lurk in Clan space, waiting for the right time to strike the vulnerable Star League forces. And to the victor will go the spoils: the priceless artifacts of a destroyed Clan and the sacred genetics of the final generation of Smoke Jaguar warriors.Trent and Paul Moon must fight tooth and nail against would-be conquerors to save the soul of the surviving Jaguar people before they are consigned to the annals of history. But will their divergent plans tear the survivors apart, or lead them toward freedom?

BROTHERS IN ARMS...At long last, the Clans' campaign for the Inner Sphere is about to come to a head. Alaric Wolf is preparing for his biggest moves yet...and is willing to enlist just about any force that can help him achieve his ultimate goal-the conquest of Terra.To do this, he sends one of his own on a very special mission. Marotta Kerensky is a Wolf warriors unlike any other-the perfect candidate for a mission unlike any other: convince the legendary Wolf's Dragoons to rejoin the Clan they originally came from.But when Marotta reaches the mercenary unit, he finds them unit quite different from the storied force of more than a century ago. The times have vastly changed since then, and the Dragoons have as well...or have they? Driven to accomplish his mission at any cost, Marotta allies with a Dragoons officer on a risky gambit that may help him deliver what his Khan wants...or tear Wolf's Dragoons apart forever.

A definitive biography of the aviator Bert Hall of the Lafayette Escadrille, a French fighter squadron during World War 1. Hall was variously labelled as: rogue, card cheat, forger, human cannonball, criminal, bigamist, deserter, filmmaker, author, Chinese General, arms smuggler, Foreign Legionnaire, salesman, aerial racer amd aviation pioneer.