Andrew

This is the first book I've read "live" in awhile; most things in my library are old books or have been on my reading list for years before I get around to them. I am already regretting the long wait until the next book in the series comes out.

This is a worthy follow-up to The Mercy of Gods and does a good job expanding and diversifying the core cast from the first book. I don't know how many books the series is planned to run for in total, but this one is still very much a world-building exercise as the humans continue trying to adapt to the new status quo. Many interesting ideas and plot lines are introduced here with no immediate payoff but I have high hopes for continuing the series.

The Parker series continues to improve, as this one has Parker waging a proxy war against the titular Outfit. Instead of focusing on one big heist like the last novel, Stark devotes a chapter each to five different heists around the country, any one of which could have easily been drawn out into its own novel.

Parker's world, his closest connections, and his attitudes are more developed by the 3rd book in, but he hasn't developed any more empathy or nuance and retains all his single-minded edge.

As a long time fan of the Battletech/Mechwarrior game franchise, I was looking forward to learning more about the expanded universe. While The Sword and the Dagger does cover an important period of in-universe lore, it is unfortunately a bit of a slog to get through.

The conspiracy at the heart of the plot is convuluted and the characterizations are paper-thin...but thankfully, House Totally Noble Good Guy, with the help of House Unquestiongly Loyal Ally, is able to triumph over House Nefarious Evildoer.

I know that the series gets better as I read some other random Battletech novels when I was (much, much) younger. If this were my first experience with Battletech lore I don't think I'd be inspired to read further.