"Flashpoint" tells the story David McCarthy, a hero of the Inner Sphere invasion of Clan space. At that time, David had held the equivalent rank of major and was a battalion commander in the Kathil Uhlans, an elite Federated Comonwealth regiment based on David's homeworld of Kathil.

Upon his return to the Inner Sphere, David learns that the Federated Commonwealth has been taken over by Katherine (Katrina) Steiner-Davion, the sister of it's rightful ruler, Victor Steiner-Davion, who had lead the expedition which had rescued the remnants of David's unit, and had won the victory against the Clans which had ended the Clans' invasion of the Inner Sphere.

Although the rest of his unit had decided to join the new Star League Defense Force, following Prince Victor into exile, David wanted to return home to his native Kathil. Reduced in rank to a captain, David arrives on Kathil to find tensions building between the supporters of Katherine, and the supporters of Victor. The Militia unit David reports to is loyal to Victor; but on planet is another unit, whose loyalty is to Katherine. Trouble is brewing.

But David has troubles of his own. Named a hero of the Inner Sphere invasion of the Clan worlds, he is scarred by the memories of a hopeless battle that wrecked his last command. Can he re-train his new Militia command to understand the reality of war, and put his own demons to rest?

There's more, of course. Political intrigue, lots of action, on the ground and in space, and even a li'l bit of romance. The romance angle falls flat, as that subplot is poorly developed. You can see it coming, even though the author gives little reason as to why it is coming.

But this book's worst flaw comes from the actions of the main villian of this tale, an unscrupulous and ambitious officer who is a battalion commander in the unit loyal to Katherine. This guy's a lot of fun, but a certain decision on this character's part is totally unbelievable.

Still, Battletech fans probably won't mind to much. This is a good book, McCarthy a likeable character, and unlike the prior book in the series, "Path of Glory", the author is given enough space to tell his story.

"Flashpoint" is one of the better recent books in this series. Battletech fans will approve.


A spectacular addition to the battletech series   April 6, 2001
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Flashpoint by Loren L. Coleman has just about everything a Battletech reader could ask for. From the advancement of the steiner-davion civil war to the introduction of the Avalon class warship to the series. Any and all readers intrested in the world of Battletech should read this book. If not to advance their knowledge of the series, than for simple personal enjoyment. In my opinion, this book ranks among the best of the series.


The Long Overdue War   July 2, 2001
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I've been following the Battletech saga for nearly 4 years now and I have to admit, this civil war is LONG OVERDUE. I'm sure glad that the Clan Wars are over so the storylines could more or less focus on the Federated Commonwealth question: Who gets to be Archon-Prince/cess for good?

Flashpoint definitely lives up to its name as it jumpstarts the war on the FedSuns side. (I believe Illusions of Victory and Measure of a Hero are on the Lyran front). Now its hard to believe that a lot of FedSuns units are actually loyal to Katherine like several FedCom RCTs considering that she is so identified as Steiner intrigues me. I would have expected that the majority of these units would still side with Victor and that Katherine would be forced to send in Lyran units to pacify Davion planets.

Anyway, the book is a good read as it highlights the sheer chaos of the civil war pitting the local authorities, line units, planetary militias, heads of states and general populace of each FedCom world. Makes you wonder if the Free Worlds League and Capellan Confederation would attempt opportunistic incursions on both Lyran and FedSuns territory as the war progresses.


Finally, a BattleTech book worth reading...   April 17, 2001
While not on par with a Stackpole book, this is as close as it gets. A great book all around: the plot is sound, good historical references, normal characters with depth, a continuation of other plots from other books, and a final declaration from Prince Victor himself. Wow, a must read.


End of the Beginning   May 4, 2001
Coleman is the best writer involved with the Battletech Universe today. Flashpoint lacks the depth of character to make it the beginning of the next great Battletech trilogy, but if given a chance I have no doubt Coleman could do extremely well taking the Battletech Universe into it's next era. Flashpoint's storyline is a must read for Battletech fans. It wraps up the series of authors/storylines which have been the beginning of the coming Civil War. The battle scenes will appear very detailed and "realistic" even to those who haven't played the game.