Long, James D. Books

Battletech 10: Main Event (Battletech)

James D. Long

List Price: $5.50 By: Roc Amazon Marketplace: 25 new & used starting at $0.49

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Not what I had expected 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Honestly, this novel might not even rate the three stars I have given it, but I was feeling generous.

This book reads a great deal like someone's home MechWarrior role-playing game. The main character starts out with nothing, and attempts to recruit his former neighbors and family members to his cause. The rejection leads him to Solaris VII, where he must fight to gain the materiel he needs for his personal vendetta. He is there but a few days before leaving for Outreach to find a contract for his new merc unit, and to recruit more personnel. Everything works out relatively neat and tidy. It just does not read like a good novel, with the convenience of events and the results.

Also, given the back cover text, I had expected more along the lines of a Solaris-set novel, but the story stays on that world for a comparatively short time. Much more time is spent on the world that the unit is contracted to defend. And the antagonism there again reads like something from a poorly-designed RPG campaign, with the local strife resulting in an action by that planet's leaders unlike any other in the Battletech universe. The story climaxes with combat against Clan invaders, with the occasional pointless death thrown in, I assume to highlight the random savagery of war, but seemingly tacked on as an afterthought.

I was really disappointed in this novel. Note, however, that the sequel is vastly superior and very much worth the read, while this one is sure to languish on my shelf without getting a second read.

Editorial Review:

Eager to strike back at the Clans who destroyed his 'Mech and his career, former Com Guard soldier Jeremiah Rose recruits other soldiers from the arenas to create a new mercenary unit.

Battletech 14: D. R. T. (Battletech)

James D. Long

List Price: $4.99 By: Roc Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $0.02

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Much better than the prior Black Thorns novel, but... 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

hardly what I would consider a great read. While the author's plotting and characterization have vastly improved, and the hither and thither storyline is reduced essentially to a single story arc, the actual events in the story are extremely atypical per what one would expect in the Battletech universe.

The Black Thorns, having won their battle with Clan defenders in Main Event, are contracted by the Draconis Combine to fight more Clan warriors. This time they are to be sent behind Clan lines on a raid against a soon-to-be-completed factory.

There is an overriding storyline with the protagonist and his relationship to the DropShip captain. However, this is presented mostly as a back-of-the-mind concern, having little effect on the character himself. Rather than being changed by the circumstances, he pretty much proceeds as usual, showing him to be a flat character in my opinion.

The battle follows pretty standard lines, with the Black Thorns being outnumbered and outclassed, but faring well due to their training and the relatively low caliber of their opposition. The climactic battle in the story is pretty anticlimactic in its resolution. I was disappointed in it, as it hinged more upon trickery than skill.

Overall, an OK book, not the worst in the BT series, but far from the best. It was an improvement over Main Event, but the lack of a third novel leaves us all hanging as to the fate of the unit.

Editorial Review:

In a new adventure based on the popular science fiction role-playing game, rebel forces battle government armies as they compete in an intergalactic war to capture a inestimable prize.

Harlequin (Shadowrun RPG)

W.G. Armintrout, Tom Dowd, Jerry Epperson, John Faughnan, Paul R. Hume, James D. Long, Lester W. Smith, Ken St. Andre, FASA

List Price: $12.00 By: Fasa Amazon Marketplace: 13 new & used starting at $9.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A very popular adventure anthology for the Shadowrun RPG 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This big (152 pages) adventure book is a collaboration of some well-known names in RPG writing (W.G. Armintrout & Tom Dowd & Jerry Epperson & John Faughnan & Paul R. Hume & James D. Long & Lester W. Smith & Ken St. Andre). Yeah. Very popular and out-of-print.

Note: Inexperienced sellers often confuse this book with "Harlequin's Back" (ISBN 1555602487). They are NOT the same.

Back cover text follows:
"IMAGINE A HATRED THAT HAS ENDURED FOR 5000 YEARS. The shadowrunners are sent on a string of missions, collecting obscure items, all seemingly unrelated... or are they? From the streets of Seattle to the heights of the Bavarian Alps, from the magical mayhem of Columbia, Missouri to the headwaters of the Amazon the adventure unfolds. Who would go to all this trouble to destroy one man... and why?. * A datafile. * An ancient magic Tome. * A flower. * A collection of Elven ears. * The manuscript of a soon to-be-released bestseller. * A young woman of mysterious heritage. * A world famous Elven societal theorist. All are pieces to the puzzle. Finding them is one thing. Putting it all together is another. HARLEQUIN is a series of eight adventures for SHADOWRUN designed to be interwoven into in already existing campaign. Over the course of these adventures, the players are presented with a progressively larger picture of a very complex tale of revenge."

D.R.T. (Battletech)

James D. Long

By: FASA Corporation,U.S. Amazon Marketplace: 9 new & used starting at $3.95

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Dreamchipper (Shadowrun Adventure, No. 7303)

James D. Long

Amazon Price: $8.00 List Price: $8.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Amazon Marketplace: 19 new & used starting at $1.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Dreamchipper (Shadowrun Adventure, No. 7303) 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I just started with Shadowrun, and I think this is an AWESOME RPG! This book adds a few new good elements and explains a cople of important subjects in Shadowrun. A must-have for Shadowrun GM's... !

A shadowrun adventure with a twist. 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

It's your basic run right.A simple in simple out.Get the stuff and go.Not so.This is a good adventure for 2-5 players (I recomend at least 3 players)It does require a good bit of detective work but is overall good if you can get ahold of it.RARE BOOK!

Editorial Review:

The year is 2050 Ladies of the night are being murdered and butchered with the skill of a surgeon. The Gaslight Ghoul has returned, and he stalks the streets of Seattle! In Shadowrun, the rampant substance abuse of the 19th and 20th century is now as archaic as 8-track audio tapes. Now the escape of choice is the BTL, or Better Than Life chip. Plug it in and all physical pleasures, desires, and hopes suddenly pale by comparison. Some 'experimental' chips are missing, and you've been hired to find them. But an investigation of simple theft is turning into a grisly trail that seems to have no rhyme or reason. Now you are beginning to wonder ... can these chips program someone to be a serial killer?

Bottled Demon (Shadowrun)

James D. Long

List Price: $7.80 By: Fasa Corporation Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $0.95

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