The cover is about and the back cover blurb is this:
A HERD DIVIDED…
For the entirety of its existence, Clan Hell’s Horses has been underestimated by its fellow Clans. The inclusion of tanks and infantry alongside their BattleMech forces has often unfairly forced the Horses into lopsided alliances with other Clans. As competing Clans race headlong to conquer Terra, the birthplace of humanity, the Horses must focus on survival rather than the glory of conquest. But many Horses want more, and they refuse to be shouldered aside as Clans Jade Falcon and Wolf reap the rewards of their campaign toward Terra.
Star Captain Peter Cobb, a controversial rising star and military scholar, sees a new trail for the Hell’s Horses to blaze. This path would put the Clan on a fiery trajectory to earn the victories and respect they rightfully deserve, and push the Clan toward a prosperous future. But few embrace his controversial ideas and, divided by distrust and ambition, the leadership of his Clan lacks the will to ensure that the Hell’s Horses will be strong enough to survive the tumultuous conflicts ahead.
Caught between the bloody agendas of two rival Khans—a political maneuverer and a bellicose warmonger—Peter must find a way to restore the soul of the Hell’s Horses without sullying his honor, or risk dooming his entire Clan to extinction in the face of a rising power unlike any the Inner Sphere has ever seen…
For me, Honor is a milestone. It's the longest piece of fiction that I've ever written solo that's been published. It comes in at a little over 76,000 words, much longer than either Elements of Treason: Duty or Elements of Treason: Opportunity (Both are 40-45,000 words). Of the three novels in this series, it's also the one I have to really dig into because it involved a faction with very little exposure in story fiction, and I had to string together a narrative that wasn't as clear-cut as both Duty and Opportunity.
The story focuses on Star Captain Peter Cobb, a warrior who challenges the status quo of the Hell's Horses. A deep thinker and someone who isn't afraid to push the envelope. I won't give away the plot, but Peter is a developing character with a bright future ahead of him -- assuming he survives.
Peter Cobb was a blank page, with little to go on. In Tamar Rising, it says this about Peter:
"Another critic of the new Khan is Star Captain Peter Cobb of the Fire Horse Galaxy’s First Horde Cluster. Unusually cerebral and introspective for a Trueborn Clan officer, he couples this with exceptional martial skill, in and out of his ’Mech. In Clan Council meetings, Cobb has openly questioned what the Clan’s purpose should be in the wake of Terra’s fall, and whether the Khan possesses a coherent vision for their future. He has gained a prominent ally in the form of Loremaster Sachiko Ravenwater, who has urged him to stand for saKhan, while also taking the unusual step of circulating transcripts of Cobb’s concise and articulate speeches among the Clan’s freeborn and non-Bloodnamed Trueborn warriors, earning the Star Captain a surprisingly large cadre of supporters in the lower echelons of the touman."
I made Peter a warrior/scholar, a warrior who isn't afraid of learning from history. He isn't afraid to stake out a position, name names, and is willing to defend his position with words or with actions. That is where we first meet Peter, engaged in a Trial of Grievance. He wants to push the Horses out of the rut they're in because the Clan have done little since they came back to the Inner Sphere. They've taken a few planets, mostly ones from the retreating Wolf Empire, but they had been coasting along for the last seventy years. They developed the Mongol Doctrine, but lose it to the Jade Falcons Malvina Hazen, who then twists it to suit her own needs. It is Peter's research and exploration of the Golden Orbun Alliance that brings him to the forefront.
In addition to Peter's story, we get a look at the inner workings of a Clan that we haven't seen much of. I tried to make the Hell's Horse their own unique faction, with their own traditions and ways of doing things. We also get a look at a clan that is drifting toward crisis and maybe civil war, as the Horses Khans are divided, each pursuing their own agenda with their own methods. This split is forcing the castes, from warriors down to laborers to choose a side.
One of my favorite characters in this novel is Sachiko Ravenwater, the Hell's Horses Loremaster and Commander of The First Horde Cluster. An example of the saying, "Beware of an old person in a profession where the young die regularly," Sachiko is nearing ninety and has been Loremaster for over fifty years, outlasted several khans and sakhans, has seen everything a Clan Warrior can see and has a closet of T-shirts to prove it. Despite her age, she is still an active warrior and does not take guff off of anyone. While most people her age are knitting and baking cookies, Sachiko is balancing her duties of Loremaster and Cluster command, both demanding positions. She is still a dangerous warrior who sees what the Khan Gottfried Amirault and saKhan Fulk Lassenerra are doing to the clan. and has decided to take action by guiding a warrior who can lead the clan -- Peter Cobb.
The novel covers the period between May 3150 -- September 3152, putting it into the beginning to the iIlClan era. As far as I know, this is the last of the Element of Treason novels, though if John wants more, I'm willing to write them. I've enjoyed writing these novels, to give two new factions some exposure and to give the least-known of the Inner Sphere clan some time in the sunshine.
The novel can be found here: Elements of Treason: Honor Right now, it's only in an Ebook form a tthe moment, but should be available as a POD book within a few days. So enjoy, and let me know what you think of it!
Later!
Craig
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