I have been a fan of Scott Warren's work since reading "Vick's Vultures", which I discovered through a recommendation by author Nathan Lowell. I hoped CHEVALIER would be just as excellent and to my absolute delight, it is! The world building is intriguing, the battle action absorbing, non-stop, and sometimes heartstopping., The characters are each well-crafted, with just enough backstory and interaction to make me wonder how long before I can get my hands on the next installment in what promises to be an excellent series.

A brand-new entry into the strangely sparse mecha category of science fiction? Not only yes, but oh hell yes!

I've been a sucker for giant humanoid robots beating the ever-loving tar out of each other since 1985, when the Robotech anime debuted on U.S. shores. Unlike American cartoons at the time, Robotech pulled absolutely no punches; there was a huge overarching plot, mature situations and concepts were the norm, and main characters straight up DIED. Compared to the saccharine Saturday morning offerings I was accustomed to, Robotech was like a cattle-prod straight the cerebellum and a knee straight to the groin…at the same time.

And though I have grown older and (dubiously) wiser, I still derive a sense of childlike glee when I see a heavily-armed mech, a plucky pilot, and a danger that needs crushing. Between video games, books, models, and movies, my love for mecha is like an itch that refuses to go away. Therefore, it is with great satisfaction that I can assert the following: War Horses: Chevalier absolutely scratches that itch.

This is my third NetGalley ARC review, and the first to deviate from my beloved horror genre. I picked this title based on the cover alone, completely unaware of the fact that author Scott Warren has quite the established repertoire; eight other books to be exact. Though none of the others appear to focus on the aforementioned tar-beating robots, I will still be adding them to my TBR. And, I'm not gonna lie.I wanna co-author a mech book with this dude. Or, barring that, spend a little time jump-roping in his playground, coming up with my own little entry into his burgeoning universe.

As with all my reviews, I will attempt to keep spoilers to a minimum. My reasoning for this is two-fold; first, I firmly believe that books of any and all genres are simply more enjoyable when the reader goes in blind, stripped of all preconceived notions and expectations; and second, out of respect for the author, who spent countless hours crafting their tale. Robbing stories of their intended impact, in my opinion, is a considerable disservice to the people who penned them. As such, if it's not mentioned in the official synopsis, I will do my level best to avoid mentioning it here.

First up, the official stuff: War Horses: Chevalier will be officially released on September 15th. It is a single-POV affair, told in first-person past tense, and clocks in around 65,000 words. Though it is military sci-fi, technical jargon isn't overly intrusive, avoiding the Clancy and Weber methods of relentlessly over-explaining a book's technology. That said, the technology isn't completely glossed over, either. This isn't the hardest of hard science-fiction, but it skirts the edge a few times.

Truth be told, I knew I was in good hands based on Scott's "a word from the author" section at the beginning of the book. Here, he provides his reasoning for writing War Horses, which include being influenced by many of the same games and movies as myself. That he acknowledges both the genre's failings, and his own attempt to right that ship (in a gloriously self-effacing manner, might I add), endeared him to me immediately. This was a book I WANTED to like.

Fortunately, War Horses did not let me down in the slightest.

As mentioned earlier, this is a single-POV affair. I generally like my science-fiction stories to have multiple protagonists, if only to help flesh out these new worlds and concepts that are being introduced. But with War Horses, the lone POV actually works well. This is a relatively self-contained tale, and the pacing is brisk, with very little jumping around. As such, Vandal is able to carry the weight of it himself.

As a main character, Rande "Vandal" VanDelle is just about everything I could want him to be. Stubborn, loyal, and frequently imperfect, he makes for an engaging lead. He's not one of those characters who is naturally good at everything; he works hard in order to be up to snuff in nearly every category. All work and no play…all that jazz. He's got snark, no great game with the ladies, and a self-effacing and sarcastic side that I found most welcoming. The story works as well as it does due to his relatability. When he triumphs, we as the readers are elated. When he fails, we feel his pain, since we've all been in similar situations (without big stompy mechs, naturally). He just felt...real. And I appreciated that.

The supporting cast are pretty much par for the course. There's the grizzled veterans, the newbies with something to prove, and a host of ancillary characters filling their niche roles and popping in when needed. Despite being a dumpster fire of a human being, J.K. Rowling did at least one thing right; she showed that a main character did not have to be "the best" in order for fans to root for them. Vandal is spectacularly mediocre when it comes to piloting his MBU (main battle upright, aka mech), and is surrounded by people who have been doing it longer, and ergo better. Without them, he'd have been dead many times over. And though the rest of the cast do not get a lot of page time, they each have something to offer the story, and intersect with Vandal in realistic and meaningful ways.

Speaking of the MBU's, that's where the money is for me. War Horses is, at its core, a type of coming-of-age story...not literally, but figuratively. Through happenstance and luck, Vandal finds his true calling as a mech jockey, and then must learn to navigate those new (and highly dangerous) waters. Fortunately for us readers, the MBU's are well thought out. Mr. Warren wasn't joking in his forward about wanting to break the genre free from the quagmire it was stuck in. The technology that drives these behemoths, their size/weight classifications, and their offensive & defensive armaments are all well-designed and plausible. Vroom, stomp, kaboom…I'm such a sucker for these types of stories.

The battles, when they happen, and chaotic and hard-hitting. More skirmishes than long and drawn out affairs, when the action heats up in War Horses, it brought a smile to my face. I simply wish there were more of them. Of course, "all fighting all the time" would wear thin, and I understand the need for the quieter interludes between combat scenarios. I even agree with said interludes. But I still wanted more battles.

Like Kylo Ren said; "More! MORE!"

Where some authors fail is in describing large battle tactics. Fortunately, the combat here is on a smaller scale, and hews (in my mind, at least) close to believable tactics. Weapons behave like they should, and don't have the infinite ammo that some authors seem to revel in. There are no science-fiction shields to contend with, just specialized deployable armor which, like in real life, is not impervious. These developments, and others, keep combat grounded, where technically "anything" can happen. Which exactly how real life warfare plays out. Kudos to Mr. Warren for this.

Inclusiveness is broad for the supporting cast, as it should be. People of color, various heritages, beliefs, and sexual orientations are simply “there”, organic and natural.

What blew my mind, honestly, was that War Horses feels longer than 65k words. Credit where credit is due; Mr. Warren did a great job in building a cohesive and comprehensive start of a new series. There's very little plot contrivance to be found. Hardly any instances of "oh, as luck would have it." moments. Every victory, every step forward, every ounce of respect gained…it all feels earned.

And as someone living that weapon-system maintainer lifestyle, I have mad respect for any author who gives that aspect of military operations a spot in the limelight.

Nitpicks are few and far between. Only a few technical gaffes caught my attention, and there was some word repetition that made a few passages a little rocky. But, outside of that, this is a well-written and well-edited
offering. I enjoyed having a completely clean break from our "current" era, unlike Cartwright's Cavaliers, which couldn't help but dip its toe in the Ernest Cline pool, which was both distracting and highly unnecessary.

I have to say it; War Horses is the railgun shot in the arm that the sci-fi military mecha genre needed! I will absolutely be returning this sector of the universe for more vroom/stomp/kaboom action!

Viser Juste Chevalier!

Four out of five heavily armored stars.

A great start to a new series. The storyline is intriguing and will hold your interest; the characters are well developed and there is plenty of action to keep you reading. I cannot wait for the next book in the series to come out!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.