29 replies to this topic

[Gayang3]

Hey fellow mech warriors

I have put in about 100hrs in to the game and love it. I have done some reading about the various mechs on Sarna (mainly before I would buy a model). I am sensing that there is a huge amount of backstory and mythology about these mechs, heros and the factions and the clans etc that I as a casual player is missing out on. And the more I am playing this game, the more I want to dive deeper.

Are there any books, comics that I should be reading? Is there like a triology or something on Amazon that I should buy? Help me out gals/guys...

[Ngamok]

Blood of Kerensky Triloy, best 3 to start with.

http://www.sarna.net...ky_%28series%29

Edited by Ngamok, 03 June 2014 - 12:38 PM.

[Ngamok]

Also this list:

http://en.wikipedia....ttleTech_novels

The Warrior Trilogy was a good one. Also Wolve's on the Border very good read about Kurita and Wolf's Dragoons. Also, Wolf Pack is a good read to see how Wolf's Dragoons came into being and what their purpose was.

[EyeOne]

Well there are a lot of books. Reading them all would take a while. But, I'd recommend The Warrior Trilogy (http://www.sarna.net...Warrior_Trilogy). Good story, good action and you get to see the birth of the Yen Lo Wang. Btw, my mother (who is 60) read this set 2 years ago. It's crazy, I can talk Battletech lore with my house wife, non video game playing little mom.

After that you could probably skip straight to the clan invasion (http://www.sarna.net...ood_of_Kerensky). That would be the most relevant to what is going on in the game now.

Enjoy!

[627]

Best books for me were the grey death trilogy and after that the books about the black thorns and jeremiah rose.

But for best understanding take the warrior trilogy and said blood of kerensky one.

[JimEvolved]

Grumble grumble Lethal Heritage is turning out to be hard to find. Not in local library system and not available as Kindle e-book.

[CycKath]

Sadly yes there are rights issues effecting re-releases of the classic novels, but some such as Blood of Keresnky Omnibus did get released in ebook form before the plug was pulled.

[Rhaythe]

I'm reading the Chaos Irregulars right now. Ain't bad.

[Joseph Mallan]

Rhaythe, on 03 June 2014 - 04:36 PM, said:

I'm reading the Chaos Irregulars right now. Ain't bad.

I'm friends with many of the members who created that FanFic unit. They predate my joining the BattleCorps Legion and my willingness to try my hand at writing.

[Karl Streiger]

If you really want to read a book without heros and vilians -> Isle of the Blessed (no biased like warrior or blood of Kerensky trilogy)

another good option - for good combined arms fighting - short novel Hector

and for a better not biased look on the IS you really really should think about BattleCorps Anthology's currently 4 available

all those books are available as E-Books - at battlecorps or Drivethrough Fiction

[RangerGee412]

http://www.stargazer..._novel_list.htm lists them in chronological order, every book has Been great. Cant find them on a kindle except the dark series near the end. Hard copy are also difficult to find. But you can get them on epub no problem.

[Kali Rinpoche]

Used book stores are a good place to find them also. I just recently picked up 5 used novels, 2 of which I already had, but were dog-eared. Personally I can't stand the Dark Age story line or novels, but you may enjoy them once you get through all of what I consider the true cannon of BT. Not a fan of the Jihad or Dark Age.

[PieRat]

The JAde falcon Trilogy is also pretty good. I would go with what other people here are listing. I recently started adding to my BT library the books I am missing. Can find on Ebay (can be expensive depending on title, but not always), local used bookstores, and a few other places out there. Also I am not sure if it is still available over at the catalyst games website, but I think they had the PDF version of the state of the innersphere book that comes with the TT introductory set for free download. it gives a short but very informative timelinef all events up and past the clan invasions.

Also the source books from the TT game are awesome as well. Basically a 100+ pages each dedicated to the various houses, etc... [redacted]

Edited by Egomane, 05 June 2014 - 05:58 AM.
content removed as requested

[Mott]

I had about 50 of the novels from my teens (90s). I recently managed to almost complete the collection through ebay, amazon, chapters-indigo and kijiji purchases.

Haven't decided if i'll keep it after re-reading them all, or sell it to someone else experiencing the lore for the first time.

[Hawk819]

Ngamok, on 03 June 2014 - 12:37 PM, said:

Blood of Kerensky Triloy, best 3 to start with.

http://www.sarna.net...ky_%28series%29

Actually, [Mike] Stackpole would prefer a person to read the Warrior Trilogy first, and then the Kerensky series. That way, a person will know hows, whos, etc., before the Kerensky series came to be. Just saying.

[Skylarr]

Many have there own series that they prefer. I Like the Grey Death Saga Series, but, I feel the following books will give you a good feel of the BattleTech Universe.

This is a good start. Gives you a feel for how things were at the start of the 4th Succession War:
I would start with the Warrior Trilogy by Michael A. Stackpole, is about the events before and during the Fourth Succession War( 3028 to 3030). The main acts are the wedding of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner, the experiences of Justin Xiang on Solaris VII and on Sian, the vendetta between Morgan Kell and Yorinaga Kurita, the machinations of Michael Hasek-Davion and of subversive elements inside the Steiner nobility, ComStar's secret manipulations and of course the most important battles of the war.

• Warrior: En Garde (August 1988) 3026
  
• Warrior: Riposte (October 1988) 3028
  
• Warrior: Coupé (April 1989) 3029

I really like this book. It helps you understand allot about the Draconis Combine:
Heir to the Dragon, by Robert N. Charrette, follows Theodore Kurita for twenty-two years as he learns to survive and thrive in the subtle and deadly courts of the Draconis Combine. The novel is also the only narrative of the War of 3039.


As I said before this is my favorite series, It follows the unit from it start in 3024 all ther way to its demise during the FedCom Civil War:
The Saga of the Gray Death Legion is a series of books about the famed Gray Death Legion mercenary unit. Most of the novels are by William H. Keith, Jr., with additional writing by Andrew Keith and Thomas S. Gressman. (This is the Mercenary unit that found the Helm Memory core that brought back Star League Tech right as the Clans hit.)

1. Decision at Thunder Rift by William H. Keith, Jr. (June 1986) 3024
2. Mercenary's Star by William H. Keith, Jr. (June 1987)
3. The Price of Glory by William H. Keith, Jr. (October 1987) 3028 (Helm Memory Core was found in this book)
(William H. Keith's short story Legion Team, from the Shrapnel antology, also depicts the Gray Death Legion in action during the classic Late Succession Wars timeframe, sometime after the events of Mercenary's Star.)
4. Blood of Heroes by Andrew Keith (July 1993) 3056 -From this book on the novels cover the unit after Clan Invasion-
5. Tactics of Duty by William H. Keith, Jr. (August 1995)
6. Operation Excalibur by William H. Keith, Jr. (August 1998)
7. The Dying Time by Thomas S. Gressman (January 2002)


I feel this is a very good series of books that help explain allot about the Clans:
The Legend of the Jade Phoenix trilogy, by Robert Thurston, is the story of the fall and redemption of Aidan Pryde, hero of Clan Jade Falcon.

• Way of the Clans (August 1991) (This happens in Clan space before the Clan Invasion)
  
• Bloodname (October 1991) (This happens in Clan space before the Clan Invasion)
  
• Falcon Guard (December 1991) (This is about Aiden Pryde during The Invasion including the Battle of Tukayyid)

I feel this is a Must Read series:
Blood of Kerensky is a trilogy by Michael A. Stackpole about the Clan Invasion (3049 - 3052)

• Lethal Heritage (September 1989)
  
• Blood Legacy (December 1990)
  
• Lost Destiny (April 1991)

There are many other fine novels you can read. Here is a complete list of BattleTech Novels.

Morgana, on 09 May 2014 - 03:58 AM, said:

If you are really interested in the Battletech lore, it would really help you, to read the books in chronological succession. Certain books reference events of previous books, and without that knowledge, you may miss some key understandings.

BattleTech Novel List

My favorite so far is still Mercenary Star, but still have many to read.

v This is a list that I made over a year ago and I post when someone asks for a recommendation.

[_Comrade_]

The dark age novels are really bad, the classic 90's books are awesome, Blood of Kerensky is the story of the invasion. You will also learn a lot about clan culture. Jade Phoenix Trilogy was my favorite, Malicious Intent is also good as well as Impetus of War. The Northwind Highlanders are probably my favorite merc unit to read about

[Tim East]

Jade pheonix books definitely my favorites as well. Good insight into clan culture, persuaded me to like CJF more than Wolf.

[Pht]

Grimwill, on 08 June 2014 - 07:31 PM, said:

The dark age novels are really bad,

They aren't.

Here's a thought, Gyang. Read them for yourself and make your own decision.

The fair warnings:

yes, there isn't regiment-on-regiment bloodbath mudrwresting mech-action in the first few books. It takes it a while to get back up to that level of combat.

Illsa j Bick's print books in the MWDA series aren't battletech books. They're violence-porn-truecrime books.

There are also people out there who whole-heartedly believe that the clans utterly destroyed the storyline too.

And people out there who think that anything but scavenger-tech fighting in the ruins of the succession wars is the ONLY valid BT game, who decry anything else.

Read through, and decide what you like or don't for yourself... and than just admit that you don't (or do) like something, and say why, instead of attempting to make the fool of anyone who disagrees with you.

Edited by Pht, 10 June 2014 - 10:20 AM.

[Nightmare1]

Definitely start with the Blood of Kerensky Trilogy. You can order books for free through your local library using the Inner Library Loan System.