Michael Stackpole
#41
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:21 AM
I saw people hating on him in the recent "fusion reactor going critical" thread, but I always thought that was just a lot of fun...and if 30 meter walking death machines are feasible, I can suspend disbelief well enough on reactor's going critical...Scientifically impossible or no.
#42
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:23 AM
I will fully agree that he is not a great author and his Battletech books are only good by the standards of contract writers, but if we're honest none of the Battletech authors are great writers. He was of three major contract authors I actually like and will read (the others being Nigel Findley who wrote some Shadowrun books and Sandy Mitchel who does the Commissaar Cain books).
OF the other Battletech authors I can thin of, I think Robert N Charette is vastly over rates, the Robert Thurston Jade Falcon Trilogy was terrible and I don't think Loren Coleman should be let near the battletech universe.
I know some people swear by Blaine Lee Pardoe but I can't recall if I have ever read his books and the people I know personally who have recommended him have terrible tastes in books so I don't have high hopes.
#43
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:25 AM
#44
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:27 AM
I heard that Michael Stackpole stopped writing BT books because of the new word limit that was imposed. I read somewhere that he didn't feel he could produce a good work with those restrictions. I actually respected him for that.
#45
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:27 AM
I have autographed copies of the Warrior Trilogy. He signed Warrior:Riposte with "Hanse Davion throws a party!" which I found amusing
OK I may have a tiny man-crush.... DON'T JUDGE ME!!!
#46
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:30 AM
Dagger6T6, on 26 June 2012 - 10:12 AM, said:
I was also able to find the first printings of all six books in their 1980's cover glory at a local used bookstore about a year ago.
Very jealous, his cartomancy series was great. Also if nobody posted it yet his website is www.stormwolf.com
#47
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:31 AM
#48
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:32 AM
Tadakuma, on 26 June 2012 - 10:23 AM, said:
May he RIP... I heard he died while writing that Hawaii book ("House of the Rising Sun" was it?).
One of my pet hates is when you see authors picking up another authors' pet character. I read a short story where someone used Dirk and it's just WRONG... nobody ever manages to capture the same feel, no matter how well they know the character or the author's style. The only exception is where a book is finished in the event of an author's death, as that one was - it's pretty much owed to the author to bring it to completion so their fans can enjoy one last outing with their beloved characters.
#49
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:33 AM
#50
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:33 AM
#51
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:34 AM
Daemoro, on 26 June 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:
I have autographed copies of the Warrior Trilogy. He signed Warrior:Riposte with "Hanse Davion throws a party!" which I found amusing
OK I may have a tiny man-crush.... DON'T JUDGE ME!!!
Tallion was fantastic, if enough people buy the e-book version he said he'll publlish a sequal. Haven't checked the status lately but check the website i listed in the above post if you'd like to see another Talion book. stormwolf.com
Edited by Madddog, 26 June 2012 - 10:36 AM.
#52
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:34 AM
HappyDumpling, on 26 June 2012 - 10:31 AM, said:
Nah... the politics was fun!!!
Max Liao's face when he realised that the crests on the plates were the planets that Hanse was planning to invade - priceless.
You gotta admit, declaring war AND informing your enemy of the systems you plan to invade ahead of time - the guy has style.
#53
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:38 AM
#54
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:38 AM
HappyDumpling, on 26 June 2012 - 10:31 AM, said:
Nope, if BattleTech was just about big stompy robots I would probably not have liked it nearly as much.
#55
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:41 AM
Although this may come off as heresy to some people here, his DA novel Ghostwar was my first, and is my favourite BT novel of all time (It was my first and final DA novel though).
It really doesn't have anything to do with BT at all, there is barely some minor fights, but the story is just plain cool.
The main character is just a legend of a guy and you get to follow him on a very interesting story, which evolves from incredibly small scale to super-overkill. It may not be an oldschool BT novel, but it's a damn good (though demanding) read just by itself. It just all begins and ends in the same novel, something that's very rare in the BT universe .
Edited by zirkonflex, 26 June 2012 - 10:44 AM.
#56
Posted 26 June 2012 - 10:47 AM
Antagonist, on 26 June 2012 - 09:11 AM, said:
Other than that, he was an okay author. I have to admit, though, most of his books I read back then had been translated into German. I might re-read their English versions at some point if the mood strikes me and I can free up the time.
Don't think you can blame him for that - that is FASA from the original Battletech (The fact they are Fusion reactors and the fact they blow up the Mech when breached).
Rixx, on 26 June 2012 - 09:14 AM, said:
I think Stackpole gets a bad name for 3 reasons.
A. Some of the writers of BT novels do some really odd stuff, and Stackpole is arguably the most famous BT writer, so he gets blamed for stuff he had no part of.
B. He's involved with the introduction of the clans. The pre-clan BT fans tended to hate the clans. They were vested in the Inner Sphere politics and saw the Clans as a really shallow attempt to revitalize the BT universe.
C. He's involved with the introduction of the Dark Age series. The Dark Age timeline, mechs, books, and game are not as good overall as the pre-dark age stuff, but they are still solid and have kept the universe alive and growing. Still though, the purists and long term fans saw the DA stuff as an abomination...and Stackpoles name was on the first novel.
Like Stackpole, but yes... we hates the nasty little clansesess...
#57
Posted 26 June 2012 - 11:02 AM
while he tends to build up the action slowly, the climax at the end of his books were always epic. his "insights" in the political schemes were really interesting and added greatly to the atmosphere.
only thing i never could really enjoy were the chapters about those com star meetings. they had some interesting informations in it, but i always had to "force" myself through them
one thing i can`t forgive is what he did to melissa steiner-davion (won`t spoiler too much for those that might be reading the story right now, but those who read it know what i mean...) but it was an awesome story line non-the-less
his first dark age book had not that much mech action in it, but the story line was great again. maybe the reason i stuck with it...
#58
Posted 26 June 2012 - 12:06 PM
Haters gonna hate!
#59
Posted 26 June 2012 - 12:37 PM
That convention has colored my perceptions of him a bit ever since, but his books are generally good, with a few that are amongst my favorite in their respective universes. For my money, I think that "I,Jedi" is the best of his novels, balancing characterization, character development, and plot. Ymmv.
To hear him tell it, Stackpole claims to have been a primary creative force behind the development of the clans for both the game system and the fiction.
#60
Posted 26 June 2012 - 12:51 PM
Then I crashed my right fist down into her face. Twice. I think it was the second punch that broke her nose. I KNOW it was the first that broke her jaw. Then I pitched her off into a table , from which she rebounded heavily and hit the floor hard but limp. I turned to look at Blondie. Color had drained from her face, or had been washed from it with the tears. " Oh my God." .........Nobody else writes like this he is great! excerpt from Ghost War pub dec 2002 by Roc.
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