20 replies to this topic

[Corith]

Hey guys,

After replaying MW4 recently and reading all the lore i could find on the wiki's etc. my thirst for the Battletech universe is still not quenched .

I thought about picking up a Novel but there are just so many to choose from! Can anyone recommend a good one? Perhaps share their favourite and why they enjoyed it in particular?

Thanks

[Paralax]

Sword and Dagger..... READ IT KNOW IT..... After that everything only gets better

[HeartoftheJaguar]

Illusions of Victory. Great book, one that you can jump right into without knowing too much back story, because it isn't about the major characters of the universe.

[Corith]

Sword and Dagger sounds cool. It seems to be based more around the political intrigue side of the universe though right? To be honest im looking more for description of mech combat etc. and i was sold on Illusions of victory as soon as i saw it was set on solaris! Amazon here i come. Thanks guys!

[jrock]

Stackpoles blood of kerensky trilogy covers the period we are in with the game.

[Tim East]

Way of the Clans. Actually, Bloodname and Falcon Guard were very good too.

Edited by Tim East, 06 July 2012 - 02:10 PM.

[Torben Ivarson]

If you can find a copy of them.. I am a huge fan of the en garde trilogy by michael stackpole.

[Blizzard36]

The various books by Michael Stackpole are the main canon storyline of the world, and they're some of the best IMO as well. If you are trying to get the minimum and still have all the lore, these are what you need.

For pure fun read the trillogy about Camacho's Caballeros by Victor Milan. (Nothing to do with main storyline at all, but I love the books.)

"Sword and Dagger" was the one that started it all, but as a book I didn't think was that interesting of a read. It's essentially a redo of "Man in the Iron Mask". As the oldest and least printed book, it's also damn near impossible to find. It took me 10 years to find one that was both in decent condition and not an insane price.

[Draelren]

Blood of Kerensky trilogy.

[Laurenz Tonnemacher]

start with the grey death books
and wolves on the border are really really good
tells the story of jamie's wolf's eventual replacement

[Hadjinim]

Just stick with Stackpole and you´ll be fine & stuffed with the basic lore

It all started with the Gray Death Legion for me, so I recommend William H. Keith, jr due to sentimental purposes


Cu @ Battlefield


(P.S. - I certainly agree to Spyderr in the post below, "Decision at Thunder Rift" is the starting point for Grayson Carlyle´s venture, a.f.a.i.k.)

Edited by Hadjinim, 09 July 2012 - 02:04 PM.

[Spyderr]

Actualy i believe Decision at Thunder Rift was the first novel, published in 86, The Sword and The Dagger was in 87.

[Djarid]

Start at the beginning... Gray Death Legion FTW! by Michael H. Keith Jr. And yes, Decision at Thunder Rift was the first novel, pre-dating Sword and the Dagger (which in my opinion was only good for the insight into the Steiner / Davion relationship)

if you are only going to read one trilogy though it has to be Stackpole's Warrior: series (Warrior: En Garde, Warrior: Riposte, Warrior: Coupe) it sets the scene for the current political climate (3049) in the inner sphere... then follow on with the Blood of Kerensky trilogy and subsequent novels.

Michael Stackpole was the author (in collaboration with FASA) of the core story arc for the Battletech universe so has the politics all tied up but the action scenes really are fantastic (he used to play BT to get a feel for the flow of the combat)

Edited by Djarid, 09 July 2012 - 02:18 PM.

[Lightdragon]

if you find any youre interested in lemme know i have em all on my nook and would be willign to share any book you had interest in i want everyone to love the battletech universe as much as i do

[Spyderr]

Yeah I also have all the books on my computer and my sony ereader, Had to do something was starting to wear the paperbacks out lol, just started re-reading the novels again last week, Yeah its bad to be addicted.

[Khujo]

I'm starting on the Blood of Kerensky trilogy right now. I also need something to satisfy my recent mech-lust.

[Blizzard36]

Well that's unusual, I got a bit of BTech trivia wrong. Guess I should have checked my sources instead of going from memory.

Thunder Rift did indeed beat Sword and Dagger to the punch after checking the copyrights, I'd always thought it was the first due to how hard it was to find. Decision at Thunder Rift got reprintings, so it wasn't as obvious it was the oldest.

[Steinar Bergstol]

Warrior trilogy (En Guarde, Riposte and Coupe) for the story on the joining of House Davion and House Steiner with the marriage of Hanse Davion to Melissa Steiner as well as the 4th Succession War. A big event in the BT timeline.

Heir to the Dragon: A good look at the Draconis Combine and the story of Theodore Kurita's rise to power.

The Grey Death trilogy (Decision at Thunder Rift, Mercenary's Star and Price of Glory) some of the first BT novels and a look at one of the most famous mercenary units in the setting. Price of Glory also has the story of the discovery of the Helm Memory Core, which is what kickstarted the recovery of LosTech for the Inner Sphere after centuries of losing technical knowhow thanks to constant warfare and the efforts of ComStar to suppress any technological innovations or discoveries/rediscoveries.

Wolves on the Border. More insight into the Combine as well as Wolf's Dragoons and the reason for the conflict between the two.

The Camacho's Caballeros books (Close Quarters, one I can't remember the name of and Black Dragon). Like someone already said, pure fun.

Edited by Steinar Bergstol, 13 July 2012 - 02:09 AM.

[Kelwynne]

Blizzard36, on 12 July 2012 - 03:11 PM, said:

... I'd always thought it was the first due to how hard it was to find. Decision at Thunder Rift got reprintings, so it wasn't as obvious it was the oldest.

There was some legal troubles with that novel involving the writer not getting paid for her work. As a result the only books available are those sold before the trouble started. Fasa was not able to reprint them like the other earlier books.

Sarna.net has a synopsis of the book for those wanting to know the impetus for the start of the fourth succession war.

I agree with the others. Start with the Gray Death books, the warrior trilogy and the two books by Robert Charrette. That will give you a solid background for the current time. After that, the Blood of Kerensky series may pepare you for what is (possibly) to come.

[Konrad Zell]

Said this on another thread and I'll say it again: Exodus Road by Blaine Lee Pardoe. It's fairly far along into the Clan invasion era but it is unusually well-written for a BT novel.