27 replies to this topic

[Kushko]

I'm a long time mechwarrior/mechcommander fan but i never really got in to the books...untill now.

I already popped Saga of the Grey Death Legion and Jade Phoenix Trilogy on my kindle and have started reading Decision at Thunder Rift.

So my question is, which other ones do you recommend?

[Stormwolf]

I suggest the following in this order:

Gray Death Trilogy (good start)
Warrior Trilogy
Blood of Kerensky Trilogy
Jade Phoenix Trilogy

[Grotonomus]

Start at the beginning and go from there basically. Chronological List

Edited by Arden Sortek, 18 September 2012 - 09:23 AM.

[whiteknight]

The Blood of Kerensky Trilogy is pretty awesome

Wolves on the Border is excellent

The Cabelleros Trilogy (Close Quarters, Hearts of Chaos, Black Dragon) is a personal favourite

Ideal War is pretty dark and gritty

[God of War]

the 2nd Part of the Gray Death Legion Saga(blood of heros, tactics of duty, operation excalibur, the dying time)
is IMHO better than the first.

[Pyriel Ward]

[Redacted] Hope it helps.

Edited by Egomane, 14 June 2013 - 08:49 AM.
CoC violation

[Nightmare864]

Following a chronological list up through Endgame will give you a great knowledge base through the end of the FedCom civil war in 3067. Endgame is also the final book in the classic Battletech series. Thus would also give pretty good insight into the major houses and major clans.

Totals out to 56 books.


http://www.sarna.net...ttleTech_novels

Wikipedia also has a list that has all of the Mechwarrior and Dark Age titles as well

Edited by Nightmare864, 18 September 2012 - 12:57 PM.

[Inappropriate359]

Kushko, on 18 September 2012 - 09:17 AM, said:

I'm a long time mechwarrior/mechcommander fan but i never really got in to the books...untill now.

I already popped Saga of the Grey Death Legion and Jade Phoenix Trilogy on my kindle and have started reading Decision at Thunder Rift.

So my question is, which other ones do you recommend?

You should really read 'The Blood of Kerensky' trilogy before the Jade Phoenix trilogy imo. See this site for the 'proper' reading order: http://www.stargazer..._novel_list.htm

Even there there is some room for moving things around, particularly since there are like 8 or 9 books that all take place in 3057 and that order splits up the 2nd Gray Death trilogy and the Camacho's Caballero's trilogy, which are better read together imo.

Sword and the Dagger
Decision at Thunder Rift
Mercenary’s Star
The Price of Glory
Warrior: En Guarde
Warrior: Riposte
Warrior: Coupe
Wolves on the Border
Heir to the Dragon
Lethal Heritage
Blood Legacy
Lost Destiny
Way of the Clans
Bloodname
Falcon Guard
Wolf Pack
Main Event
Ideal War
Natural Selection
Assumption of Risk
Blood of Heroes
Close Quarters
Far Country
D.R.T
Tactics of Duty
Bred for War
I am Jade Falcon
Star Lord
Highlander Gambit
Hearts of Chaos

I've read up to this point so far, and have bolded the books I would recommend reading. The second Gray Death trilogy (Blood of Heroes, Tactics of Duty, and Operation Excalibur, which I've not read) isn't bad, but it isn't as good as the first set either. Read it if you don't mind adding 3 books to the list, but understand that they do not move the BT timeline forward, merely fill in parts of it that are mentioned in the Stackpole 'core' novels.

Victor Milan's Camacho Caballero's trilogy also doesn't move the timeline forward, but his are some of the best written novels in the set. The action is way over-the-top, however, even by BT standards, so that may put you off.

Edited by Jesus, 18 September 2012 - 02:18 PM.

[Lev]

If you are a fan its hard to go wrong. I loved the Jade Phoenix trilogy for my first read as it tied in with Mechwarrior 2 coming out (at least at my bookstore) and the clans were new and exciting.

Fedcom had a civil war in 3067? I need to go back and read some books...

[Ashla Mason]

Put me down as a fan of Heir to the dragon. it's an interesting read since the draconis combine (by virtue of sharing a border with the davions you see) were one of the two "evil" nations from the early source material, and it helped to really show their humanity.

Further, it goes a long way towards establishing theodore kurita as perhaps the greatest strategist since aleksander kerensky (all of the preperation and work that went into the war of 3039 was magnificent).

[Gravsten]

The only BT books I read were Camacho's Caballeros, and I REALLY enjoyed that trilogy.

I might have to see if I can spare some time and start at the beginning.

[Stoffer]

whiteknight, on 18 September 2012 - 09:23 AM, said:

Wolves on the Border is excellent

I totally agree with this part - would actually make a fantastic movie ... alltime fav batteltech novel.

and you can never go past the ones written by michael stackpole - all excellent

[Gedeon Kane]

blood of kerensky!!!!! woooooooo i feel like i am 17 again.

[CPTAmerica]

I really enjoyed them all with one exception...FAR COUNTRY

Some of my favorites are:

Warrior Trilogy
Blood of Kerensky Trilogy
Bred for War
Malicious Intent
The Twilight of the Clans
End Game

Grey Death Trilogy
(the rest of the GDL books are okay but The Dying Time kind of pissed me off)

Main Event
D.R.T.

Again...the above are just my favorites not the only ones I like.

[scgt1]

I've looked at the wiki, the previous posted links in this thread, Sarna, the book post in the off topic section yet I have several books that don't fall into the timeline. Can anyone point me to where the following fall into place? I have the original 57, the 6 from the Original Mechwarrior series, and the last set of the Dark Age then all these below which must have a place in the order.


Side note anyone know where to get the following Mechwarrior Dark Age Novels in pdf or epub:

Ghost War

Michael A. Stackpole

First of the MechWarrior Dark Age books: set approximately 80 years after End Game

A Call to Arms

Loren L. Coleman

Ther Ruins of Power

Robert E. Vardeman

A Silence in the Heavens

Martin Del Rio

Truth and Shadows

Martin Del Rio

Service for the Dead

Martin Del Rio

By Temptations and by War

Loren L. Coleman

I

Edited by scgt1, 19 September 2012 - 05:36 AM.

[scgt1]

Pyriel Ward, on 18 September 2012 - 12:50 PM, said:

[Redacted] Hope it helps.

He is missing: Shadows of War Thomoas S. Gressman Twilight of the Clans -- Book 6

Edited by Egomane, 14 June 2013 - 08:51 AM.
Quote clean-up

[Scream]

BattleTech newb here. Can anyone recommend a few starter novels to get a good, basic understanding of the universe and cannon? The BattleTech games I've played are MechAssault 1 and 2, and MWO. I've been looking around on the wiki, and I've got some understanding of the universe, but the whole thing is very dense and overwhelming to someone like me that's new.

[Nightmare864]

Scream, on 19 September 2012 - 12:27 PM, said:

BattleTech newb here. Can anyone recommend a few starter novels to get a good, basic understanding of the universe and cannon? The BattleTech games I've played are MechAssault 1 and 2, and MWO. I've been looking around on the wiki, and I've got some understanding of the universe, but the whole thing is very dense and overwhelming to someone like me that's new.

You are asking a very hard question. There is a lot of universe to condense into a few starter novels. A good idea about Inner Sphere and Clans would be the Blood of Kerensky Trilogy IMO. You pretty much can't go wrong with any of the BT novels though, as long as you don't start in the middle of a series.

[TechNoir]

Glad this topic was made, Im in the same boat, long time player, 0 time reader. Now I know where to start!

[Steinar Bergstol]

Wolves on the Border, Heir to the Dragon and the Camacho's Caballeros trilogy are my personal favorites. Wolves give good insights into the Wolf's Dragoons and Draconis Combine for the first one (including the origin of the feud between the Combine and the most famous mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere which lasted the better part of two and a half decades. Heir to the Dragon gives a more indepth picture of the Draconis Combine and an excellent look at Theodore Kurita and his issues with his father, Takashi Kurita.

The Camacho's Caballeros books are just pure fun.

For someone just getting into the BT universe who wants to understand the setting in general and what has happened to shape the universe into what it is I'd probably recommend the Warrior trilogy for the history of the original time period (Fourth Succession War era, 3025+) and the Blood of Kerensky trilogy for what happened during the invasion itself.(3049/3050+).

The Jade Phoenix trilogy isn't bad, but I felt no sympathy for any of the caracters apart from Horse. Pretty much wanted them all to die a horrible, embarrassing death.