12 replies to this topic

[Sn1per5566]

i have played mechwarrior 2 and 4 when i was young, but i never understood the wars, probably because i just liked robots blowing each other up. Anyways what books should i read to get a good overview of the mech universe. I would like to learn some of the back story before this game comes out.

Thanks for any suggestions :]

[Lina Thoren]

As a (very) basic intro, I find this works.

EDIT: afterward, you can find books for each house (circa 3025 unfortunately, but still a good intro) here.

EDIT2: Err, didn't realize this was in the fanfic section. ^^;; Not sure where to send you for official fic, aside from BattleCorps. WARNING: Though they seem cheap, EPUB prices can and do pile up if you go hog-wild. ^^;;

Edited by Lina Thoren, 12 March 2012 - 07:54 PM.

[Sn1per5566]

the first link was a very good read thank you for that. That had a lot of what i wanted to know, like how mechs came to be and how the planets were colonized. I figured it would take a couple books to get all that information.

[Lina Thoren]

Ah, weii. ^^;; Glad to be of service, in that case.

[Kay Allard Liao]

if you want to get to know the whole universe of battletech, i would read the battletech series, these are 70 books, they start around 3010 and head to the end of 3070 i think
i read them twice now, and i think it's the best series i know

[Trevnor]

I am looking for the series to buy for myself. I have four books, two dealing with Archer's Avengers, and then the small war between Clan Ghost Bear and the Draconis Combine. But I have yet to find someone with all the books willing to sell. Kinda annoys me.

But anyhow, yeah, that .pdf was a good background, but if you want to get a really solid background on the Battletech universe, read synopsizes from Wikipedia. It's not what I did, but it's a quick way of getting up to speed.

[Oppi]

If you read the Warrior Triology ("En Garde", "Riposte", "Coupe") and the Blood of Kerensky Triology ("Lethal Heritage", "Blood Legacy", "Lost Destiny") you should get a pretty good idea of what it's all about, the major factions of the Inner Sphere, who the Clans are and so on.
The Gray Death Triology ("Decision at Thunder Rift", "Mercenary's Star", "The Price of Glory") is also a great series, and you can "grow into the universe" together with the main character (because Grayson Carlyle basically starts with a single Missile Launcher and works his way up to commanding a full mercenary regiment).

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I have four books, two dealing with Archer's Avengers, and then the small war between Clan Ghost Bear and the Draconis Combine.

These cover events pretty late in the storyline so you might have felt "thrown into the water" reading them. IMO it's better to start with the old stuff.

Edited by Oppi, 20 March 2012 - 04:44 AM.

[Ellister]

found this website:
http://www.stargazer..._novel_list.htm

for past and events leading up to game time frame read up to and including Heir to the Dragon... if you want to see whats coming: read on! (you wont regret it

Ive read alot of the Battletech books, but in no order, and a couple of months ago I decided to do it in order, start to finish!

[Trevnor]

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These cover events pretty late in the storyline so you might have felt "thrown into the water" reading them. IMO it's better to start with the old stuff.

I've actually read most of the books, with the exception of the first five or six. I got most of them from my local library, and then once I moved away they got rid of most of them. So, I have read a good deal of them, I just want to own them now. LOL

EDIT 1: I forgot to say that I also have not read the Mechwarrior: Dark Age series from Wizkids either. But that's it. My favorite section of the Classic Battletech is the Twilight of the Clan's mini-series.

Edited by Lt Trevnor, 20 March 2012 - 06:08 AM.

[Sn1per5566]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Hopfully this summer i can read the Warrior Triology

[Ellister]

why wait?

Justin Xiang wouldnt

[John Wolf]

I was first introduced to the battletech universe in my Junior High school library. On a chance passing by one of those rotating bookstands, a particular cover caught my eye. "Decision at Thunder Rift" was the title, had a locust walking by a blown out building with a soldier taking cover behind the rubble. (Going by memory here) I picked up the book and have been hooked since... infact, I STILL have that copy of the book, the librarian let me keep it since nobody else signed it out.

I have all of the novels, a couple regiments + of miniatures, and lets not talk about all the RPG material packed away in my desk.

For someone new getting into this game, and its history I can only be excited for you, knowing how much history you get to experience now if you decide to. If I want to read a new series of books, I get to read one and wait another year for the next to arrive.. you've got enough books to last you a long time, and some great authors to learn about.

As mentioned above, Battlecorps has a lot of fiction on there, and you can purchase ebook versions of the novels online. I sure hope we get more novels in this universe.. I won't stop reading or collecting them myself.

[Sn1per5566]

Ellister, on 21 March 2012 - 07:39 AM, said:

why wait?

Justin Xiang wouldnt

Im waiting because i have a database project that needs to get done as well as a game engines project >.>