25 replies to this topic

[Keltaris Bathana]

Didn't know where to put this so hope its in the right section

Was just curious if anyone had any recommendations when it came to the Battletech Novels, I used to play EvE:Online in the past and found the novels really bought me into the game

Granted, i know MWO wont have too much story associated with it, but id like to read more about it

[SeaWolf2k]

I would suggest, Saga of the Gray Death Legion and Blood of Kerensky. Both are Trilogies and are for this particular time frame. SGDL is a little before the time we are currently in-game and Blood of Kerensky is about the Start of the Clan invasion which is coming soon. Both are great reads.

Edited by SeaWolf2k, 19 October 2012 - 07:06 AM.

[dal10]

The Warrior trilogy is honestly better than Blood of Kerensky, but you have to take either of those 2 with a grain of salt. Stackpole is a massive Davion Fan-boy. The Saga of the Gray Death is by far my favorite set of books out of all the battletech or dark age books. I have read them so many times that they fell apart.

[Elandyll]

Further in the time frame (end of Clan invasion, from the point of view of one who will become one of the great Clan Jade Falcon Heroes), I strongly suggest the Legend of the Jade Phoenix trilogy.

Awesome read imo.

[Crucis Lancer]

The Warrior trilogy by Micheal Stackpole is a good place to start, it sets up the major players in the Inner Sphere. Next would be the Blood of Kerensky trilogy, it starts just before the Clans invade and ends at the Battle of Tuyykaid. These two trilogies form the backbone of the Battletech universe.

[dal10]

I still would say that the saga of the grey death is a much better introductory to everything. It is much smaller scale and since it is not as combaty, the story is much stronger.

plus, it does not have the stupid phantom mech...

Edited by dal10, 19 October 2012 - 07:21 AM.

[SmithMPBT]

Crucis Lancer, on 19 October 2012 - 07:14 AM, said:

The Warrior trilogy by Micheal Stackpole is a good place to start, it sets up the major players in the Inner Sphere. Next would be the Blood of Kerensky trilogy, it starts just before the Clans invade and ends at the Battle of Tuyykaid. These two trilogies form the backbone of the Battletech universe.

Agree completely, Warrior Trilogy then Blood of Kerensky. BoK will give you a good solid feel of the unstoppable blitzkrieg as the clans drove towards Terra.

[Tannhauser Gate]

Keltaris Bathana, on 19 October 2012 - 07:01 AM, said:

Granted, i know MWO wont have too much story associated with it, but id like to read more about it

Actually, if Community Warfare goes as they say it will, MWO will have alot of canon storyline built into it. Our timeline is lock step day to day with canon timeline (October 20th, 2012 is October 20th 3049) and they have had a daily newsfeed with canon events taking place for months. Community Warfare will, correct me if Im wrong, be a time line thread through canon events such as famous battles and of course the Clan Invasion.

Reading novels around this time line would be great fun I think and give you a much better picture of whats to come.

[Morgella]

Now all we need to do is get the books re-released for e-readers. I enjoyed them all until the Dark Ages. I agree that The Saga of the Gray Death Legion is a must read.

[Stickjock]

Morgella, on 19 October 2012 - 07:37 AM, said:

Now all we need to do is get the books re-released for e-readers. I enjoyed them all until the Dark Ages. I agree that The Saga of the Gray Death Legion is a must read.

Reading those ones right now myself...

[Wiley Coyote]

There's a good list of novels over at Sarna.net that also include where they fall in the timeline. I managed to find the novels in PDF and other formats but haven't started reading them. I really should get on that.

Edited by Wiley Coyote, 19 October 2012 - 07:52 AM.

[newterran]

I just got done reading Decision at Thunder Rift, Book one of The Saga of the Gray Death Legion, and I have to say it was a great read, and a worthy introduction to the battleTech universe.

[Wheel of the Law]

Morgella, on 19 October 2012 - 07:37 AM, said:

Now all we need to do is get the books re-released for e-readers. I enjoyed them all until the Dark Ages. I agree that The Saga of the Gray Death Legion is a must read.

Stickjock, on 19 October 2012 - 07:42 AM, said:

Reading those ones right now myself...

I'm reading the third of the Gray Death Legion books right now too. "Decision at Thunder Rift" is still one of my favorites.

Elandyll, on 19 October 2012 - 07:10 AM, said:

Further in the time frame (end of Clan invasion, from the point of view of one who will become one of the great Clan Jade Falcon Heroes), I strongly suggest the Legend of the Jade Phoenix trilogy.

I wasn't a fan, actually. Despite having some fun scenes, I thought the Jade Phoenix trilogy wasn't particularly well written. Granted, all of these are going to be fairly pulpy, but I wasn't impressed even with that in mind.

Although it takes place way after the time frame of MWO, one of the best BattleTech books I've read was one of the Dark Age series:
Fortress of Lies (BattleTech: MechWarrior: Dark Age #8) by J. Steven York was very well written, and was a great story. It touched on universally relatable and important topics, making it a good read with or without BattleTech fandom.

Why all the Dark Age hate, by the way? I think it includes some really good stuff. God knows that the earlier books weren't all home runs either...

[dal10]

Ideal War wasn't all bad, but it certainly was evil...

[BigTaeng]

Saga of the Grey Death Legion is where I got my start into BattleTech. I actually stumbled across a copy of Mercenary's Star before I read Decision at Thunder Rift.

I also read Way of the Clans, book 1 of the Jade Phoenix trilogy before I read Lethal Heritage, book 1 of the Blood of Kerensky trilogy. I was introduced to Clan lore and technology without Stackpole's Wolf bias and Warden slant. Thanks to Robert Thurston, I fell in love with Clan Jade Falcon and the tenacity of its warriors from day 1.

That is not to say the Blood of Kerensky trilogy is not a good read. You should definitely check it out as well. Stackpole is a good writer and all of his novels all advance the BattleTech timeline.

As Red Dox said, those should get you caught up to where we are in the timeline today and a little beyond.


While we are on the subject of novels, did anyone else feel that Far Country was probably written as a stand-alone sci-fi novel and altered to "fit" into the BattleTech universe?

Edited by BigTaeng, 19 October 2012 - 08:24 AM.

[Stradivarious]

SeaWolf2k, on 19 October 2012 - 07:05 AM, said:

I would suggest, Saga of the Gray Death Legion and Blood of Kerensky. Both are Trilogies and are for this particular time frame. SGDL is a little before the time we are currently in-game and Blood of Kerensky is about the Start of the Clan invasion which is coming soon. Both are great reads.

Well not quite on the Grey Death Legion saga. Several are in the current time period or shortly after, but there first few are not, it is however one of the better series in the entire novel collection however.

Complete list of novels here: http://en.wikipedia....ttleTech_novels
Anything by William H Keith is Grey Death Legion.

As for obtaining them, most are out of print. If it all possible please pay for what you obtain as these authors really do deserve to get paid for the space opera storyline they fleshed out, but there are certain ways to get large chunks of the collection via torrents or epub websites.

You can use the ISBN number to track a copy down at an official bookstore, Catalyst games has a few in epub format on their website and they have the current tabletop license.

[Xeno Phalcon]

Yeah The Warrior Trilogy (en garde, reposte, and coupe) is fantastic, and a important read as they feature Yen-Lo-Wang and its original pilot Justin Allard. Jade Pheonix trillogy is a good introduction to the crusader clans, and lead up to some of my favorite BT books "The Twilight of the Clans" Series. (which I am particularly fond of "Falcon Rising")


EDIT: Now with links!

Edited by Xeno Phalcon, 19 October 2012 - 09:03 AM.

[Strum Wealh]

dal10, on 19 October 2012 - 07:10 AM, said:

The Warrior trilogy is honestly better than Blood of Kerensky, but you have to take either of those 2 with a grain of salt. Stackpole is a massive Davion Fan-boy. The Saga of the Gray Death is by far my favorite set of books out of all the battletech or dark age books. I have read them so many times that they fell apart.

Actually, this post brings up an (IMO) interesting point:

There are several novels with a strong focus on FedSuns/FedCom characters, Clan characters, and mercenary characters.

Yet, few threads of this type see anyone recommend, say, the Capellan Solution duology (Threads of Ambition and The Killing Fields) or Binding Force for Capellan-centric stories, or Heir to the Dragon or even Far Country for stories focused on Combine-affiliated characters.

Also, what Classic BattleTech (that is, not Dark Age) novels exist where 1.) the central characters are "faction players" for the Lyran Commonwealth (or Lyran Alliance) or Free Worlds League or Free Rasalhague Republic or ComStar, and 2.) where said characters are presented in a positive and/or sympathetic light? What of additional novels with a focus on the Combine and/or the Confederation?

[Bob the Mech Pilot]

I second the Legend of the Jade Phoenix Trilogy. Aidan Pryde is in my opinion the most interesting character in the Battletech canon,

[BigTaeng]

I think for Free Worlds League characters there is Ideal War and Star Lord which focus on Thomas Marik and his Knights of the Inner Sphere.