@@TrailblazerBT if you didnt know, thurston stays on brand with hoe screwed up clan society is. in the twighlight of the clans series, Joanna ends her career as a canister nanny for a sibko made up entirely of aiden prides genetic offspring. those poor kids!
I got a Humble Bundle a little while ago with a stupidly large collection of Battletech Ebooks and I finally got around to putting them on a Kindle just in time for this, how convenient.
I read most of the early ones as a kid, and just rediscovered them thanks to the humble bundle. It's gonna keep me in books for a few years at this point
My uncle gave me a giant box or battletech books when I was a 13 year old girl. Joanna's spite got me through puberty hahaha. Now that I'm in my 30's having to deal with dumb kids at work I am reminded of her yet again.
I find many of the novels to be top notch but the one that hits me the most is Wolves' on the Border. Can't say how many times I've read my copy of it.
He wrote some really good stuff with Betrayal of Ideals, Forever Faithful and Surrender your Dreams. But the quality, or lack thereof, of his last three or so Battletehc novels, culminating in HotW? Were mailed in, and part of why he wasn't renewed, I expect.
Battletech has a lot of great trilogies in its catalog: the Gray Death Legion Trilogy, the Warrior Trilogy, the Blood of Kerensky Trilogy, the Jade Phoenix Trilogy. But in my opinion, the best has to be the unofficial one of Wolves on the Border, Heir to the Dragon, and Wolf Pack, which I refer to as the "Takashi Kurita is a stupid ashole who ruins everything" Trilogy
Nice, I found 'Way of the Clans' in a dusty used bookstore back in elementary school and read it 10-12 times, didn't even know there was more to the battletech universe until years later but it really captured my imagination (I guess it never let go as I'm still involved with battletech about 3 decades later)
The Warrior Trilogy is my favorite thus far (as the 4th Succession War is my favorite era: Good guys dominating, Bad guys failing horribly. And Justin Allard is the best character in the setting. Period.)
No mention of the greatest battletech book of all time... Far Country? Heresy! ;) This video has inspired me to revisit battletech novels and dig into some of the ones I've missed. Thank you!
I have soft spot in my heart for Sword and Dagger. You can tell they don't have everything figured out yet, but it was still a fun read when I was younger. I still have my OG paperback.
I do love way of the clans as it was that trilogy that cemented my interest in Battletech. Decision at thunder rift holds a place in my heart as my first narrative introduction to Battlerech. Byfar my favorite novel is Ideal War which introduced the knights of the inner sphere and had Thomas Marik play a prominent role before he was ruined with the doubles BS. Speaking of...bred for war is a good novel but I tend to have mixed feelings about it since Stackpole randomly decided the battletech universe needed yet another double. How that panned out killed my enthusiasm for Battletech for a long time and still sours my view of all events from the jihad forward. Bred for war itself wasn't bad it just was the catalyst for what followed.
Essentially nailed it, although last time I read the grey death legion novels I found them super cringy and i won't be back (but that's just my opinion) Love the Stackpole books, but much more for the story than how he handles characters - especially once you read the Thurston Clan Trilogy, Stackpole doesn't make the Clans look near as brutal as they should be Thurston's Clan Trilogy is amazing, it's the 1 set of BT novels you can give someone who doesn't know anything about BT and i think they'd enjoy the brutal vibe it exudes The 4 Charrette books I'v read (multiple times) are all great
I'm about finished with a 100 percent battletech novel run, and its been quite a road. it had some stinkers, but a good ninety percent are some of the best fiction ive ever read! MY favorites are Damocles Sanction by Mike Ciaravella, Dragon Rising by Ilsa Bick, and Principles of Desolation by Jason Hardy and Randall Bills. Best overall author, i gotta give to Loren Coleman, hes just so consistently solid and i loved the civil war era novels. The novels you picked, also great, solid reads. The jade phoenix trilogy is still the best deep dive into clan society ive read.
I'm glad you did this topic and it is a common item I search for related to BT lore. I read a lot and a very wide range of content. I personally find the quality of the BT novels very middle of the road and never really reaching heights that I would like to see even in franchise themed novel setting.
@@matthewpena3932 If you haven't read Wolf Pack or Way of the Clans those are the two that are legit great books IMO. Like my dad picked up Wolf Pack and read it without any interest in BT and he enjoyed it.
Thanks for the recommendations. Do you know if any of these books are still in print, or would I have to track them down from a second-hand source? Also, what are your thoughts on Heir to the Dragon? I had it recommended to me in the past, and I was curious to hear your opinion about it.
@@gilbat1 Kindle or second hand would be the way to get them. I like Heir to the Dragon and the characterization is good but it has a sprawling and episodic story line and I like a bit more focus. You should read Wolves on the Border first before reading that one.
If you had to choose one series of books to recommend, which would it be? I'd like to get started with reading BT novels, but I also don't want to just read one part of a story.
I will admit that Bred for War is the novel that turned me off of the BT books for a long time. The first one is my favorite in that Stackpole series. However, your other 3 are some of my very favorites. The Legend of the Jade Phoenix series is what made me a huge Clan fan (that maybe says something bad about me, haha).
I own many of these , i prefer my old sourcebooks more they're barely holding together . My BattleTech novels are some of my least worn books . Pretty pulp for my likeing
Stackpole is probably better at writing than Clancy, but he didn't have the same story to write that Clancy did. In Hero Years... I'm Dead Is one of my favorite books. Not Battletech, but it is Stackpole
I read through all the BT novels over a 2 year period starting about 4 years ago and followed it pretty soon after with Red Storm Rising. Stackpole is... yea, no where near Clancy. At least, not based on a comparison of RSR and Stackpole's BT catalogue. Maybe Jack Ryan or Star Wars doesn't match that? Stackpole isn't even all that good a novelist (I do like the comics he has worked on much more and more consistently) at all. He's really bad at character writing, he can be very tone def to the setting (part of why Yori and Victor in particular bugs me is that Victor routinely blames objections to their union on bigotry while totally ignoring the fact that Yori is the administrative equivalent to Himmler of their time), he doesn't do combat well (mostly because he plays out his scenes on the tabletop which is fun while it's novel, but gets old fast), has a horrible propensity to have pages and pages of internal monologue bluntly expositing anything and everything, dialogue is often painful, and his narratives are often poorly conceived or presented (sometimes a conflict or political exchange is so much more interesting in the sourcebooks or sarna than through Stackpole's writing). Though, that being said, Bred for War is pretty easily his best work where his typical tendencies are suppressed and replaced by some of the setting's best political intrigue. I would easily recommend it to new folks... if not for the need to slog through his Blood of Kerensky trilogy for it to make sense. No disagreements on anything else. Mercenary Star still has some of the best combat sequences of the franchise that hasn't really been met since. Way of the Clans is absolutely so great at portraying the clans. A bit rough from a technical standpoint I think, but that it is the most "sci-fi" in nature of any Battletech novel and just how interesting what it explores easily makes up for that. Charrette really is the best writer BT has ever had I think, and all his books are gold and which I can recommend pretty unreservedly.
Stackpole does a good job with the intrigue and espionage side of things but, particularly in the Warrior trilogy, his writing of 'Mech combat is ploddingly dull and sucks all the energy out of the room
It's fascinating going back and reading them and realizing how terrible his combat is. I remember loving how he did the fighter combat in his Star Wars books but the Mech combat feels like he just rolled on a BT hit chart and jotted it down.
@@maevethefox5912 Not defending Mike's depictions of combat... but I am largely still waiting for the first Battletech novel where the combat was actually a high point of the writing. Maybe Victor Milan's stuff, which was goofy AF, but fast paced? But for a game of armored combat? The combat is almost never the high point.
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Joanna literally to angry to die.
@@eezaak21 Her perviness and cruelty in Way of the Clans speaks to a deeply broken emotional core
@@TrailblazerBT if you didnt know, thurston stays on brand with hoe screwed up clan society is. in the twighlight of the clans series, Joanna ends her career as a canister nanny for a sibko made up entirely of aiden prides genetic offspring. those poor kids!
I got a Humble Bundle a little while ago with a stupidly large collection of Battletech Ebooks and I finally got around to putting them on a Kindle just in time for this, how convenient.
I read most of the early ones as a kid, and just rediscovered them thanks to the humble bundle. It's gonna keep me in books for a few years at this point
My uncle gave me a giant box or battletech books when I was a 13 year old girl. Joanna's spite got me through puberty hahaha.
Now that I'm in my 30's having to deal with dumb kids at work I am reminded of her yet again.
An inspiring story!
I find many of the novels to be top notch but the one that hits me the most is Wolves' on the Border. Can't say how many times I've read my copy of it.
Blaine Lee Pardoe may have written some absolutely goofy shit since falling out with CGL, but his work in Battletech was always solid.
@@WolfHreda Exodus Road is the only one of his I've read and I remember liking it a lot!
He wrote some really good stuff with Betrayal of Ideals, Forever Faithful and Surrender your Dreams. But the quality, or lack thereof, of his last three or so Battletehc novels, culminating in HotW? Were mailed in, and part of why he wasn't renewed, I expect.
This was a great episode! I really appreciate your thoughts on the novels and you've inspired me to go get a copy of Wolfpack!
I hope you enjoy it!
Battletech has a lot of great trilogies in its catalog: the Gray Death Legion Trilogy, the Warrior Trilogy, the Blood of Kerensky Trilogy, the Jade Phoenix Trilogy. But in my opinion, the best has to be the unofficial one of Wolves on the Border, Heir to the Dragon, and Wolf Pack, which I refer to as the "Takashi Kurita is a stupid ashole who ruins everything" Trilogy
@@BazztheBazz Agreed!
Nice, I found 'Way of the Clans' in a dusty used bookstore back in elementary school and read it 10-12 times, didn't even know there was more to the battletech universe until years later but it really captured my imagination (I guess it never let go as I'm still involved with battletech about 3 decades later)
The Warrior Trilogy is my favorite thus far (as the 4th Succession War is my favorite era: Good guys dominating, Bad guys failing horribly. And Justin Allard is the best character in the setting. Period.)
@@A88mph Good books for sure, he has a lot of great stuff.
Lore is always welcome.
Especially about Joanna.
No mention of the greatest battletech book of all time... Far Country? Heresy! ;)
This video has inspired me to revisit battletech novels and dig into some of the ones I've missed. Thank you!
I have soft spot in my heart for Sword and Dagger. You can tell they don't have everything figured out yet, but it was still a fun read when I was younger. I still have my OG paperback.
@@Xydarc I actually haven't read it!
I do love way of the clans as it was that trilogy that cemented my interest in Battletech. Decision at thunder rift holds a place in my heart as my first narrative introduction to Battlerech. Byfar my favorite novel is Ideal War which introduced the knights of the inner sphere and had Thomas Marik play a prominent role before he was ruined with the doubles BS.
Speaking of...bred for war is a good novel but I tend to have mixed feelings about it since Stackpole randomly decided the battletech universe needed yet another double. How that panned out killed my enthusiasm for Battletech for a long time and still sours my view of all events from the jihad forward. Bred for war itself wasn't bad it just was the catalyst for what followed.
The idea of the Thomas double was very cool but what they did with it sucked, I agree. Should've been more of a Manchurian Candidate-style story.
Essentially nailed it, although last time I read the grey death legion novels I found them super cringy and i won't be back (but that's just my opinion)
Love the Stackpole books, but much more for the story than how he handles characters - especially once you read the Thurston Clan Trilogy, Stackpole doesn't make the Clans look near as brutal as they should be
Thurston's Clan Trilogy is amazing, it's the 1 set of BT novels you can give someone who doesn't know anything about BT and i think they'd enjoy the brutal vibe it exudes
The 4 Charrette books I'v read (multiple times) are all great
I'm about finished with a 100 percent battletech novel run, and its been quite a road. it had some stinkers, but a good ninety percent are some of the best fiction ive ever read! MY favorites are Damocles Sanction by Mike Ciaravella, Dragon Rising by Ilsa Bick, and Principles of Desolation by Jason Hardy and Randall Bills. Best overall author, i gotta give to Loren Coleman, hes just so consistently solid and i loved the civil war era novels. The novels you picked, also great, solid reads. The jade phoenix trilogy is still the best deep dive into clan society ive read.
Lots of cool recommendations here for things I haven't read!
@@TrailblazerBT yeah, battletech is frekin huge! whats you favorite era so far?
@@jasonames145 As a 40-something old man I like Clan Invasion
Wolves On The Border is my all time favorite BT novel.
Same here, it's the very best of the classic era
@@sempermilites87 It's fascinating but to me Wolf Pack has a tighter and more suspenseful story. Tetsihara is awesome though.
I'm glad you did this topic and it is a common item I search for related to BT lore. I read a lot and a very wide range of content. I personally find the quality of the BT novels very middle of the road and never really reaching heights that I would like to see even in franchise themed novel setting.
@@matthewpena3932 If you haven't read Wolf Pack or Way of the Clans those are the two that are legit great books IMO. Like my dad picked up Wolf Pack and read it without any interest in BT and he enjoyed it.
@@TrailblazerBT I did add wolf pack and way of the clans to my wish list to get to them. Thank you for putting up the content.
Thanks for the recommendations. Do you know if any of these books are still in print, or would I have to track them down from a second-hand source?
Also, what are your thoughts on Heir to the Dragon? I had it recommended to me in the past, and I was curious to hear your opinion about it.
@@gilbat1 Kindle or second hand would be the way to get them. I like Heir to the Dragon and the characterization is good but it has a sprawling and episodic story line and I like a bit more focus. You should read Wolves on the Border first before reading that one.
If you had to choose one series of books to recommend, which would it be?
I'd like to get started with reading BT novels, but I also don't want to just read one part of a story.
The best series is the Jade Phoenix Trilogy I'd say.
I will admit that Bred for War is the novel that turned me off of the BT books for a long time. The first one is my favorite in that Stackpole series. However, your other 3 are some of my very favorites. The Legend of the Jade Phoenix series is what made me a huge Clan fan (that maybe says something bad about me, haha).
@@jmartin4396 I can see that, I don't like the stuff with the Clans in that book as much as the Inner Sphere story
I own many of these , i prefer my old sourcebooks more they're barely holding together . My BattleTech novels are some of my least worn books . Pretty pulp for my likeing
Stackpole is probably better at writing than Clancy, but he didn't have the same story to write that Clancy did.
In Hero Years... I'm Dead
Is one of my favorite books. Not Battletech, but it is Stackpole
I read through all the BT novels over a 2 year period starting about 4 years ago and followed it pretty soon after with Red Storm Rising. Stackpole is... yea, no where near Clancy. At least, not based on a comparison of RSR and Stackpole's BT catalogue. Maybe Jack Ryan or Star Wars doesn't match that? Stackpole isn't even all that good a novelist (I do like the comics he has worked on much more and more consistently) at all. He's really bad at character writing, he can be very tone def to the setting (part of why Yori and Victor in particular bugs me is that Victor routinely blames objections to their union on bigotry while totally ignoring the fact that Yori is the administrative equivalent to Himmler of their time), he doesn't do combat well (mostly because he plays out his scenes on the tabletop which is fun while it's novel, but gets old fast), has a horrible propensity to have pages and pages of internal monologue bluntly expositing anything and everything, dialogue is often painful, and his narratives are often poorly conceived or presented (sometimes a conflict or political exchange is so much more interesting in the sourcebooks or sarna than through Stackpole's writing).
Though, that being said, Bred for War is pretty easily his best work where his typical tendencies are suppressed and replaced by some of the setting's best political intrigue. I would easily recommend it to new folks... if not for the need to slog through his Blood of Kerensky trilogy for it to make sense.
No disagreements on anything else. Mercenary Star still has some of the best combat sequences of the franchise that hasn't really been met since. Way of the Clans is absolutely so great at portraying the clans. A bit rough from a technical standpoint I think, but that it is the most "sci-fi" in nature of any Battletech novel and just how interesting what it explores easily makes up for that. Charrette really is the best writer BT has ever had I think, and all his books are gold and which I can recommend pretty unreservedly.
@@melvinlemay7366 I think you could read BFW on its own if you read a sourcebook for the story of the invasion!
Stackpole does a good job with the intrigue and espionage side of things but, particularly in the Warrior trilogy, his writing of 'Mech combat is ploddingly dull and sucks all the energy out of the room
It's fascinating going back and reading them and realizing how terrible his combat is. I remember loving how he did the fighter combat in his Star Wars books but the Mech combat feels like he just rolled on a BT hit chart and jotted it down.
@@maevethefox5912 Not defending Mike's depictions of combat... but I am largely still waiting for the first Battletech novel where the combat was actually a high point of the writing. Maybe Victor Milan's stuff, which was goofy AF, but fast paced? But for a game of armored combat? The combat is almost never the high point.