Battletech Deconstructed: A Short Guide to the Hit Series of Novels
By Jacob Malewitz
BattletechHits.Wordpress.com
Battletech is a hit series of science fiction stories told over many mediums. While the Battletech universe has expanded in the past to video games (Mechwarrior), there are othert games and art created by the series. There is an animated series (1st Somerset Strikers by Saban Entertainment) and even plans for a movie.
This short guide will focus on the universe created by the Battletech novels.
The Battletech universe owes much of its original designs to animes like Macross and Robotech, and later science fiction influences in Warhammer 40k. There have even been discussions on the similarities between Battletech and Star Wars.
In short, Battletech is a universe set in the future against the backdrop of near constant war between humans. The main fighter in all the battles is a mech, which is a huge machine built like a tank but with flexibility and appearance close to that of a person. The mechs range in size from 20 tons to 100 tons, though some construction and farming mechs are even smaller. What the x-wing fighter is to Star Wars the mech is to the Battletech universe.
Mechs dominate the stories of Battletech mainly due to the Ares convention, which was a law enacted to place restrictions on things like nuclear bombs. This led to increased development of mechs because the machines were considered more humane. If the Ares convention hadn't been enacted, perhaps mechs would not have been considered as important.
At the same time, a league of warriors who could fight for profit, mercenaries, were born again. These mercenaries provided the backbone of many galactic empires forces, and fought often. Many novels in the universe are devoted to chronicling top mercenary groups like Wolf’s Dragoons and the Eridani Light Horse.
Most of what happens in the Battletech universe is in the Inner Sphere—a series of worlds within the scope of colonized human planets. There are no aliens in Battletech, which makes it different from series like Warhammer 40k, Robotech, and Star Wars. Many fans have stated that the series could be superior if aliens played a part in it like these stories.
The main conflicts addressed in Battletech novels are between houses within the Inner Sphere and a group of war-like clans who reside outside the Inner Sphere. The houses in the Battletech universe include the Davion house, Steiner, Liao, Kurita, and Marik. The clans who fight against these houses include the Jade Falcon Clan, Ghost Bear clan, and Nova Cat clan, and over a dozen others.
The majority of the early novels in the Battletech universe, including “The Saga of the Gray Death Legion,” were before the arrival of the warring clans. Top writers penned many of these, including Michael A. Stackpole, a regular writer in both Star Wars novels and Battletech novels.
The clans arrived in the “Blood of Kerensky” trilogy written by Michael A. Stackpole (who also wrote earlier novels in the universe). This is perhaps a good point for those unfamiliar with the Battletech universe to begin. All you need to know is this: For centuries the houses have been at war, but the old Star League army, descendants of a general Kerensky and those who fought with him, has returned to take back the Inner Sphere from the warring houses. These are the clans, and they intend to conquer the whole of the Inner Sphere.
The early novels in the Battletech universe are hard to come by even on Ebay. The first published novels set in this universe were the “Saga of The Gray Death Legion,” which alludes to a mercenary outfit serving in the Inner Sphere.
The current novels being published in the Battletech universe are called “Mechwarrior Dark Age.” After the clans were pushed back, rogue agents destroyed communication equipment across the Inner Sphere, leading to a "Dark Age" of sorts where communications between worlds was very hard.
The first Dark Age novel was “Ghost War.” The Dark Age novels are set almost a hundred years into the future of the Clan Invasion time, and are not as popular with fans as the earlier novels.
Battletech is a rewarding science fiction series to read. It doesn't even take all this knowledge to enjoy it, but this should be a start on the road to being a fan of the hit series of novels.
By Jacob Malewitz
BattletechHits.Wordpress.com
Battletech is a hit series of science fiction stories told over many mediums. While the Battletech universe has expanded in the past to video games (Mechwarrior), there are othert games and art created by the series. There is an animated series (1st Somerset Strikers by Saban Entertainment) and even plans for a movie.
This short guide will focus on the universe created by the Battletech novels.
The Battletech universe owes much of its original designs to animes like Macross and Robotech, and later science fiction influences in Warhammer 40k. There have even been discussions on the similarities between Battletech and Star Wars.
In short, Battletech is a universe set in the future against the backdrop of near constant war between humans. The main fighter in all the battles is a mech, which is a huge machine built like a tank but with flexibility and appearance close to that of a person. The mechs range in size from 20 tons to 100 tons, though some construction and farming mechs are even smaller. What the x-wing fighter is to Star Wars the mech is to the Battletech universe.
Mechs dominate the stories of Battletech mainly due to the Ares convention, which was a law enacted to place restrictions on things like nuclear bombs. This led to increased development of mechs because the machines were considered more humane. If the Ares convention hadn't been enacted, perhaps mechs would not have been considered as important.
At the same time, a league of warriors who could fight for profit, mercenaries, were born again. These mercenaries provided the backbone of many galactic empires forces, and fought often. Many novels in the universe are devoted to chronicling top mercenary groups like Wolf’s Dragoons and the Eridani Light Horse.
Most of what happens in the Battletech universe is in the Inner Sphere—a series of worlds within the scope of colonized human planets. There are no aliens in Battletech, which makes it different from series like Warhammer 40k, Robotech, and Star Wars. Many fans have stated that the series could be superior if aliens played a part in it like these stories.
The main conflicts addressed in Battletech novels are between houses within the Inner Sphere and a group of war-like clans who reside outside the Inner Sphere. The houses in the Battletech universe include the Davion house, Steiner, Liao, Kurita, and Marik. The clans who fight against these houses include the Jade Falcon Clan, Ghost Bear clan, and Nova Cat clan, and over a dozen others.
The majority of the early novels in the Battletech universe, including “The Saga of the Gray Death Legion,” were before the arrival of the warring clans. Top writers penned many of these, including Michael A. Stackpole, a regular writer in both Star Wars novels and Battletech novels.
The clans arrived in the “Blood of Kerensky” trilogy written by Michael A. Stackpole (who also wrote earlier novels in the universe). This is perhaps a good point for those unfamiliar with the Battletech universe to begin. All you need to know is this: For centuries the houses have been at war, but the old Star League army, descendants of a general Kerensky and those who fought with him, has returned to take back the Inner Sphere from the warring houses. These are the clans, and they intend to conquer the whole of the Inner Sphere.
The early novels in the Battletech universe are hard to come by even on Ebay. The first published novels set in this universe were the “Saga of The Gray Death Legion,” which alludes to a mercenary outfit serving in the Inner Sphere.
The current novels being published in the Battletech universe are called “Mechwarrior Dark Age.” After the clans were pushed back, rogue agents destroyed communication equipment across the Inner Sphere, leading to a "Dark Age" of sorts where communications between worlds was very hard.
The first Dark Age novel was “Ghost War.” The Dark Age novels are set almost a hundred years into the future of the Clan Invasion time, and are not as popular with fans as the earlier novels.
Battletech is a rewarding science fiction series to read. It doesn't even take all this knowledge to enjoy it, but this should be a start on the road to being a fan of the hit series of novels.
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