Author Topic: How good are the novels?  (Read 2283 times)

Woe

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How good are the novels?
« on: 04 January 2015, 07:54:00 »
Hi all, been tempted by the novels but how good are they really? I usually find games that become books are usually a bit crumby. I haven't read a good Star Wars novel yet (though those were films that became books) and Games Workshop's stuff can be very hit and miss.

How does BattleTech hold up?
'Let the poetry of darkness be written henceforth!’

Frabby

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Re: How good are the novels?
« Reply #1 on: 04 January 2015, 08:42:29 »
Hit and miss, with more solid books than bad books. As could be expected, there's a few gems, a few lemons and a few oddballs. The first dozen or so Dark Age books, with the exception of books 1 and 2, are often described as low points in the entire series.

Naturally, we're talking gaming fiction here, not grand literature.

I'm not aware of a review of the entire novel line. But here's my review thread of the German-only BattleTech novels

You might want to check out the List of BattleTech novels on the Sarna.net BattleTechWiki.

Many additional novels and novellas have been published electronically via BattleCorps, and some of them are excellent.
« Last Edit: 04 January 2015, 08:45:16 by Frabby »
Sarna.net BattleTechWiki Admin
Author of the BattleCorps stories Feather vs. Mountain, Rise and Shine, Proprietary, Trial of Faith & scenario Twins

Woe

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Re: How good are the novels?
« Reply #2 on: 04 January 2015, 18:50:21 »
Ah that's awesome. Many thanks. I look forward to looking into these links.  :)
'Let the poetry of darkness be written henceforth!’

theCrowe

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Re: How good are the novels?
« Reply #3 on: 08 January 2015, 19:08:50 »
I haven't read a good Star Wars novel yet

Well there's plenty more Stackpole in the BT novels so if that's not your bag i don't know what to say.
It seems he got a lot of the major story/history progress books so if you just skip his titles you'd be missing some pretty hefty chunks in your BT lore. Some of it can be caught up in my handy reviews but then again, I liked those books so that's something to consider when reading what I had to say.

as most will probably suggest, "Wolves on the Border" is a much beloved and often recommended novel. If that doesn't do it for you then perhaps you're asking too much from your gaming fiction.

Woe

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Re: How good are the novels?
« Reply #4 on: 09 January 2015, 06:49:53 »
Sounds cool. I'll look into them. I'm always happy to buy books on a punt. I am waiting on Ghost War and Tactics of Duty and very much looking forward to their arrival. :)
'Let the poetry of darkness be written henceforth!’