Author Topic: ELH Fiction  (Read 19517 times)

five_corparty

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ELH Fiction
« on: 07 May 2021, 12:01:22 »
Hello, all-

I start a thread about the ELH fiction we're receiving this summer!  When I was a kid, the ELH were the unit I wanted to be in, you know?  So I'm excited about this, and can't see where it goes!

(Yes, I know this all sounds incredibly self-serving,  ;) but I really AM excited for this whole series!  :)

The first story in the series had an incredibly difficult task, to set up the whole future of the ELH, while also being its own great story; I think it nailed it.

I think Craig's story knocks it out of the park: while I had a suspicion the main character wouldn't shoot I wasn't 100% sure and that's a good thing!  I think its depiction of grief and rage was solid and overall, I enjoyed it!

Can't wait to see where it goes from here!

Kibutsu

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #1 on: 12 May 2021, 23:01:50 »
I really enjoyed the first two stories and felt the same tension as you in the second story. That's good storytelling. Looking forward to more.

Wrangler

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #2 on: 21 May 2021, 07:23:29 »
I've bought some of the stories, especially the pre-Succession War or about to accrue.  Their too darn short for me, i want a book!

I may wait getting rest of it when collection / anthology comes out.
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Sharpnel

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #3 on: 21 May 2021, 07:37:08 »
I am waiting for the PoD Omnibus that is hopefully coming once all the stories are done (like Tukayyid and the Proliferation Cycle)
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Septicemia

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #4 on: 24 May 2021, 20:18:38 »
The first story in the series had an incredibly difficult task, to set up the whole future of the ELH, while also being its own great story; I think it nailed it.

I really enjoyed the first two stories and felt the same tension as you in the second story. That's good storytelling. Looking forward to more.

Thanks!  I'm really glad you enjoyed "Conflicts of Interest."
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DEZOAT

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #5 on: 04 June 2021, 07:11:55 »
 :bang: ??? ::) OK! I have part 1 and thinking of buying part 3 ,BUT WHERE IS part 2 and is that Craig Reed story. I look all over for part 2 but I can't find it . I need some help here.

trboturtle

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #6 on: 04 June 2021, 09:24:52 »
:bang: ??? ::) OK! I have part 1 and thinking of buying part 3 ,BUT WHERE IS part 2 and is that Craig Reed story. I look all over for part 2 but I can't find it . I need some help here.

https://www.amazon.com/BattleTech-Tears-Eridani-Light-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B092HW6J1G/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&qid=1622816615&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+A.+Reed&s=digital-text&sr=1-3&text=Craig+A.+Reed

Craig
(Late for a doctor's appointment...)
Author of 32 Battletech short stories including "The Lance Killer," "Hikagemono," "Negotiation," "The Clawing," "Salvage," "The Promise," "Reap What You Sow," "Family Ties," "The Blood of Man," "End of Message," "Heroes' Bridge," "Kurodenkou," "Thirteen," "My Father's Sword," "Evacuation," "Operation Red Lion," "A Matter of Honor," "State of Grace," "Operation Blue Tiger," "A Warrior's Fear," "Shadow Angels," "Murphy's Method," "End of the Road," (IAMTW 2019 Scribe Award nominee!), "Tales of the Cracked Canopy: Blind Arrogance," "Laws Are Silent," "No Tears," "Tales of the Cracked Canopy: Shadows of the Past," and "Three White Roses."
Novels -- Icons of War, Elements of Treason series, "Vengence Games." Upcoming: "In the Shadow of Dragons" and "Poisoned Honor" (WoR #1)

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five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #7 on: 04 June 2021, 21:26:26 »
I liked this one, showing how the ELH is striving to hold true to its ideals even as the Inner Sphere collapses around them.  Good Stuff!

FaithBomb

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #8 on: 04 June 2021, 21:49:17 »
Yeah, but what's wrong with a little bank robbery when it's Steiners you're ripping off?
Some people say I'm a marshmallow...

DEZOAT

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #9 on: 05 June 2021, 08:04:02 »
 ;D Thank you sir for the link. trboturtle so it is your story.  ??? Question here why on Amazon? I go to the Cat store and wait for at least 3 or 4 items before I buy , which just did. I'll get your story it just I'm going to have to get other items there as well.

five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #10 on: 05 June 2021, 21:29:42 »
Yeah, but what's wrong with a little bank robbery when it's Steiners you're ripping off?

Almost a victimless crime! hahaha

Marveryn

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #11 on: 06 June 2021, 23:30:51 »
just finish the 3rd book, i know understand the steiner being job jokes.  While the story was OK, i just couldn't get into it.  It was too short and paint by numbers type of story.  Much like the rest of the light horse so far.  maybe i am getting jaded. 

Dragon Cat

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #12 on: 12 June 2021, 16:36:05 »
I've just finished the second one.  I left a review on Amazon stating I knew the Eridani Light Horses but I really don't.

I've read the unit histories and what they've done over the years then you read these books and suddenly you understand just how brutal the earlier fights or the BattleTech universe were and what... had to be done

Both stories sucked me in and I couldn't put it down until I was done.  Both stories worked for me and I liked the length and characters

I loved the fact that the first story they refused to kill them all then the next one became more personal different stakes and showed if you push someone you'll get a reaction
My three main Alternate Timeline with Thanks fan-fiction threads are in the links below. I'm always open to suggestions or additions to be incorporated so if you feel you wish to add something feel free. There's non-canon units, equipment, people, events, erm... Solar Systems spread throughout so please enjoy

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,20515.0.html - Part 1

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,52013.0.html - Part 2

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,79196.0.html - Part 3

trboturtle

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #13 on: 12 June 2021, 17:44:45 »
I've just finished the second one.  I left a review on Amazon stating I knew the Eridani Light Horses but I really don't.

I've read the unit histories and what they've done over the years then you read these books and suddenly you understand just how brutal the earlier fights or the BattleTech universe were and what... had to be done

Both stories sucked me in and I couldn't put it down until I was done.  Both stories worked for me and I liked the length and characters

I loved the fact that the first story they refused to kill them all then the next one became more personal different stakes and showed if you push someone you'll get a reaction

Looking at Battletech history, every time a mercenary unit's dependants were killed, the results for the people doing it are not good......

Wolf's Dragoons and Hansen's Roughriders come to mind....

Craig
Author of 32 Battletech short stories including "The Lance Killer," "Hikagemono," "Negotiation," "The Clawing," "Salvage," "The Promise," "Reap What You Sow," "Family Ties," "The Blood of Man," "End of Message," "Heroes' Bridge," "Kurodenkou," "Thirteen," "My Father's Sword," "Evacuation," "Operation Red Lion," "A Matter of Honor," "State of Grace," "Operation Blue Tiger," "A Warrior's Fear," "Shadow Angels," "Murphy's Method," "End of the Road," (IAMTW 2019 Scribe Award nominee!), "Tales of the Cracked Canopy: Blind Arrogance," "Laws Are Silent," "No Tears," "Tales of the Cracked Canopy: Shadows of the Past," and "Three White Roses."
Novels -- Icons of War, Elements of Treason series, "Vengence Games." Upcoming: "In the Shadow of Dragons" and "Poisoned Honor" (WoR #1)

My Blogs!
Battletech:  http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/
Other writings: http://trboturtleswritings.blogspot.com/

Marveryn

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #14 on: 13 June 2021, 00:05:04 »
Looking at Battletech history, every time a mercenary unit's dependants were killed, the results for the people doing it are not good......

Wolf's Dragoons and Hansen's Roughriders come to mind....

Craig

You would think of some point someone would stop trying to hold family hostages.  the only one that work that i know of so far was the 21 century lancer who dependents were held hostage so the word could take there place

five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #15 on: 13 June 2021, 13:19:32 »
Looking at Battletech history, every time a mercenary unit's dependants were killed, the results for the people doing it are not good......

Wolf's Dragoons and Hansen's Roughriders come to mind....

Craig

or that Lyran Guard unit I saw in FM:LA this morning whlle I was skimming it, lemme pull it up on PDF to find out which one ... ok, so I don't have it?  Odd!  Ok, lemme go to the store and WHY IS THIS STILL NOT AVAILABLE?? GAHHH???

-sigh-

ok, so, yeah, it happened to a Lyran unit once, too -I PROMISE-  :D :D ;D

five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #16 on: 08 August 2021, 16:05:47 »
Mendrugo just read the last ELH story and is like, "CRIMENY HANSA, I have to REORGANIZE, like, HALF of the Succession Wars chronological pages now!"  ;) ;D

(for the record, this slides in EXACTLY after Chapter 2 of "Warrior: Coupe," like a Chapter 2.5... )

Marveryn

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #17 on: 15 August 2021, 05:36:55 »
Mendrugo just read the last ELH story and is like, "CRIMENY HANSA, I have to REORGANIZE, like, HALF of the Succession Wars chronological pages now!"  ;) ;D

(for the record, this slides in EXACTLY after Chapter 2 of "Warrior: Coupe," like a Chapter 2.5... )

reading the account of the latest Light horse book. (there no we in mercenary)  Overall i enjoy the story, it was basic one long battle but told as a debriefing.  the events of the battle was not something i was aware of previously so to me it was just a little nice backstory of what had happen including how the light horse manage to push a warrior house off world but still retaining  combat stregth.  It also show how Comstar had gotten some of the event wrong.  The only thing going by the note mention in another thread if they had reported the death of winston.  Perhaps don't mention he survive in the middle of the battle.   Of course you couldn't hide that he was still alive since he was the one giving the debriefing, but as far as comstar intel has to know they got to think he had died when he didn't and that had to be reported in the battlefiend at some point.  Overall an enjoayble read

Mendrugo

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #18 on: 19 August 2021, 07:32:32 »
Mendrugo just read the last ELH story and is like, "CRIMENY HANSA, I have to REORGANIZE, like, HALF of the Succession Wars chronological pages now!"  ;) ;D

(for the record, this slides in EXACTLY after Chapter 2 of "Warrior: Coupe," like a Chapter 2.5... )

The reorganizing wouldn't be so much of a pain if it weren't for the per-post character limit. 
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #19 on: 10 October 2021, 22:35:53 »
Story seven is up on Amazon, and I really kinda liked it.  talking to Alan about his plot a few months ago, I thought this was going to be tenser and all grr-grr-grr but it was a quiet little world-builder.  I honestly feel like, once the ELH campaign is done, this would be a wonderful little story to post for free on amazon and on the Catalyst home page / downloads page, etc., as a "taste" of the universe (alongside other stories with more shooting) to show the humans and the humanity behind the Mechs.

good stuff!

I will note that's 2 stories in a row someone's woken up with a hangover. Hmm, I wonder if the next story will give us the hat trick...   8) ;D

Hotham

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #20 on: 11 October 2021, 02:09:51 »
Story seven is up on Amazon, and I really kinda liked it.  talking to Alan about his plot a few months ago, I thought this was going to be tenser and all grr-grr-grr but it was a quiet little world-builder.  I honestly feel like, once the ELH campaign is done, this would be a wonderful little story to post for free on amazon and on the Catalyst home page / downloads page, etc., as a "taste" of the universe (alongside other stories with more shooting) to show the humans and the humanity behind the Mechs.

good stuff!

I will note that's 2 stories in a row someone's woken up with a hangover. Hmm, I wonder if the next story will give us the hat trick...   8) ;D

It was good. I expect nothing less from Alan Brundage. I would describe View from the Ground as a slice-of-life story. It can be read as a standalone, but unless the reader is familiar with BattleTech events, the foreboding foreshadow at the end will not land.

Brundage manage give me a gut punch without having any on screen characters deaths or a climatic battle.
"My mother told me to never throw stones at Davions. But my father told me, aim for their heads." - Daoshen Liao

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The Warrior Houses are the closest thing BattleTech has to the Jedi Order. Change my mind.

five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #21 on: 11 October 2021, 07:31:59 »
It was good. I expect nothing less from Alan Brundage. I would describe View from the Ground as a slice-of-life story. It can be read as a standalone, but unless the reader is familiar with BattleTech events, the foreboding foreshadow at the end will not land.

Brundage manage give me a gut punch without having any on screen characters deaths or a climatic battle.
you mean how the ELH doesn't make it, or was she in a different, later story?

Hotham

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #22 on: 11 October 2021, 14:47:58 »
you mean how the ELH doesn't make it, or was she in a different, later story?

I'm referring to the characters hopes that the Second Star League will bring more years of peace to the Inner Sphere. Many of us know that the FedCom Civil War is about to kick off which leads to the disbandment of the new League.
"My mother told me to never throw stones at Davions. But my father told me, aim for their heads." - Daoshen Liao

"Call me, when you need me." - Danai Centrella-Liao

"Bath him, then bring him to my chambers." - Romano Liao

The Warrior Houses are the closest thing BattleTech has to the Jedi Order. Change my mind.

five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #23 on: 11 October 2021, 19:57:04 »
I'm referring to the characters hopes that the Second Star League will bring more years of peace to the Inner Sphere. Many of us know that the FedCom Civil War is about to kick off which leads to the disbandment of the new League.

ah. what I thought, but thought I'd check. :-)

Jaim Magnus

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #24 on: 11 October 2021, 20:30:58 »
Story seven is up on Amazon, and I really kinda liked it.  talking to Alan about his plot a few months ago, I thought this was going to be tenser and all grr-grr-grr but it was a quiet little world-builder.  I honestly feel like, once the ELH campaign is done, this would be a wonderful little story to post for free on amazon and on the Catalyst home page / downloads page, etc., as a "taste" of the universe (alongside other stories with more shooting) to show the humans and the humanity behind the Mechs.

good stuff!

I will note that's 2 stories in a row someone's woken up with a hangover. Hmm, I wonder if the next story will give us the hat trick...   8) ;D

It was good. I expect nothing less from Alan Brundage. I would describe View from the Ground as a slice-of-life story. It can be read as a standalone, but unless the reader is familiar with BattleTech events, the foreboding foreshadow at the end will not land.

Brundage manage give me a gut punch without having any on screen characters deaths or a climatic battle.

Oh wow. Thanks, guys. :)
BattleCorps - Righteous Fury, Sorrow of Eden, Lady of Steel, I Was Lost, Forsaken : Legacy - The Forgotten Places : Shrapnel - Scavenger's Blood : ELH Chronicles - View from the Ground : Shrapnel - It Ends in Fire, Picking the Bones

Marveryn

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #25 on: 23 October 2021, 00:29:03 »
well finish the latest of the stories, view from the ground.  Like all the light horse stories this one feature a slice of life moment of a new mech lance just reform and the hope and dream of its mechwarriors on the new star league.  Hindsight being what it is we , the reader know how it turns out but for the people on the ground it was about the uncertainly if the experiment will work.  The event of the story seem to take place right after Operation Serpent and right to the change of the new elected  first lord Theodore. 

it was short and sweet and i found myself intrigue a bit on the characters but like all these story just too sure to get completely invested just enough to hold your attention.  It was also the first time i seen a battlehawk being use in fictions that am aware of.  So yeah for that

five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #26 on: 12 November 2021, 18:04:59 »
latest story is up!

https://books2read.com/BattleTechELH8NoDustNoWear

it's my second one, I'm really proud of it, and to keep this thread focused on general discussion, I'll talk about the writing process in the other thread.

Hope you enjoy!

five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #27 on: 12 November 2021, 18:07:33 »
for the record, my wife's review:
W: "why is there so much talking? it's battletech, where are the battles?"

Me: "There's 2 in there, technically!  i warned you, though, this was my 'small and quiet' story, the first one was my 'big and loud' one."

w: "now, i -liked- that one.  action from start to finish!"

but this is what I love about BTech fiction: there's something out there for EVERYONE, and one story doesn't float your boat, the next one probably will.  :) :)

mikecj

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #28 on: 12 November 2021, 18:10:34 »
latest story is up!

https://books2read.com/BattleTechELH8NoDustNoWear

it's my second one, I'm really proud of it, and to keep this thread focused on general discussion, I'll talk about the writing process in the other thread.

Hope you enjoy!

I loved it!  It really fleshed out the story.  I'd been wondering about since the first little news snippets in the Jihad sourcebooks.  Thanks!+

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five_corparty

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Re: ELH Fiction
« Reply #29 on: 12 November 2021, 22:38:23 »
I loved it!  It really fleshed out the story.  I'd been wondering about since the first little news snippets in the Jihad sourcebooks.  Thanks!+
You're welcome!  They wanted either a Deiron based one or Huntress, and I was really intrigued by the idea of writing about them in Clan Space

 

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