i need novel recommendations please

[themetalcrow]

i just recently learned of the battletech and the now out of print classic novels and they look like something i would enjoy, but i can't buy and get ahold of the whole line so i need some help please.

i come from reading military action scifi with a combat focus a la dan abnetts "gaunt's ghosts",   steve white's "starfire" series, john ringo's posleen series.  i also enjoy will keith, ive only read his ian douglas works and his "carrier" books under the keith douglass pen, the first 3 novels so far. 

i just love vivid, immersive, visceral combat being put alongside characters and frontline warriors who are well written, as in fun, interesting, and feel real and living. 

im currently going for the "Blood of Kerensky" trilogy, but beyond that which authors or/and cycles should i go after first?

thanks garrett

[Jaim Magnus]

Another good standby is the Warrior Trilogy, covering the Fourth Succession War (30 years prior to BoK).

Wolves on the Border is one of my all time favourites and Heir to the Dragon is quite good as well.

[J_Schmetzer]

The closest to what you're reading in the genre would be Victor Milan's Caballero novels: Close Quarters, Hearts of Chaos, and Black Dragon.  But really, it's a mil-scifi universe, so any of the old novels will be close.  Whether you like them or not will be personal taste.

[themetalcrow]

so, is there alot of good combat in most of the books then?

how is the combat in the twilight of the clans and fedcom civil war novels, both quantity and quality?

garrett

[Lorcan Nagle]

Wolves on the Border and Heir to the Dragon are probably the best BattleTech novels.  In terms of action I think the first Gray Death Legion trilogy had some of the best-written fight scenes, especially the extended chase sequence in Decision at Thunder Rift.

While Stackpole's books are very good for immersing you in the BattleTech universe and politics, his fight scenes have a tendency to be quite dry - He's mentioned on occasion that he actually use the BT rules and roll to determine the damage mechs would take in his battles, and oftentime his fight scenes do feel like a dramatisation of someone's dice rolls.  He even parodies this in Bred for War.

[Top Sergeant]

i just love vivid, immersive, visceral combat being put alongside characters and frontline warriors who are well written, as in fun, interesting, and feel real and living. 

Garret:

This line you wrote just screams author Victor Milan's novels:

Close Quarters

Hearts Of Chaos

Black Dragon

Some may disagree but I love the muddy, grimy, bloody combat scenes.

[Lorcan Nagle]

I'll definitely put a vote in for the Camacho's Caballeros novels.  Milan's got a pretty fresh take on the BattleTech universe, and features some mature themes like a frank attitude towards sex that's missing from a lot of the other books.

[themetalcrow]

i don't know about bloody specifically, but i do love the down and dirty, intense, gritty stuff.   just all out war and heated battles where there are casualties of all kinds depending of course on how they unfold.

and i am aware that most will be mech based, so there'll be a bit less blood than human troops, but starfire and william keith and all that do the machines well too with the human operators. 

i don't need it laced with combat but i do need some detail in the combat and battle sequences.  i love strategy and tactics and unit coordination and all that too.

i don't mind adventure and politics as compliment to the action and characters but i don't care for politically oriented military fiction. 

i don't need or even care for tech lecture, show me the tech in action mixed with everything else, but edit out the long lectures please.

if the novels can fit into that and in an enjoyable way, then that's all i really need.  just some good, fun, butt kicking military action sci fi really, and ill be happy.

thanks garrett

[Jaim Magnus]

Well there's 'Mech action in pretty much every novel.  The only one I can think of not to have 'Mechs in it at all was the DA novel 'Blood Avatar.'  But then, it was a murder mystery.

[nerd]

Measure of a Hero by Blaine Lee Pardoe is pretty good, while Flashpoint is almost it's dark twin.

Another recomendation I have is to find the anthology The Corps, a selection of BattleCorps short stories.

[avon1985]

I would second the Wolves on the Border its an excellent novel.  Another Dragoon book with lots of combat is Wolfpack.

[themetalcrow]

if i go ahead and get the victor milan novels and read them first will that spoil "blood of kerensky" or/and others before them?

[Top Sergeant]

if i go ahead and get the victor milan novels and read them first will that spoil "blood of kerensky" or/and others before them?

No not in the least.

[Sigma]

A helpful point. The Milan novels are a pain in the ass to find.

I finally found a good copy of Hearts of Chaos for cheap after 2 years of looking. My copy of Close Quarters is in pretty rough shape and I've never even seen a physical copy of Black Dragon.

I'm thinking about just breaking down and hitting up amazon for that one soon or it will be the last hole in my collection and I was planning on saving that honor for Far Country.

EDIT: I totally just broke down and did that. Got one in Very Good condition shipped for $7.43

[themetalcrow]

A helpful point. The Milan novels are a pain in the ass to find.

I finally found a good copy of Hearts of Chaos for cheap after 2 years of looking. My copy of Close Quarters is in pretty rough shape and I've never even seen a physical copy of Black Dragon.

I'm thinking about just breaking down and hitting up amazon for that one soon or it will be the last hole in my collection and I was planning on saving that honor for Far Country.

EDIT: I totally just broke down and did that. Got one in Very Good condition shipped for $7.43

amazon is usually the first place i look.  where else do you look for these and other hard to find books?

garrett

[Top Sergeant]

Used book stores

[themetalcrow]

like "half price books?"  that's the only one i can think of.  they never have them around here.  amazon usually does fine for me

garrett

[FedSunsBorn]

Some of the Twilight of the Clans Novels(written by several different authors) had some great action and war scenes in them and while Coleman's FedCom Civil War series starting with Patriots and Tyrants had some issues, I always liked Coleman's descriptions of the battlescenes and thought alot of his stuff was pretty good and (semi) realistic. Illusions of Victory was also written by him and I thought it was the best novel on Solaris VII with alot of mech on mech dueling.

And as others have said, the Gray Death Leqion books are nice as well though I only have the last book in the series. I did enjoy reading it however.

[omega2010]

Many of the novels are now getting put on Battlecorps.  Sure you need to subscribe and maybe buy an E-book reader if you don't want to read off your computer monitor but these copies are much easier to acquire.

[Taron Storm]

I have had quite a bit of luck going thru used bookstores and flea markets.  I've managed to expand my collection to include two or three copies of the first 10 books.  I found a copy of The Sword and the Dagger in a Tampa flea market for $1, it is in very good condition.  If you travel a lot because of work, like I do, try looking in used book stores.  You never know what you will find.

Good Hunting

[Capt Hungry]

You found The Sword And The Dagger for a buck??!?!?!?!?  Wow.   [rockon]

Nice find. Each time I look on Ebay, they are always selling for at least $65.

[Lorcan Nagle]

I got my copy in a second hand book shop in Dublin for €2 - about $3.50 at the time.