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The Warrior trilogy is also worth reading to see why Hanse Davion is called The Fox.
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May 9, 2011 18:50
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The best order to do things in is to read the first two of the Warrior Trilogy, Wolves on the Border, the last of the Warrior Trilogy and then the Blood of Kerensky. Then read Wolves on the Border again. When you get to the chapter when they decide to break their contract with the Draconis Combine and do it in formal Clan-speak this will be you:   
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May 9, 2011 19:46
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Arquinsiel posted:The best order to do things in is to read the first two of the Warrior Trilogy, Wolves on the Border, the last of the Warrior Trilogy and then the Blood of Kerensky. Yes, do this. DO IT.  That one guy, the Shadowhawk pilot, is all  the entire time, it's hilarious and awesome.
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May 9, 2011 19:56
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When PTN was suggesting this LP, I was like "Oh yeah, I'm a total Battletech nerd, I played the original Mechwarrior, I've played BT at conventions, owned scads of miniatures, and started playing 20 years ago--heck, I've got fond memories of sitting around reading the Fourth Succession War Sourcebook." But given my lack of any experience with post 3065 Battletech (Rocket Launchers? RACs??? Heavy Gauss Rifle? What the hell?) and my total avoidance of BT novels (except for part of a Turkey-ad novel I read in a bookstore once where some Clan guy was killing companies of Comstar mechs with only his ER Small Laser while being guided, I think, by another guy in an aerofighter) I now feel far less nerdy. Thank you, everyone, thank you so much.
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May 9, 2011 20:50
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WarLocke posted:Yes, do this. DO IT. Actually, it might be better to read the Legend of the Jade Phoenix instead of the Blood of Kerensky trilogy, as that way it'll be less spoiled but give you the same information needed to understand the AMAZING FORESHADOWING.
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May 9, 2011 20:54
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TildeATH posted:where some Clan guy was killing companies of Comstar mechs with only his ER Small Laser while being guided, I think, by another guy in an aerofighter) Haha, glad to see that this is what stands out in your mind, as it always annoyed the poo poo out of me. gently caress Aidan Pryde. On a constructivish note, persons looking to get into the novels should avoid the audiobooks. They're abridged all to hell and have some goofy sound effects.
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May 9, 2011 21:00
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Arquinsiel posted:The best order to do things in is to read the first two of the Warrior Trilogy, Wolves on the Border, the last of the Warrior Trilogy and then the Blood of Kerensky. I just finished reading this a couple of days ago. It was a lot better than I expected, I have to say. But the foreshadowing of the <REDACTED> was awesome.
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May 9, 2011 21:05
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The Merry Marauder posted:Haha, glad to see that this is what stands out in your mind, as it always annoyed the poo poo out of me. gently caress Aidan Pryde. I would think Main Event would greatly benefit from a kazoo and slide whistle whenever Jeremiah Rose did something exceptionally stupid.
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May 9, 2011 21:11
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Bad Moon posted:I would think Main Event would greatly benefit from a kazoo and slide whistle whenever Jeremiah Rose did something exceptionally stupid. They can't hold a slide whistle note for that long.
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May 9, 2011 21:30
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Bad Moon posted:I would think Main Event would greatly benefit from a kazoo and slide whistle whenever Jeremiah Rose did something exceptionally stupid. This runs the risk of deafening the listener. Honestly, it's been a long time since I read the Loren Jaffray books, but I don't remember him being much less of a cock than Rose. Perhaps I should reread them and share my thoughts with the class. As for the audiobooks, I hope you like synthesized "RAAAAARGH!!"s with your act breaks and energy weapon sound effects that sound like a shotgun mic picking up a kid playing with a plastic zap gun eighty feet away. "zzzzzzzzweeeeeeooommmmmm"
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May 9, 2011 21:30
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Zaodai posted:I'll still throw in a recommendation for Illusions of Victory. It doesn't really connect to the rest of the universe a ton (it takes place on Solaris), except to use some of the politics as a backdrop. Wolf Pack is sitting on my "read" shelf, but I don't remember much about it other than a vague recollection of it being pretty good, so I'll second PTN's recommendation there. I'll second Illusions of Victory as a good standalone as well. I mean it does sorta tie into the Fed-Com Civil War in a very tertiary manner but by and large it stands on its own and stands pretty well with a nice balance of action and political skullduggery.
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May 9, 2011 21:35
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The Merry Marauder posted:Haha, glad to see that this is what stands out in your mind, as it always annoyed the poo poo out of me. gently caress Aidan Pryde. All I could think at the time was that it was unreasonable given my experience with d6s. I always liked BT as a sort of storyless wargame. I never found it amenable to RPG elements and get real uncomfortable when you start doling out special abilities. Even PTN's variety of mission objectives strikes me as purposefully anachronistic (though I know they're not, it'd be a pretty sorry LP if we just went mechs against mechs with some minor terrain variation). For myself, it's very hard to focus on accomplishing my mission instead of bisecting those Stingers. It doesn't help that Caesar Steiner looks like the kind of guy who, at parties, occasionally puts mashed potatoes in his mouth and pretends to be a zit.
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May 9, 2011 21:47
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TildeATH posted:I always liked BT as a sort of storyless wargame. I never found it amenable to RPG elements and get real uncomfortable when you start doling out special abilities. Even PTN's variety of mission objectives strikes me as purposefully anachronistic (though I know they're not, it'd be a pretty sorry LP if we just went mechs against mechs with some minor terrain variation). For myself, it's very hard to focus on accomplishing my mission instead of bisecting those Stingers.
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May 9, 2011 22:05
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The Merry Marauder posted:Honestly, it's been a long time since I read the Loren Jaffray books, but I don't remember him being much less of a cock than Rose. Perhaps I should reread them and share my thoughts with the class. He is way less of a cock. For a Death Commando he's actually pretty mellow by Impetus of War. Really, the only thing I don't like about Impetus is Cullen Craig, who is a lazy and completely perfunctory Doubting Thomas archetype. Also, Jaffray's plans tend to always work out a little too well, but Blaine Pardoe has that problem with every protagonist.
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May 9, 2011 22:06
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TildeATH posted:It doesn't help that Caesar Steiner looks like the kind of guy who, at parties, occasionally puts mashed potatoes in his mouth and pretends to be a zit. Well, he was based on Bluto Blutarsky.
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May 9, 2011 22:16
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The Merry Marauder posted:Honestly, it's been a long time since I read the Loren Jaffray books, but I don't remember him being much less of a cock than Rose. Perhaps I should reread them and share my thoughts with the class. Unlike Jeremiah Rose, Jaffrey has an excuse. He was a Death Commando, and he slowly becomes more 'humanized' as the books progress and years of psychological conditioning begin to break down. I am convinced that Jeremiah Rose is and/or was a Word of Blake sleeper agent planted to spy on Wolf's Dragoons and/or the various anti-Clan war efforts and/or the Northwind Highlanders. The fact that the Black Thorns simply vanish forever once the Jihad starts suggests that Jeremiah was reactivated; and having his memories wiped would explain why he can't remember his mothers' or grandfathers' faces; and why he's so surprised to see his father (it takes Jeremiah a few seconds to recognize his own father, and a few more to recognize his own sister). Memory wiping would also explain his possible brain damage.
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May 10, 2011 00:06
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PoptartsNinja posted:Unlike Jeremiah Rose, Jaffrey has an excuse. He was a Death Commando, and he slowly becomes more 'humanized' as the books progress and years of psychological conditioning begin to break down. you are really building a big theory as to why the character isn't terrible 
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May 10, 2011 00:23
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Axe-man posted:you are really building a big theory as to why the character isn't terrible 
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May 10, 2011 00:31
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Arquinsiel posted:Sadly it's plausible It's honestly not a bad twist, which is why I don't think it's true. A twist like that has to either be gradual or immediate with an obvious change in personality. Jeremiah is equally ineffective and foolish in his flashback, ergo he's not a sleeper agent and the Black Thorns were simply quietly murdered by Word of Blake assassins because Jeremiah Rose is a p2g1 in a Warhawk Prime.
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May 10, 2011 00:39
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It would have made for one hell of a better story, that's for sure.
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May 10, 2011 00:40
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Ah, but maybe his flashback was an IN-CHARACTER flashback!  Seriously, with the crap pulled through the Jihad that was only later explained it's easily plausible.
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May 10, 2011 00:41
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PoptartsNinja posted:I promise the concrete on Tharkad isn't made out of flint. 'Mech armor is ceramic (and also not made of flint). Just standing up isn't going to blow up the Valkyrie. Just sayin', but mech armor is actually steel. It's called ferro-fibrous for a reason. 'Mech armor is a combination of layers of steel plate and ceramics, and then ferro-fibrous takes that and weaves diamond fiber in it.
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May 10, 2011 01:09
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'Mech armor is magic. It's not going to spark when you grind it against concrete.
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May 10, 2011 01:12
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PoptartsNinja posted:'Mech armor is magic. It's not going to spark when you grind it against concrete. other wise there would be rules for it... and there are rules... for many many things.
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May 10, 2011 01:24
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Besides, the Battletech universe uses Plascrete, so the magic armor isn't going to spark at all against plastic! 
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May 10, 2011 01:25
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The line developer, when confronted directly, took great pleasure in revealing they were on Galedon during the Jihad. They died when they simultaneously had biological weapons containing the Plague of Galedon, a strategic-scale nuke, and orbital bombardment hit their position all at the same time.
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May 10, 2011 01:39
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The Merry Marauder posted:This runs the risk of deafening the listener. Does anyone else think it would be awesome if they had an audio reading of 'Main Event' with a comedy backup band? I do.
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May 10, 2011 01:40
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Let’s Read: Main Event (part 17) Chapter 17 Harlech, Outreach 25 September 3054 Days elapsed since book start: 147 Mercenaries recruited since book start: 4 Mercenaries recruited off-screen: 1 Things accomplished since book start: 1 ( Protagonists introduced since book start: 5 Protagonists mentioned but not yet introduced: 1 Antagonists introduced since book start: 1 Antagonists defeated since book start: 0 Chapters spent on Northwind: 5 Chapters spent on Solaris: 10 Jeremiah has now, after less than 24 hours, gone through all of Rianna’s groundwork, discarding nearly all of it. Why did he let his baby sister start the recruiting process? Why does he let her do it again in the next book? Because he’s too lazy to do any actual work himself. Aside from recruiting Hawg (and his Zeus (he recruited the Zeus and got Hawg too)), Jeremiah hasn’t let Rianna accomplish anything herself. Most of his warriors have fallen passively into his lap, and only four of them have semi-defined personalities. A good author would’ve used the first third of the book to introduce each member, but that was clearly too pedestrian for Jim Long. Instead, he introduces characters over the span of a paragraph and gives them no recognizable personality. This propensity to create people devoid of any real personality can be clearly seen with the last person to join the Black Thorns this book, who could be replaced with a soggy mop and nobody would be the wiser. So, it’s time for a rundown of the ‘varying’ personalities within the Black Thorns: Jeremiah Rose - Dickhead, Glorious Leader, Mary Sue Rianna Rose - SMERT  Angus - Non-entity (his personality is a complete lack of a personality, and Jeremiah admits to this.) Badicus O’Shea - Action Scottsman (and the only character with any sort of emotional range)! Esmeralda - Suspicious Hawg - Crazy Joining them is a new member: Ajax, who introduces himself by inviting Jeremiah to lunch. Ajax immediately begins Main Event posted:“I should probably warn you that what little Angus knows of me he has learned from my sister, the unit executive officer, and she barely knows me at all.” Ajax then comments that the Black Thorns have doubled in number in two days, then pretends that Jeremiah was going to give Rianna credit for that (the only person she found was Hawg). He knows a lot (probably because he’s a sleeper Maskirovka agent (nothing will come of this)). Rose decides to accept Ajax provisionally, then bums a ride from him to check on the status of the Charger’s repair. He immediately sees Esmeralda screaming at one of Wolf’s Dragoons’ techs with Rianna standing shoulder to shoulder with her while the rest of the Black Thorns pretend they’re not affiliated with this whole thing. Esmeralda’s not satisfied with the way they’re reattaching the Charger’s leg, so Jeremiah talks to Rianna about it because he’s certain it’s her fault. Then one of Wolf’s Dragoons’ officers shows up, and Jeremiah immediately suspects the Dragoon of having impure thoughts about his sister. This lets us see exactly what sort of people have personalities that let them mesh with Jeremiah Rose. Main Event posted:“After all,” he continued, “such beauty deserves the best Wolf’s Dragoons has to offer.” Yup. They’re dicks, too. The Captain, angry, suggests that the Black Thorns are cannon fodder for the Clans to blow apart before they fight a real enemy. Rianna then drops this bombshell: Main Event posted:“Oh, will that be before or after the Dragoons betray us the way they turned traitor to their own Clan kind?”  Good God, Jeremiah, what have you been teaching your little sister?  Wait, screw that last question. What the gently caress is wrong with Rianna’s nails?! Jeremiah then plays ‘peacemaker’ and challenges the Dragoons to a Giant Robot Fight on their own practice field. Jeremiah then tells everyone in the unit that they’re all probably going to ‘die’ a horrible, computer-simulated death because Wolf’s Dragoons are one of the best units in the Inner Sphere and the Black Thorns have never even had a chance to train together. Hell, Jeremiah’s Charger is still in multiple pieces. After depressing them, he does his best to convince them that they’ll still win by immediately letting Esmeralda and Badicus come up with a plan based on maps of the field. I honestly don’t think Badicus can read a book, much less a map, but Rose leaves the planning in their hands so that way he’s completely distanced from what he suspects will be an inevitable defeat since they’re fighting 6:8 vs. heavier Dragoon lances. Jeremiah then calls the Dragoon captain a pussy, and demands that someone who isn’t busy fixing his ‘Mech or doing all the planning for him drive him to the airport so he can Then the chapter ends.
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May 10, 2011 01:42
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Please tell me there's a "training accident" in the next chapter, and Rose is let to die of exposure out in the mountains or something. I'm going to be
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May 10, 2011 03:23
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Octatonic posted:Please tell me there's a "training accident" in the next chapter, and Rose is let to die of exposure out in the mountains or something. I could tell you what happens, but I will leave that to PTN. I don't want to steal his landcollector fucked around with this message at 03:53 on May 10, 2011 |
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May 10, 2011 03:51
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Man, this book. Nothing endears the reader to a character like insulting one of the most established and well liked forces in the universe, then challenging them to a fight to make up for it, then, I fully expect Jeremiah's 'dream team' to school the Dragoons despite being woefully unprepared and under-equipped. loving book. I'm not even reading it and it's annoying me.
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May 10, 2011 04:01
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kill rose. just kill him, this book makes me sick just lets reading it.
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May 10, 2011 04:06
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Octatonic posted:Please tell me there's a "training accident" Hahahaha you have no idea.
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May 10, 2011 04:37
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Calling Mechicular homicide.
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May 10, 2011 04:51
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Let’s Read: Main Event (part 18) Chapter 18 Harlech, Outreach 26 September 3054 Days elapsed since book start: 148 Mercenaries recruited since book start: 4 Mercenaries recruited off-screen: 1 Things accomplished since book start: 1 ( Protagonists introduced since book start: 5 Protagonists mentioned but not yet introduced: 1 Antagonists introduced since book start: 1 Antagonists defeated since book start: 0 Chapters spent on Northwind: 5 Chapters spent on Solaris: 10 Chapters spent on Outreach: ??? Jeremiah Rose has never piloted a Charger before, even though I was mistaken about it being a 1A9 (it’s actually a CGR-3K, which is marginally better but extremely underpowered for an Assault ‘Mech). Jeremiah then assesses his pilots, and we learn that Angus is the best of them. He’s gotta be good at something, I suppose, since ‘talking’ and ‘being interesting’ aren’t on the list. He’s pretty much a non-character and I’m pretty sure he dies in this book; but I can’t remember. He’s also the only person Jeremiah consistently calls by first name other than Rianna and Esmeralda No Last Name Given (EVER). Jeremiah then complements the Dragoons on their training system of inhibitors and the like that allows them to have mock combats without damage; which is neat… except the Kell Hounds were doing the same thing with only their ‘Mechs computers back in 3029. It’s amazing what having a friend like Clovis Holstein can do for Merc training. We are then treated to this amazing gem of idiocy: Main Event posted:Despite what most civilians think, each ‘Mech is unique. Except for the gross differences between individual designs, each ‘Mech tended to take on a personality of its own. Indeed, part of the difficulty in becoming familiar with a new ‘Mech, no matter what the design, was learning the subtle changes that were part of the system. Boy, I sure am glad that the Clans have all the ‘personality’ removed from their Omnimechs. It’d sure be a shame to have to learn a quirky system every time the mission required it. The Dragoons then jump on, give Jeremiah three hours to kill two of their lances, and remind everyone that physical combat is banned. We then learn that Jeremiah has magically learned that the two lances he’s facing have been nicknamed the ‘Asphalt Warriors’ by the dragoons; which is stupid. Jeremiah then takes a moment to gloat about his stolen back-up coolant suit; the one nobody knew he had until now in spite of our learning the contents of Jeremiah’s only two suitcases back in the first chapter. We then learn that the sneaky Capellan, Ajax, is watching from a remote position; as is Captain McCloud. And Jeremiah can talk to them. Which seems like a pretty huge breach of Dragoon security, but whatever—Jeremiah won’t be smart enough to call them for tactical advice. In fact, he blows his only advantage by immediately calling for radio silence. Jeremiah’s brilliant tactical ploy for this battle is: avoid the town in the center, sneak around and follow the Dragoons in. It sounds like a good plan, until you realize that both lances of Dragoons are mixed heavies and assaults, and their biggest ‘Mech is an Annihilator. Whoops, spoilers. Esmeralda then spots two enemy ‘Mechs hiding behind buildings, and immediately breaks radio silence and charges. We then learn that somehow, the best Mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere, has forgotten to post a rear guard. Bullshit. Rianna then jumps in to shoot, and still misses because she’s an awful shot. I’m not kidding, in game terms she’s officially a p2 g6. Jeremiah then immediately loses track of her position so he can shoot a Crusader. Meanwhile, Hawg and a Dragoon Zeus fight it out (guess who’s going to win? Not the crazy guy) while an Imp and the aforementioned Annihilator move in. The Dragoons, being skilled and capable, immediately gun for Jeremiah. The Annihilator and Imp basically knock him out of the fight in a single salvo; but Esmeralda manages to save him by standing nearby and shooting. The Crusader then stackpoles, takes out Rianna, Angus, and the Dragoon Imp. Hawg then gets taken down by an Archer, the Zeus, and two blue and gold Wolverines. Esmeralda then shoots the Annihilator in the back. In reply, it punches her; breaking the rules of the engagement. Stupidly, Esmeralda then punches it in the head, killing the Dragoon Captain and, oh, guess who just got blacklisted by the MRBC? If you guessed the Black Thorns, you’d be correct. Then the chapter ends.
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May 10, 2011 05:12
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Jesus gently caress. This is terrible.
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May 10, 2011 05:29
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Compared to the next book, the combat in Main Event isn't that bad. ... For being utter crap.
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May 10, 2011 05:41
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PoptartsNinja posted:
Does anybody really want to try to explain why the Dragoons would break their own ROE? This book just keeps getting worse with each turn of the page it seems.
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May 10, 2011 05:47
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Rianna would fit in well with Comacho's Caballeros with her skill set.
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May 10, 2011 05:47
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I... I really had no Idea. They're in a city though, right? That annihilator could have taken care of them by its loving self really. Killing a Dragoon captain for no reason at all? I can't believe we're supposed to be rooting these people, even as a scrappy team of smug underdogs. The second coolant suit thing is bullshit too, by the bye. Edit: Did that 'mech literally stackpole, or did it have a simulated stackpoling or whatever? Octatonic fucked around with this message at 07:55 on May 10, 2011 |
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May 10, 2011 07:52
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