Hunters of the Deep

BattleTech Universe #75

by Randall N. Bills

Sea Fox Clansmen are space-bound, nomadic warrior-merchants who live and die aboard their naval vessels, going planetside only to negotiate a new deal or for combat - often the same thing for a Fox. Divided into five autonomous Khanates, they are led by the Khan of all Clan Sea Fox. Their mission: to make deals and acquire the revenue needed to expand Sea Fox's honor, glory, and power...

For more than a decade, ovKhan Sha Clarke has watched his Spina Khanate achieve greater wealth and fame than any other. A quiet passion drives the MechWarrior to free Spina Khanate from the shackles of Clan Sea Fox - no matter the cost...

A MechWarrior fiercly loyal to Clan Sea Fox, ovKhan Petr Kalasa knows that Sha is plotting rebellion, but even he cannot guess the lengths to which Sha will go to achieve victory. In his attempt to stop his rival, he baits Sha into a one-on-one duel. The result is a disaster that vividly demonstrates how much Petr will have to sacrifice to put an end to Sha's machinations. Yet his suspicions of Sha will not let him rest. He has lost one battle, but - as The Clan is his witness - he will not lose the war...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 5, 2004

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had promise. An inner working into Clan Sea Fox. A mainly merchant clan, and one we haven't really seen any of before. Unfortunately it completely misses the mark. Having just finished it I can't say I really remember who any of the characters were or what their motivations were. The main plot is about internal clan politics with some double crossing and treason and is wholly forgettable, there is some sort of sub plot going on about the forces of Marik invading the Republic which I think is resolved in a few sentences on a page. Honestly, I don't remember anything actually happening, it might of been completely resolved off screen.

There is really no reason to read this novel. It doesn't advance anything and at this point it seems like it's own separate side story. Even if you're a die hard BattleTech fan just go read the articles on Clan Sea Fox on sarna.net instead.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like the first novel of a practicing writer. Probably shouldn't have been published. But since it was here is the run down. It is very wordy. Using more words than required to tell the story. The story meanders about not really knowing what it is about till about a quarter of the way in. The protagonist doesn't really "protag" much, that is left up to everyone else around him. How he got to his lofty heights letting things happen to him is a mystery. There isn't much there to make the protagonist likeable. I found myself rather wanting the antagonist to just kill the protagonist and put him out of his misery. Probably would have been a much better story if the side character spy was the main focus and we left the clan stuff as the side story. The story continues to labour along without much action, when there is action our protagonist shows no competence in any regard. We reach the climax and we we aren't given one. Every bit of major interest is left unsaid, unmentioned, and left to the imagination and all we get are the lead ups with no satisfying pay. Fortunately you can easily skip this story unless you really want to read some dry fiction about clan Sea Fox. All that being said, he has talent. It just needs to be polished way more. An editor should not have let most of this get by and so I lay the blame on the editor. I've also read worse, so this is a barely acceptable pass. If you don't have to read this, don't.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the twelfth book in the Mech Warrior Dark Age series. This series is a continuation of the Battletech series. The books in this series, like the books in the original Battletech series, are by various authors. This one is by Randall N. Bills. Hunters of the Deep consists predominantly of politics inside Clan Sea Fox, and there's really not much of a tie-in with events taking place throughout the Dark Age universe as a whole. Most Battletech fans want battle action, and plenty of it. Unfortunately there is little actual Mechwarrior action in this novel or action of any type. I found the politics of this book somewhat confusing and really very boring. There is really no one to admire in this story. The most interesting character is a female spy known only as Snow. Her motives for helping ovKhan Petr Kalasa are mostly unclear. All in all I really didn't enjoy this book but I have enjoyed the Dark Age books until now and I will continue to read the rest of this series unless the remainder continue in this fashion.

[Chris Jacken · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ich bin ratlos was dieses Buch mir erzählen möchte. Die Grundidee klingt wunderbar - ein Clan der auf Handel aus ist (der Rest der Clans in dieser Welt kennt kaum etwas anderes außer Krieg) und hab hier wird es wild. Ein Teil des Clans paktiert mit einem anderen Clan, was aber nur hin und wieder mal erwähnt wird, dann wird da ein- bis zweimal noch eine andere Invasion erwähnt und alle Fraktionen treffen am Ende zu einem großen Kampf zusammen der kurz abgehandelt wird. Dazu kommt noch ein undurchsichtige Agentin die...keine Ahnung...die Geschichte vorantreibt? Das die Hauptfigur komplett unbeherrscht ist und damit für eine Führungsrolle ungeeignet ist nur ein weiteres Detail dieser sehr unbefriedigenden Leseerfahrung.  

[Kavinay · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book should not have been this bad. Purple prose and inactive characters contribute to a surprisingly underwhelming narrative for a subject matter (Clan Sea Fox) that should have been profoundly interesting.

[Josh Murphy · Rating 1 out of 5]

"So You've Decided to Read Battletech: Dark Age" - Review 12

Just... the worst.

DA Callbacks

There was a Sea Fox informant in one of the previous books, but I don't recall their name, so they *may* have been in this book? No idea.

Review:

Who would have guessed a Clan internal power-struggle story would be so mind-numbingly dull? The protagonist seems completely inept. He seems to come to some personal revelation, but it went nowhere. He does a lot of contemplating on whether a woman spy he meets is so ugly she's actually sexy. It's weird.

The spy, Snow, is pretty interesting. She's got some relatable personal hangups, seems a bit obsessed with sex, and intrigues by her strange mannerisms. But her side story comes from nowhere and goes nowhere.

Assessment:

It's seriously bad. Skip it. No interesting lore. No overarching plot developments. Weird (but not in a good way) ugly vs sexy internal debates. For the love of Kerensky: SKIP. IT.

Lasting Impressions
In this section, I return long after reading to give my remembered impressions. Did this book stand the test of time?

Yes! But in a bad way. I distinctly remember that this book is the worst reading experience I've had in BTech! I don't recall the plot at all. I just remember the main character spending the whole book being simultaneously disgusted and aroused by a lady spy.

DarkAge Tier List
from favorite to least favorite

Scorpion Jar
Service For the Dead
A Silence in the Heavens
Flight of the Falcon
Target of Opportunity
Blood of the Isle
Fortress of Lies
By Temptations and By War
A Call to Arms
Truth and Shadows
Ghost War
The Ruins of Power

In a special list all its own for being the absolute worst:
Hunters of the Deep

[J Murdock · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want my money and time back.

Not at all Battletech worthy. Terrible waste of words and useless drawn out plot.

Closer to Star Trek Deep Space 9 and the never ending scheming of the "Space Jews".

[Walter Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read

Interesting story about the different power plays and schemes a live in the background of Clan Sea Fox and there different amigs and an interesting Republic of the sphere ? Special intelligence operative playing in the shadows.