Battletech: Counterattack

Battletech: An Ill-Made House

by Jason Schmetzer (Contributor)

COMRADESHIP. HONOR. REBELLION. JIHAD.

A Star League Gunslinger fights against overwhelming odds during a rebellion. A dauntless warrior faces his most painful trial yet, far from home and all but alone. Mercenaries, betrayed from within, lash out at all who threaten them. And the Word of Blake, always present, plots and schemes and maneuvers allies against each other.

Thirteen stories of combat, honor, betrayal and death fill the pages of Counterattack: BattleCorps Anthology Volume 5.

Savvy readers will recognize now-familiar names in BattleTech lore among the authors: Steven Mohan, Jr., Kevin Killiany, Phaedra Weldon, Jason Schmetzer, Jason Hardy and Blaine Lee Pardoe. These writers have shaped the direction of the BattleTech universe. In 2008, with these stories, they took the fictional storylines of the BattleTech universe in hand and fought back. They told the stories that demonstrated the indomitable will that has carried BattleTech readers across more than 25 years of publication. 

Genres: Science Fiction

332 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2014

Reviews

[Jacob Russell Dring]

Despite being a big fan of BattleTech since MechWarrior 3, I've only read four or five BT novels over the years. Never an anthology, this being my first. And wow! What an interesting experience. The stories provided offered a variety of scenarios, characters, and styles within the BT universe. As someone who isn't as fluent with certain terms and tech as I wish I was, I found myself puzzled on occasion, but never to the point that it ruined a story. And while there were quite a few stories that didn't appeal to me at all, particularly those not involving 'Mechs one bit, most were relatively engaging. And a select three especially held my passion. They were all by Jason Schmetzer (didn't realize this until I finished the book), which isn't to say I didn't really enjoy many of the others. Apart from the few stories that lost me entirely, and the occasional typo, the anthology provided an effective and action-packed glimpse into the universe that is BattleTech, making me keener on pursuing other Volumes in this series.

[J Murdock]

Some good, some really bad.

If its not Battletech it doesn't belong here. Boats, big no. Being "woke" even bigger red flag.

If you're A purists and have stayed since the 80's you know.

I can't break it down by author but we know who is great and why the new suck so bad.

[John Somers]

14/20.

[Daniel]

Most of the stories were pretty good. I would have preferred the Jihad era stories to be more central to events since there is still a lot to fill in for that time.

[Walter Robinson]

Great read

Great read I love these short stories and you have everything from mech battles to espionage and traders with dreams .

[Tim Gray]

For a book about Battletech, there were just not enough mech's for me. To many of these stories could have been any science fiction, not specifically the Battletech Universe - and frankly the quality was mixed as well.

[Brandon]

Another decent set of Battletech stories.