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BattleTech Universe #46
The Killing Fields
In hope of salvaging the embattled worlds of the renegade St. Ives Compact, Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao has launched a war that stretches far beyond the scope of military conquest. His mission: reunite St. Ives with his own Capellan Confederation. But after months of combat extend into years, the smash-and-destroy tactics have turned the crippled Compact into a bloody wasteland- and the Chancellor's costly victory into a virtual deathwatch.
For the warriors of Hause Hiritsu, and for the Capellan and Compact soldiers on the 'Mech-shredded front lines Sun-Tzu's noble crusade has become a nightmare. And now, with his dream of glory slipping away, the Chancellor will make one last desperate gamble - a final solution to regain total control of a civil war exploding out of control. no matter what the cost.
For the warriors of Hause Hiritsu, and for the Capellan and Compact soldiers on the 'Mech-shredded front lines Sun-Tzu's noble crusade has become a nightmare. And now, with his dream of glory slipping away, the Chancellor will make one last desperate gamble - a final solution to regain total control of a civil war exploding out of control. no matter what the cost.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1999
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About the author
Loren L. Coleman
107 books39 followersLoren L. Coleman (born 1968) is a science-fiction writer, born and grew up in Longview, Washington.
He is known for having written many books for series such as Star Trek, Battletech/Mechwarrior, Age of Conan, Crimson Skies, Magic: The Gathering and others. Former member of the United States Navy, he has also written game fiction and source material for such companies as FASA Corporation, TSR, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast.
In early 2010s, he began writing The ICAS Files series, science fiction short-stories. [wikipedia]
He is known for having written many books for series such as Star Trek, Battletech/Mechwarrior, Age of Conan, Crimson Skies, Magic: The Gathering and others. Former member of the United States Navy, he has also written game fiction and source material for such companies as FASA Corporation, TSR, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast.
In early 2010s, he began writing The ICAS Files series, science fiction short-stories. [wikipedia]
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 8, 2026
No heroes. No martyrs.
As fitting for a book about a civil war, what the book is about is a subject of dispute. This is the second book in the Capellan Solution duology. House Liao, under the leadership of Sun-Tzu Liao, leader of the Inner Sphere by virtue of his position as Star Lord and guardian of the Xin Sheng movement, a cultural renaissance masquerading as a nationalist campaign, or vice-versa, wars with his aunt, Candace Liao, leader of the Saint Ives Compact, the former territory of the Capellan Confederation.
What you really need to know here is that this is a book without a good guy or a bad guy, (excluding Kali ((and even then, there is room for discussion, I think))). The battles, though exciting, are not glorious, and the victories often through not deciding to fight. There are lots of hard learned lessons and heart-wrenching betrayals. It is a war story at its core.
It also has moments of high drama. The scenes here are often operatic, high melodrama, and I mean that as a compliment. There is a section around one-third in where each scene raises to a higher level of emotion, where I kept assuming that it had reached the top only for it to ratchet up, that might as well be staged. It is perfect Battletech, and more so because this happens on strategic and operational levels of the world to create a sort of vertically integrated story.
Of particular note, we have Kali Liao with dialog for the first or next to first time ever. And something else here that the previous book was not as good on, and the prior books totally lacked, is giving Sun-Tzu Liao interiority. Coleman makes strong choices about what is going on for him, giving him internal conflict over his methods and morals and letting his goals be complex.
That interior conflict does not always land as it is sometimes too talky. That is the problem with the book. Okay, the title is an immense eye-roll, too. But Coleman overall has a weak sense of characterization. On occasion, he sticks the landing (Treyhang/Doles should be a thing). Otherwise, it frustrates what is otherwise an excellent book. It is not tell not show, but it is a particular kind of show, where the repetitiveness of it makes it hard to track a sizable and diverse set of characters.
That weakness keeps it from being my favorite book, but the structure and really quality scenes makes it one of my favorites. But that does give me hopes for Coleman’s progression as a writer. And this book is the template for what I want a Battletech novel to be structured like.
As fitting for a book about a civil war, what the book is about is a subject of dispute. This is the second book in the Capellan Solution duology. House Liao, under the leadership of Sun-Tzu Liao, leader of the Inner Sphere by virtue of his position as Star Lord and guardian of the Xin Sheng movement, a cultural renaissance masquerading as a nationalist campaign, or vice-versa, wars with his aunt, Candace Liao, leader of the Saint Ives Compact, the former territory of the Capellan Confederation.
What you really need to know here is that this is a book without a good guy or a bad guy, (excluding Kali ((and even then, there is room for discussion, I think))). The battles, though exciting, are not glorious, and the victories often through not deciding to fight. There are lots of hard learned lessons and heart-wrenching betrayals. It is a war story at its core.
It also has moments of high drama. The scenes here are often operatic, high melodrama, and I mean that as a compliment. There is a section around one-third in where each scene raises to a higher level of emotion, where I kept assuming that it had reached the top only for it to ratchet up, that might as well be staged. It is perfect Battletech, and more so because this happens on strategic and operational levels of the world to create a sort of vertically integrated story.
Of particular note, we have Kali Liao with dialog for the first or next to first time ever. And something else here that the previous book was not as good on, and the prior books totally lacked, is giving Sun-Tzu Liao interiority. Coleman makes strong choices about what is going on for him, giving him internal conflict over his methods and morals and letting his goals be complex.
That interior conflict does not always land as it is sometimes too talky. That is the problem with the book. Okay, the title is an immense eye-roll, too. But Coleman overall has a weak sense of characterization. On occasion, he sticks the landing (Treyhang/Doles should be a thing). Otherwise, it frustrates what is otherwise an excellent book. It is not tell not show, but it is a particular kind of show, where the repetitiveness of it makes it hard to track a sizable and diverse set of characters.
That weakness keeps it from being my favorite book, but the structure and really quality scenes makes it one of my favorites. But that does give me hopes for Coleman’s progression as a writer. And this book is the template for what I want a Battletech novel to be structured like.
March 11, 2019
I was hoping that things would pick up in the second part of this duology, but they really didn't. We had less of Sun-Tzu and more stories of the front lines and some shifting environments in terms of the dynamic battlefield. The overall impact of the war sort of felt cheapened by the end despite how it meant half of the St. Ives Compact getting re-absorbed by the Capellan Confederation. And I think that largely boils down to how things were presented and the slight imbalance in how the different POV chapters were presented and used to weave the larger story together.
March 27, 2025
Just not invested in this story thread. Not a bad book, though.
September 12, 2020
Follow up in The Capellan Solution series (part one was Threads of Ambition).
The battles for the St. Ives Compact lead to conflict both on the field and in the actions of people taking part.
This was a good sequel, with plenty of mech action. Fizzled out slightly towards the end, but leaving Sun-Tzu Liao in a better position then before.
This book/story arc actually does him a bit of justice, showing him to be a shrewd, calculating character working towards his dream of a reunited Confederacy.
The battles for the St. Ives Compact lead to conflict both on the field and in the actions of people taking part.
This was a good sequel, with plenty of mech action. Fizzled out slightly towards the end, but leaving Sun-Tzu Liao in a better position then before.
This book/story arc actually does him a bit of justice, showing him to be a shrewd, calculating character working towards his dream of a reunited Confederacy.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews