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BattleTech Universe #39
The Hunters
"Carry the fight to the Clans!" has become the rallying cry for the armies of the Successor States. Now, as the Great Houses launch an offensive against the Clan Occupation Zone, a combined armed task force, drawn from across the Inner Sphere, begins its own desperate journey.
Following the road marked out for them by a Clan defector, Task Force Serpent sets out to strike a blow at the heart of the Clans, at their home worlds. For so many years, the Inner Sphere has been the prey of the Clans. Now, in a war to end all wars, the hunted have become... The Hunters.
Following the road marked out for them by a Clan defector, Task Force Serpent sets out to strike a blow at the heart of the Clans, at their home worlds. For so many years, the Inner Sphere has been the prey of the Clans. Now, in a war to end all wars, the hunted have become... The Hunters.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1997
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171 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 23, 2024
2.5 because there are so many errors in grammar usage that I nearly stopped reading the book. However, the plot of the book is very good with a very subtle “when is the other shoe gonna drop and what will it look like” type of suspense hanging over all of the action and personal dramas.
February 24, 2017
This is a frustrating book. It's not even the author's fault. The premise of the whole novel is a bit of a bore: Operation Serpent's trip into CSJ space. There's an interesting surprise at the end, but really, Gressman's given the thankless task of making something interesting happen during an exercise in logistics.
No Clan interaction of merit, the Marik Knight Paul Masters is portrayed as a chivalrous buffoon and the rest of the Inner Sphere members of the task force are respectively true to stereotype. There's just not much to like besides a single chapter our of nowhere about a quick-thinking Clan bondsman.
The novel comes after a good start to the series and a serviceable "great game" plot for book 2, so it's a really tough slog in comparison when the plot is non-existent and the characters are basically having meetings and planning sessions for the duration of the book.
No Clan interaction of merit, the Marik Knight Paul Masters is portrayed as a chivalrous buffoon and the rest of the Inner Sphere members of the task force are respectively true to stereotype. There's just not much to like besides a single chapter our of nowhere about a quick-thinking Clan bondsman.
The novel comes after a good start to the series and a serviceable "great game" plot for book 2, so it's a really tough slog in comparison when the plot is non-existent and the characters are basically having meetings and planning sessions for the duration of the book.
July 31, 2022
Twilight of the Clans 3
Morgan Hasek-Davion and Task Force Serpent head off into Clan Space as part of a plan to wipe out the Smoke Jaguars.
There are several incidents along the way, but this book has very little mech action.
Mostly it deals with integrating the various military units into a cohesive force before they come up against the Clans.
The end of the novel is quite a twist.
Morgan Hasek-Davion and Task Force Serpent head off into Clan Space as part of a plan to wipe out the Smoke Jaguars.
There are several incidents along the way, but this book has very little mech action.
Mostly it deals with integrating the various military units into a cohesive force before they come up against the Clans.
The end of the novel is quite a twist.
December 27, 2025
It's 2 pounds of plot in a 12 pound sack. But it's one of those fancy sacks, like from the 30s.
This is the story of Task Force Serpent, the left hook sent out to invade the Clan Homeworlds, the Smoke Jaguar homeworld in specific, to take the battle back to the Clans after the reformation of the Star League.
While Uncle Davion is there, the focus is on the leaders of the difference mercenary and military groups, some formerly opposed, now working in coalition against a mutual enemy. This includes a deeper or novel portrait of in-universe organizations, notably the 21st Century Lancers mercenary force. It also gives us some of our first scenes of a warship in use, and includes elements of combat like boarding actions.
The big problem is "nothing" happens. As people strive to get along, there are two fights, the first cool for set up, the second cool for novelty. The task force is not done. It has not accomplished any major milestones. The ending is a cliffhanger.
"Nothing" gets scare quotes because a lot happens, but the author is not interested in it. The task force has a multitude of interesting dimensions, starting with the relatively insane logistics and operational security it requires. It is a great venue to get to explore the workings of characters in places that we have not yet seen and are neither plot armored nor Mary Sued. But the author outright has a character think that logistics are for wussies.
There is a specific sort of what I feared about the book series about the writing. The author has a particularly cliched view of armed forces and what proper leadership or tradition is about. The Orientalism is particularly bad, or has particularly bad results by engaging in cliche. So many of the scenes are stock footage, that would fit in just about any war movie about any war.
Worst of all, the author wants to tell you about what he knows. Not a sort of 'tell, not show,' but the sort of Gettysburg thing writ large (down to Trafalgar being the Gettysburg equivalent). Would you be surprised that every military tradition on display matches those from the Western armed forces out of the 20th Century, including ones that derive from earlier ones? You are going to hear about all of them, and you are going to get a lot of the universe over explained, both in narration and in character's 'as you know'-ing.
The ending is lousy. The cliffhanger is meant to reference Lost Destiny, I presume, but it has none of the weight. It even fails as a cliffhanger, in that it ought to have ended for maximal effect.
In general, this book feels like the mean itself, perfectly average and okay for it. My only concern is if the sort of tone of writing for the sort of audience who wants that sort of thing in the over-description, who, presumably, wants to feel like they get to play along with their own military knowledge like some sort of Name That Tune for 18th Century British naval customs, is the audience the books are being aimed towards, and away from the Robot Opera that I love.
This is the story of Task Force Serpent, the left hook sent out to invade the Clan Homeworlds, the Smoke Jaguar homeworld in specific, to take the battle back to the Clans after the reformation of the Star League.
While Uncle Davion is there, the focus is on the leaders of the difference mercenary and military groups, some formerly opposed, now working in coalition against a mutual enemy. This includes a deeper or novel portrait of in-universe organizations, notably the 21st Century Lancers mercenary force. It also gives us some of our first scenes of a warship in use, and includes elements of combat like boarding actions.
The big problem is "nothing" happens. As people strive to get along, there are two fights, the first cool for set up, the second cool for novelty. The task force is not done. It has not accomplished any major milestones. The ending is a cliffhanger.
"Nothing" gets scare quotes because a lot happens, but the author is not interested in it. The task force has a multitude of interesting dimensions, starting with the relatively insane logistics and operational security it requires. It is a great venue to get to explore the workings of characters in places that we have not yet seen and are neither plot armored nor Mary Sued. But the author outright has a character think that logistics are for wussies.
There is a specific sort of what I feared about the book series about the writing. The author has a particularly cliched view of armed forces and what proper leadership or tradition is about. The Orientalism is particularly bad, or has particularly bad results by engaging in cliche. So many of the scenes are stock footage, that would fit in just about any war movie about any war.
Worst of all, the author wants to tell you about what he knows. Not a sort of 'tell, not show,' but the sort of Gettysburg thing writ large (down to Trafalgar being the Gettysburg equivalent). Would you be surprised that every military tradition on display matches those from the Western armed forces out of the 20th Century, including ones that derive from earlier ones? You are going to hear about all of them, and you are going to get a lot of the universe over explained, both in narration and in character's 'as you know'-ing.
The ending is lousy. The cliffhanger is meant to reference Lost Destiny, I presume, but it has none of the weight. It even fails as a cliffhanger, in that it ought to have ended for maximal effect.
In general, this book feels like the mean itself, perfectly average and okay for it. My only concern is if the sort of tone of writing for the sort of audience who wants that sort of thing in the over-description, who, presumably, wants to feel like they get to play along with their own military knowledge like some sort of Name That Tune for 18th Century British naval customs, is the audience the books are being aimed towards, and away from the Robot Opera that I love.
July 26, 2024
As the first book from Gressman, I am pleasantly surprised. This third book in the series gets right back on track with the story I wanted to read.
This go around, the main bulk of action and combat happens in space, which is a rare occurrence for BattleTech. Some of the characters have been around for some time, so readers will tend to get lost if they have no prior knowledge of the characters in this book, but chances are if you're here you have some semblance of an idea of what exactly you are getting into: BattleTech!
The Hunters covers Operation Serpent's quest across the Exodus Road, which follows topics covered in previous novels in the series. I believe that after reading the lackluster second book, many will have a better appreciation for this third book in the series. I recommend reading the other books prior to this one, although the second book can be skimmed for the more important events.
This go around, the main bulk of action and combat happens in space, which is a rare occurrence for BattleTech. Some of the characters have been around for some time, so readers will tend to get lost if they have no prior knowledge of the characters in this book, but chances are if you're here you have some semblance of an idea of what exactly you are getting into: BattleTech!
The Hunters covers Operation Serpent's quest across the Exodus Road, which follows topics covered in previous novels in the series. I believe that after reading the lackluster second book, many will have a better appreciation for this third book in the series. I recommend reading the other books prior to this one, although the second book can be skimmed for the more important events.
December 19, 2019
An interesting departure from other Battletech novels, this entry puts space combat front and center over 'mech combat, and spends most of its non-combat narrative focused on the challenges of command rather than high political intrigue.
It's all executed well. Hard choices, like how to handle hostile contact on a sneak attack, or what to do with prisoners of war in a long haul campaign, don't have clear answers and leave you to follow the protagonist through the challenge conducting modern warfare without losing ones ethical beliefs.
Tragically, a baffling attempt at a twist ending undoes much of the interesting character development that takes place over the course of the book. I can't figure out why this was deemed to be necessary. Ending the book two chapters earlier would have added a star to this review.
It's all executed well. Hard choices, like how to handle hostile contact on a sneak attack, or what to do with prisoners of war in a long haul campaign, don't have clear answers and leave you to follow the protagonist through the challenge conducting modern warfare without losing ones ethical beliefs.
Tragically, a baffling attempt at a twist ending undoes much of the interesting character development that takes place over the course of the book. I can't figure out why this was deemed to be necessary. Ending the book two chapters earlier would have added a star to this review.
September 15, 2021
BattleTech Book 39, and Twilight of the Clans Book 3. Thomas Gressman's first BattleTech novel, the story of the Strike Force's journey on the way to Huntress.
June 7, 2025
This one is rough.
December 10, 2019
I cried a lot reading this book, look up the music it points out during the scene to amplify it even more.
February 10, 2021
It was not a bad book. The characters were interesting, but the plot was boring to be honest except the ending which was intriguing.
February 6, 2026
I like Thomas Gressman's portrayal of the military officers and how the units are structured. I think of all the BattleTech writers, he's probably one of the few who are veterans. They can see the staff and support systems better - the techs, the planning, etc. The only characters I found "flat" were Sir Paul Masters and Lyran Marshal Sharon Bryant. Ariana Winston, in discussing the pirate and POWs disposition, might have been too blinded by her own unit's culture - the Eridani Light Horse - to think straight. It's one thing when you were fighting fellow military. It's another for pirates.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews