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BattleTech Universe #100
BattleTech: Icons of War
SYMBOLS OF POWER...
After the Word of Blake exacts an incalculable toll on Clan Wolf, Elemental warrior Garmen Kerensky is tasked by Wolf Khan Vlad Ward to undertake an audacious, top-secret mission in the Clan Homeworlds. While other covert teams help the Wolves evacuate Clan Space, Garmen’s command will steal the most prized relic of Clan the body of the Great Father, Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky, Garmen’s ancestor. But the father of the Clans’ founder is entombed aboard the McKenna’s Pride, a Star League-era WarShip in permanent geosynchronous orbit above the Clans’ capital city, a staunchly guarded vessel that will take ingenuity, a warrior’s spirit, and more than a little luck to reach.
Stealing his ancestor’s remains is a tall order under normal circumstances, but the Homeworld Clans are on the verge of open warfare with each other, and this mission threatens to blow Clan society apart entirely. As the elite warrior guards of the Ebon Keshik hunt Garmen, he and his hardened team must navigate the intrigue of the shadowy Dark Caste to have any hope of reaching the Pride alive. But no plan ever survives enemy contact, and Garmen must overcome the forces arrayed against him or risk forever losing the Great Father’s body to the chaos and destruction of the Clans’ internal warfare.
After the Word of Blake exacts an incalculable toll on Clan Wolf, Elemental warrior Garmen Kerensky is tasked by Wolf Khan Vlad Ward to undertake an audacious, top-secret mission in the Clan Homeworlds. While other covert teams help the Wolves evacuate Clan Space, Garmen’s command will steal the most prized relic of Clan the body of the Great Father, Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky, Garmen’s ancestor. But the father of the Clans’ founder is entombed aboard the McKenna’s Pride, a Star League-era WarShip in permanent geosynchronous orbit above the Clans’ capital city, a staunchly guarded vessel that will take ingenuity, a warrior’s spirit, and more than a little luck to reach.
Stealing his ancestor’s remains is a tall order under normal circumstances, but the Homeworld Clans are on the verge of open warfare with each other, and this mission threatens to blow Clan society apart entirely. As the elite warrior guards of the Ebon Keshik hunt Garmen, he and his hardened team must navigate the intrigue of the shadowy Dark Caste to have any hope of reaching the Pride alive. But no plan ever survives enemy contact, and Garmen must overcome the forces arrayed against him or risk forever losing the Great Father’s body to the chaos and destruction of the Clans’ internal warfare.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
221 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 22, 2023
What is this? A good Battletech novel that's fun to read, has interesting characters and an intriguing story?! I think that was in the Book of Revelation somewhere!
Yes, for the first time in a long while I actually read a Battletech novel I can describe as good, no one is more surprised by this than I am!
Icons of War is, in a word, amazing.
The story follows a group of Elementals as they attempt to recover (or more accurately, steal) the corpse of the Great Father himself, Aleksandr Kerensky. We accompany them on this journey, following them through the horrific Wars of Reaving that are sweeping across the Clan Homeworlds. I won't lie to you and say that the book focuses on the Wars of Reaving, however. The conflict is mostly kept in the background, and while the effects of the war are important and have a major impact on the characters, don't read Icons of War if you're looking to follow the events of the war itself. Go read the Wars of Reaving Sourcebook and the Wars of Reaving Supplemental if you want that (read those anyway, easily some of the best Battletech lore ever!).
I am a little sad that we don't even get to meet a single character from the Society in this, but it didn't matter that much since all the other characters are amazing. The cast is interesting, fleshed out and well developed and provides a look into all walks of Clan life. We follow Clan warriors, members of the labour caste, smugglers, and even the elusive Dark Caste who are a criminally underdeveloped part of the lore that I was very happy to see more of. The relationships are believable, the dialogue is well done and human sounding and the character development/growth is well handled.
Speaking of relationships, there is a romance subplot to this story that is actually good! Another thing that's hard to believe, I know. Most romance plots are boring and pointless, but this one is both integral to the story, and enjoyable to read so that was a pleasant surprise. I really like how it was resolved and thought it added extra depth to the story.
The action, though rare, is fine. It's not amazing, but neither is it badly written. It flows decently, and doesn't really overstay its welcome so I have no problem with it. I didn't ever feel like the author had added an action scene simply because he wanted to, every fight and battle served a purpose. There's only one real 'Mech battle in the story (and it's perfectly serviceable), it mostly focuses on infantry/Elementals which, again, I was fine with. The infantry side of Battletech is rarely explored in-depth so I was happy to see this.
Elementals are just awesome and I love reading about them, what can I say?
There's a few space battles. They are brief, yes, but since it is so rare to see a space battle in Battletech (because some "genius" thought it was a good idea to make a sci-fi setting that lacked big space battles) I was happy to see them and found them enjoyable.
But you don't go to Icons of War for action. If you're the sort of person that needs constant battles, with lasers and explosions and corpses everywhere, don't read this. Icons of War is great because it has an intriguing story and amazing characters who grow and develop in interesting ways.
I can't recommend it enough to any fan of Battletech, especially fans of the Clans!
I would rate it a 5/5, but there were some editing/spelling mistakes in this which is utterly unacceptable for any novel you pay for. As such, I am taking a star off the final score.
Yes, for the first time in a long while I actually read a Battletech novel I can describe as good, no one is more surprised by this than I am!
Icons of War is, in a word, amazing.
The story follows a group of Elementals as they attempt to recover (or more accurately, steal) the corpse of the Great Father himself, Aleksandr Kerensky. We accompany them on this journey, following them through the horrific Wars of Reaving that are sweeping across the Clan Homeworlds. I won't lie to you and say that the book focuses on the Wars of Reaving, however. The conflict is mostly kept in the background, and while the effects of the war are important and have a major impact on the characters, don't read Icons of War if you're looking to follow the events of the war itself. Go read the Wars of Reaving Sourcebook and the Wars of Reaving Supplemental if you want that (read those anyway, easily some of the best Battletech lore ever!).
I am a little sad that we don't even get to meet a single character from the Society in this, but it didn't matter that much since all the other characters are amazing. The cast is interesting, fleshed out and well developed and provides a look into all walks of Clan life. We follow Clan warriors, members of the labour caste, smugglers, and even the elusive Dark Caste who are a criminally underdeveloped part of the lore that I was very happy to see more of. The relationships are believable, the dialogue is well done and human sounding and the character development/growth is well handled.
Speaking of relationships, there is a romance subplot to this story that is actually good! Another thing that's hard to believe, I know. Most romance plots are boring and pointless, but this one is both integral to the story, and enjoyable to read so that was a pleasant surprise. I really like how it was resolved and thought it added extra depth to the story.
The action, though rare, is fine. It's not amazing, but neither is it badly written. It flows decently, and doesn't really overstay its welcome so I have no problem with it. I didn't ever feel like the author had added an action scene simply because he wanted to, every fight and battle served a purpose. There's only one real 'Mech battle in the story (and it's perfectly serviceable), it mostly focuses on infantry/Elementals which, again, I was fine with. The infantry side of Battletech is rarely explored in-depth so I was happy to see this.
Elementals are just awesome and I love reading about them, what can I say?
There's a few space battles. They are brief, yes, but since it is so rare to see a space battle in Battletech (because some "genius" thought it was a good idea to make a sci-fi setting that lacked big space battles) I was happy to see them and found them enjoyable.
But you don't go to Icons of War for action. If you're the sort of person that needs constant battles, with lasers and explosions and corpses everywhere, don't read this. Icons of War is great because it has an intriguing story and amazing characters who grow and develop in interesting ways.
I can't recommend it enough to any fan of Battletech, especially fans of the Clans!
I would rate it a 5/5, but there were some editing/spelling mistakes in this which is utterly unacceptable for any novel you pay for. As such, I am taking a star off the final score.
June 6, 2025
This was very interesting book, especially since it is part of the Battletech universe.
Why, you may ask? When you think about Battletech stories, you cannot but think about the large mechanized vehicles, large caliber ammo and missiles zooming around and in general total mayhem, not unlike W40K titan machines clashing and pulverizing everything in their way.
And then you get book like this. It is story of clandestine operation triggered by Wolf Clan during the bloody Wars of Reaving on Strana Mechty . What started as a daring gene-material recovery, main operation, stealing the body of Aleksander Kerensky, hits the glitch and leaves Elemental strike team stranded on the planet surface, in the middle of the enemy territory with Wars of Reaving raging all over. And this is where story shines, at least for me, considering I am not that much knowledgeable in Battletech lore.
Elementals, genetically engineered super humans (at least physically, there are some Clan's jokes about their mental state - which IMHO are not true, considering Elementals do hold some of the very powerful positions in Clan military) finally show their human side. These giants, biological war machines, are equivalents to W40K Space Marines, but unlike the detached W40K warriors they have standard human urges and they are capable of having relationships and everything that comes from that. So watching Garmen entering relationship with somebody who he did not expect (wont spoil anything here :)) was truly heart warming. Work with criminal elements on Strana Mechty, operations of Wolf Watch and information on weapons caches left behind (which reminds me so much of Alpha Legion operating in the universe where no one trusts anybody), recruitment of old (worse than death for Clanners) and disgraced Mechwarriors, and most important, slow but precise planning and organizing everything to be ready when their target is at most vulnerable, which starts to take so much time that even Garmen's team becomes restless ..... All of this is beautifully presented.
And then ....... this must be some of the most desperate military actions I ever read about. What started as commando raid, evolved over time into full scale escape with lot more people, communities whose faiths are now completely tied with Garmen and his team.
Considering that this is not simple operation, structure of the novel with multiple very short chapters truly lends a cinematic look and feel to the novel, as we switch between Wolf Elemental teams and their allies striking the spaceship holding Kerensky's body, veteran's striking ground targets to give Garmen team valuable time to escape, Ebon Keshik and new ilKhan's forces scrambling to neutralize this ground force dealing devastating blows. And then we get to the very realistic space combat, where everything takes place in hours and days, not in minutes (it takes time to accelerate gigantic warships and then avoid all the ordnance thrown around) and where light flyers just cannot be targeted due to their speed and maneuverability (again, physics related to large caliber weapons meant to strike slower, more inert warships) and keep destroying warship armor layer at the time.
Ending is great - it shows that posterity and ones bloodline must be protected so it can survive and thrive. This has much more meaning for Clans than for everyone else, and this happens on both micro and macro plan (again, will not spoil it :))
Excellent war novel, highly recommended.
Why, you may ask? When you think about Battletech stories, you cannot but think about the large mechanized vehicles, large caliber ammo and missiles zooming around and in general total mayhem, not unlike W40K titan machines clashing and pulverizing everything in their way.
And then you get book like this. It is story of clandestine operation triggered by Wolf Clan during the bloody Wars of Reaving on Strana Mechty . What started as a daring gene-material recovery, main operation, stealing the body of Aleksander Kerensky, hits the glitch and leaves Elemental strike team stranded on the planet surface, in the middle of the enemy territory with Wars of Reaving raging all over. And this is where story shines, at least for me, considering I am not that much knowledgeable in Battletech lore.
Elementals, genetically engineered super humans (at least physically, there are some Clan's jokes about their mental state - which IMHO are not true, considering Elementals do hold some of the very powerful positions in Clan military) finally show their human side. These giants, biological war machines, are equivalents to W40K Space Marines, but unlike the detached W40K warriors they have standard human urges and they are capable of having relationships and everything that comes from that. So watching Garmen entering relationship with somebody who he did not expect (wont spoil anything here :)) was truly heart warming. Work with criminal elements on Strana Mechty, operations of Wolf Watch and information on weapons caches left behind (which reminds me so much of Alpha Legion operating in the universe where no one trusts anybody), recruitment of old (worse than death for Clanners) and disgraced Mechwarriors, and most important, slow but precise planning and organizing everything to be ready when their target is at most vulnerable, which starts to take so much time that even Garmen's team becomes restless ..... All of this is beautifully presented.
And then ....... this must be some of the most desperate military actions I ever read about. What started as commando raid, evolved over time into full scale escape with lot more people, communities whose faiths are now completely tied with Garmen and his team.
Considering that this is not simple operation, structure of the novel with multiple very short chapters truly lends a cinematic look and feel to the novel, as we switch between Wolf Elemental teams and their allies striking the spaceship holding Kerensky's body, veteran's striking ground targets to give Garmen team valuable time to escape, Ebon Keshik and new ilKhan's forces scrambling to neutralize this ground force dealing devastating blows. And then we get to the very realistic space combat, where everything takes place in hours and days, not in minutes (it takes time to accelerate gigantic warships and then avoid all the ordnance thrown around) and where light flyers just cannot be targeted due to their speed and maneuverability (again, physics related to large caliber weapons meant to strike slower, more inert warships) and keep destroying warship armor layer at the time.
Ending is great - it shows that posterity and ones bloodline must be protected so it can survive and thrive. This has much more meaning for Clans than for everyone else, and this happens on both micro and macro plan (again, will not spoil it :))
Excellent war novel, highly recommended.
July 11, 2023
The march towards IlClan continues. Icons of War is a very quick read. The chapters are very short, giving the book a snappy feel: 50 chapters and 190 pages. It's a heist story ending with an extended chase sequence. Focusing on the setup and action, it does not try to examine any philosophical questions, which is understandable, it's a short story after all. The one mech battle is good and offers some satisfying catharsis. I spent most of Dark Age bored with the mech battles since I felt little investment in the characters involved. It's a testament to the author that, though the battle was being fought by a very minor character, I was totally invested in the outcome. The story provides an interesting glimpse into how the homeworld Clans operate and gives a tantalizing glimpse into Clan Wolf mechanisations to come. I give this book 3 out of 5. It is Good. Recommended.
As far as the physical book, like all the other POD books, I give its construction 2/5 stars. The internal layout is nice, the pages feel good, I'm not a fan of the font, and the covers are pretty bad. They always form a permanent curl, the corners fray, and the plastic coating always starts to separate. Unlike the mass-market paperbacks of yore, these soft-cover books do not stand up to being carried around to read at the park or pool.
As far as the physical book, like all the other POD books, I give its construction 2/5 stars. The internal layout is nice, the pages feel good, I'm not a fan of the font, and the covers are pretty bad. They always form a permanent curl, the corners fray, and the plastic coating always starts to separate. Unlike the mass-market paperbacks of yore, these soft-cover books do not stand up to being carried around to read at the park or pool.
July 7, 2023
I enjoyed the intrigue and the mix of normal human interactions with Clan warrior society.
The mix of motives and attitudes remind me of “Exodus Road” with Trent.
This story is how the Wolves ended up with the McKenna’s Pride and General Kerensky’s remains. It is a story of undercover ops, a little mech action, and some space battle.
It is a good mix of Battletech action and Clan society during the Jihad timeline.
The mix of motives and attitudes remind me of “Exodus Road” with Trent.
This story is how the Wolves ended up with the McKenna’s Pride and General Kerensky’s remains. It is a story of undercover ops, a little mech action, and some space battle.
It is a good mix of Battletech action and Clan society during the Jihad timeline.
October 3, 2020
Great read
This book is a great read an tells a story of a time during the Jihad period. Now we know what happened to the McKenna's Pride.
This book is a great read an tells a story of a time during the Jihad period. Now we know what happened to the McKenna's Pride.
October 6, 2020
An engaging Battletech book - the story covers several years, but the action keeps flowing. Really enjoyed this.
December 12, 2020
It took a couple chapters to get it's hooks into me but once the action started rolling it was a tough book to put down.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews