BattleTech: Lethal Heritage - Blood of Kerensky Trilogy Book 1 of 3 The year is 3030. For the past three hundred years, since the Star League collapse and the rise of the Five Successor States, these mortal enemies have fought over space, land and politics. But a new threat looms just outside the Inner Sphere. The descendants of an old Star League general, the Clans bred to be the best military force humanity has ever seen have come to take what they believe is rightfully BattleTech: Blood Legacy - Blood of Kerensky Trilogy Book 2 of 3 Blood Legacy continues the saga of the Clan invasion begun in 3030. Jaime Wolf has brought all the key leaders of the Inner Sphere together to put to rest old blood feuds and power struggles. But old hatreds and suspicions die hard. Still, the very survival of the Successor States hinges on battling warriors equipped with BattleMechs far superior to their own and another threat lurking in their very midst ComStar, the sect controlling interstellar communication which is determined to rule all of the Inner Sphere by any means at its disposal... BattleTech: Lost Destiny - Blood of Kerensky Trilogy Book 3 of 3 And so continues the saga of the Clan invasion and the explosive struggle within the Inner Sphere. With secrete aid from ComStar the Terran-based sect that serves as the keeper of the Inner Spheres technological secrets the Clans BattleMech warriors have been incredibly successful in their campaign of invasion. But ComStar has its own reasons for giving aid to the enemy, and if its strategy proves successful, the Inner Sphere worlds will finally be reunited under ComStars rule.
Battletech is probably the nerdiest thing you can be into. Even LOTR fans look down on Battletech fans as weird grognards who live in their mother's basement.
I'm not a Battletech player, but I am a casual fan of the whole idea and the setting ever since I picked up a paperback with a 'Mech on it in Jr. High. That being said - this trilogy by Michael A. Stackpole is really not that exciting to either casual fans or hardcore fans. Hardcore fans would want more fighting detail, and casual fans would want more character focus. Things go way too fast - years fly by between chapters - and character focus jumps around like crazy.
The story focuses on the next generation of characters that the battletech universe is set to unfold. With heir growth brought upon the arrival of the clans as it will set the tone for the next Era for the great houses of the inner sphere en route to the fedcom Civil war. Excellent read for an in depth perspective on the clan cultutures and how the next generation characters of the great houses will be shaped by the arrival of the clans that will shatter the inner sphere to its very core.
I've loved Battletech and Mechwarrior since the first PC game released in 1989. Played the miniatures game a bunch, Crescent Hawks Revenge, hell I even read through the convoluted RPG source book! 'Tis a great universe with lots of material to flesh out the mix of our historical themes playing out across the feudal galaxy of the 31st century.
As for the novels, well the ones I've read so far are fairly average in terms of story-telling and their level of English writing; this first book in the Blood of Kerensky Trilogy is definitely in that 3 star range across each book as the quality level is consistent. The mech vs mech narrative actions are the highlights of the series.
Loving the games/universe makes it a must read because this series the details politics of the Innersphere up to the point of the the Clan Invasion -- which is large part of the lore for those introduced via Activision's Mechwarrior 4.
A great place to start in the Battletech series. It is a good jumping off point for the narrative to come in the future books and serves as the foundation for "modern politics" in the Inner Sphere.