Endgame (Battletech, No. 56) [Mass Market Paperback]

Loren Coleman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2002

The civil war between Prince Victor-Steiner-Davion and his sister Katrina is heating up to the boiling point.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Roc (September 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451458931
• ISBN-13: 978-0451458933
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #742,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks from the author, March 18, 2004

By 

Loren Coleman (Everett, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endgame (Battletech, No. 56) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'd like to thank everyone who made my time as a BattleTech author an enjoyable one. I had a great deal of fun writing these stories. Hopefully you had as much reading them. Endgame is the last official -paperback- novel for Classic BattleTech, and I did my best to wrap up as many major plotlines as I could. Don't forget, however, that the stories coninue in the MechWarrior: Dark Age novel line (circa 3130) and the BattleCorps.com project which stays with the original and historical timelines. Let all your friends know that official BattleTech stories will continue!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's always sad to say goodbye., December 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Endgame (Battletech, No. 56) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is the last of the series which began about ten years ago with the Michael Stackpole's trilogy entitled the Return of Kerensky. It brings to a close the story arc which began with the unification of two great star empires (the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth); continued with the invasion of the Clans (a factionalized military society descendant from an exodus from human occupied space two hundred years prior); and ended with the final breakup of the Federated Suns and the Lyran commonwealth through civil war. The story is told through following the lives, loves and trials of the scions of the various Great Houses (the feudal dynasties which govern known space) as they emerge from late adolescence and assume leadership of their respective realms.

Most of the driving books in the series, the ones that moved events in the game universe foreward, were written by Michael Stackpole. Due to monetary disputes with the old battletech license holder, Stackpole left the series. Loren Coleman was tapped to complete the last two books in the series. He had a unenviable task: picking up from a well loved writter, then having to bring closure to the story line. While the written voice is not Stackpoles, Coleman writes a sound and worthy conclusion to the series.

This book details the end of the FedCom civil war, in which the rightful heir to the FedCom throne defeats his younger sister (who usurped the throne through manipulation and matricide) for control of the realm. Without revealing the ending, it doesn't quite turn out that way.

What is most sad about the book is that it is an ending. We know that the universe is being fast forewarded 60 years after this book. (The franchise did this about ten years ago as well.) These characters that we have grown so fond of will never be the same, if they are still alive. The book ends with several twists and poigniant revelations, which leave you wondering what will happen next. Sure, it's a set up for the new series of books (in which some of the questions are answered,) but its sad to leave our old friends in that moment.

Because it's a battletech novel, I guess there had to be pages spent on mech's fighting, but they serve more as a distraction than anything else. The character of Katherine Steiner is stereotypically vain, selfish and greedy; less genuine than in other installments. The book could have used fewer fight scenes and more emphasis on characterization.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The end?, September 4, 2002

By 

J. Chovan "bronx" (San Bernardino, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Endgame (Battletech, No. 56) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having followed the Battletech storyline for over a decade, I must say that I'm sad to see the current plots end. However, Mechwarrior: Dark Age should brighten my spirits. This novel ends the FedCom civil war well. It appears that there was a word limit placed on this book, so alot of action takes place in a very short time. Regardless, Victor and his cadre of close friends must press on towards toppling Katherine. The main action mostly takes place on Tharkad and New Avalon, but all of the major storylines are brought to a conclusion. Some endings are rather abrupt, but adequate. Readers will see what happens to Agents Curaitis and Francesca as they try to find direct evidence of Katherine's involvent in Melissa Steiner's assasination, whether or not Ryan Steiner's, Melissa Steiner's, and Omi Kurita's assasin can pull off yet another escape, and, of course, who wins the FedCom civil war. The stage has been set for the new Mechwarrior series. Hopefully, we will see some of the characters from this generation pop up in the new series, maybe the children of our favorite main characters? Kudos to Randall Bills, Loren Coleman, Thomas Gressman, Chris Hartford, and Blaine Pardoe for finishing up the story in style.