BattleTech: VoidBreaker is my latest book in the BattleTech universe and it’s designed to be a standalone novel. It features a brand new protagonist in a Clan faction we haven’t had a whole lot of fiction from. I did my best to include all of the context from the ilClan era you’d need to be able to hand the book to a reader new to the era and have them enjoy it. It tells the tale of Kenja Rodriguez, codename Kitefin. She’s a Star Colonel in Clan Sea Fox’s Tiburon Khanate and special agent of their Watch. She’s tasked with collecting assets that will get the hyperpulse generator communications network back up and running and that includes the highest profile target yet: Tucker Harwell. Since everyone else is after him, too, it sets the stage for a spy thriller a bit unlike anything you’ve seen in the BattleTech universe. Hopefully, readers new to the universe will love it.
Having said that, for those of you who have invested a lot of time and energy into BattleTech across the last 41 years of its history will be well-rewarded with connections to past fiction and sourcebooks. For those of you who want some hints for where those connections might have come from, or for those who read the book and want to know where to go to learn more about the events that built toward this moment, I’ve created this reading list that will help you get the absolute most out of VoidBreaker.
1. Ghost War by Michael A. Stackpole: Ghost War was the first novel of the Dark Age era. This book introduced the entire concept of the blackout of the hyperpulse generator network that connected the Inner Sphere with information. It explores the ramifications of such a collapse on the worlds of Helen and Basalt through the eyes of an undercover Ghost Knight of the Republic.
2. Hunters of the Deep by Randall N. Bills: Hunters of the Deep was the first in-depth look at Clan Sea Fox and their unusual structure and customs as compared to the other clans. Set in 3134, this iteration of the Clan is a far cry from the one who invaded the Inner Sphere with the rest of the Clans almost a century prior.
3. Target of Opportunity by Blaine Lee Pardoe: Tucker Harwell, the target of Kitefin’s search and the man who could fix the shattered HPG network was first introduced in Blaine Lee Pardoe’s Target of Opportunity. He was a prodigy inside ComStar, the religious organization tasked with maintaining the HPG Network, but there is much more to him than meet’s the eye.
4. A Bonfire of Worlds by Steven Mohan: Once again taking the spotlight, Tucker Harwell is the center of attention again, kidnapped and tortured for the knowledge in his head about the still-broken HPG network. A Bonfire of Worlds by Steven Mohan was one of the most crucial books in the BattleTech line in bringing Tucker to life for VoidBreaker, so if there’s one to read on the list, it’s this one.
5. Riptides by Randall N. Bills: The HPG network isn’t the only financial pie Clan Sea Fox is sticking its fingers into and Riptides documents their descent into the world of mercenaries in this short story set in 3150 by Randall N. Bills.
6. Hour of the Wolf by Blaine Lee Pardoe: If you want to understand the turmoil on Terra and get hints about Tucker’s disappearance from Terra in the first place, Hour of the Wolf by Blain Lee Pardoe holds the initial windows into that mystery and lays the foundation for the entire ilClan era.
7. Trial of Birthright by Michael Ciaravella: An immediate followup to Hour of the Wolf and the fallout on Terra, Trial of Birthright by Michael Ciaravella tells the story of what Clan Wolf and the nascent Star League and some elements of Clan Sea Fox are up to on Terra while Kenja Rodriguez is hunting her quarry.
8. A Skulk of Foxes by Jason Hansa: The third novella released in the Fortunes of War series, A Skulk of Foxes by Jason Hansa offered the first glimpse at the Clan Sea Fox Watch apparatus as they defend the planet of Son Hoa.
For folks looking for game material that covers the area in and around VoidBreaker, the sourcebooks that deal with the events, locations, and characters of the book most directly are IlClan, Tamar Rising, Hot Spots: Hinterlands, and the forthcoming IlKhan’s Eyes Only.
They’ll all have tidbits and moments that will help play events from the book. Hot Spots: Hinterlands specifically features characters and situations from VoidBreaker, as they were developed concurrently and in concert.
The book is a fun ride and I hope folks enjoy it whether they know all of this extra back story or not. The reviews coming in so far have been absolutely terrific. Zardoz Gaming said, “It’s a fun read, with a pulse to it that pulls you in and keeps you moving…The events of VoidBreaker will reshape the Inner Sphere in profound ways that I can only imagine.”
The Guildmaster called it “poignant and impactful.”
Jason Schmetzer, a brilliant editor and author in the world of BattleTech said specifically of me and VoidBreaker, “Where Bryan excels is taking quiet parts of the Inner Sphere and breathing fun, new life into them. He makes the setting feel lived in, like its populated by real people, not caricatures. VoidBreaker took off at a run and never slowed down. A fun, exciting read”
And BattleTech legend Michael A. Stackpole himself even said that, “Bryan Young is one of the best writers in BattleTech today…” That seems ridiculous to me even typing that out, but who can argue with the man who wrote the Warrior Trilogy, the Invasion of the Clans, Ghost War, and so much more?
I certainly can’t.
BattleTech: VoidBreaker comes out January 24, 2025. You can preorder a copy here or wherever you prefer to get your BattleTech books.
Update: The awesome folks at Bleeding Cool just released an EXCLUSIVE article with a preview for the first 3 chapters of VoidBreaker! You can check that out here!
