Illusions of Victory

Illusions of Victory
Novel by Loren L. Coleman
Illusions of Victory.jpg
First Publication
Published1 May 2000
PublisherRoc Books
Illustrator(s)
Pages274
ISBN0-451-45790-0, 978-0-451-45790-5
MSRP$5.99
PICLE5790
Chronology
EraCivil War era
Timeline10 August 3062 — 31 August 3062

Illusions of Victory is a novel by Loren L. Coleman that was first published in print by Roc Books in May 2000. It was later republished in EPUB format by Catalyst Game Labs as a BattleTech Legends title in August 2016.

From the Back Cover[edit]

LET THE GAMES BEGIN...

Solaris VII is known as the Game World—where entertainment is king, money is power, and MechWarriors from every corner of the Inner Sphere come to make war against one another in the ultimate sporting event.

Michael Searcy arrived on Solaris VII as a dishonored MechWarrior, and worked his way up in the ranking to become a valued commodity in the games. He knows all the moves, plays all the angles, and can put on a show as well as he fights. But now, the ancient grudges pitting warriors against each other have spilled out of the arena—and are moving through the streets in an all-out war. And Michael is caught in a championship match where the winner is the last man left alive....

Plot Summary[edit]

As the tension in the former Federated Commonwealth ramps up, a cashiered MechWarrior comes to Solaris to make a name for himself.

Micheal Searcy is a former Davion Mechwarrior, who was abandoned and then scapegoated during a battle against the Capellans during Operation GUERRERO in the late 3050s.

After arriving as a destitute former soldier, Micheal transforms himself to into a media savvy contender just as the the 3062 grand tournament kicks off. During his rise to Fame Michael has made a single friend whom he trusts, but who thinks he is loosing touch with reality.

The major antagonist of the story is a familiar antagonist from Kai Allard Liao's run on Solaris. Victor Vandergriff. At this point Victor is an over the hill MechWarrior, who just scraped into the final slot in the grand tournament.

In the background, a Hasek-Davion is scheming to take over the major elements of Solaris gaming operations, and to stir up trouble for the Archon. This is the owner of the stable that Searcy fights for.

In the mid tournament match between Michael and Victor, Hasek's saboteurs knock out the power to Steiner coliseum just as Michael suffers a jump jet failure that drives him into the stands, left unprotected by power failure to the protection grid. This kicks off a major riot, and with Michael and Victor fighting through the stadium, the Steiner stadium officials call on other Steiner loyalist fighters to kill Michael. This kicks off inter stable fighting in the lower levels of all the stadiums in the opening phases of a major civil war on Solaris.

Michael becomes the leader of the MechWarriors of the Davion Faction, while Victor is the champion of the Steiner faction. Fighting amoungst Kurita, Marik and Capellan factions is also occuring, but is never a major viewpoint.

A major sub-story is that of a former Clan Smoke Jaguar warrior, who takes advantage of the fighting to go on a Kuritan killing streak, single handedly holding the bridge from the Kurita sector to the Davion sector against all comers.

The novel ends with a rematch between Michael and Victor in Steiner stadium, where both warriors fall, but Victor never gets back up. To escape Lyran persecution as the fighting dies down, Michael ends the novel departing the planet on a dropship in disguise, after having friends in media proclaim him dead.

Featured Characters[edit]

Featured Units[edit]

Featured Places[edit]

Featured BattleTech[edit]

BattleMechs[edit]

DropShips[edit]

Notes[edit]

Foreign-Language Editions[edit]

German[edit]

A German edition, translated by Reinhold H. Mai, was published by Heyne in 2001 as Trügerische Siege (ISBN 9783453171008).[1]

Hungarian[edit]

A Hungarian edition was published by Beholder in 2007 as A győzelem illúziója.[2]

Covers[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for Trügerische Siege
  2. ↑ Beholder product page for A győzelem illúziója

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