Illusions of Victory

Illusions of Victory.jpg
Illusions of Victory
Product information
Type Novel
Author Loren L. Coleman
Pages 274
Cover Artwork Peter Peebles
Publication information
Publisher Roc Books
Product code LE5790
First published 01 May 2000
ISBN-10 0451457919
ISBN-13 978-0451457912
Content
Era Civil War era
Timeline 10 August 3062 – 31 August 3062
(21 September 3059 prologue)

Illusions of Victory, by Loren L. Coleman, is a story of the Federated Commonwealth Civil War from the venue of the Game World.

The novel was made available on BattleCorps on 08 August 2009 as a PDF file (text only, without cover, pictures, or any other interior artwork except for the usual BattleCorps frame graphics). The PDF copy includes a disclaimer stating that it was created from a pre-final edition text that might differ from the printed version and that canon-wise, the print edition trumps the PDF edition.

From the back cover[edit]

“ 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...

”

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 the fedcom Capellan ware 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 Vandergraff. 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 places[edit]

Featured BattleTech[edit]

Spacecraft[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]

  • Original 2000 cover. Art by Peter Peebles

  • 2016 "Legends" Reprint

  • 2001 German 2001 edition

  • 2007 Hungarian edition

References[edit]

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

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