The Hunters

The Hunters.jpg
The Hunters
Product information
Type Novel
Author Thomas S. Gressman
Pages 336
Cover Artwork Bruce Jensen
Publication information
Publisher Roc Books
First published 01 December 1997
ISBN-10 0451456246
ISBN-13 978-0451456243
Content
Era Clan Invasion era
Timeline 12 August 3058 – 3 January 3060
12 August, 30583 January, 3060
Series Twilight of the Clans
Preceded by Grave Covenant
Followed by Freebirth

The Hunters, by Thomas S. Gressman, is the third book in the Twilight of the Clans series.

The novel was made available on BattleCorps on 27 October 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]

“ "Carry the fight to the Clans!" has become the rallying cry for the armies of the Successor States. Now, as the Great Houses launch an offensive against the Clan Occupation Zone, a combined armed task force, drawn from across the Inner Sphere, begins its own desperate journey.

Following the road marked out for them by a Clan defector, Task Force Serpent sets out to strike a blow at the heart of the Clans, at their home worlds. For so many years, the Inner Sphere has been the prey of the Clans. Now, in a war to end all wars, the hunted have become the hunters.

”

Summary[edit]

The Hunters covers the journey of Task Force Serpent from the Inner Sphere to the Smoke Jaguar home world of Huntress. The story is primarily told from the viewpoint of the task force Commander, Morgan Hasek-Davion.

Along the journey down the Exodus Road, Task Force Serpent has two encounters with other groups. These encounters threaten to compromise Task Force Serpent's secrecy.

The first encounter is with a pirate base on a habitable world in the Meribah system that Serpent was using to replenish their water supply. During the water collection work, a lance of pirate 'Mechs attacked the Serpent collection crews, but were rebuffed by the Eridani Light Horse.

Pirate prisoners captured during this engagement reveal the existence of the pirate base, and the fact that most of the pirates are off world attacking periphery refugees from the Clan invasion.

The Eridani Light Horse are tasked with eliminating the pirate base. This mission runs into problems when Serpent power armored infantry are detected by pirate slaves while on approach to the base. The slaves, being refugees from the Clan invasion, mistake the Eridani power armor for Elementals, and run back to alert the Pirates.

Despite this, the Light Horse succeed in destroying the pirates' base and capture multiple prisoners. This forces the question of what to do with them, given the secret nature of Task Force Serpent's mission and the limited resources at their disposal. Morgan decides to offer the former slaves/refugees support positions on the task force. Four pirate leaders were court-martialed for piracy and murder and were summarily executed. The rest of the pirates were convicted of lesser crimes and sentenced to be marooned on an uninhabited planet. This is done quickly and without notice to the majority of the Task Forces unit commanders. Morgan's actions cause consternation among some of his commanders, particularly Eridani Commander General Ariana Winston and Marik Knights of the Inner Sphere Commander Paul Masters.

Weeks later, as the Task force Jumps into another system, they detect the presence of Clan warships, and have to immediately move to engage them. Commodore Alain Beresick is given command of the fleet, and the two sides' naval assets engage in the largest naval battle since the fall of the Star League. After the battle it is revealed that the Clan fleet belonged to the Ghost bears and was transporting civilians to colonize the conquered worlds of the inner sphere.

The captured Clan population is also given the option to joint the task force, which they begin to refer to as "Clan Serpent". Those that do not accept are marooned on a planet off the main transport route to the home worlds.

Throughout the novel is a side plot concerning Nekakami agents, provided as a gift by Theodore Kurita, that are embedded within the Task Force with an unknown mission. The novel ends with the assassination of Morgan Hasek-Davion on the eve of the invasion of Huntress. The invasion plot is picked up two novels later in "Sword and Fire".

Featured characters[edit]

Featured places[edit]

Featured BattleTech[edit]

BattleMechs[edit]

Vehicles[edit]

Aerospace[edit]

DropShips and Small Craft[edit]

JumpShips and WarShips[edit]

Infantry Equipment[edit]


Foreign-Language Editions[edit]

German[edit]

A German edition, translated by Reinhold H. Mai, was published by Heyne in 1999 as Die Jäger (ISBN 9783453139886).[1] This was republished as an EPUB by Ulisses Spiele in 2021 as BattleTech Legenden 40 : Die Jäger (ISBN 9783963317965).[2]

Hungarian[edit]

A Hungarian edition, translated by Zseli Ferenc, was published by Beholder in 2003 as Vadászok.[3]

Russian[edit]

A Russian edition, translated by I. Gavrilov, was published by Дрофа (Drofa) in 2003 as Охотники (ISBN 5710769614) as part of a series produced in collaboration with Армада-пресс (Armada-Press). [4] [5]

Spanish[edit]

A Spanish edition, translated by Jaime de Marcos Andreu, was published by Timun Mas in 1999 as La caza de los jaguares.

Covers[edit]

  • Original 1999 German cover.

  • 2nd edition 2001 German cover.

  • 2021 German edition (reprint).

  • 2003 Hungarian edition.

  • 2003 Russian edition.

  • Spanish edition.

Notes[edit]

Trivia[edit]

The novel's author Thomas S. Gressman, a native of Pennsylvania, appears to poke fun at his neighboring state of New Jersey by taking the opportunity to have a minor portmaster character describe Jerseyville, the capital of Defiance VII as "the ugliest, hottest, smelliest, and all around-nastiest post I've ever had." To which Kasugai Hatsumi replies "What did you do to get yourself assigned to this garden spot?" It is a running (though not necessarily true) joke in America, particularly in the states surrounding New Jersey, to describe the state as having all of the qualities mentioned by the portmaster (in part due to its industrial ports), despite the state nickname being "The Garden State."

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for Die Jäger
  2. ↑ Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for BattleTech Legenden 40 : Die Jäger
  3. ↑ Beholder product page for Vadászok
  4. ↑ Science Fiction Lab Book description for Охотники
  5. ↑ National Library of Russia description for Охотники

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