Editing Talk:Karma

==Author's posting==
On 24 Jan, 2009, 13:07:43 pm, Bernard Craw (as user "Bernard") posted the following in a thread on the CBT forum (retrieved for reference from the forum archive):

''Quote from: Keiran on 19 Jan, 2009, 13:05:29 pm''
 It's just that they accepted a story and published it, without bothering to fact check it at all.
Well, I do not know where you got this information from, but for sure my novel "Karma" was fact checked. I remember in my draft I put the short range missles in the wrong position on an Orion 'Mech, and the fact checker told me, so I changed it in the revision.<br />Of course, it can always happen that fact checkers overlook something - e.g., show me one novel set in ancient Rome that has no errors in it, and I will show you 100 that have some.

As for the more general discussion on the German novels:<br />
To date, Fanpro published 18 of them, where some are reprints of old novels, "Sword and Dagger" and the Warrior Trilogy.<br />
From those that were published in German originally, 6 are set in the Golden Age era, including "En Passant". From a plot stand point, En Passant is kind of embedded between "In Ungnade" (= "Fall From Grace") and "Royal Flush". I found these "Golden Age" novels quite interesting, as they open a chance to look into this near-mystical period of the BattleTech universe.<br />
4 novels are set at the time of the clan invasion, including the 3 of Arous', which actually form a series about a clanner getting first hand knowledge of various parties active at that time, including clans and inner sphere mercenaries. Arous emphasizes 'Mech technology, giving insights into the logic of these machines from a 'Mech pilot's perspective. His stories will be delicious for all the tech buffs out there who like to dream and speculate about how it would really be to sit in a 'Mech cockpit - and who want to know in detail.<br />
Carolina's two novels, as well as Reinhard's "Die Albatros-Akte", add a sense of humor into the BattleTech universe. Don't get me wrong: It's not slapstick, but you have to laugh when you read these books.

For sure I can tell you most about my novel, "Karma". I am a fan of the Warrior trilogy, but one thing I always thought is, "it is too short! So many troops, so many worlds - and then: Three books only?"<br />
So I set my story at the dawn of the Fourth Succession War on a backyard planet, Niomede. In my book, this Capellan world is guarded by warrior house Kamata, when a raid by the 3rd Defenders of Andurien takes place. I knew that there were well over 100 BattleTech novels out there already when I wrote the book, so I wanted to add something special. I decided to make Niomede (or Niomede-4, to be precise) a vaccum world. This gave some special flavour to the battles on the surface - extreme difference between sunlight and shadow in terms of heat, changed ballistics, hazardous impact of small leaks, to name only a few. Also, settlements on a vacuum world will be ... special. The surface of the planet is under constant bombardment from asteroids, so I put the cities into giant caves. This again raises the question of stable ecosystems. While designing my Niomede world, I drew on my visit in Biosphere 2, Arizona, where the guide explained a lot about self sustainable, artificial eco systems. Needless to mention that 'Mech troops fighting in such a fragile environment form a special danger to thousands of civilians ...

For those interested: On my web page, you will find a schema showing the Fanpro novels, their relation to each other and the years in which their stories are set. Bernard's page

I respect Keiran's view on the German novels, but also reserve the right to have a different view. All in all, I believe they continue to do what science fiction in general and CBT in special always try to do: give the readers a ticket to a breath taking travel into a strange, fascinating universe full of wonders.