Main Event

Main Event.jpg
Main Event
Product information
Type Novel
Author James D. Long
Pages 352
Cover Artwork Boris Vallejo
Publication information
Publisher Roc Books
First published 01 May 1993
ISBN-10 0451452453
ISBN-13 978-0451452450
Content
Era Clan Invasion era
Timeline 30543055
Followed by D.R.T.

Main Event, by Jim Long, is the first story of the Black Thorns mercenary unit.

The novel was made available on BattleCorps on 05 February 2010 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]

Dispossessed in the Battle of Tukayyid, former Com Guard soldier Jeremiah Rose wants nothing more than to strike back at the Clans who destroyed his 'Mech and his career. Dreams of swift vengeance turn to nightmares when every effort he makes to rejoin the fight to protect the citizens of the Inner Sphere is rejected.

Forced to win a new BattleMech by fighting on the game world of Solaris VII, Rose recruits other soldiers from the arenas to create a new mercenary unit and take his grudge back to the invaders.

Unfortunately, Rose is long on battle experience and desperately short on business skills. Turning a band of mismatched MechWarriors into an elite fighting unit becomes harder than he imagined when Rose is forced to fight his fellow MechWarriors in order to fight the Clans.

Plot Summary[edit]

Jeremiah Rose fought on Tukayyid, left ComStar, went back to Northwind to petition for formation of a new 'Mech merc group under NWH, was rejected. Goes to Solaris VII to get a 'Mech. Pilots a Shadow Hawk for Carstairs Stables. Description on p. 115. Upgrades to a Charger, recruits Sol 7 team members to go to Outreach. They win a practice match against Wolf's Dragoons by forfeit.

The Black Thorns accept a garrison contract from the planetary council of Borghese to protect against and Clan Jade Falcon raids that may cross the Tukayyid Line. The Thorns are double-crossed by a faction that wants to peacefully turn the planet over to Jade Falcons believing that doing so will save lives. Thorns defeat the underbid Clan forces as they fight their way into a ComStar HPG; get a message off to F-C and drive off CJF.

Featured Characters[edit]

Featured places[edit]

Featured BattleTech[edit]

BattleMechs[edit]

Aircraft[edit]

SpaceCraft[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • The short story in the 1991 Update Flyer By Any Other Name... by the same author is largely an abbreviated and altered version of Chapters 10 through 12 of this novel - Rose's disabling of O'Shea, his meeting with Carstairs and Esmeralda, and the duel itself. The fact it predates the release of Main Event indicates it actually be the prototype or that the story was expanded to become the novel.

Foreign-Language Editions[edit]

German[edit]

A German edition, translated by Reinhold H. Mai, was published by Heyne in 1994 as Stahlgladiatoren (ISBN 9783453072817).[1] The book had several printings, including a third printing in 1995 under the same ISBN.[2] This was also republished as an EPUB by Ulisses Spiele in 2017 as BattleTech Legenden 19 : Stahlgladiatoren (ISBN 9783957526700).[3]

Russian[edit]

A Russian edition, translated by N. Kugerovskaya and E. Zvyagin, was published by Армада (Armada) in 1996 as Основное событие (ISBN 576320123X). [4][5] A reprint was published in 2002 as Точка отсчета (ISBN 5309003770) by Армада-пресс (Armada-Press) as part of a different series produced in collaboration with Дрофа (Drofa). [6][7]

Covers[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for first printing of Stahlgladiatoren
  2. Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for third printing of Stahlgladiatoren
  3. Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for BattleTech Legenden 19 : Stahlgladiatoren
  4. Science Fiction Lab Book description for Основное событие
  5. National Library of Russia description for Основное событие
  6. Science Fiction Lab Book description for Точка отсчета
  7. National Library of Russia description for Точка отсчета