Battletech Wars of Reaving *OP* Toy – August 31, 2011

It's about time the home world clans got some attention! I was glued to this book to the very end, because I wanted to find out what ultimately happened to the home world clans. I also found myself rooting for my favorite clan, the Star Adders. There was so much going on in this book, it was a total clusterf*** of destruction. I'm very pleased Catalyst didn't write all of the home world clans off. The other reviewers covered pretty much everything except.. To go along with the main story there are boxes of information mixed in adding to that specific clan's perspective, which really adds meat the story. This book is definitely a good read thanks to Catalysts usual quality. As the reviewer Joe Chummer mentioned do not read too far ahead other wise you will read spoilers.I had the skilled artist Mecha Master create a mech called Death Adder over at Deviant Art, in tribute to this book and my favorite clan.

This Sourcebook continues the history of Battletech, fleshing out more of the history of this period in the Inner Sphere. A serious must read for Battletech fans everywhere! It not only reveals information crucial to those who role play, or board game in the Battletech Universe, it also has filled in some of the gaps, and by extension, references that have come up in the more than 50 Battletech novels.

A solid book filed with all the information on clan politics through the jihad era. A great read with a lot of fun moments. Probably one of the best products to come out of catalyst games

I didn't expect this book to get into things as far as it did. It's a great source for information about the what went on during the period... even the bad stuff.

Decent info, but the print quality is poor and the organization is pooer. It is effectively a news paper with a nice paper back cover.

A very big 'journal' that fills in many of the gaps that ended the series of Battletech books and moved into the Mechwarrior Dark Ages books and beyond.

I bought an advance copy of this book at Gen Con 2011, and absolutely loved it. If you want a BattleTech book with a lot of conflict in it -- or if you ever had any morbid fascination over what exactly happened to cause the Inner Sphere Clans to lose contact with the Clan Homeworlds -- then this is the book for you. The first thing you will notice is this is a very beefy tome; it's one of the largest BattleTech paperbacks ever printed. The book begins with a quick recap of some of the preceding events -- to help with context -- and the whole thing just ramps up from there. Each chapter covers a year of the main "Wars of Reaving" story (circa 3070-3075), and the "Founder's Future" chapter fills in the gaps of what happens to the surviving Clans between the years 3075-3085, in addition to featuring character bios of major characters (Check out Raina Montose's bio for a serious "whoa" moment). There is also a section on new tech and new 'Mechs (ever wondered what the REAL name of the mysterious "Pariah" from Tech Readout 3075 is?), a section of how to create and run a Wars of Reaving-era campaign (complete with accurate Homeworlds planetary data and political balance tables), some maps of the Homeworlds (both pre- and post-Reaving), and the obligatory Clan glossary.Also, for those thinking this is strictly a Homeworlds-Clan-only book, take heart: the Inner Sphere Clans do have a good deal of screen time, and a few mysteries -- such as the eventual fate of the Jade Falcon and Wolf Khans -- are solved. However, both Clan Nova Cat and Clan Wolf-in-Exile are not dealt with in this book, which makes sense since the other Clans erased their existence from Clan records and do not acknowledge them as true Clans in this era.The presentation is unlike any BattleTech book previously published: the margins on each page are made of stone pillars that depict the insignias of all 20 original Clans, and as you progress through the book, these margins visually tell the history of the Clans, from their founding to 3085. As Clans are annihilated, absorbed, or abjured, the margins show the Clans insignias fading away. Absolutely ingenious, but be aware that reading too far ahead ahead may spoil some of the surprises. So long as you don't flip past page 150 or so you should be fine.The stylistic choice of using processed B/W photography of BattleTech miniatures really sells a level of realism to the art that is unparalleled. These photographs feel like you are seeing a snapshot of an actual battle or scene rather than looking at painted metal miniatures on constructed terrain. There is of course traditional full-page art and very realistic character portraits, but the miniature photography I feel is the real unsung star of the show here because it's never been done this way before.If you are a Clan fan -- Homeworld or otherwise -- this is a great book. There is a wealth of information here that is just begging to inspire the creation of BattleTech scenarios or adventures for A Time of War (the BattleTech RPG).

This is available as an official POD on DriveThru RPG.