What do you think?
Rate this book
Battletech: Kell Hounds Ascendant Trilogy #1-3
BattleTech: Kell Hounds Ascendant: A BattleTech Collection
NEVER BET AGAINST THE KELL BROTHERS
The Kell Hounds are one of the most storied mercenary units in the Inner Sphere. Now, New York Times-bestselling author and Kell Hounds creator Michael A. Stackpole goes back to the Hounds’ beginnings in these three short novels, when Morgan and Patrick Kell were just two smart, ambitious brothers—with a plan to revolutionize the world of mercenaries forever…
Not How the Smart Money Bets: Morgan and Patrick Kell land on the mercenary planet Galatea to start their new unit, the Kell Hounds. But a few obstacles in their way, including the biggest one, a ruthless crime lord named Haskell Blizzard. But the Kell brothers have faced long odds before, and come out on top every single time. When the chips are down, the smart money is always on the brothers Kell.
A Tiny Bit of Rebellion: Galatea’s capital city, Galaport, is threatened by a new enemy: Bishop Arlington Poore, a religious zealot who wants to bring the entire planet under his repressive theocracy—and is willing to starve millions to do it. The Kell Hounds now have their first job: put down this uprising, and fast. But when a madman has converted thousands of civilians to his side, how will Morgan and Patrick end his misguided crusade without shedding innocent blood?
A Clever Bit of Fiction: When the Archon hires the Kell Hounds to provide security for war games with Prince Ian Davion’s forces in a show of combined strength between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Federated Suns, Morgan Kell thinks it’s a chance to relax while getting to know the mercurial leader of the Federated Suns. But when a powerful group of raiders lands on Zavijava, he finds himself facing two threats—stopping the invaders from wrecking the planet while protecting Prince Davion. Trouble is, before the fighting is over, Morgan may have to make a dangerous choice…with the possible fate of three Great Houses lying in the balance…
The Kell Hounds are one of the most storied mercenary units in the Inner Sphere. Now, New York Times-bestselling author and Kell Hounds creator Michael A. Stackpole goes back to the Hounds’ beginnings in these three short novels, when Morgan and Patrick Kell were just two smart, ambitious brothers—with a plan to revolutionize the world of mercenaries forever…
Not How the Smart Money Bets: Morgan and Patrick Kell land on the mercenary planet Galatea to start their new unit, the Kell Hounds. But a few obstacles in their way, including the biggest one, a ruthless crime lord named Haskell Blizzard. But the Kell brothers have faced long odds before, and come out on top every single time. When the chips are down, the smart money is always on the brothers Kell.
A Tiny Bit of Rebellion: Galatea’s capital city, Galaport, is threatened by a new enemy: Bishop Arlington Poore, a religious zealot who wants to bring the entire planet under his repressive theocracy—and is willing to starve millions to do it. The Kell Hounds now have their first job: put down this uprising, and fast. But when a madman has converted thousands of civilians to his side, how will Morgan and Patrick end his misguided crusade without shedding innocent blood?
A Clever Bit of Fiction: When the Archon hires the Kell Hounds to provide security for war games with Prince Ian Davion’s forces in a show of combined strength between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Federated Suns, Morgan Kell thinks it’s a chance to relax while getting to know the mercurial leader of the Federated Suns. But when a powerful group of raiders lands on Zavijava, he finds himself facing two threats—stopping the invaders from wrecking the planet while protecting Prince Davion. Trouble is, before the fighting is over, Morgan may have to make a dangerous choice…with the possible fate of three Great Houses lying in the balance…
- GenresScience Fiction
322 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 3, 2020
28 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 15, 2021
The brothers Kell have always been a solid part of the BattleTech mythology and this brings you right to the start of the Kell Hounds. I enjoyed learning more about the brothers, their dynamic relationship, and the people they love. While some of the concepts can get a little muddled and "white knight" syndrome is firmly in place I am familiar enough with the universe to understand that it does not take away from the story.
August 28, 2023
Why were these so good? I feel like maybe the novella length is either the perfect format for Battletech or Michael Stackpole. I've read the first of his Warrior trilogy, and it was definitely good, but nowhere near as good as these.
I'll admit, I spaced out reading these to the point that I only roughly remember the first two, but I recall that they did a great job of laying out the world the Kell brothers move to, and do a fun (if a bit rushed) job of introducing interesting characters and putting them in tense situations as quickly as possible.
What DIDN'T stand out about the first two was the Mech battles. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's tough to make giant mechsuit battles read interestingly. I skip over it for the most part in 40K lit, and ditto w/Battletech stuff. Stackpole does a great job, though, of at least TRYING to make these situations unique. In the first novella, our main mech battles are mock battles done for prestige on this world, and so it's a lot about tactics, less about OMG MY ARM or whatever. In the second one, it's a matter of having to fight an enemy who doesn't play by the rules (I think?). And in the third one, it's hilariously a group of actors who play Mech pilots in holovids* who basically keep winning because everyone is confused. Lovely stuff.
Anyway, the characters are incredible, and the political machinations are fun to watch unfurl, and it really makes me excited to keep reading stuff in the world.
*best joke of the whole series is that the character's movie I, MechWarrior has sequels, and they've made it up to VII, Mechwarrior. Ahahahahaha
I'll admit, I spaced out reading these to the point that I only roughly remember the first two, but I recall that they did a great job of laying out the world the Kell brothers move to, and do a fun (if a bit rushed) job of introducing interesting characters and putting them in tense situations as quickly as possible.
What DIDN'T stand out about the first two was the Mech battles. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's tough to make giant mechsuit battles read interestingly. I skip over it for the most part in 40K lit, and ditto w/Battletech stuff. Stackpole does a great job, though, of at least TRYING to make these situations unique. In the first novella, our main mech battles are mock battles done for prestige on this world, and so it's a lot about tactics, less about OMG MY ARM or whatever. In the second one, it's a matter of having to fight an enemy who doesn't play by the rules (I think?). And in the third one, it's hilariously a group of actors who play Mech pilots in holovids* who basically keep winning because everyone is confused. Lovely stuff.
Anyway, the characters are incredible, and the political machinations are fun to watch unfurl, and it really makes me excited to keep reading stuff in the world.
*best joke of the whole series is that the character's movie I, MechWarrior has sequels, and they've made it up to VII, Mechwarrior. Ahahahahaha
June 29, 2021
A collection of novellas establishing the beginnings of one of the most famous mechwarrior companies
December 25, 2019
I just got the new Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries game on Epic. I'm really enjoying the game. That triggered me to start wondering about the BattleTech/Mechwarrior game-story time-line and its background. Stackpole is solid writer who can be counted on for an enjoyable read. So, I got this trilogy of short-novels from Amazon in Kindle format.
I found them to be well written fiction, very much what I would expect from Michael Stackpole. Good chacters and story. Being short novels, the trilogy can easily be read in a couple of days.
The subject of the book is the founding of the Kell Hounds mercenary company. These are newly published stories in the series. Given the way the 3rd novel ends, I think we can expect to see more published in the relatively near future.
I found them to be well written fiction, very much what I would expect from Michael Stackpole. Good chacters and story. Being short novels, the trilogy can easily be read in a couple of days.
The subject of the book is the founding of the Kell Hounds mercenary company. These are newly published stories in the series. Given the way the 3rd novel ends, I think we can expect to see more published in the relatively near future.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews