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Novel Information
Collection: BattleTech
Title: Illusions of Victory
Author: Loren L. Coleman
ISBN-10: 0-451-45791-9 
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-45791-2 
Publisher: Roc 
Product ID: LE5791 
Copyright: © 2000
Cover Art: Cover Art
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Description: Solaris VII is known as the Game World—where entertainment is king, money is power, and MechWarriors from every corner of the Inner Sphere come to make war against one another in the ultimate sporting event.

Michael Searcy arrived on Solaris VII as a dishonored MechWarrior, and worked his way up in the rankings to become a valued commodity in the games. He knows all the moves, plays all the angles, and can put on a show as well as he fights. But now, the ancient grudges pitting warriors against each other have spilled out of the arena—and are moving through the streets in an all-out war. And Michael is caught in a championship match where the winner is the last man left alive...
First Chapter Date: August 10, 3062
Final Chapter Date: August 25, 3062
Number of Reviews:  2 Write Review
Average Member Rating:  2.50
 
Member Review - jymset : 22-Mar-2005 00:00
0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
Rating: 0.50
Comment: Man, this is the first novel I've read in something like the last 4 years, and boy, was I disappointed.

This does nothing to bring the gaming world closer to the reader. All it does is take the names introduced and illustrated in the original Solaris VII boxed game, and squander them: Coleman destroys stables, pilots and managers left right and center. And for what?

The main character is unlikable. Yes, he is meant to be, but then he goes through a catharsis. He turns to the path of righteousness. Until facing his final foe.

This foe is painted to be, well, crazy by the end of it. But Coleman really does not do a convincing job of robbing him of sympathy. I don't know, to me the end was just way wrong. Suddenly everything was resolved, justice brought to the baddies and the goodies take turns for the better.

It's just all wrong. And really has little to do with Solaris. Sorry, much as Stackpole is despised by a lot of people, he did a much better job of bringing the Gaming World alive.
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Member Review - Bo : 02-Mar-2004 00:00
0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
Rating: 4.50
Comment: Excellent book of gaming world (in my opinion). Better than Main Event but it has been a few years since I read that one. You get an in depth look at the stable owners, the champions, and the workings of Solaris VII.

The big deal here is that you have individuals who choose to better themselves in status or power at the expense of anyone else. Lots of secret plots and scheming. Then finally the main character figures out the meaning of life and tries to set things right.

As before with other books, I had problems keeping track of all the names. You have champions in the different stables and the stables aligned with the great houses. It turns into a lot of people and places to keep track of.

The overall atmosphere of the book is a prelude to what is going to happen with houses Steiner and Davion and an IS level. None of the main characters are major IS players, but that does seem to matter.
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