BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction is a non-fiction book published by Catalyst Game Labs in 2009 about the science fiction wargame BattleTech. It includes artwork, a description of the development of the game, an historical timeline of in-game history, and twenty pieces of fiction by authors such as Michael A. Stackpole, Robert Charrette and Victor Milán.
In addition to many pieces of art related to BattleTech, the book contains:
FASA originally published BattleTech as a board wargame in 1984. Twenty-three years later, in 2007, Catalyst Game Design acquired the licenses to both BattleTech and Shadowrun. [1]: 386 For the 25th anniversary of the BattleTech franchise in 2009, Catalyst released Battletech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction, [1]: 386 a large 304-page coffee table book with lavish illustrations including "The Unseen", a number of pieces of art that had been used in early iterations of the game but had never been republished. Although originally offered for sale in July 2009, the book was almost immediately removed from Catalyst's inventory. A month later, Catalyst's managing editor Randall Bills revealed that after the book's release, Catalyst had discovered that the North American license for twelve of the "Unseen" images rested with another American company, the result of a confidential agreement following a court case in the 1990s. [2] Catalyst subsequently reprinted and released a new version of the book without the twelve images.
Writing for BattleGrip, Philip Reed called this book "the source of hours of entertainment. Though the fiction in the book may be new — and fun — it’s the art from the eighties, nineties, and up through 2009 that makes this book a great buy for anyone who has ever enjoyed the BattleTech games or fiction." Reed highly recommended the book, saying, "This book is one that I’ve taken off of the shelf countless times over the last few years. Excellent work and lots of fun." [3]
In the meantime, Battletech also had an anniversary in 2009. Catalyst celebrated that with BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction (2009). They were able to include stories in this print anniversary book thanks to their new license.
BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction is a non-fiction book published by Catalyst Game Labs in 2009 about the science fiction wargame BattleTech. It includes artwork, a description of the development of the game, an historical timeline of in-game history, and twenty pieces of fiction by authors such as Michael A. Stackpole, Robert Charrette and Victor Milán.
In addition to many pieces of art related to BattleTech, the book contains:
FASA originally published BattleTech as a board wargame in 1984. Twenty-three years later, in 2007, Catalyst Game Design acquired the licenses to both BattleTech and Shadowrun. [1]: 386 For the 25th anniversary of the BattleTech franchise in 2009, Catalyst released Battletech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction, [1]: 386 a large 304-page coffee table book with lavish illustrations including "The Unseen", a number of pieces of art that had been used in early iterations of the game but had never been republished. Although originally offered for sale in July 2009, the book was almost immediately removed from Catalyst's inventory. A month later, Catalyst's managing editor Randall Bills revealed that after the book's release, Catalyst had discovered that the North American license for twelve of the "Unseen" images rested with another American company, the result of a confidential agreement following a court case in the 1990s. [2] Catalyst subsequently reprinted and released a new version of the book without the twelve images.
Writing for BattleGrip, Philip Reed called this book "the source of hours of entertainment. Though the fiction in the book may be new — and fun — it’s the art from the eighties, nineties, and up through 2009 that makes this book a great buy for anyone who has ever enjoyed the BattleTech games or fiction." Reed highly recommended the book, saying, "This book is one that I’ve taken off of the shelf countless times over the last few years. Excellent work and lots of fun." [3]
In the meantime, Battletech also had an anniversary in 2009. Catalyst celebrated that with BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction (2009). They were able to include stories in this print anniversary book thanks to their new license.