If I could only pick one Heavy Gear book to ever rear/use to run a game/present to others to present the virtues of the game, this would be it.

While the outward appeal of Heavy Gear is giant robots, the real soul of the game comes from the excellent writing, the interwoven factions and personalities, and the way that the NPCs come alive, from teh lowliest servitor and explorer to the mighty world leaders that underscore the excellently laid out setting and plot.

And this setting is heavy on metaplot, but I very much do not mind that.

But this book is a web of interpersonal interactions that span continents, nations, war zones, and generations. You get a sense of the rich past, the march of history, and the depth of the people that live in a setting that feels alive.

The core book for Heavy Gear is necessary to play the game, of course. But this book is amazingly necessary to get the whole of Heavy Gear, of Terra Nova, and of the various conflcits and political intrigue that set this game apart from every other giant robot game you might have already tried.

If I could give this book 7 stars, I would.