Saga of the Gray Death Legion

The Saga of the Gray Death Legion is a series of books about Grayson Carlyle and his famed mercenary unit, the Gray Death Legion. Most of the novels were written by William H. Keith, Jr., with additional writing by his brother J. Andrew Keith and Thomas S. Gressman.

The first three books, collectively known as the Gray Death trilogy, were the first, third and fourth book respectively ever to be published for the fictional BattleTech universe and played a significant role in shaping and promoting the setting.

1. Decision at Thunder Rift by William H. Keith, Jr. (June 1986)
 * Gray Death trilogy

2. Mercenary's Star by William H. Keith, Jr. (June 1987)

3. The Price of Glory by William H. Keith, Jr. (October 1987)

(William H. Keith's short story Legion Team, from the Shrapnel antology, also depicts the Gray Death Legion in action during the classic Late Succession Wars timeframe, sometime after the events of The Price of Glory.) 4. Blood of Heroes by Andrew Keith (July 1993)
 * Later novels

5. Tactics of Duty by William H. Keith, Jr. (August 1995)

6. Operation Excalibur by William H. Keith, Jr. (August 1998)

7. The Dying Time by Thomas S. Gressman (January 2002)

The last novel narrates the death of Grayson Carlyle and how his unit is subsequently vanquished in the field. William Keith had a different idea about the end of the unit, however. According to a story proposal pitched by him that was turned down by the Line Developer, the Gray Death Legion would have participated in Operation Bulldog and Grayson Carlyle, profoundly shocked by the carnage, would simply (and literally) have walked off, never to be seen again.