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Loading... Janissaries (Orbit Books) (original 1979; edition 1981)by J Pournelle (Author)
Work InformationJanissaries by Jerry Pournelle (1979)
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No current Talk conversations about this book. ![]() ![]() I wanted to like this book — mercenaries fighting Cubans in Africa and abandoned by CIA, rescued by aliens and then serving as Space Mercenaries to alien cultures. However, just couldn’t get into it at all — I like military sci-fi, alt-history, anti communism, and mercenaries, but it 1) didn’t come together 2) ended as a cliffhanger for no reason. No interest in the rest of the series. Excellent story introduces CIA contractor Captain Rick Galloway, whose unit is about to be overrun in Angola, rescued by a flying saucer and offered a deal he can't refuse. They wind up on an alien planet people's by humans from different eras, Romans to medieval, and must seize control and cultivate a much-needed crop. As complicated as that seems, there's an undisclosed threat hanging over everyone. Military science fiction along with an interesting view of clashing goals and values and intrigue. Love Pournelle's work and saddened there will be no more. A quick, but interesting group of ideas. Plenty of action with a neat balance between high & low technology. There were a lot of neat themes that played out quickly. My edition is a paperback with a lot of good drawings in it. I think I would have liked the book better if the ideas had been more fully developed, but that might have taken volumes. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesJanissaries (1) Awards
Some days it just doesn't pay to be a soldier. Captain Rick Galloway and his men had been talked into volunteering for a dangerous mission only to be ruthlessly abandoned when faceless CIA higher-ups pulled the plug on the operation. They were cut off in hostile territory, with local troops and their Cuban "advisors" rapidly closing in-and then the alien spaceship landed. Rescued from certain death, they now must fight another world's war. No library descriptions found. |
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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