Now and again when I am reading a new novel I will find myself dragging my own psyche through the story. Oftentimes this is due to the fact that I’m feeling run down or a bit tired. On the other hand, sometimes the story just isn’t grabbing my attention due to its lack of verve, panache or wit. “Falkenberg’s Legion” falls into the latter category. While Jerry Pournelle is a well liked author with a wide following, I had to quit this book four fifths of the way through due to utter boredom. Nor did it help Mr. Pournelle that this edition of his novel was replete with spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. Perhaps Mr. Pournelle’s writing style improves over time, then again maybe not. ( )

erry Pournelle created a universe, very centred around a Heinlein-kind of world and political system. Clear distinctions between citizens, non citizend, enforced government relocations etc. The stories centred around a mercenary leader “Falkenberg” are good fun and clear-cut military sf. As soon as Pournelle gets into politics, he rambles. By far not as good as Heinleins ideas and also not as well researched. If you skip those chapters however, I find the whole story-arc very enjoyable.