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For a century the Americans and Soviets had maintained an uneasy alliance based on a new world order. But the CoDominium is decaying, and the future belongs to colony worlds like Sparta--if they can survive Earth's death-throes. To do that they will need men who understand war, men like mercenary commander John Christian Falkenberg, and Lysander, Prince of Sparta--the first Prince of Mercenaries.
Oh boy, I love this world. The novel itself is mediocre at best, the writing is as clumsy as I expected from Pournelle, but boy, I love the world of the Co-Dominium so very much.
A classic of military sci fi. Part of the co dominion series written by jerry pournelle , an incredibly well educated man. Tells the story of a civil war on a planet of drug dealers and slave owners. The world is ugly and realistic without being dystopian. There will be war was a long running series as well. Since our educational system is at a fifty year low you just don't see a writer like pournelle with multiple degrees writing classics
Typical Jerry PournelleThat is excellent military science fiction. It's not exactly a great book, but it is exactly what I want sometimes, an exciting, fun read.
Meh. While I would never call Pournell a bad writer, as a solo author his weaknesses in character development are striking. The story in "Prince of Mercenaries" is nevertheless fairly well told and his characters are not So wooden as to prevent you from caring. Also, 'though we do spend a little time on Earth in one of the sub-stories, unlike the volumes both before and after this one, there is little of the background on the political system of the CoDominion or anything else. In some ways it m...
Absolutely magnificentThe blending of futuristic settings with the rock solid character of the military figures is gripping. Inserting Prince Lysander, who proves to be much more than a mere royal observer, cemented my initial interest and kept me reading well past midnight. A superb story.
I don't know why I liked this book so much...it is quick, easy, short, and simple but for some reason the story always sticks in my head.
A solid and entertaining novel, this science fiction tale is both plausible and clever. Perhaps most surprisingly to me, this book made the characters feel more real and interesting than the epic military history that the book chronicles. It is not a five star book because nothing in it ever becomes truly great. Like the mercenaries of Falkenberg's Legion though, the writing in this book is so consistently good that it achieves its end without waste.
While this was not one of Dr. Pournelle's best books, it was an interesting story, and it felt like an homage to one of Gordon Dickson's Dorsai stories. I mean, the full name of Col. Falkenberg is "John Christian Falkenberg," and the Dickson story, as I recall, referred to a "Colonel Jacques Chretien" fighting at Rochmont [in this story, the spelling is Rochemont] and being betrayed there, as Falkenberg was here. The outcome for both the colonel and for the place is better in this story, though....
This book falls in to the sub genre of military science fiction - along with Dorsai and Hammers Slammers - you have writers who have experienced actual military service and in some cases even military actions and have used their experiences to write science fiction. In the case of Falkenberg Legions you are looking at a military solution to another genre main stay - the fall of civilisation or in this case the fall of Earth (seen as the heart of the empire). What I enjoyed about this book is the...
Not my kind of book. Life on other planets is much too earthlike (animals that seem to be a cross between a moose and a mule, sea creatures similar to loch ness monster, flowers, green jungles...) and thus unbelievable. Am I too strict?
Not that I'm any military expert. This book, however, sent me to Wikipedia to look Pournelle up and figure out just what he's made of. It was too good to be amateur, and my intuition was right: Jerry Pournelle is the real deal, with deep understandings of history, tactics, strategy, and psychology. At least he is from my layman's perspective. This is what happens when a PhD gets some imagination, applies it, and runs with it. It just works.
I read this, and _The Mercenary_ because they are set in the same universe as War World, but no great shakes here. Fairly plodding plot, some he-man rah rah, just enough to keep you reading until the end.
Classic mercenary story. A good read.Pournelle is a master of the science fiction mercenary story. He includes reasonable character development, believable dialog, and a solid plot. This may be the first of the Faulkenberg series. It promises me many more hours of enjoyable reading.
Falkenberg, as ever, walks out of the hole he has fallen into.
Excellent Military SF - the Co-Dominion books are still some of the best in their sub-genre - the series is best read in order
well written and entertaining
Older science fiction that revolves around a mercenary company in the future. Pournelle is excellent as he lays out a setting that features hard science fiction and a future of colonization on planets. Like many in this genre, he focuses on the troubles inherent in a colony system based on penal relocation, indentured servitude and maintaining control over distant systems. The Co-Dominium is an excellent concept.
A little slow to develop but good story - very detailed - good character development - -will read the other books in the series.
This is a good installment in the series. As a stand-alone book, it's just good. But it moves the grand story along while hinting at the big picture, adds new good characters, and fleshes out existing strong characters. I'm ready to move on to book 3. Good writing and story telling. (I recommend people read this series in the form of the compilation called The Prince, for completeness. Some material seems to have been added.)
