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The Empire of Man series is a collaboration between David Weber and John Ringo. It combines elements of space opera and military science fiction, while the villains are clearly a satire of modern-day extreme environmentalists such as Earth First. It also has elements of the Bildungsroman, in the tradition of Captain Courageous. The first novel of the series shows great talent in the depiction of aliens and alien environments, begging a comparison with Stanley G. Weinbaum and other masters of alien worlds of the golden age of science fiction or with alien-savvy authors of the next generation such as Hal Clement.
The series tells the story of Prince Roger, the spoiled younger son of the Empress of the galaxy-spanning Empire of Man. When he is sent to a backwater planet to show the flag at a native ceremony, he goes sulkily and reluctantly.
But sabotage by a mind-controlled member of his bodyguard sends his ship adrift to Marduk, a primitive world only nominally a part of the Empire of Man. There things get exponentially worse, for the spaceport has been betrayed to the sinister Saints, a star nation of religious zealots who make an obsession of ecological purity. The crew of the ship sacrifice themselves as a decoy so that Prince Roger and his Marine bodyguards can take their shuttles to the surface.
Now Prince Roger and his bodyguard unit must fight their way across half a hostile planet, forging alliances with a succession of local polities from hunter-gatherers to early gunpowder civilizations. In the process Prince Roger learns a lot about himself and what it means to be a leader.
The third book of the series ends with the spaceport recaptured and Prince Roger on his way back to civilization with the survivors of his bodyguard, as well as a sizeable force of Mardukan allies. A fourth book is scheduled for publication, in which Prince Roger will confront the conspiracy that has torn apart his family back home on Earth.
Books in the series
- March Upcountry (2001) (online at baen.com) (http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200102/067131985X.htm)
- March to the Sea (2001) (online at baen.com) (http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200105/0671318268.htm)
- March to the Stars (2003) (online at baen.com) (http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200301/0743435621.htm)
- We Few (scheduled for April 2005)
External links
- Listing (http://www.scifan.com/series/series.asp?SR_seriesid=1652) on SciFan
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