Jerry Pournelle
Prince of Mercenaries (1989)
Reviewed: 1997-01-19

An unremarkable military fiction book, set in Pournelle's CoDominium future history. Chronologically it fits between the Hadley and New Washington campains in Falkenberg's Legion. It deals with Falkenberg eradicating pitiful pirates and squashing a rebellion on the prison planet Tanith, at that time the Legion's base, introduces us to Prince Lysander of Sparta, protagonist of later novels, and uneasily integrates two of the author's older short stories as flashbacks which detail the circumstances of two lesser personae joining the mercenary regiment. The writing is solid, but the novel is highly predictable, and the action is perfunctory. Pournelle seems to spend some effort trying to show the reasons why men join the Legion, but with little success as far as I am concerned. It ain't boring, it ain't thrilling. Of some interest only to fans of Pournelle, Falkenberg, or military fiction.

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