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Spinward Fringe #6.5
Expendable Few: A Spinward Fringe Novel
Clark Patterson and other officers in the Freeground Military are ejected from regular service their actions and lifestyles are met by disapproval by a new oppressive government. They find themselves reassigned to a unit sent on some of the most dangerous missions ever undertaken by Freeground Nation soldiers. Completing these missions is their only way to win their freedom.
610 pages, ebook
First published February 28, 2012
54 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Randolph Lalonde
45 books499 followersBorn in 1974, Randolph Lalonde has worked in customer service, sales, played drums for several heavy metal bands you've never heard of, dealt blackjack in a traveling casino, and serviced countless computers. He's also owned businesses in the design, printing, collectible and custom computer fields.
He completed writing his first novel in the fantasy adventure genre at the age of fifteen and has been writing ever since.
He self published his first novel;
Fate Cycle: Sins of the Past in 2004 and after taking a break has begun to release his work again starting with the First Light Chronicles series.
Randolph Lalonde has sold thousands of eBooks to date, enough to keep writing full-time for fifteen years so far. He is deeply grateful for his following of readers and strives to improve his skills to entertain them better. The Spinward Fringe Space Opera series has proven to be his most popular offering.
He currently resides in Sudbury Ontario and manages a chapter a day writing habit.
In his diminishing spare time he reads voraciously, tinkers with design, video editing and reviews the occasional film or television show. A science fiction and fantasy fan, he often comments on the state of the entertainment industry on his website, www.randolphlalonde.com.
He completed writing his first novel in the fantasy adventure genre at the age of fifteen and has been writing ever since.
He self published his first novel;
Fate Cycle: Sins of the Past in 2004 and after taking a break has begun to release his work again starting with the First Light Chronicles series.
Randolph Lalonde has sold thousands of eBooks to date, enough to keep writing full-time for fifteen years so far. He is deeply grateful for his following of readers and strives to improve his skills to entertain them better. The Spinward Fringe Space Opera series has proven to be his most popular offering.
He currently resides in Sudbury Ontario and manages a chapter a day writing habit.
In his diminishing spare time he reads voraciously, tinkers with design, video editing and reviews the occasional film or television show. A science fiction and fantasy fan, he often comments on the state of the entertainment industry on his website, www.randolphlalonde.com.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 10, 2014
Another great story in the Spinward Fringe universe.
December 6, 2017
It was refreshing to read about Freeground station and what's happening back home during the adventures of the main characters. I was in fact longing for more. It's a short story and I'm wondering where it fits into the Spinward series, if it adds background info or something else to the main series.
At times it looks as if written by a much younger author, style-wise, when compared to Spinward Fringe 6/7, the time frame where this story is situated. I like reading Randolph Lalonde, his Spinward Fringe series, but this short intermezzo was different. At the start of a new chapter I often missed the link with the previous chapter or the story, it felt as reading another book. I needed several paragraphs and a few times even pages to get the connection and link back into the story.
Because of the above I subtracted a star but I still recommend the book if you're reading the Spinward Fringe series. I for one loved reading more about the Isyrrians, their community, way of life, ...
At times it looks as if written by a much younger author, style-wise, when compared to Spinward Fringe 6/7, the time frame where this story is situated. I like reading Randolph Lalonde, his Spinward Fringe series, but this short intermezzo was different. At the start of a new chapter I often missed the link with the previous chapter or the story, it felt as reading another book. I needed several paragraphs and a few times even pages to get the connection and link back into the story.
Because of the above I subtracted a star but I still recommend the book if you're reading the Spinward Fringe series. I for one loved reading more about the Isyrrians, their community, way of life, ...
April 26, 2021
great series
April 11, 2016
Wow, Randolph Lalonde is currently, my favorite Science Fiction author, and it was with great anticipation that I awaited his newest release, The Expendable Few.
As a Science Fiction fan, this book is definitely worth a read, but it's not my favorite work from Lalonde. Additionally, to keep everything in chronological order, you would almost certainly want your first Randolph Lalonde book to be Origins (Spinward Fringe). Bonus-this book is currently available as a free download on Amazon. If you're interested in reading Lalonde's work and you don't have an e-reader or device that can read e-books, you're currently limited to reading just two of his books, and Origins (Spinward Fringe) is not currently available in hard copy.
I've read all of the other Spinward Fringe series books, and compared to his other books, I felt like this story had a slower start. In general there were fewer action scenes than I'm accustomed to in other Lalonde stories.
In addition, I had problems with transitions from chapter to chapter; this was surprising because I've not noticed this as an issue in Lalonde's other stories. When starting a new chapter, on more than one occasion, I had to go back to the end of the previous chapter and re-read the last few paragraphs to make sure that I didn't miss something. It's difficult to describe this phenomenon in words, and I'm curious to see if other readers had a similar experience.
Another issue I had was that I really miss the characters that Lalonde had worked so hard to develop in the rest of the Spinward Fringe series. I especially miss characters like Frost, Min Chu Bu and of course the protagonist, Jonas Valent/Jacob Valance. Because this is just a short novel, Lalonde simply doesn't have enough time to develop characters with that depth. I realize that it may be unfair on my part to make this comparison because The Expendable Few is a much, much shorter story.
On the positive side, I enjoyed the author's further development of the Issyrian race. I especially liked learning about their communication and how they interact with their environment. Lalonde does a brilliant job of showing that the Issyrians are having problems just like the humans, but these problems manifest themselves differently.
In fact, it's easy for the humans in The Expendable Few to completely miss the problems attributed to the Issyrians, or mis-interpret their situation. I love the broader "real life" message in this which encourages readers to step back and attempt to view issues from the perspectives of other cultures before judging them.
Lalonde consistently does an excellent job of concealing a few unexpected plot twists and turns, and The Expendable Few is no exception. As you get accustomed to his writing style, it becomes sort of a game to see if you can anticipate any of the surprises. In the case of the ending of The Expendable Few, I definitely had some clues but still enjoyed some real surprises.
I have some misgivings not rating the book higher because Randolph Lalonde is such a fantastic author. My cumulative rating for Lalonde's books in the Spinward Fringe series is a solid 5 out of 5.
As a Science Fiction fan, this book is definitely worth a read, but it's not my favorite work from Lalonde. Additionally, to keep everything in chronological order, you would almost certainly want your first Randolph Lalonde book to be Origins (Spinward Fringe). Bonus-this book is currently available as a free download on Amazon. If you're interested in reading Lalonde's work and you don't have an e-reader or device that can read e-books, you're currently limited to reading just two of his books, and Origins (Spinward Fringe) is not currently available in hard copy.
I've read all of the other Spinward Fringe series books, and compared to his other books, I felt like this story had a slower start. In general there were fewer action scenes than I'm accustomed to in other Lalonde stories.
In addition, I had problems with transitions from chapter to chapter; this was surprising because I've not noticed this as an issue in Lalonde's other stories. When starting a new chapter, on more than one occasion, I had to go back to the end of the previous chapter and re-read the last few paragraphs to make sure that I didn't miss something. It's difficult to describe this phenomenon in words, and I'm curious to see if other readers had a similar experience.
Another issue I had was that I really miss the characters that Lalonde had worked so hard to develop in the rest of the Spinward Fringe series. I especially miss characters like Frost, Min Chu Bu and of course the protagonist, Jonas Valent/Jacob Valance. Because this is just a short novel, Lalonde simply doesn't have enough time to develop characters with that depth. I realize that it may be unfair on my part to make this comparison because The Expendable Few is a much, much shorter story.
On the positive side, I enjoyed the author's further development of the Issyrian race. I especially liked learning about their communication and how they interact with their environment. Lalonde does a brilliant job of showing that the Issyrians are having problems just like the humans, but these problems manifest themselves differently.
In fact, it's easy for the humans in The Expendable Few to completely miss the problems attributed to the Issyrians, or mis-interpret their situation. I love the broader "real life" message in this which encourages readers to step back and attempt to view issues from the perspectives of other cultures before judging them.
Lalonde consistently does an excellent job of concealing a few unexpected plot twists and turns, and The Expendable Few is no exception. As you get accustomed to his writing style, it becomes sort of a game to see if you can anticipate any of the surprises. In the case of the ending of The Expendable Few, I definitely had some clues but still enjoyed some real surprises.
I have some misgivings not rating the book higher because Randolph Lalonde is such a fantastic author. My cumulative rating for Lalonde's books in the Spinward Fringe series is a solid 5 out of 5.
November 19, 2017
A much shorter tale than I'm used to in this series but I have to say that as large as colonized space is in this series and as much of it as is still unexplored and off the books there could be an infinite number of these shorter stories forthcoming. I will go on the record as saying that I'm okay with that.
This is a story that revolves around a group of new characters and this particular tale should be read BEFORE you read the last book in the series. There are characters in the last book that if you go straight to before you read this you won't really understand or get what it is that's happeneing.
I'm not sure that I particularly like the way that the whole saga was wrapped up but I can't think of anything that I would like better. I wish that there was some more development around Clark, Davi, and others in this book. Truthfully, this probably could have beeen twice as long and it would have been okay. Clark plays such a definitive role in the last book of the series that I feel a little like he should have had more screen time.
All of that aside, this is a great addition to the series and well worth the $0.99 that it costs on the Nook. Keep writing, Randolph Lalonde!
This is a story that revolves around a group of new characters and this particular tale should be read BEFORE you read the last book in the series. There are characters in the last book that if you go straight to before you read this you won't really understand or get what it is that's happeneing.
I'm not sure that I particularly like the way that the whole saga was wrapped up but I can't think of anything that I would like better. I wish that there was some more development around Clark, Davi, and others in this book. Truthfully, this probably could have beeen twice as long and it would have been okay. Clark plays such a definitive role in the last book of the series that I feel a little like he should have had more screen time.
All of that aside, this is a great addition to the series and well worth the $0.99 that it costs on the Nook. Keep writing, Randolph Lalonde!
November 12, 2012
I have to admit that I was rather disappointed in this installment in the Spinward Fringe series. The rest of the series has been action packed and hard to put down. This book I felt was very much outside the feel of the rest of the series. Specifically I didn't like:
-The rest of the series was very clean, this had a significant amount of hard-core profanity.
-The characters were hard to bond with, and once you finally bonded, they were killed (it doesn't center around anyone (almost) from the previous books).
-The action wasn't as detailed or present.
-This book seemed to have a subtle tinge of an atempt to make a political/social statement in several regards. They were subtle, but could have been left out to make the story that much better.
-While there is still no overt sex, there is implied homosexual relations that were extraneous and distracting to the overall story.
I have thoroughly enjoyed other books in this series, and would whole-heartedly recommend them to everyone, however I felt that this was a big letdown in the series, and hope that the final broadcast returns to our great story and all the things that made it great.
-The rest of the series was very clean, this had a significant amount of hard-core profanity.
-The characters were hard to bond with, and once you finally bonded, they were killed (it doesn't center around anyone (almost) from the previous books).
-The action wasn't as detailed or present.
-This book seemed to have a subtle tinge of an atempt to make a political/social statement in several regards. They were subtle, but could have been left out to make the story that much better.
-While there is still no overt sex, there is implied homosexual relations that were extraneous and distracting to the overall story.
I have thoroughly enjoyed other books in this series, and would whole-heartedly recommend them to everyone, however I felt that this was a big letdown in the series, and hope that the final broadcast returns to our great story and all the things that made it great.
March 1, 2013
Being as this book is much shorter than Randolph's other spinward fringe works, the frequency of major events occur quickly and the main plot of the book surfaces quite early. Unlike his other books, The Expendable Few focuses on the main non-human intelligence present in the spinward fringe universe; the issirians. With the order of eden occupying a planet of native issirians, we start to see the issirians exhibit more human-like attitudes and behaviors toward their oppressors. It's safe to assume that randolph has opened the issirians up as major players in the coming spinward fringe novels.
June 28, 2012
I enjoy Randolph LaLonde's Broadcast series so much. I wish there were 10 more. At least that would get me through the summer. I had very high expectations for Expendable Few but I felt I was reading some one elses story, not like the Broadcast series which were so engaging. I just couldn't connect. I'll try again as I KNOW RL would not let his fans down with a mediocre work. I see it is rated highly so assuming it must be me.
July 3, 2012
A book that lives between the Spinward Fringe Broadcast books 6 and 7. It's a whole different crew, one that is comprised of misfits from Freeground, sent out in the old First Light, renamed back to the Sunspire.
It's another look at Freeground, with only hints of what is happening in the rest of the galaxy. the book was enjoyable, but felt disconnected from the series. Looking forward to book #7.
It's another look at Freeground, with only hints of what is happening in the rest of the galaxy. the book was enjoyable, but felt disconnected from the series. Looking forward to book #7.
March 4, 2012
Short, fast and disturbing. It's wonderful to see another side of this universe, but it leaves me with some bad feeling for the future. This book was far more pessimistic than the other, previous Spinward book. Not that that is a bad thing. This was still a very good read and leaves me wanting more. Lots of new characters to wonder about !
March 11, 2012
A very good read! Sets up a nice lead to Broadcast 7. Way to many grammar and misspellings. It's as if no editor actually edited it. Darn autocorrect looks like it changed a few things it shouldn't have. Randolph should "sack" those responsible. Well worth the price even if it were to cost 8 or 9 USD.
May 13, 2014
Randoph Lalonde writes a great sci fi series
I've been following this series for years and have always enjoyed it. There must be eleven books in the series now, I'm looking forward to the next one. I recommend the series, the plot is convoluted, they are not stand alone books, it's good to read them in order.
I've been following this series for years and have always enjoyed it. There must be eleven books in the series now, I'm looking forward to the next one. I recommend the series, the plot is convoluted, they are not stand alone books, it's good to read them in order.
March 10, 2012
Space opera life is complicated and very unfair. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? With a few exceptions, that is not an easy question to answer. TEF introduces new characters and sheds new light on some old ones. A worthy addition to the Spinward Fringe universe!
December 24, 2012
This is not one of Mr. Lalonde's best. The best reason to read it though is because it fills in a lot of background for Spinward Fringe - Broadcast 7. It really helps to have that prior knowledge. Otherwise this particular book is just OK.
March 17, 2016
The entire Spinward Fringe series is outstanding. I can't get enough of them.
Fast-paced, action-packed stories that will keep your eyes glued to the pages (or screen).
The edge of the seat style of these books is just fantastic. I really loved these and hope to read a lot more by this author.
Fast-paced, action-packed stories that will keep your eyes glued to the pages (or screen).
The edge of the seat style of these books is just fantastic. I really loved these and hope to read a lot more by this author.
November 27, 2016
Good installment in the series. I like the added back stories!
This adds depth to Clark and other characters who play secondary roles.
Plot is good but less space battle action than the Jonas novels.
This adds depth to Clark and other characters who play secondary roles.
Plot is good but less space battle action than the Jonas novels.
August 14, 2012
Not many of the characters I'm use to in the series, but have a feeling this will tie into the next book(s).
June 3, 2012
This whole series by Randolph Lalonde is fabulous. I am on my second read through and can't get enough!!!!
July 16, 2012
I didn't enjoy this as much as the mainstream Spinward Fringe novels - I didn't get as engrossed with the plot or the characters, but will still read the others as they come out.
February 1, 2013
not as good as previous fringe novels, but something to read until the next rogue element series comes out.
September 11, 2012
I've really been enjoying this series, although by this point I feel I know the regular characters, so missed them a bit in this book.
October 2, 2012
Whilst an enjoyable read I kept finding myself wanting to read about the original crew.
February 12, 2013
Nice step away from the usual cast and build up to the next book
March 24, 2013
My favourite, must buy series for the Kindle
March 12, 2014
Waiting for his next book.... can't get enough!!!
gave-up-on
January 23, 2018(I bought this after already reading books 7 & 8; and while it may have been useful to go back and see how 'The Beast' enters the story, I've managed quite well without it and so far haven't felt any need for those details.)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews