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League of Peoples #1
Expendable
In a world where the marginalized of society are sent into space on suicide missions, one woman decides to fight “Riveting” (David Feintuch). In Expendable, the first volume of the League of Peoples, Festina Ramos is assigned to escort an unstable admiral to planet Melaquin. Little is known about Melaquin, for every explorer who’s landed there has disappeared. It’s come to be known as the “planet of no return,” and the High Council has made a habit of sending troublesome admirals there in an attempt to get rid of them. It’s clear that this is intended to be Ramos’s last mission, but she doesn’t plan on dying, no matter how expendable she may be.
355 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1997
55 people are currently reading
1946 people want to read
About the author
James Alan Gardner
65 books279 followersRaised in Simcoe and Bradford, Ontario, James Alan Gardner earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of Waterloo.
A graduate of the Clarion West Fiction Writers Workshop, Gardner has published science fiction short stories in a range of periodicals, including The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Amazing Stories. In 1989, his short story "Children of the Creche" was awarded the Grand Prize in the Writers of the Future contest. Two years later his story "Muffin Explains Teleology to the World at Large" won an Aurora Award; another story, "Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream," won an Aurora and was nominated for both the Nebula and Hugo Awards.
He has written a number of novels in a "League of Peoples" universe in which murderers are defined as "dangerous non-sentients" and are killed if they try to leave their solar system by aliens who are so advanced that they think of humans like humans think of bacteria. This precludes the possibility of interstellar wars.
He has also explored themes of gender in his novels, including Commitment Hour in which people change sex every year, and Vigilant in which group marriages are traditional.
Gardner is also an educator and technical writer. His book Learning UNIX is used as a textbook in some Canadian universities.
A Grand Prize winner of the Writers of the Future contest, he lives with his family in Waterloo, Ontario.
A graduate of the Clarion West Fiction Writers Workshop, Gardner has published science fiction short stories in a range of periodicals, including The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Amazing Stories. In 1989, his short story "Children of the Creche" was awarded the Grand Prize in the Writers of the Future contest. Two years later his story "Muffin Explains Teleology to the World at Large" won an Aurora Award; another story, "Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream," won an Aurora and was nominated for both the Nebula and Hugo Awards.
He has written a number of novels in a "League of Peoples" universe in which murderers are defined as "dangerous non-sentients" and are killed if they try to leave their solar system by aliens who are so advanced that they think of humans like humans think of bacteria. This precludes the possibility of interstellar wars.
He has also explored themes of gender in his novels, including Commitment Hour in which people change sex every year, and Vigilant in which group marriages are traditional.
Gardner is also an educator and technical writer. His book Learning UNIX is used as a textbook in some Canadian universities.
A Grand Prize winner of the Writers of the Future contest, he lives with his family in Waterloo, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
October 26, 2013
Interesting concept here: the novel is divided in a myriad of little sequences, each with a heading of its own. At times it seems a bit disjointed, but it quickly becomes apparent that everything here is connected, and that the information being shared isn’t so much an info-dump as a platform for events that follow later in the novel.
Was it to my taste? Not always, to be honest. Reading a novel in tidbit sized portions strikes me as a bit odd, although it does make for pretty quick reading. Plot-wise though, there isn’t too much wrong with this book. It’s a weird little story, but this is Science Fiction so nothing particularly wrong with that.
The premise of the “Expendables” comes across a bit hokey at first, but the author wields the concept fairly well and the underlying mystery at the heart of the novel is interesting enough to carry the story to its conclusion. There are some nice action sequences and revelations, although you have to earn them (they come late in the story). That said, the book is paced quite well and you could probably finish it in one sitting if you were so inclined (I didn’t, because I read it while I was travelling and there were many distractions).
This isn’t the best book I’ve read this year, but it had enough charm to convince me to try the next in the series (I’ve already ordered it from AbeBooks). In fact, the series seems to be quite popular and some of the later entries have caught my attention as well, they seem quite appealing…
The only real con: the word “sperm” should never be used to detail space travel – that’s just wrong on so many levels…
Would I recommend it? It all depends how you like your Science Fiction served up. The action takes place planetside, so don’t expect any space battles. Also, this is a soft Science Fiction novel, as in really soft – so if you like detailed scientific exposition go look elsewhere. If you don’t mind some good old planetary adventuring and exploring, give it a go.
Three Stars
Was it to my taste? Not always, to be honest. Reading a novel in tidbit sized portions strikes me as a bit odd, although it does make for pretty quick reading. Plot-wise though, there isn’t too much wrong with this book. It’s a weird little story, but this is Science Fiction so nothing particularly wrong with that.
The premise of the “Expendables” comes across a bit hokey at first, but the author wields the concept fairly well and the underlying mystery at the heart of the novel is interesting enough to carry the story to its conclusion. There are some nice action sequences and revelations, although you have to earn them (they come late in the story). That said, the book is paced quite well and you could probably finish it in one sitting if you were so inclined (I didn’t, because I read it while I was travelling and there were many distractions).
This isn’t the best book I’ve read this year, but it had enough charm to convince me to try the next in the series (I’ve already ordered it from AbeBooks). In fact, the series seems to be quite popular and some of the later entries have caught my attention as well, they seem quite appealing…
The only real con: the word “sperm” should never be used to detail space travel – that’s just wrong on so many levels…
Would I recommend it? It all depends how you like your Science Fiction served up. The action takes place planetside, so don’t expect any space battles. Also, this is a soft Science Fiction novel, as in really soft – so if you like detailed scientific exposition go look elsewhere. If you don’t mind some good old planetary adventuring and exploring, give it a go.
Three Stars
August 27, 2011
Every now and then I read a novel that I enjoy for whatever reason, and then find that it just kinda sticks in the back of my mind and won't go away. Sure, there's stuff wrong with the novel and its by no means perfect, but its an interesting and creative novel.
For me, Festina and Oar are what make the novel memorable. I found their personalities, their personal histories and the trajectory of their relationship to be extremely compelling. The lifelong injustice suffered by Festina and those like her, their treatment and their status as expendable was so disturbing, and yet she had such great fortitude and character. And as an aside, her people's treatment of the "imperfect" members of society was not as far fetched as it may seem if you consider our society and its beauty worship.
Ultimately though, it was Oar that stole the show for me, and I find her to be one of the most interesting and, in some ways, tragic characters I have encountered. Her childlike understanding and genuine innocence in conjunction with the trajectory of her relationship with Festina and her eventual sacrifice for that relationship were very moving. Few fictional characters have been so memorable to me. Gardner also uses her character to make a very interesting statement about the male version of the perfect women that is held by some men.
Again, its not a perfect novel and admittedly, I've read far better written books, but very few as memorable as this one.
Is it really a five star novel?
Well, its not perfectly written... there are flaws and it there are things that probably could have been much better, but there are a few other things that I use to judge a novel that to me transcend technique, style, etc.
1 - Was the book memorable?
Oh yeah... I can't forget it. This book has been in my mind since the first read years ago, and I have read it a few times since.
2 - Did I notice flaws / imperfections while reading?
Nope! I was so entertained by the narrative that I couldn't have cared less about that stuff. It wasn't until reading it a second and third time that I noticed, and I still didn't care.
So is it really a five star novel? You bet... its an entertaining and moving novel that hit all the right notes for me!
For me, Festina and Oar are what make the novel memorable. I found their personalities, their personal histories and the trajectory of their relationship to be extremely compelling. The lifelong injustice suffered by Festina and those like her, their treatment and their status as expendable was so disturbing, and yet she had such great fortitude and character. And as an aside, her people's treatment of the "imperfect" members of society was not as far fetched as it may seem if you consider our society and its beauty worship.
Ultimately though, it was Oar that stole the show for me, and I find her to be one of the most interesting and, in some ways, tragic characters I have encountered. Her childlike understanding and genuine innocence in conjunction with the trajectory of her relationship with Festina and her eventual sacrifice for that relationship were very moving. Few fictional characters have been so memorable to me. Gardner also uses her character to make a very interesting statement about the male version of the perfect women that is held by some men.
Again, its not a perfect novel and admittedly, I've read far better written books, but very few as memorable as this one.
Is it really a five star novel?
Well, its not perfectly written... there are flaws and it there are things that probably could have been much better, but there are a few other things that I use to judge a novel that to me transcend technique, style, etc.
1 - Was the book memorable?
Oh yeah... I can't forget it. This book has been in my mind since the first read years ago, and I have read it a few times since.
2 - Did I notice flaws / imperfections while reading?
Nope! I was so entertained by the narrative that I couldn't have cared less about that stuff. It wasn't until reading it a second and third time that I noticed, and I still didn't care.
So is it really a five star novel? You bet... its an entertaining and moving novel that hit all the right notes for me!
July 14, 2012
Wow...it's rare that I find myself simultaneously loving and hating a book as I read it. The overall plot of "Expendable" is compelling. In the future, people who have disfigurements or even are just unattractive are considered "expendable" and sent off on suicide missions to explore unknown and dangerous worlds. Gardner makes a powerful critique about how society places far too much importance on physical appearance, and through brilliant characterization, he also shows us how disfigured heroine Festina is a far more beautiful person than the attractive people who callously send her off to die.
Unfortunately, while the concept of this book is great, the execution is rather poor. The main problem is that the pacing is just way off. Early on, we learn Festina is being sent to a planet that no one has ever returned from. The problem is that the first half of the book is devoted almost entirely to Festina planning for the mission...to the point that the reader is ready to scream, "Just land on the stupid planet, already!!!" And when Festina FINALLY arrives on the world of no return, the reveal is anti-climactic to say the very least!
There is enough social commentary and characterization to make this worth reading, but just barely. Ultimately, what we have here is a 200 page story that was stretched out into 350 pages!
Unfortunately, while the concept of this book is great, the execution is rather poor. The main problem is that the pacing is just way off. Early on, we learn Festina is being sent to a planet that no one has ever returned from. The problem is that the first half of the book is devoted almost entirely to Festina planning for the mission...to the point that the reader is ready to scream, "Just land on the stupid planet, already!!!" And when Festina FINALLY arrives on the world of no return, the reveal is anti-climactic to say the very least!
There is enough social commentary and characterization to make this worth reading, but just barely. Ultimately, what we have here is a 200 page story that was stretched out into 350 pages!
December 19, 2022
3.5 🌟 stars...
December 27, 2017
The premise of this novel is that people who are disfigured or even just unattractive are less likely to be mourned when they are lost during planetary exploration. This elite group of people are the Explorer Corps otherwise known as the expendables (none of them is Sylvester Stallone). While parts of this novel did drag a bit I found the main character Festina Ramos to be a wonderful character, she is smart and capable and totally asskicking. I also loved Oar, the glass woman Festina finds while exploring a planet no one has ever returned from. Oar is both tragic and comic with her wide-eyed curiosity and innocent assumptions. Terrific novel with awesome female characters.
September 13, 2023
This is humorous and fun.
Solid world-building with a very relatable premise.
I only wish the author had included more than physical looks in his handling of ostracism. Class, race and gender are all major players in how physical attraction is viewed and I wish he had included an acknowledgement of that.
Solid world-building with a very relatable premise.
I only wish the author had included more than physical looks in his handling of ostracism. Class, race and gender are all major players in how physical attraction is viewed and I wish he had included an acknowledgement of that.
February 2, 2022
“Always do the next necessary thing.”
Excellent! Not quite a space opera, but still popcorn for the brain. A tightly-focused adventure by a flawed explorer corps operative unto a planet of no return. She’s slightly flawed physically, but her brain and emotions are fully functional. And she doesn’t like how this is going down.
“I was a child who never believed in fairies, but still told herself fairy tales.”
First published in 1997, this tale holds up better than much twenty-year-old science fiction. Gardner sets the scene and develops the characters as the story progresses. Good storytelling.
“Secrets are flimsy things--spread through too many people, and they get torn.”
Quibble: Since the corps had drones to explore the new planet, why didn’t they watch what happened to forty years of missing explorers? A trained survivalist would have pilfered the suits of the dead for additional solvent and fixative. Bodily transparency is a cute angle, but doesn’t make sense.
“You can’t free yourself from duty by running away.”
Second reading (2022) confirms rating and review.
Excellent! Not quite a space opera, but still popcorn for the brain. A tightly-focused adventure by a flawed explorer corps operative unto a planet of no return. She’s slightly flawed physically, but her brain and emotions are fully functional. And she doesn’t like how this is going down.
“I was a child who never believed in fairies, but still told herself fairy tales.”
First published in 1997, this tale holds up better than much twenty-year-old science fiction. Gardner sets the scene and develops the characters as the story progresses. Good storytelling.
“Secrets are flimsy things--spread through too many people, and they get torn.”
Quibble: Since the corps had drones to explore the new planet, why didn’t they watch what happened to forty years of missing explorers? A trained survivalist would have pilfered the suits of the dead for additional solvent and fixative. Bodily transparency is a cute angle, but doesn’t make sense.
“You can’t free yourself from duty by running away.”
Second reading (2022) confirms rating and review.
September 29, 2021
My husband and I bought the whole series years ago, and finally now are reading these mm pbs before our eyes get any worse. I was afraid that hundreds of SF novels later I would be disappointed in them, given that we bought the series based on reading one of the middle ones and loving it. I wasn't.
It's not perfect, and it's not for everyone. But it's really smart, and thoughtful, and thought-provoking. And engaging & suspenseful. There's not really quite enough Sense of Wonder, but the the What If there were a League of Peoples who grounded non-sentient beings on their own planet is a fascinating one. I'm def. looking forward to the rest of the series.
I like the tiny details. A person sleeps through normal alarms, so they have the noise set to change each day. "In the preceding week, I had awakened to the hum of a million bees, the drone of bagpipes, the love songs of Wales, the demolition of an office tower, the screams of earthquake victims, and the national anthem of some obscure Fringe world Nation.... It made for the damnedest dreams."
"'Shit,' muttered Chee. "I toldthe council we shouldn't let... officers take Pulp Literature as an elective."
The big ideas are fascinating too. But I don't want to spoil this for you by saying more.
It's not perfect, and it's not for everyone. But it's really smart, and thoughtful, and thought-provoking. And engaging & suspenseful. There's not really quite enough Sense of Wonder, but the the What If there were a League of Peoples who grounded non-sentient beings on their own planet is a fascinating one. I'm def. looking forward to the rest of the series.
I like the tiny details. A person sleeps through normal alarms, so they have the noise set to change each day. "In the preceding week, I had awakened to the hum of a million bees, the drone of bagpipes, the love songs of Wales, the demolition of an office tower, the screams of earthquake victims, and the national anthem of some obscure Fringe world Nation.... It made for the damnedest dreams."
"'Shit,' muttered Chee. "I toldthe council we shouldn't let... officers take Pulp Literature as an elective."
The big ideas are fascinating too. But I don't want to spoil this for you by saying more.
May 6, 2019
I think I read this book a long time ago, and I had a vague memory of not liking it, but with this theoretical re-read, I enjoyed the hell out of it. I actually enjoyed the way it is chopped up into very small chapters, which made it feel like it went really fast. The backdrop world, or should that be galaxy, of the League Of Peoples provides an excellent canvas for the story. Even though the ultimate danger of the planet was a bit anti-climactic, I somehow still enjoyed the overall arc of the narrative, and particularly the main character Ramos. I thought that Gardner explored some interesting ethical concepts, especially around group dynamics and outcasts. There were a couple good quotes, for example "The Admiralty loved toys - people in positions of undeserved power always do." Overall an enjoyable old-school SF book, with all the expected flaws, but plenty of charm.
July 19, 2012
I have been reading a lot for 45+ years now, and so seldom come across a really unique novel or voice.
This is one of them.
The plot- while logical in retrospect- kept me guessing; it didn't follow the usual tropes. The characterization was nicely done. The world/universe was coherent and explained, but still holds some mystery. Given all this, I found it to be a page-turner; I could NOT predict what would happen next!
This is one of th4e best novels I've read recently.
This is one of them.
The plot- while logical in retrospect- kept me guessing; it didn't follow the usual tropes. The characterization was nicely done. The world/universe was coherent and explained, but still holds some mystery. Given all this, I found it to be a page-turner; I could NOT predict what would happen next!
This is one of th4e best novels I've read recently.
September 21, 2014
Brilliant. I loved it. James Alan Gardner has excellent prose, the characters are fun and well written and we have a female protagonist that is valuable, capable, and doesn't need a man to support her identity. The universe is interesting and there is a lot of humor mixed in. Read this series!
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May 1, 2017
I actually debated with myself for a long while as to whether I'd read the rest of this book. I'm not sure what drew me in to read it, because I found the characters to be 2D and conceited and, whilst I quite enjoyed the concept of people who look abnormal to be thought of as "expendable" people whose deaths don't cause low moral and can be sent off to explore unknown and most probably dangerous planets, I found the way the author wrote about it extremely tiresome. I only found detestation and I'm certain I could work out the rest of the plot by myself if I tried. It was also not exactly sci-fi, because rarely did anything sci-fi happen, except floating about in space. The writing was fine but the dialogue was shaky. I was also very disappointed with the "disformity" of the protagonist: a birth mark on her face? If the author had deigned to write about someone with, for example the protag's best friend, half a face, then maybe it could have been something else; something wonderful and not just a remark on how people who look a bit weird and treated a bit weird.
December 24, 2011
Explorer First Class, Festina Ramos has got something going on!
Loved it so much that I helped Santa acquire the next handful of books in the series from BWB and then selected in-store pickup and made the drive just so I wouldn't finish Expendable without having the next installment of the series patiently waiting at my bedside.
Loved it so much that I helped Santa acquire the next handful of books in the series from BWB and then selected in-store pickup and made the drive just so I wouldn't finish Expendable without having the next installment of the series patiently waiting at my bedside.
January 1, 2013
_Expendable_ by James Alan Gardner has an unusual premise. In the twenty-fifth century life is fantastic, people just about live forever thanks to YouthBoost and with advanced medical technology and quick responses, just about no one ever dies (at least violently).
Except for members of the Explorer Corps.
In a perfect world of perfect people, some just don't fit. They have some deformity, maybe a malformed hand or arm, a bizarre and startling facial birthmark, some sort of birth defect involving their ear lobes or hair. With most people in the Technocracy, these problems are usually fixed but for a small portion of the population, these defects are seen to have national security benefits. If the defect is not debilitating or life threatening (merely mildly inconvenient or just unsightly), if the person is otherwise capable and intelligent, efforts on the part of that person to have that defect surgically altered are quietly blocked behind the scenes. That person is groomed for the only position that is open to them, the Explorer Corps.
The powers that be, the admirals of the Fleet, concluded long ago that the loss of a crewmember was devastating to the ship's personnel, as it required days if not weeks of mourning, loss of readiness, and generally made for an unwanted distraction. However, if the person killed was one people were uncomfortable around, who was a social outcast, who while not hated was maybe pitted instead, well, it was too bad if that person was lost in the line of duty exploring some hostile alien planet, but the crew would say a few words, have a short memorial service, and then be talking about what was for dinner afterwards.
The Explorer Corps, while highly trained, very capable and intelligent individuals, were made of just these misfits. Though officially highly valued (the chief protagonist in the book, Explorer First Class Festina Ramos, is on the books second in command only to the captain of the vessel she served on, the _Jacaranda_), they were pretty much social outcasts, often making other members of the fleet uncomfortable, usually clinging together with other explorers or eating alone in their rooms. The Explorers well knew not only their social position in the scheme of things but also how the Fleet ultimately saw them. Their name for themselves was ECM, standing for Expendable Crew Member. Their job was to explore alien planets, relaying what they saw back to the vessel. While many worlds turned out to be safe or even boring places to explore, a great many explorers have lost their lives, going "oh sh**!" as the Explorers say among themselves, an acknowledgment of common last recorded words of many an Explorer as they met their demise.
Festina Ramos and her partner, Yarrun Derigha, had done pretty well as Explorers -i.e. not having been killed in the line of duty - but one day an apparently very unstable Admiral Chee is escorted aboard with sealed orders, orders for the two them to accompany the admiral to the planet Melaquin, the "Planet of No Return," a graveyard for dozens of Explorers, most of whom died in ten minutes or less on the planet for reasons unknown. Though the planet looked very Earth-like to automated probes sent before each Explorer expedition, something on the planet killed people off in minutes. Was it disease, hostile aliens, some bizarre and undetected weather phenomenon? No one knew, but Festina knew she and Yarrun were going there.
Oh, and they aren't allowed anything more powerful than a stun gun. See, in this setting the League of Peoples is the ultimate big brother. A diverse and for all practical purposes omnipresent and omniscient organization made up of not only "normal" corporeal sentient races like humans but also of many powerful energy beings, the League monitors all space flights. While weapons are allowed on a race's homeworld, they are not allowed to leave the atmosphere of that world. Further, those who have committed murder, ordered deaths, allowed murder to be committed, or knowingly aided murderers (what the League calls "unsentient acts") are stopped cold. Depending on the situation, the League's instant reactions can vary from stopping the heart of a murderer to destroying outright an entire ship.
I won't say anything more about the book, but it was well-written and a fast read. The big secret of Melanquin was interesting and tied in well with the League, the Explorer Corps, and secrets held by the highest levels of the Technocracy. An enjoyable book, it reminded me in some ways of some of the Golden Age of science fiction novels with it sense of wonder and wide-open possibilities. I have since read the sequels to the series and enjoyed them all, highly recommending the entire saga.
Except for members of the Explorer Corps.
In a perfect world of perfect people, some just don't fit. They have some deformity, maybe a malformed hand or arm, a bizarre and startling facial birthmark, some sort of birth defect involving their ear lobes or hair. With most people in the Technocracy, these problems are usually fixed but for a small portion of the population, these defects are seen to have national security benefits. If the defect is not debilitating or life threatening (merely mildly inconvenient or just unsightly), if the person is otherwise capable and intelligent, efforts on the part of that person to have that defect surgically altered are quietly blocked behind the scenes. That person is groomed for the only position that is open to them, the Explorer Corps.
The powers that be, the admirals of the Fleet, concluded long ago that the loss of a crewmember was devastating to the ship's personnel, as it required days if not weeks of mourning, loss of readiness, and generally made for an unwanted distraction. However, if the person killed was one people were uncomfortable around, who was a social outcast, who while not hated was maybe pitted instead, well, it was too bad if that person was lost in the line of duty exploring some hostile alien planet, but the crew would say a few words, have a short memorial service, and then be talking about what was for dinner afterwards.
The Explorer Corps, while highly trained, very capable and intelligent individuals, were made of just these misfits. Though officially highly valued (the chief protagonist in the book, Explorer First Class Festina Ramos, is on the books second in command only to the captain of the vessel she served on, the _Jacaranda_), they were pretty much social outcasts, often making other members of the fleet uncomfortable, usually clinging together with other explorers or eating alone in their rooms. The Explorers well knew not only their social position in the scheme of things but also how the Fleet ultimately saw them. Their name for themselves was ECM, standing for Expendable Crew Member. Their job was to explore alien planets, relaying what they saw back to the vessel. While many worlds turned out to be safe or even boring places to explore, a great many explorers have lost their lives, going "oh sh**!" as the Explorers say among themselves, an acknowledgment of common last recorded words of many an Explorer as they met their demise.
Festina Ramos and her partner, Yarrun Derigha, had done pretty well as Explorers -i.e. not having been killed in the line of duty - but one day an apparently very unstable Admiral Chee is escorted aboard with sealed orders, orders for the two them to accompany the admiral to the planet Melaquin, the "Planet of No Return," a graveyard for dozens of Explorers, most of whom died in ten minutes or less on the planet for reasons unknown. Though the planet looked very Earth-like to automated probes sent before each Explorer expedition, something on the planet killed people off in minutes. Was it disease, hostile aliens, some bizarre and undetected weather phenomenon? No one knew, but Festina knew she and Yarrun were going there.
Oh, and they aren't allowed anything more powerful than a stun gun. See, in this setting the League of Peoples is the ultimate big brother. A diverse and for all practical purposes omnipresent and omniscient organization made up of not only "normal" corporeal sentient races like humans but also of many powerful energy beings, the League monitors all space flights. While weapons are allowed on a race's homeworld, they are not allowed to leave the atmosphere of that world. Further, those who have committed murder, ordered deaths, allowed murder to be committed, or knowingly aided murderers (what the League calls "unsentient acts") are stopped cold. Depending on the situation, the League's instant reactions can vary from stopping the heart of a murderer to destroying outright an entire ship.
I won't say anything more about the book, but it was well-written and a fast read. The big secret of Melanquin was interesting and tied in well with the League, the Explorer Corps, and secrets held by the highest levels of the Technocracy. An enjoyable book, it reminded me in some ways of some of the Golden Age of science fiction novels with it sense of wonder and wide-open possibilities. I have since read the sequels to the series and enjoyed them all, highly recommending the entire saga.
March 24, 2011
Expendable by James Alan Gardner was one of the few books I had not read on a list I found of best Science Fiction Novels. The book is out of print but I found it at my public library. Expendable is the first published novel by James Alan Gardner and introduces the Universe where only sentient races (those who do not kill other races) are allowed in the League of Peoples. Humans in the Technocracy are part of the League and some of the action in Expendable is influenced by League rules.
Humans are still expanding and settling new planets. They have a special group of people to make first contact on any new planet. The Explorer Corp is made up of people who are different. Born less than perfect physically but very sharp mentally they are perfect for the job. If you are popular, well-liked and physically perfect and die on a mission the effect on the crew is devastating, but if you are flawed, not so well-liked and ugly your death has little lasting effect on the crew you serve with. That is how the Explorers Corps came into being. Every member has some physical disability so when they die on a mission (and they often do) there is not a devastating effect on the crews they serve with.
While the official name is Explorer Corps, the Explorers call themselves ECM or Expendable Crew Members and when a mission goes bad they say they go "Oh Shit", as that is usually the last words any one hears.
Festina Ramos is an Explorer and she has just been assigned a mission to Melaquin, the planet of No Return. She is ordered to escort Admiral Chee, a man suffering from mental decline, to explore Melaquin. Melaquin looks like a perfect planet for humans but for forty years it has been used by the Technocracy as a dumping ground for people that they want to disappear and everyone sent there has vanishes without a trace. This should be Festina’s last mission but she has other ideas.
Expendable is a very well written book. Festina Ramos is a wonderful and unique character. The action flows smoothly. The plot is well developed, the Universe is well thought out and the story is exciting. Every character and action woven into the story is there for a purpose. I agree that Expendable belongs on any list of great Science Fiction books.
When I went to James Alan Gardner's web site I found other books that feature Festina Ramos and the League of Peoples Universe.
Humans are still expanding and settling new planets. They have a special group of people to make first contact on any new planet. The Explorer Corp is made up of people who are different. Born less than perfect physically but very sharp mentally they are perfect for the job. If you are popular, well-liked and physically perfect and die on a mission the effect on the crew is devastating, but if you are flawed, not so well-liked and ugly your death has little lasting effect on the crew you serve with. That is how the Explorers Corps came into being. Every member has some physical disability so when they die on a mission (and they often do) there is not a devastating effect on the crews they serve with.
While the official name is Explorer Corps, the Explorers call themselves ECM or Expendable Crew Members and when a mission goes bad they say they go "Oh Shit", as that is usually the last words any one hears.
Festina Ramos is an Explorer and she has just been assigned a mission to Melaquin, the planet of No Return. She is ordered to escort Admiral Chee, a man suffering from mental decline, to explore Melaquin. Melaquin looks like a perfect planet for humans but for forty years it has been used by the Technocracy as a dumping ground for people that they want to disappear and everyone sent there has vanishes without a trace. This should be Festina’s last mission but she has other ideas.
Expendable is a very well written book. Festina Ramos is a wonderful and unique character. The action flows smoothly. The plot is well developed, the Universe is well thought out and the story is exciting. Every character and action woven into the story is there for a purpose. I agree that Expendable belongs on any list of great Science Fiction books.
When I went to James Alan Gardner's web site I found other books that feature Festina Ramos and the League of Peoples Universe.
June 19, 2024
This was an acceptable foray into a neglected genre for me. Putting aside reality and just letting the story happen helped me to enjoy it. The world and characters led me through a reflection on how I would feel or how I would handle situations. Might try another soon...
January 29, 2021
Expendable by James Alan Gardner is the first book in the League of Peoples series. This book has received a great many positive reviews as well as a great many negative reviews. I am afraid my review is going to be negative. The book is divided into many little segments, each with a heading of its own. Reading it in such short segments was just not enjoyable for me. While all the short segments do eventually tie together by the time they do I had lost much of my interest. It was a struggle for me to just finish this book. I will not be reading the rest of this series.
January 20, 2025
Good book
September 22, 2024
An interesting book with some politics around disfigurement and empire. The pace was just fast enough to keep my attention, and I found the ending rewarding.
August 12, 2019
This was really a great book. The cover doesn't do it justice. You felt sorry for and were proud of the Explorers at the same time. A little sad ending. I'm crossing my fingers for a future good surprise. I'm planning on reading the rest of the series.
May 2, 2020
Great book, super engaging, and easy to read. The world and characters were very interesting. My understanding of the world as a reader was good enough so that I wasn’t completely lost to the progression of events but I was still excited and surprised by the way everything played out.
April 13, 2020
Absolutely brilliant first 100 pages, fantastic concept, I laughed, I cried. Then it falls into the predictable, drawn-out, convenient plot resolution that defines so much mediocre sci fi.
Would make a fabulous short story if it was half as long. Seriously one of the best expositions and some of the most interesting characters I've come across. Then it fizzles out. Read it to delight in the first few chapters.
Would make a fabulous short story if it was half as long. Seriously one of the best expositions and some of the most interesting characters I've come across. Then it fizzles out. Read it to delight in the first few chapters.
November 21, 2017
Every starship needs a few expendable crew members, to go down on unexplored planets and see if they're dangerous. But the human Technocracy knows a high death count is bad for morale, so they choose their Explorers very carefully. After all, if somebody beautiful dies, everybody mourns for too long, so better to train the off-putting, the ugly, the disabled as Explorers. Festina Ramos is one of these explorers, and she's not bothered by the prospect of a sudden death on an unknown world... but when she's assigned to accompany an unpopular admiral to a planet no Explorer has ever returned from, she realizes just how Expendable she really is.
I'd put this in the category of satirical or comedic science fiction, but that covers a wide range, from stories that have relatively reasonable settings and characters who just happen to get into funny situations (call that a 1), to ones where people are outright caricatures and science and technology is exclusively based on puns (call it a 10, though the scale might go higher). And I'll be honest, generally, the higher you get on the scale, the less I'm into it. There are exceptions, but by an large, I'm not into a book trying to make me laugh. The book started out relatively low, maybe a 2 or 3, just a little sillier than a comedy episode of Star Trek. And that was a perfect place for it, I though, I was quite enjoying it... then, when they arrived on the planet's surface, it started creeping up the scale. Not much, but by the end I was thinking it was around a 4 or 5... still well below Hitchhiker's Guide (probably around an 8, and an exceptional one at that), but enough that it was starting to get hard to take seriously, and it just wasn't funny enough to make up for the loss. I still enjoyed it, but I remember thinking several times that it was at almost the perfect mix of humor and seriousness earlier in the book when it was dealing with a valid issue (on society's tendency to value people less based on not matching some ideal of 'normal') with a bit of humor, but then it tried to transition into a normal SF plot and the humor didn't have as much of an anchor. It did cycle back to the original issue but it was too late, the book had already turned from one I really enjoyed to one I just kinda did.
I did like the main character, and a few of the others (though some of them suffered from being too far up the comedic scale). The basic points of the plot also worked, although a number of the specifics didn't. Overall I'd give it somewhere around a 2.5 to 2.75 star rating, but since the site doesn't allow those, and it's a first novel where I'm generally a little more forgiving, I'll bump it up to three. I still think the idea behind the Explorer Corps was quite novel and I'd like to see more of it. It's a good enough start that I'm willing to take another try with the second book in the series to see if it sits better.
I'd put this in the category of satirical or comedic science fiction, but that covers a wide range, from stories that have relatively reasonable settings and characters who just happen to get into funny situations (call that a 1), to ones where people are outright caricatures and science and technology is exclusively based on puns (call it a 10, though the scale might go higher). And I'll be honest, generally, the higher you get on the scale, the less I'm into it. There are exceptions, but by an large, I'm not into a book trying to make me laugh. The book started out relatively low, maybe a 2 or 3, just a little sillier than a comedy episode of Star Trek. And that was a perfect place for it, I though, I was quite enjoying it... then, when they arrived on the planet's surface, it started creeping up the scale. Not much, but by the end I was thinking it was around a 4 or 5... still well below Hitchhiker's Guide (probably around an 8, and an exceptional one at that), but enough that it was starting to get hard to take seriously, and it just wasn't funny enough to make up for the loss. I still enjoyed it, but I remember thinking several times that it was at almost the perfect mix of humor and seriousness earlier in the book when it was dealing with a valid issue (on society's tendency to value people less based on not matching some ideal of 'normal') with a bit of humor, but then it tried to transition into a normal SF plot and the humor didn't have as much of an anchor. It did cycle back to the original issue but it was too late, the book had already turned from one I really enjoyed to one I just kinda did.
I did like the main character, and a few of the others (though some of them suffered from being too far up the comedic scale). The basic points of the plot also worked, although a number of the specifics didn't. Overall I'd give it somewhere around a 2.5 to 2.75 star rating, but since the site doesn't allow those, and it's a first novel where I'm generally a little more forgiving, I'll bump it up to three. I still think the idea behind the Explorer Corps was quite novel and I'd like to see more of it. It's a good enough start that I'm willing to take another try with the second book in the series to see if it sits better.
February 4, 2011
I didn't know what to make of this series by a book synopsis. had assumed, rightly so as it turns out, that the first LoP title would have a female lead. In gravity Wells (one of Gardner's short story collections containing two LoP stories), he writes:
"People ask why I use female narrators so much. My answer is (a) I don't use them any more often than I use
male narrators, and (b) why shouldn't I use female narrators, provided I'm not a jerk about it? To be
sure, men often do lousy jobs of portraying women-but I have to believe that's just sloppiness and
inattention, not an inevitable fact of gender. I don't accept that the only type of character I can
legitimately write about is someone very much like myself... because frankly, I'm bored with
middle-aged middle-class white men, and there are far too many of those guys in science fiction
already. Therefore, I resolved long ago that whenever I wrote about the future, I would show it
containing just as many women as men, not to mention people of diverse cultural backgrounds, old,
young, straight, gay, rich, poor, and every other variation I could make fit within the story's logic."
As you might expect, this geared me up to expect a female lead and a diverse cast for this series.
For openers, this fell somewhat short of my expectations. The protagonist was captivating, the technology and space travel interesting, the science followable, the planet where the bulk of the story is set well managed... I can't quite put my finger on what didn't gel for me, other than trying to put into words having a vague sense of unease about the future of these people (who were, once, mankind). They're still Human; much is made about the political machinations of the higher-ups in the admiralty and the very Human quality of handling the disfigured outcasts of society. Everything's tempered by the League, though - an almost omniscient "force", for want of a better word, that imposes strictures on galactic travellers in return for providing them with technology, political mediation, and so forth.
So: all the elements of a good sci-fi yarn were there, but yet I came away with more questions than answers. There are plenty more to get through, and if I've learned only one thing by reading series' (queue Dave Duncan), it's not to judge a serial by its appetiser.
"People ask why I use female narrators so much. My answer is (a) I don't use them any more often than I use
male narrators, and (b) why shouldn't I use female narrators, provided I'm not a jerk about it? To be
sure, men often do lousy jobs of portraying women-but I have to believe that's just sloppiness and
inattention, not an inevitable fact of gender. I don't accept that the only type of character I can
legitimately write about is someone very much like myself... because frankly, I'm bored with
middle-aged middle-class white men, and there are far too many of those guys in science fiction
already. Therefore, I resolved long ago that whenever I wrote about the future, I would show it
containing just as many women as men, not to mention people of diverse cultural backgrounds, old,
young, straight, gay, rich, poor, and every other variation I could make fit within the story's logic."
As you might expect, this geared me up to expect a female lead and a diverse cast for this series.
For openers, this fell somewhat short of my expectations. The protagonist was captivating, the technology and space travel interesting, the science followable, the planet where the bulk of the story is set well managed... I can't quite put my finger on what didn't gel for me, other than trying to put into words having a vague sense of unease about the future of these people (who were, once, mankind). They're still Human; much is made about the political machinations of the higher-ups in the admiralty and the very Human quality of handling the disfigured outcasts of society. Everything's tempered by the League, though - an almost omniscient "force", for want of a better word, that imposes strictures on galactic travellers in return for providing them with technology, political mediation, and so forth.
So: all the elements of a good sci-fi yarn were there, but yet I came away with more questions than answers. There are plenty more to get through, and if I've learned only one thing by reading series' (queue Dave Duncan), it's not to judge a serial by its appetiser.
March 11, 2017
I was going to give this a three, but I am trying to be more extreme in separating books into good and bad, instead of awarding wishy-washy threes all the time. So. This book is fun, but it is not good.
This is a story of future space travel where human society seems scarcely changed, except that we have big space ships for exploring the stars and live on New Earth, gifted to us by a bunch of aliens. The story is told by an Explorer, an "expendable" member of the human race because she has an aesthetic defect — a huge birth mark on one side of her face. In the future apparently if you're physically unattractive in some ways, you're used for the dangerous jobs. But it's very specific. Anyway, our brave hero is forced to explore a planet, and this is where bulk of the story occurs.
The short (1-2 page) sections that make up the chapters keep the book very light and easy to read, especially as there's often something interesting moving the plot along. It's a fun read, and there are some interesting characters (I liked Oar, and the guy with all the birthdays), as well as some interesting commentary on how imperfection is beautiful because it's real, and perfection is... well, if not ugly, at least sterile and boring. It's kind of shallow commentary, though. It doesn't go anywhere too interesting.
However, the glaring logical holes, conveniences and deus ex machina are what made this so frustrating to read. It's like the author hadn't planned a consistent universe from the start, so as the story proceeds we get things like "fortunately, although earlier I explained how everything is fancy and futuristic and high-tech, actually everything is badly made too, because that's convenient right now". But of course this never comes up again. There's also a really stupid struggle the protagonist has to overcome during the course of the book, but you can tell right from the start (mild spoiler ahead) that it's totally a non-issue. And that's how it's resolved, too. "You were worried about nothing! It's not an issue!" Thanks, I knew that already, I spent half the book rolling my eyes whenever it came up.
Anyway, in summary: light, fun, frustrating, book one of seven I think... so that's six more books in the world I can be confident I don't need to read.
This is a story of future space travel where human society seems scarcely changed, except that we have big space ships for exploring the stars and live on New Earth, gifted to us by a bunch of aliens. The story is told by an Explorer, an "expendable" member of the human race because she has an aesthetic defect — a huge birth mark on one side of her face. In the future apparently if you're physically unattractive in some ways, you're used for the dangerous jobs. But it's very specific. Anyway, our brave hero is forced to explore a planet, and this is where bulk of the story occurs.
The short (1-2 page) sections that make up the chapters keep the book very light and easy to read, especially as there's often something interesting moving the plot along. It's a fun read, and there are some interesting characters (I liked Oar, and the guy with all the birthdays), as well as some interesting commentary on how imperfection is beautiful because it's real, and perfection is... well, if not ugly, at least sterile and boring. It's kind of shallow commentary, though. It doesn't go anywhere too interesting.
However, the glaring logical holes, conveniences and deus ex machina are what made this so frustrating to read. It's like the author hadn't planned a consistent universe from the start, so as the story proceeds we get things like "fortunately, although earlier I explained how everything is fancy and futuristic and high-tech, actually everything is badly made too, because that's convenient right now". But of course this never comes up again. There's also a really stupid struggle the protagonist has to overcome during the course of the book, but you can tell right from the start (mild spoiler ahead) that it's totally a non-issue. And that's how it's resolved, too. "You were worried about nothing! It's not an issue!" Thanks, I knew that already, I spent half the book rolling my eyes whenever it came up.
Anyway, in summary: light, fun, frustrating, book one of seven I think... so that's six more books in the world I can be confident I don't need to read.
July 30, 2022
4 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Festina Ramos is an Explorer - one of humanity's mildly imperfect expendables. And she's been sent to accompany an aged admiral on what promises to be a one way trip that nonetheless somehow sidesteps the League of Peoples' prohibition on murder and other non-sentient acts.
Review
Expendable was my introduction to James Alan Gardner, and the League of Peoples series is still the bulk of his writing that I’ve read (and seems to be the bulk of his long fiction). I was immediately engaged by Festina Ramos, and followed the rest of the series faithfully to the end.
The premise is intriguing – imperfect people deliberately left imperfect in order to create a corps of people no one will miss that much: expendables. The imperfections are mild – science can and does cure more serious problems – but Gardner builds an interesting world and system on top of it, anchored by Festina’s own views and struggle. This is relatively light reading, so there’s not as much focus on an initial trauma as you might expect, and the ending wraps up a bit easily, but it’s fun and engaging nonetheless.
Festina aside, the characterization is a bit on the thin side – we don’t get to know anyone else very well – but it’s offset by an intriguing larger universe and the near-omniscient League of Peoples that stays largely in the background in this book. Not perfect, but fun, easy reading.
Summary
Festina Ramos is an Explorer - one of humanity's mildly imperfect expendables. And she's been sent to accompany an aged admiral on what promises to be a one way trip that nonetheless somehow sidesteps the League of Peoples' prohibition on murder and other non-sentient acts.
Review
Expendable was my introduction to James Alan Gardner, and the League of Peoples series is still the bulk of his writing that I’ve read (and seems to be the bulk of his long fiction). I was immediately engaged by Festina Ramos, and followed the rest of the series faithfully to the end.
The premise is intriguing – imperfect people deliberately left imperfect in order to create a corps of people no one will miss that much: expendables. The imperfections are mild – science can and does cure more serious problems – but Gardner builds an interesting world and system on top of it, anchored by Festina’s own views and struggle. This is relatively light reading, so there’s not as much focus on an initial trauma as you might expect, and the ending wraps up a bit easily, but it’s fun and engaging nonetheless.
Festina aside, the characterization is a bit on the thin side – we don’t get to know anyone else very well – but it’s offset by an intriguing larger universe and the near-omniscient League of Peoples that stays largely in the background in this book. Not perfect, but fun, easy reading.
June 10, 2013
I was intrigued by the concept of this book, but two things kept me from being able to like it. 1) mediocre writing, but mostly 2) a deep seated hypocrisy. The premise of the book held good potential, and the first few chapters were entertaining, but it quickly settled into a bland monotony, the morals were heavy handed, and the characters never managed to engage me. The revelation on the alien planet was rather anticlimactic, and the "natives" were neither alien enough to be interesting nor relatable enough to be sympathetic. But what really killed it for me was something I realized about two thirds of the way through the book. The author hammers the reader with this message about appearances and acceptance, and many of the supporting characters have true disfigurations: a missing lower jaw, a "flipper" like stump of an arm, large bulging eyes. But the heroine has...a large birthmark on her cheek. That's it. She has discoloration on part of her face, but is otherwise perfectly whole. Some thick make up and she'd be fine (that even happens). For a 300+ page sermon on ugliness, the heroine was made decidedly not Ugly. Once I realized this, I could no longer respect this book nor its message.
June 19, 2012
The first 100 or so pages of this novel are very compelling with a dry biting sense of humour. It's really all about one gag, the expendable crew member. Worth 4 stars, this part.
But the rest of this novel is a serviceable but not by any means transcendent tale set in a kind of silly universe. It's hard to describe exactly what I didn't like about this.
I want to say that it's young-adultish but there are mature themes, or at least the bad behaviour of mature adults here. Maybe it's the way the character actions and plot are driven by the rather large arbitrary constraints placed upon the universe. Like, you aren't allowed to leave a planet by the mysterious ultimate and infallible powers if you are a "murderer"
There is some decent work done building characters that start out as stereotypes, but in terms of the metaphysics of the thing, it's all very arbitrary and barely mature.
I did a lot of skimming in the last third of the book because I just wanted to see how it would end...
But the rest of this novel is a serviceable but not by any means transcendent tale set in a kind of silly universe. It's hard to describe exactly what I didn't like about this.
I want to say that it's young-adultish but there are mature themes, or at least the bad behaviour of mature adults here. Maybe it's the way the character actions and plot are driven by the rather large arbitrary constraints placed upon the universe. Like, you aren't allowed to leave a planet by the mysterious ultimate and infallible powers if you are a "murderer"
There is some decent work done building characters that start out as stereotypes, but in terms of the metaphysics of the thing, it's all very arbitrary and barely mature.
I did a lot of skimming in the last third of the book because I just wanted to see how it would end...
November 17, 2020
I was underwhelmed by this book, it features too many patently false premises, characters that are flat and not likable, and magic aliens. It's a story about 'expendable' explorers.
Is it believable that if ugly people are killed, everyone will be fine with that, but if the Explorer's are normal looking, morale suffers. The protagonist becomes average and starts acting out the cliche interactions between the ugly explorers and normal folk.
People and creatures made of glass that are close to invisible and respond to damage like brittle objects.
The magic aliens know if you are a murderer.
4,000 year old machinery that can be easily damaged or jammed, apparently it can't repair itself.
A rough first novel, I don't plan on reading any more unless recommended by someone I trust.
Is it believable that if ugly people are killed, everyone will be fine with that, but if the Explorer's are normal looking, morale suffers. The protagonist becomes average and starts acting out the cliche interactions between the ugly explorers and normal folk.
People and creatures made of glass that are close to invisible and respond to damage like brittle objects.
The magic aliens know if you are a murderer.
4,000 year old machinery that can be easily damaged or jammed, apparently it can't repair itself.
A rough first novel, I don't plan on reading any more unless recommended by someone I trust.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2011
Well-balanced story, 100% engaging. Good characters, a unique world, exciting plot, and just the right amount of sardonic humor and social commentary. I picked this up on a whim from a used book store and burned through it in a day and a half. I am now going on to read more of Gardner's work.
What really struck me, though, is that not only does this story have one of the best female scifi protagonists I've ever seen written by a man, it has one of the best female scifi protagonists Ive ever seen PERIOD. Her emotional journey parallels the story's narrative journey exquisitely, and I identified with many, many aspects of her character.
What really struck me, though, is that not only does this story have one of the best female scifi protagonists I've ever seen written by a man, it has one of the best female scifi protagonists Ive ever seen PERIOD. Her emotional journey parallels the story's narrative journey exquisitely, and I identified with many, many aspects of her character.
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