Orphan's Journey

Jason Wander #3

by Robert Buettner

In the years since the last Slug War, Jason's command style hasn't made him any friends in the Army. Now, in an effort to keep him out of trouble, the Army has sent Jason to the vast, Earth-orbiting resort called New Moon. At the core of this enormous space station is a starship, a relic from the last war.

When a test run of the ship goes wrong, Jason, along with a handful of others, will be torn from orbit and thrust into space. Now, stranded on an alien planet, Jason realizes that not only are his friends are looking to him for rescue, but an entire planet sees him as their only hope.

Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Fiction, War, Space Opera, Action

390 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Robert Buettner’s best-selling debut novel, Orphanage, 2004 Quill Award nominee for Best SF/Fantasy/Horror novel, was called the Post-9/11 generation’s Starship Troopers and “one of the great works of modern military science fiction.” Orphanage has been adapted for film by Olatunde Osunsanmi (The Fourth Kind) for Davis Entertainment (Predator, I Robot, Eragon). Orphanage and other books in Robert’s Jason Wander series have been translated into Chinese, Czech, French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. Robert was a 2005 Quill nominee for Best New Writer.

In April, 2014 Baen Books released his eighth novel, Balance Point. A long-time Heinlein Society member, Robert wrote the Afterword for Baen’s recent re-issue of Heinlein’s Green Hills of Earth/Menace From Earth short story collection. His own first original short story, Sticks and Stones, appears in the 2012 anthology, Armored, edited by John Joseph Adams. Robert served as the author judge for the 2011 National Space Society Jim Baen Memorial short story writing contest.

Robert is a former U.S. Army intelligence officer and National Science Foundation Fellow in Paleontology. As attorney of record in more than three thousand cases, he practiced in the U.S. federal courts, before courts and administrative tribunals in no fewer than thirteen states, and in five foreign countries. Six, if you count Louisiana.

He lives in Georgia with his family and more bicycles than a grownup needs.

Visit him on the web at www.RobertBuettner.com.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buettner crafts an adventure style military science fiction novel here that is fast and fun. In this series, each installment begins with a short chapter that foreshadows the climatic ending; In Orphan's Journey, Jason is crossing a sea full of giant squids and monsters with clans from another world. So we know something of what will happen, but the fun comes in finding out how Jason found himself in such a mess once again.

The story begins with Jason and Ord going around Earth advising various groups and rebels in their struggles. Earth is still divided to some degree and small scale wars rage, while the slug war seems further and further away. The captured slug ship from the last installment-- a 'firewitch'-- is now in Earth's orbit and under study. Jason, Ord and friends arrive at the station build around it where Howard and his fellow geeks have been trying to figure it out for years. Jude, Jason's godson, manages to start the thing and it takes off, leaving Earth far behind. After crash landing the thing on another planet, Jason and crew find to their great surprise other humans living there, albeit they are divided into three major clans. The slugs know about their arrival as well, however, and it looks bleak for humanity once again...

Orphan's Journey feels like a 'golden age' science fiction adventure, tricked out with modern military flare and sensibilities. Spiced with many tidbits of the history of warfare on Earth, the author clearly knows military history and it shows. Fast and furious, Buettner takes you for a ride that is hard to get off. 3.5 slugs rounding up.

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lock up your lettuce ladies, 'cos it's invasion of the Slugs From Outer Space.

3 and 1/2 stars

Many SciFi authors have a nostalgic connection to past battle techniques. Heinlein did it in Starship Troopers so why shouldn't Buettner do it in this book? Even now, we are almost at the stage where battles can be fought remotely. If an alien race had the technology to reach earth in giant space ships, they wouldn't need to indulge in land battles at all. They'd have other methods of disposing of us pesky humans. You know - giant cans of human bug spray or something. But it sure makes for better reading to smoke those aliens mano-a-mano doesn't it?

This is basically a retelling of the 1944 D Day invasion, and a few other WW2 battles. Even Blood and Guts Patton rates a mention. Just the characters and location has been changed. Buettner's writing style carries the book enough to make for interesting reading.

I came in right in the middle of this "Orphan" series of books, but not to worry; each book is a standalone story in itself. I think the first two books in the series might be better.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid, mil sci-fi tale. General Wander is still a fish out of water (maybe too much considering how much time has passed), a pain to nearly the entire chain-of-command, and as indispensable as ever.

Wander's godson, Jude, is the only person capable of test-piloting a captured Slug ship. In typical military fashion, the test flight goes FUBAR within minutes. Here is where Buettner shines IMHO. He gives a logical reason for the spacecraft resetting itself and launching toward a familiar (to the Slugs) destination. At no time did I roll my eyes and cry out "Release the MacGuffin!"

If you don't what that means, look up Sam and Max, Freelance Police.

What dragged the book down for me is the excessive navel gazing. Nuff Said.

Still, a solid entry that left me with the desire to read the last two books in the series. Fortunately, they're sitting on my bookshelf already.

Find it! Buy it! Read it!

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts out slow. Very slow. It is also “long” – nearly one hundred pages longer than its two predecessors. It does “pick up the pace” a bit, about one hundred pages in, has another ‘slow down,’ and then reaches its climax. The character development is pretty good, overall. There are ‘four main characters’ in this book, and the author does a nice job of developing them over the course of the book as well as fleshing out new characters introduced in this book. On the one hand, it really reminded me of The Lost Regiment series by William R. Fortschen (only this series takes place after 2037 whereas The Lost Regiment takes place circa the American Civil War). There are elements of humor scattered throughout the book, as well, but the book is more about how Jason handles the loneliness of command. His character clearly has ‘grown up’ and matured since the first two books, although he still has issues with ‘leaping before he looks’ at the beginning of the book.

He has this ‘thing’ that he has done in each of this first three books, so it will be interesting to see if it continues in the final two books of this series. He has had the first chapter of each book starting out with a situation that is some part near the end of the book that is a pivotal moment, and then the chapter ends with some blurb about how if he knew ‘now’ what he knew “three years ago,” things might have been somehow different.

I did have one ‘major’ dislike with the book – it has to do with a specific “scene/moment” – Having the Zoomie Tech Sergeant and Ord’s MP die (75-80) was just plain stupid and annoying. There is some kind of ‘issue’ with the captured Firewitch from the end of the second book, and Jude, Munchkin’s son and Jason’s godson, is the ‘only one’ who can access the Slug computers with his superfast reflexes and control the ship. When Jude sits/lays in the pilot’s chair, the vessel activates and then starts trying to pull away. Most of the scientists and skeleton crew onboard the Firewitch make it back to the space station it is attached to, but the vessel is trying to pull away and will destabilize the station’s orbit and kill five thousand-plus people in the process. THEN, something else happens and they go from having enough time for ‘all remaining non-essential personnel’ to disembark to NO TIME AT ALL!!!!! Munchkin is naturally rescued, but the other two humans are sacrifices to the plot. Jason is unable to depress the detonator’s trigger, so Ord depresses it for him and kills two humans to save five thousand. It was pretty stupid and ridiculous. They could have remained onboard the vessel; it would have then been six on the ‘new planet’ instead of just four. I thought it was annoying and stupid and idiotic and ridiculous. Perhaps that shows how well the author did in this ‘moment’ in the book in terms of the strong emotions it generated in me – I don’t know; I just know I hated this part of the book ‘the most.’ I mean, I ‘know’ and ‘get it’ that people die for what appears to be no reason at all, or being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but this just wreaked of being all kinds of being “there hasn’t been a death in the book for x-number of pages – I’d better do something about that, to ‘raise the stakes’!” It just bugged me to no end.

I was shocked to find myself not ‘hating’ Howard as much in this book by the end of the book. He is still an exceptionally annoying character throughout the moments he appears in this book; in the latter half of the book, his appearances are fortunately kept to a bare minimum. Maybe that is why he did not bother me as much as he had in the first two books; in any case, I was grateful he was not as prevalent a character in the rest of the book after the first one hundred pages or so.

There were two humorous moments in the book that really stood out to me and made me laugh. The first had to do with Jason’s attempts to convince the ‘head leader’ of the Tassini to join Jason and the other two tribes in their quest to rid the planet of Slugs. Jason is quite drunk during the dinner and has to urinate but is unable to do so before he passes out (280). Prior to his passing out, the Tassini leader tells Jason that since he did not get a sign from God, the Tassini would not be a part of the crusade. During the night there is a strong thunderstorm and it rains for several hours. The rainwater is described as being very cold. The Headman had apparently been sitting in the cold rain, asking God for a sign to join the crusade. After a bit, he went to bed after drying off. His tent had a tendency to leak; what he took to be a sign was “God’s rain water” leaking through the tent and falling on his face; it was warm water whereas the rain water was cold. So, Jason’s urinating during the night became the sign that the Headman needed to act upon and send messages to convince the rest of the Tassini tribe (people) to join in the quest to rid the world of the Slug influence and slavery (283). His reaction to being urinated on, followed by Jason’s remark to himself about “winning allies by peeing on them” was hilarious to me.

The other part that had me laughing was when he joined an arm of his army to cross over a mountain range in hopes of destroying the Slug base (Troll ‘mothership’/incubator) before it could grow enough Slugs to wipe out all humans (human resistance) on the planet. Jason is mortally afraid of heights and does not think his joining this group through. He is one of the last ones to ascend the mountain, and one of the soldiers asks him if he is going to free-climb to the top or ride in a basket. That is when he suddenly realizes he was subconsciously expecting to use a helicopter or something ‘modern and safe’ to take him to the top of the mountain (357). His response also struck me as hilarious and had me laughing.

This book was an interesting book to read, as it was very different than the first two books. The first one hundred pages is completely different than the rest of the book – it is totally focused on the ‘modern society’ of the late 2000’s (say, 2053 or so onwards, as Jason is sixteen years older in this book than in the prior two books and Jude is now sixteen years old in this book). The next two hundred pages of the book focuses on the experiences and adventures of Jason and his merry band of followers (Sergeant Major Ord, his godson Jude, and Howard Hibble) as they first land upon an alien planet and then try to first survive, followed by Jason’s attempts to put together an alliance where the there human clans come together to join as one army to defeat the Slug menace. The only way the alliance will work is if a neutral, outside party leads the three disparate groups, and, clearly, Jason is the only one who can lead them. The final “one hundred pages” (the rest of the book) has to do with the various battles leading to the Slug defeat and killing of the Slugs. In the process, another Firewitch is captured, which allows the foursome to return home. I found myself enjoying this book all-the-more as I continued reading it. I thought the author did a great job building this alien world inhabited by “dinosaur analogs” that inhabited the planet and humans who had been brought to the planet 35,000 years ago by the Slugs to act as ‘slave labor’. In many ways, this book did remind me of The General series, too, by David Drake. I think more because of how it had mixed levels of technology interspersed with reptilian creatures and ‘giant bird-like creatures’ that were used by humans as a part of everyday life, be it civilian life or military life.

I did like how Jason had matured in this book. The hint of the former whiny brat-of-a-teenage was still there, in some elements more, I think, in how the author would phrase things throughout the book than in Jason, himself, although it is ‘funny’ that at age forty (or so) he was still behaving ‘irresponsibly’ in the eyes of his superiors just as it was equally surprising that Nathan Cobb was still alive and well, albeit blind from the Battle for Ganymede; I was not expecting that! and is subsequently ‘punished/disciplined’ by being forced to take part in Howard’s experiments with the captured Firewitch vessel). I did like his ‘solution’ to ‘the BOX’ that was used to punish immoral women. Actually, I loved it and thought it was a fitting solution to the problem of how it was used (abused). I felt that showed some real growth on Jason’s part (which, again, only makes sense as this book takes place sixteen years or so after the first book). There were times it did feel like the author had forgotten how much time had elapsed in terms of comments Jason would make, from time-to-time, but, overall, ‘it worked’ in terms of the story, the narrative, and the story’s flow.

I did love the various interactions between humans and the indigenous animal life on the planet. It was fun to read how ‘life’ had adapted over time between the various species. It also made me wonder if ‘intelligent reptilian life’ could have evolved had humans not been placed on the planet by the Slugs. Still, though, it was ‘fun’ to read about humans and ‘dinosaur-analogs’ interacting with each other, where these giant reptiles could be hunted and killed by humans with heavy guns. It was also interesting/fun to read about how these reptilian species had been ‘domesticated’ and adapted to human life, how the species had learned to interact with each other and survive.

There were various ‘analogs’ to Earth, as well. Some of the battles in the book seemed reminiscent of battles from Terran history. There was a kind of “Panama Canal” analog, including giant ceratopsian analogs used to pull vessels through various locks of this canal a la the ‘train engines/mules’ used to tow sea-going vessels through Panama’s locks. I felt this added to the book instead of taking away from it.

Also, it was interesting to read about how people still have maintained their religious beliefs despite the invasion of Slugs ought to have caused at least the Western religions to seriously reconsider their belief systems, as the Western religions do not allow for any kind of ‘alien invasion’ to take place. If such an invasion were to occur, such an attack was to occur, I suspect it would create some serious crises of faith to happen. So I was somewhat surprised to read that nobody of a conservative mindset had any kind of ‘crisis of faith’ over the two alien invasions and proof of “intelligent non-human life” existing in the universe.

Overall, it was a fun book to read; granted, I did find myself enjoying it the latter three hundred pages more than the first one hundred pages. It does seem to end ‘pretty quick,’ however, considering how much of the book is used for ‘build-up.’ That being said, I did find myself enjoying it far more, at the end, than I thought I would when I first started it (considering how slow it was to build up steam and get moving; those first one hundred pages were a bit rough!). Also, the mix of different species in it gave it a hint of 'fantasy' or 'the fantastical,' which also made it fun to read. I would say a strong 3.5 stars, rounded down to three stars. Finally, I did like how they are figuring things out as they move forward; it is like the reader is on the same journey with the characters in the book. On to the fourth book!

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

tldr: wHaT

1. I liked this book. Really, I did. I forgot how much I love Jason. He tries his best and I just want him to be happy. Also made me feel old. I read Orphanage back when I was a teenager so when Jason thinks about how far he’s come since then I’m just like wow me too buddy.

2. It’s a pretty smooth read like the previous two books but oh boy I had no idea where we were going. It’s a wild ride but an enjoyable one. I had to suspend even more disbelief than usual but I’m okay with that.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series. And while I tend to prefer the first book or two in a series while the third starts to slip and if the series goes on longer, I sometimes lose interest, this third book in this series was a good quality piece of work. While this was very different from the great Ender series or the Honor Harrington series (which, after 147 damn books, the last 70 without freaking Honor, has become wildly inconsistent at best, and a damn bore more frankly), it was just as good and the premise felt so original to me that I was immediately drawn to it and it kept me enthralled throughout the entire series. Can't really ask for more than that. Recommended, especially for military sci fi fans.

[Steven Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a decent book in the Jason Wander series, and a good point for me to quit this series. Nothing made me care for Wander anymore and the other characters are not interesting enough either to continue this series. I've always wanted to check this series out, and I am glad that I got them from Paperback Swap rather than buy them. The Wander series for me has been a solid "meh" and I have other books by other authors to read.

[Brooke Partlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great yarn and great characters

Wasn’t sure at first about our intrepid “temporary” general traveling to a far flung system to be thrust into a completely alien society. But it sure turned into a page turner. The characters, old and new, are very engaging and interesting. This is a wonderful series.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as the last two books. Jason and friends find themselves on an alien planet with humans on it and slugs. I missed the science fiction military story of the last two as Jason finds himself on a planet with very limited technology. This fact made for a pretty boring book. 2.5 out of 5 stars

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jason Wander isn't doing so well off the battlefield. To keep him out of their hair, they send him to an orbiting resort. Things quickly go wrong, and he finds himself on a planet ruled by the Slugs.

To survive, he has to liberate the planet.

Not really a natural sequel to the last two books.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was good-old-fashioned sci fi.

[Dantegideon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up to four stars, because the last part of the book was somehow much less exciting than it should have been.

[anil singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting

A great read and well written. I loved the first book and haven't looked back since. Can't wait for more on this series.

[Rogue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda slow, then kinda too fast at the end! This was a departure from the previous books in the series, and very much reminded me at times of The Time Machine and the world found there.

[Thefirstidiot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally read Mar 2013

[Graham Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending of the book was so anti-climatic as it was predictable!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orphan's Journey is the third book in the Jason Wander series from Robert Buettner, preceded by Orphanage and Orphan's Destiny. I've enjoyed the first two books in the series very much and this one has been steadily making its way up my to-read pile over the past few months, although why I never got around to it sooner is beyond me (I'll be saying that about the sequels too). So was it as enjoyable as those first two? Damn right it was, plus it opens open the universe of Jason Wander more than I could have hoped!

With years gone by since the last slug attack on Earth and mankind has recovered from the last invasion. With the old slug ship at the centre of a new orbital station mankind is slowly stretching away from the confines of Earth, although interstellar travel is still not within reach. Jason, his godson Jude, Ord and Howard are part of the crew that are testing the old slug ship and with Jude's exceptionally quick reflexes due to his space-born heritage, progress is made - a little too quickly. What follows is a journey farther than they could imagine to an alien planet where the past has some interesting revelations.

As I said before, I really enjoyed the previous entries in this series but one thing that I was always hoping was that Buettner would break away from the military sci-fi confines of the original story. While this aspect is ever present from start through to conclusion, the break away is clearly something he knows must be done, and boy does he do it well. To be fair, the first part of the story in Earth orbit on New Moon is fairly predictable and proceeds to give a nice recap on events and the history since the last book. Once the old slug ship is powered up and sent on its run out of the solar system the story kicks up a gear and takes us into a new and exciting area.

It's when Jason and co. find themselves on this new planet that Buettner is able to flex his story-telling muscles and deliver a wider scope of story. We have a first contact-type situation and find out a little more about the inhabitants of the planet and their cultural diversity, the way history has shaped them to be what they are. Howard is in his element with all the various creatures he discovers and while he suspects what has happened on this planet, we don't find out until much later in the story. This is both good and bad, because the moment we meet the people of this new planet questions instantly come about and it sometimes feels that these aren't going to be answered - it certainly isn't something that Jason is particularly bothered about, or at least he rarely shows it (and when he does he attention is quickly drawn away).

The big plot device for Orphan's Journey is Cavorite. It's a substance that allows the slugs to travel between stars but has the rather unfortunate side affect that it is deadly to them. However, it has no effect at all on humans. With the planet Jason is on a rich resource of the substance, a slug presence is inevitable. This is where the core of the story lies and allows Buettner to tell a very interesting and quickly paced story - so much so that the 400 pages flew by. How so much was crammed in there I just don't know, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Of course, what would the story be without its main characters? Once again we see everything through Jason's eyes, but this time it is a more mature slant on the world and it feels like a better experience. Howard, Ord and Jude are all well suited and fit in very easily, the newcomer Jude being a refreshing change from the military viewpoint. The inhabitants of this new planet are also unique and interesting, their ways allowing us another perspective on the story.

All in all Orphan's Journey was certainly that - a journey beyond the foundations set in the first two books. It took an interesting story and gave it new direction which felt fresh, allowing the future novels to expand nicely once again. While the military sf aspect is as present as always, the change in direction helped enormously and has easily made this a series that I really looking forward to finishing. Highly recommended.

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hero We Deserve and the Hero We Need

Brief Synopsis:
The hero of Robert Buettner's military science fiction series returns in the fourth installment of the Jason Wander series. ORPHAN'S JOURNEY begins right where ORPHAN'S DESTINY ended: with the capture of a slug vessel. Jason Wander's godson appears to be the only human that might have the reflexes to pilot the alien craft. In a test run, everything goes wrong and Jason is once again thrust into a situation that is beyond his control; but not beyond his command. The vessel essentially goes on autopilot and crash lands on an alien planet that seems analogous to our own earth. As Jason and his small crew learn about the cultures and battles occuring on this planet, the slugs make yet another appearance and Jason must once again rally the troops in a battle that seems unlikely to be won.

Overall Impressions:
Out of all the Jason Wander books so far, ORPHAN'S JOURNEY is the weakest; however, it is still a worthwhile read and creates a beautiful story arc as to where the series is going. There is less internal struggle portrayed in the mind of Jason Wander, now that he lacks a Commanding Officer. Some of the best and most classic moments of the first couple of books were the commentary about the nature of command, and ORPHAN'S JOURNEY lacks this aspect. However, there are several comparisons drawn and examples from our history. Eisenhower is mentioned several times, and I view this as Jason Wander growing and maturing. The coming of age story is really starting to become much more prevalent. At the conclusion of the book it becomes obvious where the series is going and the impending war between man and slug.

Jason Wander is a hero in every sense of the word; and, one of the most thought provoking themes in this series is the price of heroism and the nature of being a hero. Jason often appears to despise his acts of heroism and almost attributes them to shear luck or to the units he commands.

ORPHAN'S JOURNEY is an authentic work of human compassion and it triumphs in the glimpse portrayed of the fundamental necessity to survive.

It is also impossible to deny the cover art by Calvin Chu.

Good reading,

Plants and Books
For More Reviews, Visit My Blog

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Buettner's long-awaited third book in the Jason Wander series is finally here. Delays because of a Publisher closing and debates over rights to the book have made this a much-anticipated and long-delayed book. However it was worth the extended wait!

Jason Wander became a hero, not by trying but out of necessity and circumstance. He is a hero of the human-slug war; he was field promoted to the position of Major General, a position he kept because of morale back on earth. In the previous two books Orphanage and Orphan's Destiny Wander grows and develops into the military leader that he reads about in history. However he often doubts himself and his own leadership ability. In this book Wander and a small group of earthlings are thrown well across the universe while doing some testing on a captured slug ship from the previous war. Once more into the breech, Wander and his compatriots find that they must struggle against the slugs. This time he is on an alien planet, well behind earth's technology, and he must make three different clans come together if he is to save his friends, himself and all human life on this alien planet.

The three clans are the Tassini, the Casuni and the Marini. These three tribes hate each other and, other than at the time of the fair, would rather kill than look at each other. Now under Wander they must come together and learn to not only tolerate each other but to work together if they are to have a hope for a future. In this volume Wander learns the burden of leadership; as a soldier he could sacrifice and die if needed for others, but as a leader he must learn how to send men to die. It will not be an easy lesson.

Orphanage was originally written in homage to Robert A. Heinlien's Starship Troopers. I believe Heinlien would have enjoyed Buettner's original offering and this latest installment. Buettner is developing a unique voice and a great writing style. The reader is transported into the events as one reads. This is a great work of science fiction and a commentary on war and the burden of leadership. And we have at least two more installments to look forward to - Orphan's Alliance and Orphan's Triumph both forthcoming.

Jason Wander Saga:

Orphanage
Orphan's Destiny
Orphan's Journey
Orphan's Alliance
Orphan's Triumph

[Andy Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in the series, following "Orphanage" and "Orphan's Destiny". Although I personally thought that the first book was the best, and the most hard core military sci-fi, this instalment takes the series somewhere new and is a great story.

Jason Wander, the hero from the previous two stories, has found himself to be a general without an army. His superiors don't really know what to do with him, so he ends up being posted to a space station in Earth's orbit, along with Drill Sergeant Ord, his trusted advisor. There they meet up with Howard, Munchkin and her son Jude, all also previous characters in the series. Howard is leading a study of the 'Troll', the Slug spacecraft captured in "Orphan's Destiny".

During a routine test of the Troll's controls, it breaks free from the attached space station taking several of the main characters with it as it travels through the universe on autopilot. It ultimately takes them to a planet occupied by humans in a medieval type community, dinosaurs and the Slugs. The following battle between the humans and Slugs is a great story and an interesting slant on the usual sci-fi stories. If you can imagine "Lord of the Rings" with assault rifles then you're somewhere close. It sounds a bit daft, but it's well worth the read if you enjoyed the first two books. If you haven't read those then I suggest you start with "Orphanage" instead.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big Orphan's fan and I was not disappointed by this third book in the series. Once I started reading, it was hard to put down. Although parts of the plot are a bit predictable, I'm ok with that. The story is fast-paced, exciting and entertaining. Parts reminded me of the movie "The Magnificent Seven", which I really like.

Jason has grown up and now struggles with the burdens of command and the guilt he feels when his actions result in the death of others. Ord keeps him balanced and helps him see the big picture, but it's nice to know Jason still sees his soldiers as people, not just tools of war.

Parts of the book are very funny and clever. Jason's method of keeping the Tassini headmen from using the torturous Box to punish women is a prime example. If you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't read the book yet, I'm not going to spoil it for you by saying any more.

The author gives us characters, some familiar, some new, that are easy to care about. He even has a way of making you care about what happens to very minor characters. And I like the bad guys who become good guys thing. I also learned some things from the bits of military history sprinkled throughout the book.

The author is a really great storyteller and I'm on the next book in the series.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still chewing through this series and nothing else. Every time one ends I'm straight into the next one in the same sitting (god bless the Kindle store)! That said I did have my first slight slump around the middle of this one. It's still great, but it represents a bit of a change of pace, with Jason wandering (lol) to further reaches of the universe a large chunk of the book is closer to sci-fi fantasy than the military battles of the first 2 books. That act felt a bit less gritty and grounded to me (and I'm aware how ridiculous it is to refer to a series that revolves around a space war with man-sized slugs as being grounded, but Buettner does a great job of doing just that).

It's a change of pace that's necessary at this stage of a series though, and it's clearly setting the stage for bigger things to come. The slower, scene-setting mid-section could also be why the action climax to this instalment felt a little muted to me in comparison to the epic thrills that the previous books culminated in. After all the pre-amble it felt like it was over a bit quickly.

I'd still rate it very highly though, it's even possible my slight dip in interest this time round was more attributable to a bit of burnout. Certainly, after putting it down for a while midway through and returning I was sucked right back in again (and am already getting stuck into the next book).

[Bryan457 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book about Jason Wander. A test flight of the alien slug vessel goes horribly wrong ending with them crash landing on a planet that is very much like Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar.

Jason has grown up, so the whiny teenage voice has gone away. This book explores the loneliness and burden of command. Jason must send his troops into harms way, and watch as his godson goes into the front lines of battle.

This book was a quick read and very hard to put down. That might be because Buettner puts a mini cliffhanger at the end of each chapter. Here are some samples of the last sentence of some of the chapters.
I screamed all the way down.
But, though I might have my idiot moments, history can't blame what happened next on me.
The chamber went black.
Fourteen days later, we found out that a map was the least of our worries.
Behind me, something clamped my arm.
I said, "Uh-oh."

Anyway, you get the idea.
A good addition to the series.

[James Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

In moving the action off-world to another planet of humans facing the Slug menace (not really a spoiler, as this is evident in the first few pages), Buettner loses a lot of the verisimilitude and immediacy of the threat, whilst changing the genre to emphasis more strongly the science fictional aspects of the work. In conjunction with the shallow manner in which we learn only superficial details about the societies that make up the Clans (not to mention some of the particular credibility-straining details about that world itself) and the few representatives of these groups that we meet, I found this book to be a lot less gripping than the preceding volumes, although still a decent enough read in the vein of Heinlein and Elizabeth Moon.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's funny that I read this just a couple weeks after reading the old sci-fi classic "Princess of Mars", because this is what pulp sci-fi of that vein looks like today. I have liked the others in the Jason Wander series, but this one stretched my credulity too far: the circumstances that led our 3 main characters to be stranded in another galaxy, the convenient way that they are allowed to work their way up to where they can do what everyone (repeatedly, ad nauseum) says is impossible, and how easy the "impossible" ends up being. It had some mildly interesting ideas, but I just didn't feel that it was up to the standard of Orphanage or Orphan's Destiny.

[aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

this third book in the wander series really finds the character of jason wander growing up and becoming a mature commander. buettner has taken jason's character through the ringer in the past three books which has turned him into a fabulously rich character. in this one he, jude, howard, and ord find themselves on a slug ship traveling across the universe to a planet eerily similar to ours. on this planet wander truly starts to learn the burdens of command as he really starts to pick up his destiny. a great read!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orphan’s Journey continues the Orphan series, which transitions from a space war with the Slugs to a ground war on a planet with several human factions, and dinosaur-type creatures. Much of the book is about Jason Wander’s reluctant evolution in becoming a true leader, this time in trying to unite tribal human factions. This book is a bit of a change from the previous two books in not having the Slugs from-and-center, but keeps up the action, and is quite entertaining. Buettner’s has created a great cast of characters with Jason Wander and company, and provides some fun reading.

[Nathan Balyeat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a positive change from the two prior. The smart alec hero, Jason Wander, grows up, and the writing style is the better for it. There's still the snide, often self-depreciating humor, but it's no longer overwhelming the narrative.

It's a fast read, and for mil-fic sci-fi fans, should make a short list of books to read.

For the rest of you, it's probably a skip.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than book 2, but it took an unexpected turn. This series is an interesting take on what would happen if Earth were to have contact with hostile aliens that have a hive mind.

Good solid military science fiction written from the point of view of Jason Wander, infantry soldier (and now general).

[Alex Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

While entertaining enough, I found the switch from the previous books' focus on plausible (for soft sci-fi) futuristic combat to a swords and planets-esque tale of dinosaur-riding barbarians to be a little jarring.