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Janissaries #1-3
Lord of Janissaries
Three best-selling Jerry Pournelle masterpieces in one volume for the first Janissaries and Tran. A modern soldier is transported by aliens to a world filled with warriors through the ages including medieval knights, Roman soldiers. His survival.
Janissaries
Some days it just didn't pay to be a soldier. Captain Rick Galloway and his men had been talked into volunteering for a dangeorus mission--only to be ruthlessly abandoned when faceless CIA higher-ups pulled the plug on the operation. They were cut off in hostile teritory, with local troops and their Cuban "advisors" rapidly closing in. And then the alien spaceship landed...
Clan and Crown and Storms of Victory
He didn't want to conquer the world. He had to. Captain Rick Galloway, formerly of the US Army, more recently a mercenary commander, was now Lord Rick on the planet Tran. Rescued by an alien spaceship from certain death when a mercenary assignment went sour, he and his men were dropped on a world distant from Earth, but inhabited by humans transplanted in the past from medieval Europe, from Imperial Rome, and from other now-vanished nations.
Now the time of the Demon Star approaches, whose close approach and fierce heat will render much of Tran uninhabitable. To survive this fiery apocalypse, the warring nations of Tran must be united. Lord Rick doesn't want to conquer the world, but the alternative is certain extinction!
About Janissaries :
"On the cover... is the clain 'No. 1 Adventure Novel of the Year.' And well it might be." - Milwaukee Journal
Janissaries
Some days it just didn't pay to be a soldier. Captain Rick Galloway and his men had been talked into volunteering for a dangeorus mission--only to be ruthlessly abandoned when faceless CIA higher-ups pulled the plug on the operation. They were cut off in hostile teritory, with local troops and their Cuban "advisors" rapidly closing in. And then the alien spaceship landed...
Clan and Crown and Storms of Victory
He didn't want to conquer the world. He had to. Captain Rick Galloway, formerly of the US Army, more recently a mercenary commander, was now Lord Rick on the planet Tran. Rescued by an alien spaceship from certain death when a mercenary assignment went sour, he and his men were dropped on a world distant from Earth, but inhabited by humans transplanted in the past from medieval Europe, from Imperial Rome, and from other now-vanished nations.
Now the time of the Demon Star approaches, whose close approach and fierce heat will render much of Tran uninhabitable. To survive this fiery apocalypse, the warring nations of Tran must be united. Lord Rick doesn't want to conquer the world, but the alternative is certain extinction!
About Janissaries :
"On the cover... is the clain 'No. 1 Adventure Novel of the Year.' And well it might be." - Milwaukee Journal
896 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2015
75 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Pournelle
270 books552 followersDr Jerry Eugene Pournelle was an American science fiction writer, engineer, essayist, and journalist, who contributed for many years to the computer magazine Byte, and from 1998 until his death maintained his own website and blog.
From the beginning, Pournelle's work centered around strong military themes. Several books describe the fictional mercenary infantry force known as Falkenberg's Legion. There are strong parallels between these stories and the Childe Cycle mercenary stories by Gordon R. Dickson, as well as Heinlein's Starship Troopers, although Pournelle's work takes far fewer technological leaps than either of these.
Pournelle spent years working in the aerospace industry, including at Boeing, on projects including studying heat tolerance for astronauts and their spacesuits. This side of his career also found him working on projections related to military tactics and probabilities. One report in which he had a hand became a basis for the Strategic Defense Initiative, the missile defense system proposed by President Ronald Reagan. A study he edited in 1964 involved projecting Air Force missile technology needs for 1975.
Dr. Pournelle would always tell would-be writers seeking advice that the key to becoming an author was to write — a lot.
“And finish what you write,” he added in a 2003 interview. “Don’t join a writers’ club and sit around having coffee reading pieces of your manuscript to people. Write it. Finish it.”
Pournelle served as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1973.
From the beginning, Pournelle's work centered around strong military themes. Several books describe the fictional mercenary infantry force known as Falkenberg's Legion. There are strong parallels between these stories and the Childe Cycle mercenary stories by Gordon R. Dickson, as well as Heinlein's Starship Troopers, although Pournelle's work takes far fewer technological leaps than either of these.
Pournelle spent years working in the aerospace industry, including at Boeing, on projects including studying heat tolerance for astronauts and their spacesuits. This side of his career also found him working on projections related to military tactics and probabilities. One report in which he had a hand became a basis for the Strategic Defense Initiative, the missile defense system proposed by President Ronald Reagan. A study he edited in 1964 involved projecting Air Force missile technology needs for 1975.
Dr. Pournelle would always tell would-be writers seeking advice that the key to becoming an author was to write — a lot.
“And finish what you write,” he added in a 2003 interview. “Don’t join a writers’ club and sit around having coffee reading pieces of your manuscript to people. Write it. Finish it.”
Pournelle served as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1973.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 3, 2016
This collection started well but seemed to end abruptly and with no clear conclusion about what happened next with lots more to do
May 29, 2020
This series (Lord of Janissaries is three books in one) follows a group of modern day soldiers who find themselves transported by aliens to another world called Tran, where different humans live with roughly medieval technology and social systems. Their task is to use their advanced weaponry to take control of part of the planet, and grow a rare alien plant of great value, which they can then trade to the aliens who brought them there.
The story is told from many different perspectives, but the main protagonist is Captain Rick, a lieutenant of the soldiers who finds himself becoming the overall leader quite early on. He marries a native noblewoman, and quickly finds himself wrapped up in the politics of Tran. The story goes that the aliens have repeatedly brought humans to grow the plant, taken it, and then used nuclear weapons to prevent the advance of society on Tran. There are legends and religions which know of this process, but it plays out over hundreds of years. This explains why there is a range of different human cultures present, often mixed in interesting ways. For instance, a Roman empire which has moved on from the classic legionaries to large formations of heavily armoured cavalry from late medieval times.
A lot of time goes into describing battles and technology - Rick wants to introduce as much modern technology as possible, and then try to make sure it survives any alien nuclear attacks once the harvest is done. There are plenty of interesting scenes where relatively modern concepts like disinfecting wounds, air balloons, and pikes are introduced and everyone has to try and make sense of what they mean and how they can be explained to the native population.
I found the characters to be interesting and likable for the most part, without leaning too much into the macho individualist type that older sci-fi writers can tend to produce. There are some notable women who aren't entirely defined by their relationships to men, and though there is some brutality it's far from excessive, and I think more shocking and effective for it compared to something like Game of Thrones, where horrible things can lose their edge a little after so many.
There are somewhat cliche moments, and sometimes (perhaps often) the heavy focus on technology, tactics and weapons can overshadow the characters. I didn't mind this at all, but in terms of star ratings, I expect it could easily be the difference between a 5 and a 3 (or even 2) depending on your tastes. If chunky sections on military tactics aren't your thing, maybe give this a miss. Otherwise I'd highly recommend it.
One last note - the story isn't complete. The author has passed away, and I've read that their son is aiming to finish the story with another book, which might even release this year (2020), but while it's a shame to not see how things end, I found the journey more than entertaining enough to the point that I didn't even mind all that much. If that last book never gets written I'll still remember the story of Tran.
The story is told from many different perspectives, but the main protagonist is Captain Rick, a lieutenant of the soldiers who finds himself becoming the overall leader quite early on. He marries a native noblewoman, and quickly finds himself wrapped up in the politics of Tran. The story goes that the aliens have repeatedly brought humans to grow the plant, taken it, and then used nuclear weapons to prevent the advance of society on Tran. There are legends and religions which know of this process, but it plays out over hundreds of years. This explains why there is a range of different human cultures present, often mixed in interesting ways. For instance, a Roman empire which has moved on from the classic legionaries to large formations of heavily armoured cavalry from late medieval times.
A lot of time goes into describing battles and technology - Rick wants to introduce as much modern technology as possible, and then try to make sure it survives any alien nuclear attacks once the harvest is done. There are plenty of interesting scenes where relatively modern concepts like disinfecting wounds, air balloons, and pikes are introduced and everyone has to try and make sense of what they mean and how they can be explained to the native population.
I found the characters to be interesting and likable for the most part, without leaning too much into the macho individualist type that older sci-fi writers can tend to produce. There are some notable women who aren't entirely defined by their relationships to men, and though there is some brutality it's far from excessive, and I think more shocking and effective for it compared to something like Game of Thrones, where horrible things can lose their edge a little after so many.
There are somewhat cliche moments, and sometimes (perhaps often) the heavy focus on technology, tactics and weapons can overshadow the characters. I didn't mind this at all, but in terms of star ratings, I expect it could easily be the difference between a 5 and a 3 (or even 2) depending on your tastes. If chunky sections on military tactics aren't your thing, maybe give this a miss. Otherwise I'd highly recommend it.
One last note - the story isn't complete. The author has passed away, and I've read that their son is aiming to finish the story with another book, which might even release this year (2020), but while it's a shame to not see how things end, I found the journey more than entertaining enough to the point that I didn't even mind all that much. If that last book never gets written I'll still remember the story of Tran.
July 23, 2020
The memories!
I remember reading these three books long ago and re-doing it now to read Mamelukes and get back into Tran!
I remember reading these three books long ago and re-doing it now to read Mamelukes and get back into Tran!
April 1, 2022
Trevlig militärscifi. Ganska generisk, i termer av att den inte innehöll något som var direkt unikt.
January 7, 2017
Story is based on a good idea, and starts off really well. But not long after, it gets bogged down in seemingly endless petty intrigues and side stories. The good ideas it had at start are mostly abandoned, and overall it became a boring struggle to finish this book (it took me months). This book could easily be a fifth or less of its actual length and be better for it. To add insult to injury, the ending really sucks and leaves a lot hanging, as if to prepare for a sequel; if this is indeed the case, I'll be sure to avoid it.
January 7, 2019
5 stars. Reread this after many years. It's still one of my favorite stories where a group of modern men are transported to a world with medieval-level military technology/tactics. In these stories, the underlying back story is very interesting. Unfortunately, the author died before he could finish the series. The good news is that each book is relatively complete with an "ending" for that book.
July 27, 2020
The book is a compilation of the fist 3 installments in the "Janissaries"-universe by Jerry Pournelle (and friends) and the story ... well, it started really good - but I didn't finish it.
The first part was really good; the 2nd one was still ok; but the last part of the novel ... I had the feeling of wading through a deepening swamp - with no hope to get out of it. So I conceded defeat and put the book back into the deeps of my reader.
Maybe, some years down the road, I'll give it a second chance, but at the moment I can't imagine that.
The first part was really good; the 2nd one was still ok; but the last part of the novel ... I had the feeling of wading through a deepening swamp - with no hope to get out of it. So I conceded defeat and put the book back into the deeps of my reader.
Maybe, some years down the road, I'll give it a second chance, but at the moment I can't imagine that.
September 29, 2020
I remember reading Tran in the mid-90's and kept hoping for a sequel. Meanwhile I got sucked into similar works from Drake, Weber, Flint, Stirling, Forstchen and others. When I saw Mamelukes I had to refresh my memories.
A great story of literal 'world building' on a planet full of 'alien' humans, (sort of) controlled by a galactic civilization run by janissaries (human slaves), and approaching the hot max portion of a 600 year climate change cycle.
A great story of literal 'world building' on a planet full of 'alien' humans, (sort of) controlled by a galactic civilization run by janissaries (human slaves), and approaching the hot max portion of a 600 year climate change cycle.
October 16, 2023
This is an ebook that collects the first three Janissaries novels into a single volume:
Janissaries
Clan and Crown
Storm of Victory
I purchased this edition in order to read the third novel. As with a number of Pournelle’s later writings, he seems to lose interest and needs co-authors to help complete projects. The fourth volume: Mamelukes was completed by David Weber.
Janissaries
Clan and Crown
Storm of Victory
I purchased this edition in order to read the third novel. As with a number of Pournelle’s later writings, he seems to lose interest and needs co-authors to help complete projects. The fourth volume: Mamelukes was completed by David Weber.
November 24, 2023
A decent continuation of a top-notch series. Not up to the first 2 actually completed by Pournelle, but pretty good.
March 24, 2016
Run-of-the-mill MilSF. Not Pournelle's best work, but not bad either, if you are into this type of thing. Characterization is par for the course - only as deep as needed to facilitate the needs of the plot. The battle scenes, on the other hand, are gripping and well-handled.
November 2, 2017
This was an awesome book. I just wish there had been a continuation on the series. Unfortunately for us the author has moved on and will be missed by all his fans.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews