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Jason Wander #2
Orphan's Destiny
At 25, Jason Wander could be called the Grand Old Man of space conflict, having survived Earth's very first alien attack. Launched in 2039 from Jupiter's moon Ganymede, the alien race called the Slugs devestated Earth's surface and slaughtered millions. Humanity's massive counterstrike tore directly into Ganymede, halting the invasion. And Wander, who, onlyfour years earlier, joined the military to escape jail, found himself the defacto acting general of the defining Battle of Gandymede - and commander of Earth's rag-tag surviving force.
Earth'sappreciation comes slowly... if at all. Marooned on the icy moon's surface and out of radiocontact for five months, Wander and his troops receive a welcome suprise in the form of a relief ship Excalibur. But that suprise quickly turns bitter as their home-coming reveals an Earth no longer under Slug assault, but still quaking from the wreckage. Economic recovery - not a better defense - is the hard rule of the day, and anyone not in step with the times is quickly shunted aside. Not suprisingly, veteran soldiers do not fit into this new world order, Jason Wander least among them.
But humanity's indifference to those who served is overturned when an undetected Slug fleet launches terrifying assaults on an Earth already in rubble. With the focus of the attack on the space defenses at Cape Canaveral, the still-intact Excalibur is suddenly cut off - and with it, Earth's few remaining ships in orbit.
Galvanized, Wander sets in motion a daring recall of his own; scavenging together both a mission crew and a military shuttlenot consigned to teh post-War scrap heap, he will make his way to the Excalibur - and back into space. there, he will turn the immensecarrier into a floating blockade against the advancing invasion. But there's just one problem: the mission is pure suicide....
Earth'sappreciation comes slowly... if at all. Marooned on the icy moon's surface and out of radiocontact for five months, Wander and his troops receive a welcome suprise in the form of a relief ship Excalibur. But that suprise quickly turns bitter as their home-coming reveals an Earth no longer under Slug assault, but still quaking from the wreckage. Economic recovery - not a better defense - is the hard rule of the day, and anyone not in step with the times is quickly shunted aside. Not suprisingly, veteran soldiers do not fit into this new world order, Jason Wander least among them.
But humanity's indifference to those who served is overturned when an undetected Slug fleet launches terrifying assaults on an Earth already in rubble. With the focus of the attack on the space defenses at Cape Canaveral, the still-intact Excalibur is suddenly cut off - and with it, Earth's few remaining ships in orbit.
Galvanized, Wander sets in motion a daring recall of his own; scavenging together both a mission crew and a military shuttlenot consigned to teh post-War scrap heap, he will make his way to the Excalibur - and back into space. there, he will turn the immensecarrier into a floating blockade against the advancing invasion. But there's just one problem: the mission is pure suicide....
307 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
25 people are currently reading
294 people want to read
About the author
Robert Buettner
35 books147 followersRobert 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
October 27, 2020
Las cuatro estrellas son justitas , pero si lo he acabado en dos días por algo será.
De todas formas no sorprende nada, peor que el anterior con diferencia. Bah!, le bajo a tres estrellas por eso de las comparaciones.
Una segunda parte que no evoluciona al anterior, con personajes nuevos flojuchos, sin atractivo y con una finalización simplona. Sí, definitivamente se queda en tres.
De todas formas no sorprende nada, peor que el anterior con diferencia. Bah!, le bajo a tres estrellas por eso de las comparaciones.
Una segunda parte que no evoluciona al anterior, con personajes nuevos flojuchos, sin atractivo y con una finalización simplona. Sí, definitivamente se queda en tres.
September 1, 2020
This is a quick, fast read directly following up the Orphanage. Jason and co are eventually picked up from Ganymede and the book starts with their leaving and follows Jason on his year long journey home. Earth is not quite what he expected, however. Jason has been gone for over three years and the Earth is still recovering from the projectile hits by the slugs. Further, the former US president has resigned, in part due to the costs of the war. Basically, the Earth is broke and the cost of rebuilding is immense. Jason gets called on by the new POTUS to go on a tour to justify why the defense budget is being slashed to the bone to facilitate reconstruction, but Jason worries that the end of the war may be just a respite.
Overall, this novel starts by some fairly deep reflections of the cost soldiers face when returning from combat; returning to civilian life after the slug war prove very difficult for many. It also reflects upon governmental priorities-- Jason wants every cent for rebuilding, but also wants every cent to prepare for the slugs return.
The one slug artifact Jason and co. returned from Ganymede consists of a large, egg shaped object. In the process of trying to cut it open, a microburst is released and shortly thereafter, a near relativistic projectile slams into where they were working on it, which unfortunately, is the main space base where the world's remaining space assets are, and they in turn are destroyed. On top of that, telescopes soon pick up a new invasion fleet of slug ships heading toward Earth and there is very little that can stop them...
The second half of the book is pure adventure, with Jason leading the way. I liked this, but besides the semi-deep philosophical questions from the first part of the book, it is simply good escapist fun. Again, this is a character driven story, and if you are not on board with Jason, I imagine this will seem pretty flat. 3.0 stars.
Overall, this novel starts by some fairly deep reflections of the cost soldiers face when returning from combat; returning to civilian life after the slug war prove very difficult for many. It also reflects upon governmental priorities-- Jason wants every cent for rebuilding, but also wants every cent to prepare for the slugs return.
The one slug artifact Jason and co. returned from Ganymede consists of a large, egg shaped object. In the process of trying to cut it open, a microburst is released and shortly thereafter, a near relativistic projectile slams into where they were working on it, which unfortunately, is the main space base where the world's remaining space assets are, and they in turn are destroyed. On top of that, telescopes soon pick up a new invasion fleet of slug ships heading toward Earth and there is very little that can stop them...
The second half of the book is pure adventure, with Jason leading the way. I liked this, but besides the semi-deep philosophical questions from the first part of the book, it is simply good escapist fun. Again, this is a character driven story, and if you are not on board with Jason, I imagine this will seem pretty flat. 3.0 stars.
April 5, 2022
Thinking the war is over, battlefield promoted General Jason Wander returns to an earth in shambles, which of course is slashing the defense budget.
The the aliens come back with huge star ships. Wander has to lead a suicide squad to take them down.
The the aliens come back with huge star ships. Wander has to lead a suicide squad to take them down.
April 5, 2019
This was a fast read for me. Overall, I would say I enjoyed it. The character development is interesting – I found myself liking Jason Wander even more in this book; I found myself disliking Howard Hibble even more in this novel. There are other characters that also are developed in conjunction with these two main characters from the first book. I thought it was an interesting move in the series . I have to admit, I did not really see it coming. This book deals more with the aftermath of the first book, of the ‘political dimension’ as mankind is trying to move forward after the initial celebration of the war being over.
The ending of this book is pretty crazy; it is interesting how the author has had the endings of this book and the first book be so unexpected in nature. The author probably takes a more realistic approach in how he ends the books, as humanity is so unprepared for the initial attacks in the first book, followed by the extreme loss of life when the First Division heads to Ganymede to attack the alien invaders. The endings are not ‘nice, neat, and clean’ – no, they are messy and dirty and people die. While the endings of both books are “last minute Hail Mary’s,” they work in the confines and structure of each novel; they are both believable and “fortuitously coincidental” in ensuring the survival of the human race.
I still enjoy the “homages” to Starship Troopers. Probably mostly the armor used throughout the book (even though the armor in this series is quite a bit more streamlined than the armor in Heinlein’s book). I also liked the throughout to the Rodger Young at the end of the book (300 – 301); I thought it was a ‘nice touch’ in the book, on the one hand (although I half-expected the young officer’s name to be “Johnny Rico,” to be honest. Hahahah! I cannot quite decide if Howard is supposed to be “Karl,” Johnny’s best friend, from Heinlein’s novel (except Karl dies whereas Howard does not).
Speaking of Howard – Howard is driving me crazy. I wonder if the guy will EVER take any responsibility for his actions. He brought back a Slug ‘specimen’ (object) from Ganymede to Earth, even after Jason ordered him to leave it there. The book points out that if Howard had had his way, he would have brought back as many of these objects as he could have, as Ganymede was ‘littered’ with them (175), yet he brazenly calls the ‘fact’ they only brought one of these devices back a ‘fortuitous coincidence.’ I do not really care that he ‘suddenly had a bad feeling’ that something ‘bad would happen’ if they attempted to open the device/object/artifact they did have in their possession (158); he still disobeyed a direct order from Jason because he believed he knew better than Jason when he brought the object back to Earth. I do not know if the author was trying to ‘mitigate’ things by having the Space Force take control of the object that was found and be the ones who tried to open it , as Howard would have done the same thing given the chance and been responsible for the same disaster. Also, Howard’s ‘exploding’ “For Heaven’s sake, Jason! It’s only rocket science!” (176) was both mildly amusing and helped show Howard’s stupidity despite being a ‘certified genius’ of some kind. I really disliked his character.
Also, the constant references to things changing in the next twenty-four hours after what felt like almost every chapter got really old, really quick. I was really wishing the author would come up with something ‘new’ instead of this constant repetition of how ‘things would only get worse in twenty-four hours, only I did not know how much worse.’ It did not work for me, to be honest, and got to be distracting.
One thing that kinda made me laugh (but not really) was the whole “It’s not a big ship. It’s a small planet!” (180) was too reminiscent of “that’s no moon; that’s a space station!” from Star Wars. I could not decide if it was played for laughs or not, to be honest. I suppose it could have been an honest response to the size of the thing (the alien spaceship); it just felt ‘cheesy’ at that moment in the book, is all.
In regard to Jason – overall, I do like Jason’s character in this book more than in the first book. I liked how he had the choice to grow up and mature in his thinking over the course of the novel (and due to some specific moments/events that came up) and that he made the choice to grow up, to become more mature in this thinking. He reached the point where he was thinking less of himself and more about what was best for his fellow soldiers, for the rest of humanity. I thought it was some pretty impressive growth for his character, considering how he was first introduced in the first book of the series and how his character seemed to take forever before he started ‘making the right decisions for the right reasons.’ I liked that he continued to grow over the course of the novel; even though he did not have the ‘specific training’ to be a Division General, he embraced the role and grew in to it over the course of the novel.
I love Division Sergeant Major DeArthur Ord! He is probably the best character in the series by far! Each time he has encountered Jason so far, he has been able to teach Jason new lessons, especially on what it means to be a ‘general’ and a ‘Division General’ at that. For example, on the trip back from Ganymede to Earth, I liked the ‘object lesson’ that Division Sergeant Major Ord gave him, after Jason went looking for him in order to brag about how ‘they won’ and ‘beat’ Brace like they did. It was interesting to see how disappointed Ord was with him and his attitude; his ‘bracing’ of Jason was intended to help Jason grow and mature as a character, and was one of the better parts of the book.
I have to admit, I did not like or care for Admiral Brace when he was introduced, as he was a bit of a pompous, arrogant, overbearing jerk. His attitude did not change over the course of the novel; in fact, he almost seemed to regress as a character. Despite his losing his entire command, he never learned any humility or that he might need to be able to ‘work outside of the box’ (as it were) in terms of command and in battle-situations (where the situation is fluid and constantly changing).
It was a crazy book to read, that is for sure! I did not expect it to end the way it did. Other books would have probably had the human pilots overcoming incredible odds to save the day when it was all said and done; that did NOT happen in this book! I was, “Holy moley! How are they going to get out of this one, now?!??” while reading the last few chapters. The author did a nice job of keeping the ending a ‘surprise’ and the reader guessing on how it was going to end. On the one hand, there are five books in the series, so since I am reading it about ten years or so after the series first came out, it is no surprise to me that Jason survived (well, mostly because he shows up in the third book of the sequel series to these books and I had read that book first before learning it was the third book in a series that followed up the initial five-series book about Jason Wander); also, the end of the first book essentially tells us that Jason survived long enough for the ‘final, final battle’ with the Slugs (I assume in the last book in this first series), which takes place X(X) number of years after the first book (as Division Sergeant Major Ord is his top kick prior to that final battle that is mentioned; the final chapter of the second book picks up where the last chapter of the first book left off, so Jason clearly survives the subsequent battles until the end of this first series, to say the least).
It was an interesting book to read; it held my interesting all the way through. I was surprised at how much “civilian life” is in this book; it does not immediately start up with the second, subsequent alien invasion. Instead, there is a period of ‘peace’ as humanity tries to return to ‘normal’ (as normal as it can be, after having suffered so many projectile impacts that killed over sixty million people and devastated the world’s economy and environment). One thing that I thought was odd/crazy was that the deaths of sixty million people could have had such a ‘huge impact’ upon the world’s economy and industrial base. The readers are not told where all of the projectile strikes occurred, but, still. Sixty million deaths out of, say, three billion people, is “only” two percent of the population. It seems hard to believe that sixty million people dying could have thrown the world’s economy into that much chaos such that, three years after the initial attacks, the world’s economy still had not recovered (the damage to the environment notwithstanding). It just seemed far-fetched that two percent of the population being killed could have had that much of a detrimental impact upon the global population, infrastructure, economy, and global industry. Perhaps most of the people who died were specialized workers from First World countries? I do not know; it just seemed to be a ‘weak’ part of the plot to me.
That being said, I did enjoy the book. It was a crazy read; I found myself caring quite a bit for some of the characters (Jason and Brumby, for starters, as well as Mimi and Munchkin over the course of the novel). The author did a nice job generating emotional responses throughout the book, in my opinion. I am glad I took the chance and the time to read the book. I am glad I took the time to read this book; now I am on to the third book in the series (which I imagine will take me longer to read, as it is nearly one hundred pages longer than the first two books). I think I actually ‘liked’ this book more than the first one, but am still leaving it as three stars.
The ending of this book is pretty crazy; it is interesting how the author has had the endings of this book and the first book be so unexpected in nature. The author probably takes a more realistic approach in how he ends the books, as humanity is so unprepared for the initial attacks in the first book, followed by the extreme loss of life when the First Division heads to Ganymede to attack the alien invaders. The endings are not ‘nice, neat, and clean’ – no, they are messy and dirty and people die. While the endings of both books are “last minute Hail Mary’s,” they work in the confines and structure of each novel; they are both believable and “fortuitously coincidental” in ensuring the survival of the human race.
I still enjoy the “homages” to Starship Troopers. Probably mostly the armor used throughout the book (even though the armor in this series is quite a bit more streamlined than the armor in Heinlein’s book). I also liked the throughout to the Rodger Young at the end of the book (300 – 301); I thought it was a ‘nice touch’ in the book, on the one hand (although I half-expected the young officer’s name to be “Johnny Rico,” to be honest. Hahahah! I cannot quite decide if Howard is supposed to be “Karl,” Johnny’s best friend, from Heinlein’s novel (except Karl dies whereas Howard does not).
Speaking of Howard – Howard is driving me crazy. I wonder if the guy will EVER take any responsibility for his actions. He brought back a Slug ‘specimen’ (object) from Ganymede to Earth, even after Jason ordered him to leave it there. The book points out that if Howard had had his way, he would have brought back as many of these objects as he could have, as Ganymede was ‘littered’ with them (175), yet he brazenly calls the ‘fact’ they only brought one of these devices back a ‘fortuitous coincidence.’ I do not really care that he ‘suddenly had a bad feeling’ that something ‘bad would happen’ if they attempted to open the device/object/artifact they did have in their possession (158); he still disobeyed a direct order from Jason because he believed he knew better than Jason when he brought the object back to Earth. I do not know if the author was trying to ‘mitigate’ things by having the Space Force take control of the object that was found and be the ones who tried to open it , as Howard would have done the same thing given the chance and been responsible for the same disaster. Also, Howard’s ‘exploding’ “For Heaven’s sake, Jason! It’s only rocket science!” (176) was both mildly amusing and helped show Howard’s stupidity despite being a ‘certified genius’ of some kind. I really disliked his character.
Also, the constant references to things changing in the next twenty-four hours after what felt like almost every chapter got really old, really quick. I was really wishing the author would come up with something ‘new’ instead of this constant repetition of how ‘things would only get worse in twenty-four hours, only I did not know how much worse.’ It did not work for me, to be honest, and got to be distracting.
One thing that kinda made me laugh (but not really) was the whole “It’s not a big ship. It’s a small planet!” (180) was too reminiscent of “that’s no moon; that’s a space station!” from Star Wars. I could not decide if it was played for laughs or not, to be honest. I suppose it could have been an honest response to the size of the thing (the alien spaceship); it just felt ‘cheesy’ at that moment in the book, is all.
In regard to Jason – overall, I do like Jason’s character in this book more than in the first book. I liked how he had the choice to grow up and mature in his thinking over the course of the novel (and due to some specific moments/events that came up) and that he made the choice to grow up, to become more mature in this thinking. He reached the point where he was thinking less of himself and more about what was best for his fellow soldiers, for the rest of humanity. I thought it was some pretty impressive growth for his character, considering how he was first introduced in the first book of the series and how his character seemed to take forever before he started ‘making the right decisions for the right reasons.’ I liked that he continued to grow over the course of the novel; even though he did not have the ‘specific training’ to be a Division General, he embraced the role and grew in to it over the course of the novel.
I love Division Sergeant Major DeArthur Ord! He is probably the best character in the series by far! Each time he has encountered Jason so far, he has been able to teach Jason new lessons, especially on what it means to be a ‘general’ and a ‘Division General’ at that. For example, on the trip back from Ganymede to Earth, I liked the ‘object lesson’ that Division Sergeant Major Ord gave him, after Jason went looking for him in order to brag about how ‘they won’ and ‘beat’ Brace like they did. It was interesting to see how disappointed Ord was with him and his attitude; his ‘bracing’ of Jason was intended to help Jason grow and mature as a character, and was one of the better parts of the book.
I have to admit, I did not like or care for Admiral Brace when he was introduced, as he was a bit of a pompous, arrogant, overbearing jerk. His attitude did not change over the course of the novel; in fact, he almost seemed to regress as a character. Despite his losing his entire command, he never learned any humility or that he might need to be able to ‘work outside of the box’ (as it were) in terms of command and in battle-situations (where the situation is fluid and constantly changing).
It was a crazy book to read, that is for sure! I did not expect it to end the way it did. Other books would have probably had the human pilots overcoming incredible odds to save the day when it was all said and done; that did NOT happen in this book! I was, “Holy moley! How are they going to get out of this one, now?!??” while reading the last few chapters. The author did a nice job of keeping the ending a ‘surprise’ and the reader guessing on how it was going to end. On the one hand, there are five books in the series, so since I am reading it about ten years or so after the series first came out, it is no surprise to me that Jason survived (well, mostly because he shows up in the third book of the sequel series to these books and I had read that book first before learning it was the third book in a series that followed up the initial five-series book about Jason Wander); also, the end of the first book essentially tells us that Jason survived long enough for the ‘final, final battle’ with the Slugs (I assume in the last book in this first series), which takes place X(X) number of years after the first book (as Division Sergeant Major Ord is his top kick prior to that final battle that is mentioned; the final chapter of the second book picks up where the last chapter of the first book left off, so Jason clearly survives the subsequent battles until the end of this first series, to say the least).
It was an interesting book to read; it held my interesting all the way through. I was surprised at how much “civilian life” is in this book; it does not immediately start up with the second, subsequent alien invasion. Instead, there is a period of ‘peace’ as humanity tries to return to ‘normal’ (as normal as it can be, after having suffered so many projectile impacts that killed over sixty million people and devastated the world’s economy and environment). One thing that I thought was odd/crazy was that the deaths of sixty million people could have had such a ‘huge impact’ upon the world’s economy and industrial base. The readers are not told where all of the projectile strikes occurred, but, still. Sixty million deaths out of, say, three billion people, is “only” two percent of the population. It seems hard to believe that sixty million people dying could have thrown the world’s economy into that much chaos such that, three years after the initial attacks, the world’s economy still had not recovered (the damage to the environment notwithstanding). It just seemed far-fetched that two percent of the population being killed could have had that much of a detrimental impact upon the global population, infrastructure, economy, and global industry. Perhaps most of the people who died were specialized workers from First World countries? I do not know; it just seemed to be a ‘weak’ part of the plot to me.
That being said, I did enjoy the book. It was a crazy read; I found myself caring quite a bit for some of the characters (Jason and Brumby, for starters, as well as Mimi and Munchkin over the course of the novel). The author did a nice job generating emotional responses throughout the book, in my opinion. I am glad I took the chance and the time to read the book. I am glad I took the time to read this book; now I am on to the third book in the series (which I imagine will take me longer to read, as it is nearly one hundred pages longer than the first two books). I think I actually ‘liked’ this book more than the first one, but am still leaving it as three stars.
March 23, 2009
Different Plot. Different Location. Different Mission. Same Jason Wander.
Brief Synopsis:
After eradicating the slug force on Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, Jason Wander returns to an earth on the brink of economic collapse. The leaders of earth are declaring that the slugs have been completely annihilated and pose no additional threat; thereby transitioning to a post-war economy of reconstruction. Needless to say, Jason Wander is a General out of his comfort zone (if he ever had one). Then, the slugs come back with an armada for a full scale assault on the planet earth. The problem? Earth is not ready to fight another war and has only limited resources and no options to possibly win. Sounds like the odds Wander is used to.
Overall Impressions:
ORPHAN'S DESTINY is drastically different from its predecessor, ORPHANAGE. This addition to the series focuses a bulk of the prose toward politicking and the things that Jason has staunchly stated he cares nothing about; however, duty is duty. The final act focuses on what ORPHANAGE was all about: the infantry men doing whatever it takes to get the job done. While the plot elements may be different, the voice of the story is largely commentary on military issues and personnel. It is refreshing that despite the change in locale and mission, the story remains relatively comfortable in the tradition of military science.
While the reader must suspend some belief at the areas of science and realism, there is a wonderful tale woven on earth and in space. Some areas of science (especially in space travel and engine capacities) were only glossed over and not given proper face time, it is forgiven as I wouldn't expect such from a purely militaristic science fiction story. This book is not about science or space travel or futuristic technologies; it is about the personnel that harness these abilities; and for that alone, Buettner exceeds expectations.
Wander is one of the most interesting characters, and his development (along with the development of characters in ORPHANAGE and a host of new characters) is remarkable. At every turn Wander reinforces his ideology while still learning and growing every step of the way. Obviously reading ORPHANAGE will prove to provide a better reading experience, but this book is one that shouldn't be missed.
Good reading,
Plants and Books
More Reviews
Brief Synopsis:
After eradicating the slug force on Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, Jason Wander returns to an earth on the brink of economic collapse. The leaders of earth are declaring that the slugs have been completely annihilated and pose no additional threat; thereby transitioning to a post-war economy of reconstruction. Needless to say, Jason Wander is a General out of his comfort zone (if he ever had one). Then, the slugs come back with an armada for a full scale assault on the planet earth. The problem? Earth is not ready to fight another war and has only limited resources and no options to possibly win. Sounds like the odds Wander is used to.
Overall Impressions:
ORPHAN'S DESTINY is drastically different from its predecessor, ORPHANAGE. This addition to the series focuses a bulk of the prose toward politicking and the things that Jason has staunchly stated he cares nothing about; however, duty is duty. The final act focuses on what ORPHANAGE was all about: the infantry men doing whatever it takes to get the job done. While the plot elements may be different, the voice of the story is largely commentary on military issues and personnel. It is refreshing that despite the change in locale and mission, the story remains relatively comfortable in the tradition of military science.
While the reader must suspend some belief at the areas of science and realism, there is a wonderful tale woven on earth and in space. Some areas of science (especially in space travel and engine capacities) were only glossed over and not given proper face time, it is forgiven as I wouldn't expect such from a purely militaristic science fiction story. This book is not about science or space travel or futuristic technologies; it is about the personnel that harness these abilities; and for that alone, Buettner exceeds expectations.
Wander is one of the most interesting characters, and his development (along with the development of characters in ORPHANAGE and a host of new characters) is remarkable. At every turn Wander reinforces his ideology while still learning and growing every step of the way. Obviously reading ORPHANAGE will prove to provide a better reading experience, but this book is one that shouldn't be missed.
Good reading,
Plants and Books
More Reviews
November 5, 2013
Had to consider the rating here. I read the first book in the series and enjoyed it.
This book picks up where the last left off...almost at the moment. We build on the relationships and story facts that were established earlier.
Before I go on, let me say that I got the audio version. The problem for me on the rating may be the fact that the reader didn't do all the great a job...at least in my humble opinion. That means the my entire "experience" of the book suffered. There's one character, a sergeant, who the reader reads in a way that no sergeant would ever speak...and survive.
That said, this is a well done book. The political maneuvering and extortion is pretty realistic. The end is (again) a bit contrived but satisfying.
On the action front the book has a slow wind up but takes off once it gets going. So, good book overall...not such a great audio version but not a deal breaker. Try it.
This book picks up where the last left off...almost at the moment. We build on the relationships and story facts that were established earlier.
Before I go on, let me say that I got the audio version. The problem for me on the rating may be the fact that the reader didn't do all the great a job...at least in my humble opinion. That means the my entire "experience" of the book suffered. There's one character, a sergeant, who the reader reads in a way that no sergeant would ever speak...and survive.
That said, this is a well done book. The political maneuvering and extortion is pretty realistic. The end is (again) a bit contrived but satisfying.
On the action front the book has a slow wind up but takes off once it gets going. So, good book overall...not such a great audio version but not a deal breaker. Try it.
March 20, 2015
The continuation of the story started in Orphanage. This was an OK read but didn't seem to really create anything new in the storyline. Lots of action as Earth is again under attack from the slugs and need Jason Wander to pull off some more magic in defeating them (which of course he does). I will be continuing with this series but hopefully the author gives us some new stuff to read about in these.
3 stars for a entertaining (even if a little disappointing) 2nd book in a series.
3 stars for a entertaining (even if a little disappointing) 2nd book in a series.
June 20, 2022
As I noted with the first book, Orphanage, please do not describe character's ethnicity if it has nothing to do with the plot -- unless you are going to write about *everyone's* ethnicity. That said . . .
I give the sequel a 3.5; again, I wanted to see how the story would end. The author's notes in my edition would do well as a forward, because he intended comparisons to now classic books:
"So, why the Orphanage books, a fast, darkly funny, retold tales of a young man-become-soldier amid interplanetary war? Because Starship Troopers and The Forever War marvelously embraced the zeitgeist in which each was written, but each suffers for it in a post-9/11 world . . .
"Orphanage and Orphan’s Destiny avoid politics. It was written to say one true thing to a population that has been blessed by scant military experience but that, post-9/11, finds soldiers again relevant. That thing is: soldiers fight not for flags or against tyrants but for each other. Combat soldiers become one another’s only family. Strip away politics and, wherever or whenever, war is an orphanage."
I give the sequel a 3.5; again, I wanted to see how the story would end. The author's notes in my edition would do well as a forward, because he intended comparisons to now classic books:
"So, why the Orphanage books, a fast, darkly funny, retold tales of a young man-become-soldier amid interplanetary war? Because Starship Troopers and The Forever War marvelously embraced the zeitgeist in which each was written, but each suffers for it in a post-9/11 world . . .
"Orphanage and Orphan’s Destiny avoid politics. It was written to say one true thing to a population that has been blessed by scant military experience but that, post-9/11, finds soldiers again relevant. That thing is: soldiers fight not for flags or against tyrants but for each other. Combat soldiers become one another’s only family. Strip away politics and, wherever or whenever, war is an orphanage."
January 5, 2023
Back to war. After we left our hero Jason Wander at the end of Orphanage, we believed that we were free from the slugs. Wander was one of the few who doubted it. It took him over two years to return to earth and the earth was in sad shape.
The destruction that had been so devastating before he left, was now even worse. After almost 2 years of near nuclear winter, vegetation and animals were struggling to survive the climate change and it would be years before the atmospheric dust cleared itself up.
Orphan has a new Military mission to convince the media and the population that the threat is over and that money should be spent on rebuilding the world, not military spending. The problem is, he is not sure he believes it. Like many veterans, he struggles with guilt: why did he survive and so many others did not? Why did he bury his love and his friends so far from home?
Then his worst fears are confirmed: there is an attack that takes out earth’s only military spaceport. He must once again do the impossible, and lead a small band of determined men and women back to space for a last-ditch effort to save earth from a fleet of 121 ships larger than any we have, and 1 ship the size of a city.
Read Orphan's Destiny and see if Wander can pull off a miracle a second time, or will humanity lose all hope.
(First Published in Imprint 2005-09-23 as 'Return of Killer Slugs')
The destruction that had been so devastating before he left, was now even worse. After almost 2 years of near nuclear winter, vegetation and animals were struggling to survive the climate change and it would be years before the atmospheric dust cleared itself up.
Orphan has a new Military mission to convince the media and the population that the threat is over and that money should be spent on rebuilding the world, not military spending. The problem is, he is not sure he believes it. Like many veterans, he struggles with guilt: why did he survive and so many others did not? Why did he bury his love and his friends so far from home?
Then his worst fears are confirmed: there is an attack that takes out earth’s only military spaceport. He must once again do the impossible, and lead a small band of determined men and women back to space for a last-ditch effort to save earth from a fleet of 121 ships larger than any we have, and 1 ship the size of a city.
Read Orphan's Destiny and see if Wander can pull off a miracle a second time, or will humanity lose all hope.
(First Published in Imprint 2005-09-23 as 'Return of Killer Slugs')
July 2, 2018
It could be far better, but it is not disappointing book of the series. This series are based on a linear narrative plot and there is not subplot. It seems that this kind of story writing is easier but on the contrary it is far more difficult to catch readers attention fully on the story and not bored them.
In this point of view, I expected Buettner could find a way to solve this problem which occurs in his series. I have to mention that this is just book 2 of 5 I have read and I will try the 3rd after some other books to give a break. It took more than two months to read, of course problem of free time, but the real and main reason is the issue I mentioned above.
Idea of story is good (not new or unique), but that is not enough as we see many people tried to write but few of them could remind us, Dune, Star troopers and some few others in this sub genre of sci fi.
In this point of view, I expected Buettner could find a way to solve this problem which occurs in his series. I have to mention that this is just book 2 of 5 I have read and I will try the 3rd after some other books to give a break. It took more than two months to read, of course problem of free time, but the real and main reason is the issue I mentioned above.
Idea of story is good (not new or unique), but that is not enough as we see many people tried to write but few of them could remind us, Dune, Star troopers and some few others in this sub genre of sci fi.
February 27, 2024
-Más de lo mismo, y no mejor.-
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro El destino del huérfano (publicación original: Orphan’s Destiny, 2005) nos muestra que, tras las muchas muertes en Ganímedes, el general en funciones Jason Wander debe ayudar en un parto y, más de doscientos días después, es rescatado junto al resto de supervivientes del ataque contra la base de las babosas. Durante el viaje de vuelta a la Tierra, descubrirá que muchas cosas han cambiado en la sociedad de nuestro planeta, pero no las suficientes para que la convivencia en la nave de rescate sea perfecta, y parece que no ha quedado ningún rastro del enemigo extraterrestre en el Sistema Solar. Segundo libro de la saga Jason Wander.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...
Género. Ciencia ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro El destino del huérfano (publicación original: Orphan’s Destiny, 2005) nos muestra que, tras las muchas muertes en Ganímedes, el general en funciones Jason Wander debe ayudar en un parto y, más de doscientos días después, es rescatado junto al resto de supervivientes del ataque contra la base de las babosas. Durante el viaje de vuelta a la Tierra, descubrirá que muchas cosas han cambiado en la sociedad de nuestro planeta, pero no las suficientes para que la convivencia en la nave de rescate sea perfecta, y parece que no ha quedado ningún rastro del enemigo extraterrestre en el Sistema Solar. Segundo libro de la saga Jason Wander.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...
May 27, 2017
Se anuncia como heredero de Heinlein y Handelman, pero es bastante decepcionante. No tiene la profundidad de los libros a los que homenajea, aún cuando la acción es entretenida.
Creo que el problema radica en que parte de la trama es predecible, y y se asume que se ha leído el primer libro (cosa que no he hecho). También quedan muchas cosas en el aire y en algunos casos peca de ingenuo.
Aún así, me gustó mucho la ambientación de una tierra casi destruida por el esfuerzo de guerra. Un muy buen giro respecto otras novelas, pero que se queda corto en otros aspectos.
Creo que el problema radica en que parte de la trama es predecible, y y se asume que se ha leído el primer libro (cosa que no he hecho). También quedan muchas cosas en el aire y en algunos casos peca de ingenuo.
Aún así, me gustó mucho la ambientación de una tierra casi destruida por el esfuerzo de guerra. Un muy buen giro respecto otras novelas, pero que se queda corto en otros aspectos.
October 28, 2020
Not as good as the first one but still good. The first half of the book is all frustrating politics for the reader and for poor Jason Wander who gets dragged through Washington and subjected to lots of frustrating conversations. Luckily, in the second half, the action starts and we get to see Jason doing what he does, kill Slugs! We learn some more about how the Slugs move around and create their populations. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. 3 out of 5 stars.
April 11, 2020
Maybe really 3.5. In some ways, the author took a risky route by focusing the first half of the book on what the political ramifications of the events in the first book might look like. And by and large, that risk pays off. When the pivot to the more space opera occurs, it feels fairly clumsy and forced. Then it is fine. Still worth the read and I will be continuing the series.
January 12, 2017
Picked this one up on a whim and finished it in a day. I haven't read the first installment, but this story stood well enough on its own. I love sci-fi, and this novel provided plenty of action and humor.
July 8, 2017
This has been a decent read. I have wanted to read this series as it was recommended when I was at the senior NCO course. Good action with some decent military components. Not quite space opera, but a decent alien vs. us story.
October 24, 2019
Quite slow to start with, although that actually wasn't a bad thing. For a sci-fi (which I normally struggle with) these are surprisingly easy reading, even though there's a lot of military jargon and warcraft (which again, I'm not that interested in).
October 21, 2018
The second half dragged on again, and the ending is basically a plea to read the next book. But it was pretty good apart from that.
May 23, 2020
Originally read Mar 2013
May 5, 2023
Everybody is just talking and politicking. Read 51%, got amazingly bored, gave up on the entire series. This was NOT military scifi.
January 2, 2025
Not a bad book, and it continues the story well. I look forward to the next one.
April 16, 2025
Another book that ended without detailing the meaning of what they did. No idea of they were admonished for their actions or called heroes.
January 12, 2011
Jason Wander, having survived the Slug War in Orphanage and risen, to a frightening degree (especially to himself) simply by surviving, to the rank of general and commanding officer of the Ganymede Expeditionary Force, is relieved when a new ship arrives to take him and his seven hundred surviving soldiers home to Earth. Although he has spent the months between the defeat of the Slugs and the arrival of the Excalibur taking every relevant correspondence course that he can, including a lot of military history, he knows he's not remotely qualified to be a general, but harbors strong hopes that he's at least worked his way up to lieutenant.
After a journey home that proves he doesn't have the political skills and officer training to be a general in the presence of other senior officers who know what they're doing, he's appalled to discover that he's going to remain a general anyway, because the government needs a war hero as a pr tool. And as the general who defeated the Slugs and saved Earth, he's it. There's no one else who can fill that role. It's especially difficult for Jason because he believes that current US government policy is wrong; the new administration is spending funds on economic and infrastructure reconstruction that Jason, not convinced that the Slugs won't be back, believes need to be spent on building a better defense. His dilemma gets worse once he's made a few tours in his unwanted new capacity: while he's more convinced than ever that every penny needs to be spent on defense, it's also clear to him that, after the years of pounding by the Slugs, every penny also needs to be spent on reconstruction. The government is engaged in the thankless and probably impossible task of trying to divide the available resources to do both at least adequately.
It simplifies things, in a quite unwelcome way, when the Slugs do attack again, this time from a spaceship carrying the bulk of their invasion force. Jason is at least confronted with a problem he understands somewhat better, even if dealing with that problem involves lying, cheating, stealing, and disobeying orders. And of course, persuading some of his surviving friends and subordinates from the Ganymede expedition to do the same.
This book is in many ways in the tradition of Starship Troopers and The Forever War, but Heinlein and Haldeman were each in their different ways angry when they wrote their books celebrating the infantry. I think Buettner is mostly having fun here (and certainly the reader is), while still celebrating the common foot soldier and trying not to oversimplify and cast Jason's human obstacles to defending Earth as villains, or even necessarily completely wrong.
Very enjoyable.
After a journey home that proves he doesn't have the political skills and officer training to be a general in the presence of other senior officers who know what they're doing, he's appalled to discover that he's going to remain a general anyway, because the government needs a war hero as a pr tool. And as the general who defeated the Slugs and saved Earth, he's it. There's no one else who can fill that role. It's especially difficult for Jason because he believes that current US government policy is wrong; the new administration is spending funds on economic and infrastructure reconstruction that Jason, not convinced that the Slugs won't be back, believes need to be spent on building a better defense. His dilemma gets worse once he's made a few tours in his unwanted new capacity: while he's more convinced than ever that every penny needs to be spent on defense, it's also clear to him that, after the years of pounding by the Slugs, every penny also needs to be spent on reconstruction. The government is engaged in the thankless and probably impossible task of trying to divide the available resources to do both at least adequately.
It simplifies things, in a quite unwelcome way, when the Slugs do attack again, this time from a spaceship carrying the bulk of their invasion force. Jason is at least confronted with a problem he understands somewhat better, even if dealing with that problem involves lying, cheating, stealing, and disobeying orders. And of course, persuading some of his surviving friends and subordinates from the Ganymede expedition to do the same.
This book is in many ways in the tradition of Starship Troopers and The Forever War, but Heinlein and Haldeman were each in their different ways angry when they wrote their books celebrating the infantry. I think Buettner is mostly having fun here (and certainly the reader is), while still celebrating the common foot soldier and trying not to oversimplify and cast Jason's human obstacles to defending Earth as villains, or even necessarily completely wrong.
Very enjoyable.
October 3, 2014
This is a solid sequel that follows on directly from 'Orphanage' and features many of the same characters. If you liked the first book you'll probably like this one, although there is less action.
The first chapter lies chronologically almost at the end of the story, and the bulk of the tale is told as one giant flashback. I guess this sets the scene for people who haven't read the first book but it does give away the plot a bit (although you can see most of it coming to be honest). Incidentally, if you are someone who hasn't read the first book, I would recommend that you start there instead as a lot of 'Orphan's Destiny' won't make as much sense without the benefit of that background information.
The bulk of the first half of the book deals with Jason Wander, the hero of 'Orphanage', and his return to Earth. Rather like in 'The Forever War', he finds that the attitude of the population has changed while he has been away and he becomes a reluctant figurehead for a tour to reassure the public about defence spending. This isn't as tedious as it might sound, and things keep ticking over until the more interesting second half of the book. The first chapter pretty much gives away what happens here, but I'll leave there so that the surprise is not spoiled further.
This is a good military sci-fi story, but to gain maximum pleasure from it, read the first book first, if you haven't already. It follows on nicely and logically from there and reaches a satisfying conclusion while remaining open for a sequel (which is actually available now, titled 'Orphan's Journey').
The first chapter lies chronologically almost at the end of the story, and the bulk of the tale is told as one giant flashback. I guess this sets the scene for people who haven't read the first book but it does give away the plot a bit (although you can see most of it coming to be honest). Incidentally, if you are someone who hasn't read the first book, I would recommend that you start there instead as a lot of 'Orphan's Destiny' won't make as much sense without the benefit of that background information.
The bulk of the first half of the book deals with Jason Wander, the hero of 'Orphanage', and his return to Earth. Rather like in 'The Forever War', he finds that the attitude of the population has changed while he has been away and he becomes a reluctant figurehead for a tour to reassure the public about defence spending. This isn't as tedious as it might sound, and things keep ticking over until the more interesting second half of the book. The first chapter pretty much gives away what happens here, but I'll leave there so that the surprise is not spoiled further.
This is a good military sci-fi story, but to gain maximum pleasure from it, read the first book first, if you haven't already. It follows on nicely and logically from there and reaches a satisfying conclusion while remaining open for a sequel (which is actually available now, titled 'Orphan's Journey').
February 11, 2015
I loved the first one. I chewed on this. I don't like it. Jason develops into a kind of an Uber-GI-Joe. And I can hardly identify with the hero-ethos Buettner draws: everyone seems willing to sacrifice himself for a higher goal. And I am tired of guys who are going to sacrifice themselves for whatever. Problematic, in my opinion, are the ideological implications. Buettner wanted to write a sci-fi space-action-story for the post 9/11 world. And he came up with mysterious "slug" beeings, terrorizing earth for no apparent reason. And, of course, only the US are able to stop them. The implication is: The western world – especially US – are terrorized out of a sudden and without any reasons. Things are much more complicated. I know, that this is a european perspective – and it would not have bothered me, when Buettner had not referred by himself to the political landscape of our time. Maybe I would have liked the book more, if he had left out political issues. Or rather, he had delivered a broader perspective: You can't talk about terrorism without talking about Guantanamo. This book is FOX News in space. I am going to read the third issue too, because the story is well written and entertaining but in terms of discussing present issues it's a failure. (Not in terms of propaganda.)
February 7, 2013
Review “Jason Wander” Book II “Orphan's Destiny”.
In a similar fashion to Robert Heinlein and Joe Haldeman, Orphan's Destiny is something of a space war opera focused on Jason Wander who has been in combat for two books now and has reached a field commission of Major General from his lowly enlistment grade in “Orphanage”, the first book.
The boogie man are slugs and the adventure is both who will win and who will die and it isn't as obvious as one might suspect.
The thing Robert Buettner doesn't do that Heinlein and Haldeman do is social or political commentary. It's just about the warriors and horrors and insanity of combat.
I'm at 3.5 stars and will round upwards. What bumped it down for me was that I thought the ending of this installment of the Jason Wander series came off as if the author had a deadline and his editor was pressing for the book. It isn't necessarily bad, goofy, or anything like that, just abrupt with a skip to a conclusion that seems to leave out a chunk of story. Still a fun read. It isn't Star Wars but for space opera war stories Jason Wander isn't a bad choice.
In a similar fashion to Robert Heinlein and Joe Haldeman, Orphan's Destiny is something of a space war opera focused on Jason Wander who has been in combat for two books now and has reached a field commission of Major General from his lowly enlistment grade in “Orphanage”, the first book.
The boogie man are slugs and the adventure is both who will win and who will die and it isn't as obvious as one might suspect.
The thing Robert Buettner doesn't do that Heinlein and Haldeman do is social or political commentary. It's just about the warriors and horrors and insanity of combat.
I'm at 3.5 stars and will round upwards. What bumped it down for me was that I thought the ending of this installment of the Jason Wander series came off as if the author had a deadline and his editor was pressing for the book. It isn't necessarily bad, goofy, or anything like that, just abrupt with a skip to a conclusion that seems to leave out a chunk of story. Still a fun read. It isn't Star Wars but for space opera war stories Jason Wander isn't a bad choice.
September 13, 2010
I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but felt that the last few chapters and the ending were a major letdown. The believability of the story completely collapsed for me during that sequence, as things seem to happen purely by author fiat.
Because the author seemed to be deliberately setting up for comparisons to both Starship Troopers and The Forever War, with unflattering views of both stated in the afterword, it's hard to avoid comparing this book's literary quality to those two. In the parts dealing with social responses to a devastating war, and with civilian desire to get things back to "normal" as quickly as possible, he was on solid footing, and was telling a good story.
When things went back to military action, the story just wasn't as solid, and suffered for it, especially in comparison to both of those books.
So, for me the first half of the book rated four stars, and the second half only two stars.
Because the author seemed to be deliberately setting up for comparisons to both Starship Troopers and The Forever War, with unflattering views of both stated in the afterword, it's hard to avoid comparing this book's literary quality to those two. In the parts dealing with social responses to a devastating war, and with civilian desire to get things back to "normal" as quickly as possible, he was on solid footing, and was telling a good story.
When things went back to military action, the story just wasn't as solid, and suffered for it, especially in comparison to both of those books.
So, for me the first half of the book rated four stars, and the second half only two stars.
February 27, 2011
This is the second in the orphan series. Others have compared it to the first, but I haven't been able to get the first book. I have read the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th books in this series, and I wish I could find the others. I haven't read them in the right order either. Jason, our protagonist, manages to save the world in the books I have read, even though he is a very flawed human being. Kind of gives me hope for m own future as well as the future of the world (universe). Our accidental general makes mistakes like every person does. A very human character. I love the action in his books. The author manages to makes his fantasy world real, possibly because he mixes the past in with the future.
January 8, 2012
The first book was very promising. I would really have liked to give this one three stars as well but the first half of this book was just no good.
Humanity have just, barely, defeated an alien invasion and then they go off and drop military spending, starts to mothball the defence installations, no further defence developments and generally behave like all danger is gone?
I know politicians are short sighted and dumb and nowadays they get dumber by the minute it seems but I do not want to read about that in a sci-fi book. Since half of the book is all about politics and this kind of BS it only get's a two star from me...and that's just barely.
If the first half of the book would have been on the same level as the last half then it would have been in for a three star...or more.
Humanity have just, barely, defeated an alien invasion and then they go off and drop military spending, starts to mothball the defence installations, no further defence developments and generally behave like all danger is gone?
I know politicians are short sighted and dumb and nowadays they get dumber by the minute it seems but I do not want to read about that in a sci-fi book. Since half of the book is all about politics and this kind of BS it only get's a two star from me...and that's just barely.
If the first half of the book would have been on the same level as the last half then it would have been in for a three star...or more.
January 27, 2011
the second book in the jason wander series is just as good as the first! wander finds himself finally making it home after the battle of ganymede and realizes just how difficult being in command can be. he is know widely known as a hero but he comes back to a difficult time. the earth is suffering after the battle in what appears to be the worst economy they've seen in a long time. the earth now struggles to figure out how to bolster the economy while keeping some semblance of defense in the skies. while this happens, a fleet of slug spacecrafts appears. wander and a few others are forced to take the fight to the large transport craft in order to save the day. another great read!
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