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The Regiment #1
The Regiment
The planet Tyss has only one resource: soldiers. But they are very good soldiers. And once a regiment is formed, it never recruits again; as its members fall in battle, it simply grows smaller to become a battalion, a company, a platoon, a squad . . . and then there are none. But before the last man of this regiment has flung himself into battle, the Federation of Worlds will never be the same.
416 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1987
4 people are currently reading
438 people want to read
About the author
John Dalmas
50 books33 followersJohn Dalmas—pseudonym for John Robert Jones—wrote many books based on military and governmental themes throughout his career. He grew up in Minnesota and Michigan and resided in Spokane, Washington. He was a parachute infantryman in WWII and was discharged in 1946 without ever being put seriously in harm's way. He has worked as a longshoreman, merchant seaman, logger, construction worker, and smokejumper. He attended Michigan State University, majoring in forestry, but also took creative writing.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 21, 2023
The Regiment is something of a hybrid, combining military scifi with deep philosophy, and as such, has its strengths and weaknesses. Do not, however, expect a fast-paced military romp here! Our main protagonist, Varlik, is basically a journalist in the capital city of the Confederacy, a human stellar empire in the distant future. The people of the Confederacy fled the "Home Sector" (which must mean Earth) over 20,000 years ago to avoid the 'mega' war going on there. Not wanting to ever experience something like that again (entire planets were destroyed), they worked up a system to prevent that. Basically, everyone, as a rite of passage, gets a combination of drugs and psychological treatment to make them conform to 'the system'. Technology has been standardized, as has much of social life, to prevent things like science and research from taking place again. Why? Without this, the hope would be that no new means of destruction will ever be invented again. Not all of the fleeing colonists agreed to this, however, and they were left on a remote planet barely able to sustain human life.
Flash forward 20,000 years and we have the Confederacy in its golden age-- 27 member planets and several other 'trade planets'-- all under the crown of the emperor. The capitol planet has a monopoly on spaceship building and hence economic leverage over all. Dalmas begins, however, by introducing the T'swa, the civilization that arose on the remote planet that did not by into the 'system'. It seems they evolved a very special philosophy if that is even the right word; more like an outlook on like that resembles Tao Buddhism. Along with this, however, 'masters' have developed certain powers of the mind, like seeing the past and somethings the future, or being able to 'ride' as an observer another's mind even at great distances.
What the T'swa are famous for, however, are their mercenary armies. These are hired out as regiments by various world governments with well specified contracts. The story lines come together when Varlik is sent to a remote planet where the locals are staging a revolt; it seems they have had enough of being slaves in mines that produce an ore that goes into making steel. After routing the military of the planet that runs the mines, the T'swa are called in to suppress the rebels, and Varlik is to cover the T'swa.
Of course, Varlik learns T'swa and tries to understand them and here is where Dalmas dumps all kinds of philosophy on us. I liked the military aspect of this and Dalmas knows his stuff for sure here. The 'way' of the T'swa got a little old, however, and dragged in parts. Not sure exactly what Dalmas was going for here. Exploring the human condition? What happens when we suppress science? There is sure to be an interstellar war at some part in this series as we are briefly introduced to an alien space faring race and indeed, the humans that survived the megawar. We also know that the T'swa philosophy will play a major role in shaping the destiny of humanity. Intrigued? This might be for you. 3.5 mind bending stars.
Flash forward 20,000 years and we have the Confederacy in its golden age-- 27 member planets and several other 'trade planets'-- all under the crown of the emperor. The capitol planet has a monopoly on spaceship building and hence economic leverage over all. Dalmas begins, however, by introducing the T'swa, the civilization that arose on the remote planet that did not by into the 'system'. It seems they evolved a very special philosophy if that is even the right word; more like an outlook on like that resembles Tao Buddhism. Along with this, however, 'masters' have developed certain powers of the mind, like seeing the past and somethings the future, or being able to 'ride' as an observer another's mind even at great distances.
What the T'swa are famous for, however, are their mercenary armies. These are hired out as regiments by various world governments with well specified contracts. The story lines come together when Varlik is sent to a remote planet where the locals are staging a revolt; it seems they have had enough of being slaves in mines that produce an ore that goes into making steel. After routing the military of the planet that runs the mines, the T'swa are called in to suppress the rebels, and Varlik is to cover the T'swa.
Of course, Varlik learns T'swa and tries to understand them and here is where Dalmas dumps all kinds of philosophy on us. I liked the military aspect of this and Dalmas knows his stuff for sure here. The 'way' of the T'swa got a little old, however, and dragged in parts. Not sure exactly what Dalmas was going for here. Exploring the human condition? What happens when we suppress science? There is sure to be an interstellar war at some part in this series as we are briefly introduced to an alien space faring race and indeed, the humans that survived the megawar. We also know that the T'swa philosophy will play a major role in shaping the destiny of humanity. Intrigued? This might be for you. 3.5 mind bending stars.
October 23, 2014
This was a 4 star read in a lot of ways. The first half was excellent military SF. The political/conspiracy thread got stronger & made for a good second half, but there was also a thread of mysticism that ran through it that I didn't care for, although it did help support the philosophical thread to some extent.
Overall, the philosophical thread was the main one. We're introduced to it early on in a simplistic format & then it's touched on through out the book. It breaks life into major groups & then assigns motivations to them. It was interesting, although it's a far stretch. Still, that's what SF is about - exploring the far stretches.
Dalmas certainly got a lot of the trivia of the military right. As I read about the jumps, I thought he must have done it. He has. He jumped in WWII & later was a smoke jumper. I'm not sure which is more dangerous.
I won't be reading it again, but I'm glad I read it once. I'm going to look for the second book in this series, too. It might just be excellent, although no real reviews are on GR.
Overall, the philosophical thread was the main one. We're introduced to it early on in a simplistic format & then it's touched on through out the book. It breaks life into major groups & then assigns motivations to them. It was interesting, although it's a far stretch. Still, that's what SF is about - exploring the far stretches.
Dalmas certainly got a lot of the trivia of the military right. As I read about the jumps, I thought he must have done it. He has. He jumped in WWII & later was a smoke jumper. I'm not sure which is more dangerous.
I won't be reading it again, but I'm glad I read it once. I'm going to look for the second book in this series, too. It might just be excellent, although no real reviews are on GR.
August 31, 2021
This book changed my life. I’ve read it at least 5 times in the last 15 years. Easy read like most of John Dalmas’ stuff, and the mystery and philosophy elevate the book. It’s the kind that could easily be a movie- so visual and while the technology portrayed keeps it from being true to modern sci-fi, it doesn’t fall apart. In many ways it takes us back and this too, is one of the author’s strengths.
I was left with characters I cared about and dreamt of and I’m thankful there’s more than one book in the series.
I was left with characters I cared about and dreamt of and I’m thankful there’s more than one book in the series.
June 29, 2012
I've read this book a number of times and find that every time I read it I think about what it says. Work as play, play as work,etc. the book has a simple chart that gives a better understanding of the principals that Dalmas is trying to explain and if you actually think about it, it makes sense.
October 9, 2025
Varlik Lormagen is a reporter who is sent to Orlantha to cover a military action between the Rombili, (who are mining the planet and had been using the native humanoid 'Birds' as slave labour), and a Bird uprising. The Rombili had hired the elite mercenaries known as T'swa from Tyss, regiments trained from childhood to be battle philosophers - as the T'swa treat combat more like a zen contemplation - and any T'swa killed in battle are not replaced in a regiment - it just dwindles until absorbed by other regiments or disbanded. The native Birds however, seemed to be armed with modern weapons and have sound military strategems which leads Varlik to conclude that they may be being supplied by illegal arms manufacturers and his suspicions are given more credence when he finds an armory on Tyss. The regiments may be being used by factions on their own planet for some sinister reason and it is up to Varlik to find out why and try to stop it. The Confederation-wide practice of hypnotic Standardization may be at risk too! Not really my cup of tea - military SF - but it is competently written by John Dalmas with lots of battle scenes and strategy explanations, but I couldn't see how it was really any different to traditional war fiction just set on another planet.
April 14, 2021
Disjointed narrative. Jumps around a fair bit and the pacing is subsequently off, leading to a rather contrived conclusion.
Sometimes desperately old fashioned narratively, it would've been fine coming out in the 60s or early 70s, but reading it now it is bordering on- or is- quaint.
There are moments of wonderful humanity in the book, I was actually quite fond of and was charmed by some of the characters, but unfortunately this wasn't capitalised on for the reasons I mentioned above. A waste of good sentiment!
The plot needed to be harder, leaning into thriller territory, but it was paddling in Heinlein-lite waters, which is ok if you're Heinlein and phoning it in but otherwise nooope.
2 "Space-Vietnams" out of 5
Sometimes desperately old fashioned narratively, it would've been fine coming out in the 60s or early 70s, but reading it now it is bordering on- or is- quaint.
There are moments of wonderful humanity in the book, I was actually quite fond of and was charmed by some of the characters, but unfortunately this wasn't capitalised on for the reasons I mentioned above. A waste of good sentiment!
The plot needed to be harder, leaning into thriller territory, but it was paddling in Heinlein-lite waters, which is ok if you're Heinlein and phoning it in but otherwise nooope.
2 "Space-Vietnams" out of 5
March 25, 2021
I re-read this book for the first time in decades. To my delight, much of it stood the test of time.
My dim memory of it was of a quirky occult/philosophical military SF story. I must say that I quite enjoyed the esoteric aspects of it, even though it seemed a bit less "deep" than my younger self thought it was. Still, it is delight to find speculative fiction that includes well-thought-out discussions of deeper issues (whether philosophical or societal) in a new and interesting light.
Is the book really worth 5 stars? Hmm, perhaps 4-1/2 might be more accurate, but I'll give the extra half-star for the effort of coming up with something new.
My dim memory of it was of a quirky occult/philosophical military SF story. I must say that I quite enjoyed the esoteric aspects of it, even though it seemed a bit less "deep" than my younger self thought it was. Still, it is delight to find speculative fiction that includes well-thought-out discussions of deeper issues (whether philosophical or societal) in a new and interesting light.
Is the book really worth 5 stars? Hmm, perhaps 4-1/2 might be more accurate, but I'll give the extra half-star for the effort of coming up with something new.
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October 23, 2025Alpha-Males: You can't live with 'em, but sometimes you can't live without 'em. An alien migration fleet -- 14,000 starships strong -- searches the stars for a new home, its homeworld forever lost. When they finally find planets that can support them, all they have to do is eradicate the pesky human natives, a task they assume is easily within their powers. But Earth's Commonwealth of Worlds isn't about to give up so easily -- even if it has to create and train something it hasn't had for centuries: soldiers!
March 17, 2017
Great story! A bit odd at first but wonderfully immersive and it has something of a twist ending that I wasn't able to fathom up until the very end. Not only is it interesting, but it describes a system of thought that is quietly and patiently changing my life. This book is really difficult to describe.
March 25, 2019
Not bad. Totally a product of its time, but there was some interesting ideas to this. Parts of it felt fairly modern, in its contemplations.
June 13, 2016
A heavily philosophical military science fiction novel, the first in a trilogy, I believe. I thought it was quite good, although I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying and a little disappointing. But perhaps it was fitting for the philosophical viewpoints the author was trying to get across regarding society, war, and other roles for people/beings in cultures, etc.
A rebellion takes place on a planet where some important mining is done by slaves, essentially. The slaves are physically superior to their intellectually “superior” masters, but they have some help and training, as well as weapons, and soon it turns into a real battle. So, a different race of warriors from another planet is hired as mercenaries to come in and fight them for the human masters. The protagonist, a journalist, joins the mercenaries to get their stories, and becomes one of them, essentially, living and training with them, even going out on missions with them. He discovers and finally understands their cultural philosophy regarding “play” and war, etc, and that changes everything.
I won’t say more because I don’t want to give away the plot or the critical ending, but it’s a good, action packed book with a lot of tension and emotion, intrigue and politics. And the aforementioned philosophical thoughts and ideas. Almost a five star book, but I’m giving it four stars due to the problematic and moderately disappointing ending. Nonetheless, definitely recommended and I intend to read the other books in the series.
A rebellion takes place on a planet where some important mining is done by slaves, essentially. The slaves are physically superior to their intellectually “superior” masters, but they have some help and training, as well as weapons, and soon it turns into a real battle. So, a different race of warriors from another planet is hired as mercenaries to come in and fight them for the human masters. The protagonist, a journalist, joins the mercenaries to get their stories, and becomes one of them, essentially, living and training with them, even going out on missions with them. He discovers and finally understands their cultural philosophy regarding “play” and war, etc, and that changes everything.
I won’t say more because I don’t want to give away the plot or the critical ending, but it’s a good, action packed book with a lot of tension and emotion, intrigue and politics. And the aforementioned philosophical thoughts and ideas. Almost a five star book, but I’m giving it four stars due to the problematic and moderately disappointing ending. Nonetheless, definitely recommended and I intend to read the other books in the series.
June 22, 2021
Not what I expected, but an interesting surprise.
I started this expecting a war movie in space, some good pulpy action, but ended up with something more introspective and political.
Less 'Black Company' and more Asimov's Foundation.
Young journalist is allowed to join one of the famed Regiments while they are on a mission and ends up learning more about himself, the regiment and the galactic political system than he anticipated.
Decent mix of politics, philosophy and sci-fi.
Stumbles a little at the end, when Dalmas has to explain what's behind some of the political choices the empire has been making and then I found out this is book #1 in a series.
That annoyed me, more than it excited.
Left me feeling I'd just read a 400 page prologue.
I started this expecting a war movie in space, some good pulpy action, but ended up with something more introspective and political.
Less 'Black Company' and more Asimov's Foundation.
Young journalist is allowed to join one of the famed Regiments while they are on a mission and ends up learning more about himself, the regiment and the galactic political system than he anticipated.
Decent mix of politics, philosophy and sci-fi.
Stumbles a little at the end, when Dalmas has to explain what's behind some of the political choices the empire has been making and then I found out this is book #1 in a series.
That annoyed me, more than it excited.
Left me feeling I'd just read a 400 page prologue.
March 1, 2012
Actually a pretty good book. The action is less important than the social discussion in the background. However, it takes until 3/4 of the way through before you realize what the book is actually about and it's not really broadcast very well. The end is a whimper and a let down. It has little to do with the rest of the book and really ruined the experience for me. There are sequels to this book, but because the ending of this one was so weak, I don't intend to find them. Overall, it's an okay book and worth the read.
October 18, 2008
As I love the feel of early sci-fi, I really enjoyed this book up to the end where things took a bit of a twist I never saw coming or even understand where it may have been previously anchored in the stiry. SOrt of a lout-of-left-field sort of event. The author puts me in mind of early Heinlien or Hubbard, very quick read.
October 27, 2009
I am a huge fan of military science fiction. The Regiment series by John Dalmas has to be one of my favorite of all time. The plot and premise are truly innovative and make for an incredibly satisfying read.
October 12, 2011
The military part of the book was good but the most interesting thing about this book and the series, which was it's ideas about work and a person's place in society. The regiment comes from a society whee profession should be like play not work.
March 18, 2008
Straight-forward space opera science fiction. We need more books like this and fewer Magic Swords, Evil Thoughts, and other Capitalized Nouns That Are Supposed to Have Magical Significance.
February 17, 2013
This book could have easily received 3 or 5 stars. It reminded me of a hammer slammer's novel.
July 20, 2012
John Dalmas writes good, solid adventure stories, always entertaining. This book chronicles the adventures of an idealized military unit who represent the best of military virtues.
April 1, 2013
I lost track of Dalmas when paperbacks started becoming an issue for my vision, but I particularly liked the Regiment novels. Now with ebooks I may return to Dalmas.
November 11, 2014
1998 grade A-
2008 grade B+
2008 grade B+
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March 20, 2019great entertainment.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews