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Fires of Freedom
Revolt Against Tyranny! Two Military Science Fiction Novels by a New York Times Bestselling Author.
First Time in a Combined Mass Market Edition.
The struggle for independence on two colony worlds—Mars in the not-so-distant future, and a distant world circling another star in the far future, both threatened by powerful forces and faceless bureaucrats.
Birth of A teenage delinquent on a crowded, corrupt Earth, Garrett was given a rot in prison on Earth, or be deported to Mars to work in the colony there. But on Mars he would find an inner strength that he had never known before, and when Mars revolted against the multinational corporations that controlled the colonist’s lives, Garrett was on the front lines in the battle for planetary freedom.
King David’s Set in the same universe as the New York Times best seller, The Mote in God’s Eye . A new Empire has arisen and is annexing Earth’s surviving colony worlds. Haven had fallen back to a nineteenth century level of technology, and the basic requirement for a colony world to be admitted to the Empire as a full-fledged member with the right of self-government is that the colony have space travel. Unless Haven can somehow develop a spaceship, and quickly, the planet will be ruled by Imperial agents and the inhabitants will be little more than medieval serfs.
Two complete novels in one volume by New York Times best-selling author Jerry Pournelle, telling of the eternal struggle of freedom against tyranny throughout the galaxy.
First Time in a Combined Mass Market Edition.
The struggle for independence on two colony worlds—Mars in the not-so-distant future, and a distant world circling another star in the far future, both threatened by powerful forces and faceless bureaucrats.
Birth of A teenage delinquent on a crowded, corrupt Earth, Garrett was given a rot in prison on Earth, or be deported to Mars to work in the colony there. But on Mars he would find an inner strength that he had never known before, and when Mars revolted against the multinational corporations that controlled the colonist’s lives, Garrett was on the front lines in the battle for planetary freedom.
King David’s Set in the same universe as the New York Times best seller, The Mote in God’s Eye . A new Empire has arisen and is annexing Earth’s surviving colony worlds. Haven had fallen back to a nineteenth century level of technology, and the basic requirement for a colony world to be admitted to the Empire as a full-fledged member with the right of self-government is that the colony have space travel. Unless Haven can somehow develop a spaceship, and quickly, the planet will be ruled by Imperial agents and the inhabitants will be little more than medieval serfs.
Two complete novels in one volume by New York Times best-selling author Jerry Pournelle, telling of the eternal struggle of freedom against tyranny throughout the galaxy.
624 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 5, 2009
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About the author
Jerry Pournelle
265 books550 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 10, 2020
Some interesting scenarios not seen in typical sci-fi books.
April 30, 2019
This is the first time I've read any solo work by Jerry Pournelle. Previously I've read (and very much enjoyed) books that he co-authored with Larry Niven. Fires of Freedom is actually two books, the short novel Birth of Fire which reads very much like a Robert Heinlein novel and the much longer King David's Spaceship. There were moments when King David's Spaceship dragged a bit, but I really enjoyed where the novel ended up, making the journey worth it.
For fans of the Niven-Pournelle collaborations, it is worth noting that King David's Spaceship is set in the same universe as The Mote In God's Eye and even makes references to events in that book.
If Goodreads allowed 1/2 stars, I'd give this a solid 3.5 stars, but I'll go ahead and round it up based on the strength of King David's Spaceship.
For fans of the Niven-Pournelle collaborations, it is worth noting that King David's Spaceship is set in the same universe as The Mote In God's Eye and even makes references to events in that book.
If Goodreads allowed 1/2 stars, I'd give this a solid 3.5 stars, but I'll go ahead and round it up based on the strength of King David's Spaceship.
May 6, 2014
Two novels in one, but both are mediocre. Both are also pseudo-historical tales; one is the American revolution set on Mars, and one feels like Scotland dealing with a Holy Roman Empire, again in space. Both aren't bad, but aren't all that speculative, adhering to typical tropes of the convict made good or the legionnaire among the barbarians.
King David's Spaceship especially suffers from the majority of the book being low-tech swords and horses warfare. Wait for the bargain bin on this book, even granting you get two novels for the price of one.
King David's Spaceship especially suffers from the majority of the book being low-tech swords and horses warfare. Wait for the bargain bin on this book, even granting you get two novels for the price of one.
January 4, 2015
Fires of Freedom contains two stand alone novels with the shared theme of freedom. The first Birth of Fire was a pleasant read. I liked the main character the most, some of the supporting characters were a bit weak. The book was very short, about 220 pages, but was enjoyable. My main complaint was that the ending was very abrupt. I would rate it 3 stars.
The second book, King David's Spaceship, was a longer read and I found the cast of characters more fleshed out. There were some well done battle scenes that made the book enjoyable. I would give King David's Spaceship 3.5 stars.
The second book, King David's Spaceship, was a longer read and I found the cast of characters more fleshed out. There were some well done battle scenes that made the book enjoyable. I would give King David's Spaceship 3.5 stars.
March 25, 2016
Frustrating. Pournelle knows how to create some damn cool universes, but in this case (its a pair of discrete stories) they have some very anti-climactic endings that left me unsatisfied.
But like I said, some cool universes. The first being a reasonably believable set of mars colonies, the second being an awesome idea of a 19th century level planet needing to complete a small spacecraft in an absurdly short amount of time.
But like I said, some cool universes. The first being a reasonably believable set of mars colonies, the second being an awesome idea of a 19th century level planet needing to complete a small spacecraft in an absurdly short amount of time.
March 16, 2010
Classic Pournelle, classic American. Entertaining read, as always with excellent morals and higher lessons. This is what literature should be about.
July 26, 2010
Great sci-fi by Jerry Pournelle. Slightly heavy on the military side of things, as Pournelle's stuff is, but he does a good a job on that aspect as usual.
May 26, 2011
Enjoyed reading the book. The second time for King David's Spacship.
December 26, 2011
ok sci-fi
July 29, 2012
Poorly paced, spends a long time on military action, then just kind of convieniently wraps up the remainder of the story. Disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews