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Multi-volume,
Universe-spanning adventures are a cornerstone of Military Science Fiction, and
Mike Resnick is writing a doozy of a series. To keep this simple, I'll answer
the top four questions and then you can go buy the books and get started.
Who?
You’ll find all the stock players you could ask for, properly fleshed out and
not caricatured: Troubled hero on the outs with the authorities? Check.
Supportive alien best friend? Check. Undersized Starship with moxie and not
much else? Check.
Where?
Since its Mike Resnick, you drop them in to the Birthright Universe. No need to
break in a new universe when you have a serviceable and popular one with plenty
of room to grow.
When?
This is MilSciFI. It’s the future.
Finally,
What? What does Resnick do with all these elements? A) Fight an entrenched and
inflexible military bureaucracy? B) Combat pirates on the far edges of
space? C) Protect the innocent as guns for hire? D) Strive as the
ultimate underdogs against a galaxy-spanning empire? Resnicks answer to this is
what makes the series worth reading. He chooses D) all of the above. By
using a different stock plot for each of the volumes, Resnick is able to keep
the series fresh and fast, paced.
The
only question left to ask to ask is "When does the next one come out?"
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