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Read Janissaries (1996)

Janissaries (1996)

Online Book

Genre
Series
Rating
3.75 of 5 Votes: 3
Your rating
ISBN
0671877097 (ISBN13: 9780671877095)
Language
English
Publisher
baen books

Janissaries (1996) - Plot & Excerpts

I am a bit royally ticked about this book. See I like it. I've liked other books by the writers they have turned out some great science fiction (and science fantasy). Much of it with plenty of action, a lot of it with thought provoking ideas. The book's great. I sort of stumbled over it after seeing it reviewed and recommended here. Went to the library web-sight and there it was. Hoopla had it in audio all I had to do was download it. It's not a totally new idea human soldiers from earth get transported to some other planet or world or universe or whatever and have to make a go of it there. That's what we got here. the soldiers were about to be slaughtered when they were unexpectedly and against all chance snatched away by aliens to be used as "foreign troops" on a distant world. Like I said not really unique, but this one is done well. it drew me in and held my interest from the beginning.So why am I ticked off you ask? BECAUSE IT ENDS IN A CLIFFHANGER AND THE LIBRARY DOESN'T HAVE THE NEXT BOOK IN ANY FORM! I will have to get it in paperback form which means I can't jump right into it.Stupid non-audio reads that I have to buy....Oh yeah, recommended. Enjoy.

Captain Rick Galloway and the soldiers he commands were surrounded by hostile enemies when the flying saucer arrived and offered them a way out of certain death. They had to take it. Now they’re on a planet called Tran where they’re expected to oversee the growth and harvest of a marijuana-like plant which their alien “saviors” collect and distribute on the black market when it ripens every 600 years. A human woman named Gwen has also been dumped on the planet after her boyfriend, who was working for the aliens, talked her into coming aboard the flying saucer.Tran is not uninhabited. It is home to several ancient civilizations who were also delivered from Earth to Tran each time the harvest was nearing readiness. Galloway and Gwen, reluctant heroes, must somehow lead the locals to fulfill the aliens’ demands, or they risk being eradicated. This involves gaining power, allying with local ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

What do You think about Janissaries (1996)?

The story is rather cliche and it has been done before. Alien race kidnaps band of earth soldiers. Commander of band is a student of military history. Band is plonked down on an alien world inhabited by primitive humans. Mayhem ensues.Nothing like an old seventies classic, down to the black and white illustrations. Pournelle does well when there is a strong military component. I did not have great hopes for this title, but it grew on me. Both the macroplot (the aliens) and the microplot (showing the locals how to use a pike) work very well. As usual, feelings and relationships are almost painfully caricaturised, but I suppose you read this sort of thing for the battles and the strategy. Good clean fun if you like this sort of thing, but hardly a book for the ages.http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1141
—Andreas

Like “Gilligan’s Island”, this book follows the adventures of a group of people stranded on a planet billions of miles from Earth. Unlike “Gilligan’s Island”, there are no laughs, and they are not the only ones stranded on the planet. A group of aliens have been snatching humans from Earth every 600 years and leaving them on this uncharted planet. A place where civilization is similar to the Roman Empire circa 400 AD.The best part of this book is the battle between the Barbarians and the Romans. War is the author’s passion and he has written military strategy and war gaming articles and books. “Janissaries” was published in 1979 and I believe would most likely appeal to fans of the previous generation of Sci Fi books.
—Connor Kennedy

Grand story, awesome premise and absolutely no substance. Not a single element of storytelling is implored here. It's a concept, a rough sketch. "They did this and then went here. Everyone now is fluent in Latin. Now it is two years later. Something occurs. It's now a week later."I was bored to death. Which frankly sucks because the concept is awesome. Planets around the universe in which humans were transplanted centuries ago, taking the current culture at the time with them. The variables could have been fascinating. The social structure, the variance of history playing out in relation to even the change of landscape. The different climates, the moons... and yet none of it is explored. I wish a better writer would steal the concept and run with it, copyright be damned.
—Rachel MacNaught

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