What do you think?
Rate this book
Citizen #1
Into the Hinterlands (1)
FIRST TIME IN PAPERBACK.
#1 in an ALL-NEW military science fiction adventure series from veteran best-seller David Drake.
Creator of Hammer’s Slamners and genre-defining author has sold over 4 million books.
#1 in a new series from a military science fiction master with over 3 million books in print. A young hero comes of age in the crucible of war and galactic struggle.
When Allen Allenson, scion of a noble family that has fallen on hard times, gets a mission to roust the power-hungry Terrans from a “wild” star sector where they’re encroaching, he jumps at the chance to show his individual worth, improve his family’s fortunes – and gather enough lucre to make a good marriage. But the wily Terrans are not so easily persuaded by a young colonial they think of as a rube.
Worse, Riders, the beings who naturally ply the wilderness between the stars, are playing their own deadly political games – against the Terrans, against the colonials, and against one young greenhorn commander in naïf young Allen, whom they figure they can manipulate to do their bidding. The one thing nobody has counted on is the fact that Allen, while young and inexperienced, and much to his own amazement, happens to be a hero in the making.
About Into the Hinterlands :
“Drake and Lambshead combine politics, military expeditions, and deep-space exploration into an intriguing tale…Recommended for all SF collections.” – Booklist
About David Drake’s RCN
“[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera.”-- Publishers Weekly on the “RCN” series.
“The fun is in the telling, and Mr. Drake has a strong voice. I want more!” – Philadelphia Weekly Press
“[S]pace opera is alive and well. This series is getting better as the author goes along…character development combined with first-rate action and memorable world designs.” –SFReader.com
About David
“[P]rose as cold and hard s the metal alloy of a tank…rivals Crane and Remarque…” – Chicago Sun-Times
“Drake couldn’t write a bad action scene at gunpoint.”– Booklist
Comprehensive Teacher's Guide available.
#1 in an ALL-NEW military science fiction adventure series from veteran best-seller David Drake.
Creator of Hammer’s Slamners and genre-defining author has sold over 4 million books.
#1 in a new series from a military science fiction master with over 3 million books in print. A young hero comes of age in the crucible of war and galactic struggle.
When Allen Allenson, scion of a noble family that has fallen on hard times, gets a mission to roust the power-hungry Terrans from a “wild” star sector where they’re encroaching, he jumps at the chance to show his individual worth, improve his family’s fortunes – and gather enough lucre to make a good marriage. But the wily Terrans are not so easily persuaded by a young colonial they think of as a rube.
Worse, Riders, the beings who naturally ply the wilderness between the stars, are playing their own deadly political games – against the Terrans, against the colonials, and against one young greenhorn commander in naïf young Allen, whom they figure they can manipulate to do their bidding. The one thing nobody has counted on is the fact that Allen, while young and inexperienced, and much to his own amazement, happens to be a hero in the making.
About Into the Hinterlands :
“Drake and Lambshead combine politics, military expeditions, and deep-space exploration into an intriguing tale…Recommended for all SF collections.” – Booklist
About David Drake’s RCN
“[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera.”-- Publishers Weekly on the “RCN” series.
“The fun is in the telling, and Mr. Drake has a strong voice. I want more!” – Philadelphia Weekly Press
“[S]pace opera is alive and well. This series is getting better as the author goes along…character development combined with first-rate action and memorable world designs.” –SFReader.com
About David
“[P]rose as cold and hard s the metal alloy of a tank…rivals Crane and Remarque…” – Chicago Sun-Times
“Drake couldn’t write a bad action scene at gunpoint.”– Booklist
Comprehensive Teacher's Guide available.
544 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 6, 2011
About the author
David Drake
318 books889 followersDavid Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the major authors of the military science fiction genre.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 23, 2014
The start of a new series from John Lambshead with David Drake and one I hope has legs and continues the story of our heroes; the set-up is quite intriguing physically, though the book is young Washington in a space opera context in many ways - the social setup is pre-revolutionary America with the main powers Brasilia as England, Terra as France and the proto-human Riders who ride continuum crystal living beings as the Indians, while the colonies are, well you got it and the Hinterland is well, you also got it...
The setup is the Fourth Civilization that spread across the stars when the nature of the universe was understood after the fall of (our) Third Civilization in resource scarcity and biowars and humanity now has the expected - lords of land at the top at least nominally, aggressive traders and merchants, while indentured servants take place of slaves in the Brasilian society and convicts in the Terran with the usual corruption, inefficiencies, class distinctions and pettiness....
The universe of the novel is a four dimensional membrane inside the continuum and the humans navigate it by "frames" aka glorified bikes/wagons though there are interesting details as to how this works and what limitations ensue (eg the hyperspace drag is determined at the subatomic level so what you can carry efficiently on frames is dependent on its properties rather than on mass/volume, so metals are hard to carry but ceramics are easy)
The story starts with Allen Allenson, young and promising colonial gentry and in-law to a secondary branch of a powerful Brasilian family, branch that decided to make its fortune in the colonies and married into the rising local families - leading a survey expedition into the Hinterlands under the nominal leadership of his learned but impractical in-law Destry (Destry's sister is married with Allen elder brother Todd) and with childhood friend, (bit socially lower on the totem pole) dashing ladies man Hawthorn as aide.
This part is awesome and hooked me on the story while it introduces both the universe and our heroes perfectly; later, visiting the dying Todd (of a gene wasting disease that no medical tech can cure), Allen is convinced by his sister-in-law the ambitious Lynsie to get Todd's position of Inspector General of the colonial militia; after the usual corrupt and patronage deals, Allen gets the position conditionally from the executive Governor, contingent of investigating reports of Terran penetrations into the Hinterlands and of renewing the treaty with some of the Riders tribes that have a representative at one of the few trading posts into the wild...
And of course from here the big-picture story starts and there is generally a predictable tone to what happens based on the events of the colonial wars of the 1750-1760's, but still I really enjoyed the story and the space opera milieu gives a great canvas to retell it.
There is much more including romance, seductive but dangerous women, politics, the book packs quite a lot despite not being that long at less than 400 pages
Highly recommended and a complete package with a great ending, but of course I want (and expect) more.
The setup is the Fourth Civilization that spread across the stars when the nature of the universe was understood after the fall of (our) Third Civilization in resource scarcity and biowars and humanity now has the expected - lords of land at the top at least nominally, aggressive traders and merchants, while indentured servants take place of slaves in the Brasilian society and convicts in the Terran with the usual corruption, inefficiencies, class distinctions and pettiness....
The universe of the novel is a four dimensional membrane inside the continuum and the humans navigate it by "frames" aka glorified bikes/wagons though there are interesting details as to how this works and what limitations ensue (eg the hyperspace drag is determined at the subatomic level so what you can carry efficiently on frames is dependent on its properties rather than on mass/volume, so metals are hard to carry but ceramics are easy)
The story starts with Allen Allenson, young and promising colonial gentry and in-law to a secondary branch of a powerful Brasilian family, branch that decided to make its fortune in the colonies and married into the rising local families - leading a survey expedition into the Hinterlands under the nominal leadership of his learned but impractical in-law Destry (Destry's sister is married with Allen elder brother Todd) and with childhood friend, (bit socially lower on the totem pole) dashing ladies man Hawthorn as aide.
This part is awesome and hooked me on the story while it introduces both the universe and our heroes perfectly; later, visiting the dying Todd (of a gene wasting disease that no medical tech can cure), Allen is convinced by his sister-in-law the ambitious Lynsie to get Todd's position of Inspector General of the colonial militia; after the usual corrupt and patronage deals, Allen gets the position conditionally from the executive Governor, contingent of investigating reports of Terran penetrations into the Hinterlands and of renewing the treaty with some of the Riders tribes that have a representative at one of the few trading posts into the wild...
And of course from here the big-picture story starts and there is generally a predictable tone to what happens based on the events of the colonial wars of the 1750-1760's, but still I really enjoyed the story and the space opera milieu gives a great canvas to retell it.
There is much more including romance, seductive but dangerous women, politics, the book packs quite a lot despite not being that long at less than 400 pages
Highly recommended and a complete package with a great ending, but of course I want (and expect) more.
April 10, 2015
Allen Allenson, a landowner on a pioneer planet, is looking into the Hinterlands (the unknown, wild, and unconquered, wild planets) to bring fortune to his home planet. But, the only way to prosperity is through the Terrans and they plan to fight every step of the way.) So Allenson takes a basically untrained planetary militia into battle... learning what not to do every step of the way.
250 pages into this story I was, "Do I like this book or do I not like this book?" And, after finishing it, I am still not certain. But, I finished it and I will read the next in the series, so I guess the answer is "Yes."
250 pages into this story I was, "Do I like this book or do I not like this book?" And, after finishing it, I am still not certain. But, I finished it and I will read the next in the series, so I guess the answer is "Yes."
January 3, 2017
Bookworm Speaks!
Into the Hinterlands
by David Drake and John Lambshead
****
Acquired: Amazon.com
Series: Citizen Series (Book 1)
Publisher: Baen; Reprint edition (September 25, 2012)
Paperback: 544 Pages
Language: English
****
The Story: A young hero comes of age in the crucible of war and galactic struggle.
When Allen Allenson, scion of a noble family that has fallen on hard times, gets a mission to roust the power-hungry Terrans from a “wild” star sector where they’re encroaching, he jumps at the chance to show his individual worth, improve his family’s fortunes – and gather enough lucre to make a good marriage. But the wily Terrans are not so easily persuaded by a young colonial they think of as a rube.
Worse, Riders, the beings who naturally ply the wilderness between the stars, are playing their own deadly political games – against the Terrans, against the colonials, and against one young greenhorn commander in particular: naïf young Allen, whom they figure they can manipulate to do their bidding. The one thing nobody has counted on is the fact that Allen, while young and inexperienced, and much to his own amazement, happens to be a hero in the making.
The Review: While reading this book, Bookworm felt a lot of channeling from the science fiction authors of the Golden Age: Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke and others. While he is not intimately familiar with the works of David Drake, he has indeed heard of him and is a fairly prolific author. However, he does not think this is not the best example of his work. Back to the Big Three though, this book channels the Golden Age in many respects, the main characters are all well-to-do white men with few female characters spread around. They are self-sufficient and intelligent and admirable as characters. The story is big…the actions of the characters have far reaching implications. We are essentially talking about actions that will affect an entire interstellar nation.
The world building is where this book stands out for the science fiction reader and its attention to detail. The author’s obviously did their homework in crafting this story as an analogue to early American history. This is clearly a technologically advanced society but from a cultural standpoint, it feels like a Victorian Era setting, complete with accompanying societal structures and caste systems.
Let’s get to the most persistently annoying aspect of this entire novel: the fact that this interstellar civilization gets to and from distant planets using bicycles. Think on that for a moment. Just say that sentence aloud…
If this was a book for eight year olds, an author might be able to pull of “Biker…In Space!” In a serious science fiction setting, it is just too much!
Suspension of disbelief is part and parcel of speculative fiction and FTL travel is the most egregious offender but this is just…silly. If the book, as a whole, were silly, then it could work but in a story that is clearly a space opera facsimile of pre-Revolutionary War George Washington, this bike breaks its chain or a least busts a tire a few too many times.
Is it possible that one or both of the authors is one of those pretentious bicycle riding types who wear the skin tight clothing and forever espouse the virtues of bike riding a’la Calvin’s Dad from Bill Watterson’s comic strip? In any case…it was a poor choice on the part of the authors. Bookworm thinks that their goal may have been to emulate the Earth time period in that transportation technology was crude, slow, and required a lot of effort. One can see the parallels between the Riders and Native American horse masters. If that were the case, perhaps they should have gone all out and make space faring galleons as the way to get around but pedaling does not get the story anywhere. It was a poor choice.
The authors made a strange choice in naming their outer space nation Brasilia. Was the planet colonized by people from Brazil? There is no South American culture to be seen here, not that Bookworm could ascertain. Were the authors just trying to throw in a little bit of multiculturalism? This was yet another persistent problem that was difficult to ignore. It also feels like a bit a cop out in naming the place after a location that already exists in the real world. Brasilia is the capital of Brazil for the uninformed.
Final Verdict: If one is a fan of classical science fiction literature and/or American history, this book may have a lot to offer with parallels to early America but for others it may be a bit to dense and have too many flaws to be particularly enjoyed.
Three Exercise Bikes out of Five
thecultureworm.blogspot.com
Into the Hinterlands
by David Drake and John Lambshead
****
Acquired: Amazon.com
Series: Citizen Series (Book 1)
Publisher: Baen; Reprint edition (September 25, 2012)
Paperback: 544 Pages
Language: English
****
The Story: A young hero comes of age in the crucible of war and galactic struggle.
When Allen Allenson, scion of a noble family that has fallen on hard times, gets a mission to roust the power-hungry Terrans from a “wild” star sector where they’re encroaching, he jumps at the chance to show his individual worth, improve his family’s fortunes – and gather enough lucre to make a good marriage. But the wily Terrans are not so easily persuaded by a young colonial they think of as a rube.
Worse, Riders, the beings who naturally ply the wilderness between the stars, are playing their own deadly political games – against the Terrans, against the colonials, and against one young greenhorn commander in particular: naïf young Allen, whom they figure they can manipulate to do their bidding. The one thing nobody has counted on is the fact that Allen, while young and inexperienced, and much to his own amazement, happens to be a hero in the making.
The Review: While reading this book, Bookworm felt a lot of channeling from the science fiction authors of the Golden Age: Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke and others. While he is not intimately familiar with the works of David Drake, he has indeed heard of him and is a fairly prolific author. However, he does not think this is not the best example of his work. Back to the Big Three though, this book channels the Golden Age in many respects, the main characters are all well-to-do white men with few female characters spread around. They are self-sufficient and intelligent and admirable as characters. The story is big…the actions of the characters have far reaching implications. We are essentially talking about actions that will affect an entire interstellar nation.
The world building is where this book stands out for the science fiction reader and its attention to detail. The author’s obviously did their homework in crafting this story as an analogue to early American history. This is clearly a technologically advanced society but from a cultural standpoint, it feels like a Victorian Era setting, complete with accompanying societal structures and caste systems.
Let’s get to the most persistently annoying aspect of this entire novel: the fact that this interstellar civilization gets to and from distant planets using bicycles. Think on that for a moment. Just say that sentence aloud…
If this was a book for eight year olds, an author might be able to pull of “Biker…In Space!” In a serious science fiction setting, it is just too much!
Suspension of disbelief is part and parcel of speculative fiction and FTL travel is the most egregious offender but this is just…silly. If the book, as a whole, were silly, then it could work but in a story that is clearly a space opera facsimile of pre-Revolutionary War George Washington, this bike breaks its chain or a least busts a tire a few too many times.
Is it possible that one or both of the authors is one of those pretentious bicycle riding types who wear the skin tight clothing and forever espouse the virtues of bike riding a’la Calvin’s Dad from Bill Watterson’s comic strip? In any case…it was a poor choice on the part of the authors. Bookworm thinks that their goal may have been to emulate the Earth time period in that transportation technology was crude, slow, and required a lot of effort. One can see the parallels between the Riders and Native American horse masters. If that were the case, perhaps they should have gone all out and make space faring galleons as the way to get around but pedaling does not get the story anywhere. It was a poor choice.
The authors made a strange choice in naming their outer space nation Brasilia. Was the planet colonized by people from Brazil? There is no South American culture to be seen here, not that Bookworm could ascertain. Were the authors just trying to throw in a little bit of multiculturalism? This was yet another persistent problem that was difficult to ignore. It also feels like a bit a cop out in naming the place after a location that already exists in the real world. Brasilia is the capital of Brazil for the uninformed.
Final Verdict: If one is a fan of classical science fiction literature and/or American history, this book may have a lot to offer with parallels to early America but for others it may be a bit to dense and have too many flaws to be particularly enjoyed.
Three Exercise Bikes out of Five
thecultureworm.blogspot.com
March 11, 2023
I'll say this first: Replace the interstellar pedal bikes with marching up the Ho Chi Mihn trail and the rest of the book makes much more sense. Don't let the transportation 'issue' knock you out of what is a solid military, sci-fi adventure.
Our protagonist (he's not a hero quite yet) is Allen Allenson. He has to step into his terminally ill brother's shoes and begin the process of expanding mankind's future out of the known galaxy to ensure its survival despite its suicidal inclinations. In other words, strict adherence to a bureaucratic process that ensures the home worlds continue their monopoly of everything over colonies and far smaller nations. Your brain will replace Terra and Brasilia with China as you read before you are even aware you're doing it.
I'm going to end the review here by asking you to read the book with an open mind, a lit cigar, and a tumbler of scotch and soda. Pick up a copy on Friday and have a great weekend.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
Our protagonist (he's not a hero quite yet) is Allen Allenson. He has to step into his terminally ill brother's shoes and begin the process of expanding mankind's future out of the known galaxy to ensure its survival despite its suicidal inclinations. In other words, strict adherence to a bureaucratic process that ensures the home worlds continue their monopoly of everything over colonies and far smaller nations. Your brain will replace Terra and Brasilia with China as you read before you are even aware you're doing it.
I'm going to end the review here by asking you to read the book with an open mind, a lit cigar, and a tumbler of scotch and soda. Pick up a copy on Friday and have a great weekend.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
July 26, 2022
This was an interesting book. I thought it was a little slow in the beginning but then it picked up. It could just have been just all the characters to keep track of. It did have a rather unusual way of navigating through interstellar space on what seemed like a bicycle. That part was not very convincing. But it was a good story.
April 17, 2018
I found the print and spacing too hard to cope with and it didn't seem that interesting a read so decided to quit trying.
October 21, 2012
David Drake and John Lambshead have come up with a unique way to travel between the stars in Into The Hinterlands. You peddle on a Frame that creates a bubble that allows you follow a unique path through the Continuum. There are trails and colors and paths in the Continuum. Sometimes your ride was smooth and sometimes turbulent. There were times when you had to stop at the nearest planet and let the storms pass. I found the method strange at first but as the book progressed it fit the story.
Allen Allenson has just returned from a scouting trip for the Colonial’s in the Continuum when he is asked to return. The Terran’s are encroaching and there is a need to know how far they have progressed. Then there are the “Riders” who have a natural way to travel the Continuum. The Colonial’s need to know what part the Riders plan to play.
This is primarily military science fiction. Allenson is the person who understands best how to conduct a campaign in the Continuum. No one is more surprised to find out that he is a hero than he is. Drake knows how to write military science fiction and his effort with Lambshead is filled with how to use history to win battles. There is not a lot of character development. Several situations in Allenson’s life are dropped into the story without much explanation or resolution. I found Into The Hinterlands to be a enjoyable classis military science fiction novel and a good start to a new series.
Allen Allenson has just returned from a scouting trip for the Colonial’s in the Continuum when he is asked to return. The Terran’s are encroaching and there is a need to know how far they have progressed. Then there are the “Riders” who have a natural way to travel the Continuum. The Colonial’s need to know what part the Riders plan to play.
This is primarily military science fiction. Allenson is the person who understands best how to conduct a campaign in the Continuum. No one is more surprised to find out that he is a hero than he is. Drake knows how to write military science fiction and his effort with Lambshead is filled with how to use history to win battles. There is not a lot of character development. Several situations in Allenson’s life are dropped into the story without much explanation or resolution. I found Into The Hinterlands to be a enjoyable classis military science fiction novel and a good start to a new series.
September 24, 2013
"The Continuum lay outside of reality ..." and didn't allow metals or combustion, but it did provide a shortcut across interstellar space. Vehicles were constructed of ceramic and carbon fibers and powered by human pedaling --- think Tour de France. Weapons were restricted to spring-power --- think sling shots and spear guns. So the stage is set for warfare by cyclists armed like SCUBA divers.
If you like WWII movie like Dirty Dozen and The Bridges of Toko-Ri, you enjoy this science fiction rendition of similar themes.
http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2012/0...
If you like WWII movie like Dirty Dozen and The Bridges of Toko-Ri, you enjoy this science fiction rendition of similar themes.
http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2012/0...
May 31, 2015
This is an SF version of George Washington's life. The science has been forced a bit so that it can be loosely the 18th century in space. George has been whitewashed, he owns indentured servants and not slaves and the Riders are much more primitive and savage than NA Indians, so it's OK to kill them.
He's done this before with Patriots which was a fictional Ethan Allen, who in my mind is a much more interesting and sympathetic character than a Southern Aristocratic Planter.
He's done this before with Patriots which was a fictional Ethan Allen, who in my mind is a much more interesting and sympathetic character than a Southern Aristocratic Planter.
June 19, 2012
As a stand alone book it leaves me pretty unfulfilled. The plot closed too much too quickly and the depth that I have come to expect from Drake just isn't there. As the start to a series, it shows immense promise. Might want to hold off on reading this one until book 2 comes available.
November 14, 2011
Not real worried about continuing this series.
October 24, 2011
Fairly standard set of David drake characters here in a new set of worlds.
October 26, 2011
Good story with quite interesting takes on technology. Worth reading the next installment.
December 15, 2011
Simply awful. I gave it 100 pages, but that's all I could stand.
January 3, 2012
David Drake and John Lambshead take the life of George Washington and turn it into an almost decent SF saga.. We will hold final opinion till we read the next volume in the series.
March 2, 2014
I always enjoy David Drake, particularly for his habit of basing Sci Fi stories on historical stories. This one is based on the life of George Washington and is very well done.
Read
January 3, 2016coming of age novel for a young colonial boy.
January 18, 2016
a retelling of George Washington and the French & Indian war set in the distant future.
June 4, 2016
The plot moves along at a pace that isn't either too fast or too slow, and the characters are interesting. I hated to put the book down. I look forward to reading the next in the series.
April 23, 2017
Moral rating: pg-18 because of how loosely they treat the sanctity of marriage.
July 5, 2018
Slightly too detailed on the military specifics, but otherwise very interesting, novel, and I really want to know what comes next.
Cycling across the galaxy is perhaps not the most likely future…
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews