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Laurie Jo Hansen #1-2
Exile―and Glory
Earth was stagnating from a lack of resources, from corrupt governments that stayed in power by keeping their people in ignorance and poverty, and by the established power structures that stifled the creative technologies that could solve the planet’s problems. But the governments and power structures didn’t yet control space, where bold new techniques could freely be applied and the vast resources of the solar system could be utilized by such courageous men and women
* Aneas MacKenzie—he had believed in the man he had helped to reach the office of the presidency of the United States, and had tirelessly rooted out corruption wherever he found it, until the trail led straight back to the White House. After that, no place on Earth was safe for him.
* Laurie Jo Hansen—she controlled a multi-national corporation more powerful than many governments. Unlike those governments, she wanted to see Earth’s problems solved and reaching the high frontier was the only way to do that.
* Kevin Senecal—he had made the mistake of fighting back against a juvenile gang, and accidentally killing one of them while escaping. Both the gang and the law were after him, and on all of Earth there was no place to hide.
* Ellen MacMillan—a young employee of the Hansen Corporation who fascinated Kevin, she was on a secret mission, and the biggest secret was her real name.
Two complete novels— High Justice and Exiles to Glory —in one volume by a New York Times best-selling author, telling of an Earth sinking into a morass of corruption, red tape, and failure of nerve, while a dedicated few dare to reach for the stars
* Aneas MacKenzie—he had believed in the man he had helped to reach the office of the presidency of the United States, and had tirelessly rooted out corruption wherever he found it, until the trail led straight back to the White House. After that, no place on Earth was safe for him.
* Laurie Jo Hansen—she controlled a multi-national corporation more powerful than many governments. Unlike those governments, she wanted to see Earth’s problems solved and reaching the high frontier was the only way to do that.
* Kevin Senecal—he had made the mistake of fighting back against a juvenile gang, and accidentally killing one of them while escaping. Both the gang and the law were after him, and on all of Earth there was no place to hide.
* Ellen MacMillan—a young employee of the Hansen Corporation who fascinated Kevin, she was on a secret mission, and the biggest secret was her real name.
Two complete novels— High Justice and Exiles to Glory —in one volume by a New York Times best-selling author, telling of an Earth sinking into a morass of corruption, red tape, and failure of nerve, while a dedicated few dare to reach for the stars
368 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2008
About the author
Jerry Pournelle
268 books556 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 20, 2015
This is an interesting book. I almost put it down near the beginning since not much at all was happening. Sea farming, glaciers and nuclear energy in Africa, a few other not-all-that-exciting, sort of related stories about near-future earth and her troubles. As I read, though, I started to get more interested as I saw what the author was about. These loosely connected stories tell about how mankind left earth and began to colonize space, space stations, a moon base, and finally asteroid colonies. Earth, in this author's universe, is exhausted: corrupt governments, rampant crime, hunger, and an endless tangle of regulations, rules, unions, and laws. A few brave capitalists dedicate themselves to escaping the surly bonds of the welfare state and head off into the vast deeps of space. This was a little bit like an Ayn Rand novel, but set off world.
I was interested in reading the author's thoughts on what it would be like in a society where there were, literally, no laws or government, but everyone knew that working together was the only thing that kept them alive. Talk about libertarian! Big companies push around smaller companies; government agents try and muscle their way into communities of autonomous individuals who have no traffic with rules and laws, and who are working solely for profit. I have to admit, I found it all to be much more interesting than I thought it would be, and the author did a good job pointing out the pros and cons of such a future. There were, for example, no old people or sick people or handicapped people. There were a LOT of healthy, smart, attractive young people, so I guess if I were 25 with an IQ of 150, physically fit and totally fearless, this future would be for me.
Robert Heinlien handled the whole 'libertarians in space' issue very well with his book The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Maybe if humanity does colonize other planets, it makes sense to hit the re-set button and say, "From this point forward, you are completely on your own. From this point forward, we are all equal. No more excuses. No more history. The world is made new...have at it." I wonder what such a society would look like?
This is why I like speculative fiction!
I was interested in reading the author's thoughts on what it would be like in a society where there were, literally, no laws or government, but everyone knew that working together was the only thing that kept them alive. Talk about libertarian! Big companies push around smaller companies; government agents try and muscle their way into communities of autonomous individuals who have no traffic with rules and laws, and who are working solely for profit. I have to admit, I found it all to be much more interesting than I thought it would be, and the author did a good job pointing out the pros and cons of such a future. There were, for example, no old people or sick people or handicapped people. There were a LOT of healthy, smart, attractive young people, so I guess if I were 25 with an IQ of 150, physically fit and totally fearless, this future would be for me.
Robert Heinlien handled the whole 'libertarians in space' issue very well with his book The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Maybe if humanity does colonize other planets, it makes sense to hit the re-set button and say, "From this point forward, you are completely on your own. From this point forward, we are all equal. No more excuses. No more history. The world is made new...have at it." I wonder what such a society would look like?
This is why I like speculative fiction!
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July 30, 2011What happens when liberal and conservative continue to diverge?
January 21, 2013
One of his earlier works; good stories without the power of his developed storytelling.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews