Orphan's Triumph

Jason Wander #5

by Robert Buettner

Jason Wander is ready to lead the final charge into battle.

After forty years of fighting the Slugs, mankind's reunited planets control the vital crossroad that secures their uneasy union. The doomsday weapon that can end the war, and the mighty fleet that will carry it to the Slug homeworld, lie within humanity's grasp.

Since the Slug Blitz orphaned Jason Wander, he has risen from infantry recruit to commander of Earth's garrisons on the emerging allied planets. But four decades of service have cost Jason not just his friends and family, but his innocence.

When an enemy counter stroke threatens to reverse the war and destroy mankind, Jason must finally confront not only his lifelong alien enemy, but the reality of what a lifetime as a soldier has made him.

Genres: Science Fiction, Military Fiction, Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Space Opera

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Robert Buettner’s best-selling debut novel, Orphanage, 2004 Quill Award nominee for Best SF/Fantasy/Horror novel, was called the Post-9/11 generation’s Starship Troopers and “one of the great works of modern military science fiction.” Orphanage has been adapted for film by Olatunde Osunsanmi (The Fourth Kind) for Davis Entertainment (Predator, I Robot, Eragon). Orphanage and other books in Robert’s Jason Wander series have been translated into Chinese, Czech, French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. Robert was a 2005 Quill nominee for Best New Writer.

In April, 2014 Baen Books released his eighth novel, Balance Point. A long-time Heinlein Society member, Robert wrote the Afterword for Baen’s recent re-issue of Heinlein’s Green Hills of Earth/Menace From Earth short story collection. His own first original short story, Sticks and Stones, appears in the 2012 anthology, Armored, edited by John Joseph Adams. Robert served as the author judge for the 2011 National Space Society Jim Baen Memorial short story writing contest.

Robert is a former U.S. Army intelligence officer and National Science Foundation Fellow in Paleontology. As attorney of record in more than three thousand cases, he practiced in the U.S. federal courts, before courts and administrative tribunals in no fewer than thirteen states, and in five foreign countries. Six, if you count Louisiana.

He lives in Georgia with his family and more bicycles than a grownup needs.

Visit him on the web at www.RobertBuettner.com.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very satisfying conclusion to the series, albeit one that involves lots of politics and very little military action. 'Spooks' have determined that the red moon over Bren is pure cavorite and that they can use it to create a 'silver bullet' that can kill the slug world, and hence end the war with the slugs for good. While Jason meanders around on Bren, and then back to Earth to visit friends and neighbors, the slugs launch a massive invasion fleet to capture the red moon, and succeed in taking it away. So much for the silver bullet plan! Yet, there might be a plan B, but unfortunately, that involves dealing with a Nazi-like world where more cavorite is located...

Like the rest of the series, whether or not you like this installment depends upon your emotional attachment to the characters, especially Jason. Buettner livens up the novel with a host of military quotes and quips that really serve to ground it as military science fiction, and the prose moves along nicely. I felt the ending was a little too pat, but still it works. 3.5 stars rounding up.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The end of the series sees the slugs departing our galaxy. How it happened did not sit well with me, though. I won't spoil anything here, especially for fans of the series who might actually like the ending. I did not. The other ninety percent of the book was great, but that ending. Woof.

Still, a better read than much of what is currently being published.

Find it. Buy it. Read it.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I am 'only' giving it four stars because of the strong emotions it managed to generate in me and not because I "really liked" the story. I almost cried halfway through the book because of what the author does (and I still feel like it was pretty crappy writing on his part, despite the strong emotional response); however, by the time I was finished with it, I was glad to be finished with it The character development is 'good,' I guess. Jason Wander, no doubt, has the 'best' character development over the course of the series, and it shows through to the end of this book. I guess the ending of the book shows the depths of Jason's character and how much he has grown over the past forty years while fighting the Slugs.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this book; almost too many. I reached the 'over-saturation point' and would have been happy to have seen the book end maybe one hundred or so pages earlier, maybe even one hundred fifty pages earlier. It really felt like it was dragged out unnecessarily on the part of the author, but, the flipside is, if it had not 'dragged out' like it did, a 'nice, neat' ending might have felt too manufactured or too forced, maybe too convenient. The way the rest of the series has gone, I knew it would not end the way characters' planned for it to end; nothing ever seems to work out that way. Had I not read the third book in the subsequent series first, I would have had zero idea how this series was going to end. As it was, I 'knew' how it was going to end without knowing the actual details of how it was going to end.

Despite the chapters being short chapters, the narrative as a whole felt ponderous and slow-moving. I kept finding myself wishing the author would 'get to the point' and get moving with the story. I do not know; it just felt unnecessarily longer than it needed to be to me. Even the third book felt like it moved faster than this book, and it was just a hair longer than this book.

Some random thoughts:
I did find it mildly amusing that Jason’s per diem only lets him rent a garbage room from a crappy hotel and then zero decent breakfast (115), but then he finds out that general officers are exempt from the per diem (116) and Nat Cobb’s replacement’s aide’s comments reflect Jason’s night and breakfast inre trying to live off the per diem.

I was surprised to discover that Chapter 26 was the end of the fourth book! I did not see that coming. That 'surprise' was nicely done!

I was getting somewhat worried with this book a few chapters in, to be honest. Munchkin had died, needlessly so (in my opinion) toward the end of the second book, and I found myself suspiciously wondering if he was going to kill off either Jude or Sergeant Major Ord in this book. I already knew Howard would not die, as he was still alive in the subsequent series, sadly. I would have been happy if Jude had died; I had grown to dislike his character in the fourth book. But, no. He did it! He went and bleeping did it! HE KILLED OFF SERGEANT MAJOR ORD!!!! And, not in battle, either. He has Ord contract a crappy-@$$ bug on some Podunk planet while out in the boonies and die less than three weeks later! I don’t believe it! (161 – 170) (The funeral was on pages 171 – 174 - it sounded amazing.) I still cannot believe he’s dead! He was my favorite character in the series! I was strongly disappointed in that development!

I could not decide how much the title was a play on words. I mean, Jason Wander was an orphan after his mother died. Many under his first comment were orphans. Sergeant Major Ord, Mimi Ozawa, and Jude were orphans. So, obviously, the title refers to Jason and the other orphans who survived to the end of the war and their triumph over the Slug threat. Then, you have Mimi piloting the JFK at the end of the book, late to the battle, but picking up human survivors from the destroyed fleet - every single one of the survivors being a kind of 'orphan' themselves after the loss of their respective vessels. So, there is an element of triumph, there, too. Finally, you have the "core Slug" (who decides to go by the name 'Archie' after a discussion with Jason) who is, in effect, an orphan Itself. It 'merely' wishes to leave 'this' universe and travel on to the next universe next door. Jason has to decide if he is going to let it live and escape or die and he dies along with it a short time later. He opts to let 'Archie' survive and flee this universe for the next, having grown tired of killing after having done so for forty years. So, it was a type of 'personal triumph' for Jason, as he resisted the urge to engage in revenge and kill this giant Slug, to kill Archie, to let Archie go so that Jason did not lose whatever was left of his own humanity. It was a form of triumph for Archie, too, as he was able to escape the bonds of this Universe and enter the next Universe over. Well, I guess the "Final Finally" is that the war is now over, and humanity can go about the business of expanding across the universe/galaxy at its leisure. So, yeah, a lot of potential meanings on different levels.

I was surprised to see Celline in this book, but as a young girl, considering she shows up in the second book in the next series, twenty-some years later. I do not remember how Jude was supposed to have died between this book and that 'sorta sequel,' but Jude is not 'present' in the second series. But, I did like how the author 'redeemed' Jude's character by having him remain behind on Tressen to 'marry' Celline and work with Celline to see that the Iridians were set free from the yoke of their captors and prisoners, the Tressians. There are other elements discussed in this book that show up in Undercurrents, as well.

I was glad that Howard did not play a huge part in this novel; I have grown to dislike his character a great deal. That being the case, it was 'nice' that Howard had such little time in this novel. Him and his 'stupid' withholding of information until it's almost too late was always a ridiculous part of the stories for me; there were times when his information hoarding was "probably" valid, but most of the time it was just Howard being paranoid.

Overall, I am glad that I finished this book and finished this series. I did not like how he left other plots (sub-plots) dangling like he did by the time this book ended. I did find myself wishing he had resolved those plot points, as well. Or, done something more than just let them dangle. Maybe he plans to add to and expand his 'universe' at a later time; hence, the lack of closure? It was an interesting book, and I did enjoy it (overall) (say, 2.7 - 2.9 stars, rounded up).

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a bit to get motivated to finish the series as the last couple of books haven't been as entertaining as the first couple. This one wasn't as action packed as the first or second book, this one was more political intrigue and sneaking around but it wasn't boring. I was happy with the wrap up of the series, it ended on a good note. There was only one item that I didn't feel wrapped up that well. I think we are supposed to assume that Jude made it back to civilization on Tressel and survived, but I would have liked to know for sure that he lived at the end. Other than that little loose end, I liked how the book wrapped up and everything worked out. Overall 3 out of 5 stars.

[Seth Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most satisfying ends to a series I have ever read. If you haven't followed the Jason Wander books then the emotional impacts will not hit as hard, but this book will still be a great read. If you have journeyed through the Slug War with Jason from his recruitment into the army and his being made an orphan in Orphanage, then this book will be the perfect culmination of Jason as both a soldier, hero, and a person. He finally has a chance to end the threat to humanity once and for all, join him on his incredible journey.

[Rogue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Omg! I finished the series! This was okay, a bit sloooowwww at points and the ending was... different to what I expected. But you can see the character growth throughout the series more than ever in this one, and that I did enjoy.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great sci-fi. Would recommend to others.

[Dantegideon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the best of the series, but the ending didn’t half stink. Didn’t explain anything or wrap up the half-dozen storylines. Like he just threw up his hands and said, “Space slug! Whatever!”

[anil singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Fantastic series that was thoroughly enjoyed. Great characters and story. Couldn't put them down once started, a really good read.

[Paul Charran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfying end to the Jason Wander series. It is action packed, with political turns. Definitely keeps the reader guessing.

[Jillian Cori lippert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why but I just lost interest.

[Thefirstidiot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally read Mar 2013

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mankind has come back from the brink, and now Jason Wander is command of all Earth Forces. After 40 years, there's finally a weapon to end the war, but The Slugs counter attack.

[Graham Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book could have been written in three chapters. The ending was so weak that it ruined the while series!

[Soho_Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the major problems with science fiction series is that the titles aren't always terribly imaginative. At first glance, the cover of ''Orphan's Triumph'' gives away exactly how the story is going to turn out. It's great credit to Robert Buettner that what I expected wasn't what happened.

The war between humans and slugs has now been raging for more than four decades. As in any war, there have been countless deaths, strong bonds formed and even love blossoming. But for the first time, there seems to be an end to the war in sight, as the humans have designed a weapon they think can finish things. The one problem with the plan is that they don't know exactly where to use this weapon, as they've not yet located the slug home world.

However, Jason and his Intelligence colleague Howard have captured a slug ganglion, which acts as the consciousness for the slug armies. They believe that this will hold the location of the home world and let them deliver the war-ending blow. However, the slugs are smarter than they think and promptly steal an entire planet, which was to be the source of the cavorite for the weapon. The human army have found a new cavorite source, but it's not at all easy to collect it. Even if they do succeed, can this long war really be over?

I felt that ''Orphan's Alliance'', the fourth in the series, was lacking a little something that the rest of the series had. Buettner tried to add in a romantic sub-plot to make Jason Wander into a more rounded character than just a fighter. This took some of the edge and some of the pace out of the story last time around. Here, though, Buettner plays to his strengths and that of the series and it's action all the way.

Buettner writes in short, sharp chapters here, similarly to James Patterson, which keep the pages turning and makes the book pass very quickly. Even without this, it's a story that starts at a frantic pace and maintains that the whole way through, with the exception of a couple of parts. The story jumps from one part to another quicker than the ships jump between galaxies and occasionally with the same sense of mild disorientation such space travel leaves the soldiers with.

For me, the real beauty of this story was that the unexpected was always the most likely outcome. Every time things seemed to be settling down and an obvious event seemed to be looming on the horizon, something completely different happened. This allowed for and, indeed, resulted in many twists and the best was saved for the end of the book, which was the last thing I would have expected to see occur.

Even better, it's not as if the twists felt as if they were pulling things off in a different direction simply to stretch things out and build suspense. Everything that happened seemed perfectly logical and possible in the world that the story inhabits. If anything that happens in a world where humans have spent four decades fighting slugs who have mastered space travel can be logical, anyway. The whole idea may require some suspension of disbelief, but the story never stretches things any further than that, following all the rules that have been set by the series, as strange as they may be.

The characters themselves are reasonably well drawn. Although there is little emotion on show, apart from the obvious sorrow about fallen comrades and the rather gung-ho attitude that has permeated the whole series, these are well-rounded people. They all have distinct personalities and are easily differentiated, despite all being part of the same cause. Whilst the emotional quotient may be low, Buettner's writing is visual enough that it's easy to picture some of the battles and locations, even on a totally alien landscape, the likes of which we've never seen and never will.

This may not be literature as its' best, but it certainly is action thriller writing at its' best. It maintains a very high pace throughout, but adds in some delightful twists that elevate it above the standard in the genre as a whole and makes it the best of this series in particular. This is in itself a bit of a shame, as it's the last in the series and there's no more to come. But this is a series that started with a bang and has ended with a fusillade and if you've enjoyed the rest of the series, or something like Chris Bunch's ''Last Legion'' series, this is well worth a look.

This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk

[Francisco De Borja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un adecuado final para las series del "ORFANATO". A lo largo de la historia son claras las referencias -en forma de homenaje- a Starship Troopers, Ender´s Game y the Forever War.

[J.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody Was Somebody Else Before the War

True to form, Robert Buettner delivers in the finale of the Jason Wander series. Picking up at the conclusion of ORPHAN'S ALLIANCE, the United Human forces are ready to launch the ultimate counter stroke in the battle against the slugs that has raged on for four decades. At the heart of the novel is Jason Wander, the orphan who has stumbled his way to the position of Lieutenant General, much to the dismay of everyone. Wander was the first to encounter a slug and is determined to be the last one to see them alive. Along the way, through the entire series, he has sacrificed much, and lost even more.

ORPHAN'S TRIUMPH explores the price of command and the price of a life long service to the military as Wander comes to terms with what is necessary to win at all costs. As expected, the personal commentary by Wander in this first person account is raw and genuine. The voice is unmatched and deeply personal. As in ORPHAN'S ALLIANCE, there were times of true emotional responses from me while reading some of the passages, which proves the depth of this military science fiction installment.

The case of characters includes those that readers of the series have come to appreciate (and love) including Ord, Mimi, Jude, Howard Hibble and his merry band of "Spooks," and Aud. Forty years of war has certainly had an effect on these people and as the end of the Slugs or the end of Humanity looms they will have to reconcile with each other and show the worth of their friendship/relationship. Buettner excels in casting his believable characters in situations that are, at times, excruciating and elegant to read, all at the same time.

ORPHAN'S TRIUMPH, as well as the entire series, is not to be missed. In the spirit of Robert Heinlein, ORPHAN'S TRIUMPH is today's commentary on war, exploration, and personal sacrifice.

Good reading,

Plants and Books
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[Jaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, this book made me cry half way through it - I won't list why, but Buettner how could you do that? Why??? The injustice of it...

This series captivated me from the very beginning (I'm an old fan of military SF) and this is good - really good. Easy to read, no nonsense and speaks with an authentic voice - one I heard while working alongside men who had served in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, in the theatres of war that have been waged.

Buettner captured their voices and feelings so well in Jason - the lead character. I loved this book and cannot praise this book and the series enough.

Thanks for giving those Veterans of the modern wars a voice.

[Nathan Balyeat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final installment of the Jason Wander series was worth the read. By far the most mature and complex book, the author more or less admits that Jason's career was improbable in the words of his character.

"I'm not a general, I'm an accident of history."

Which is fine by me, because I suspended my disbelief 4 books ago.

The ending isn't quite what you might have been expecting, and is actually quite good. It wraps the series up nicely, permanently, and unlike many series these days.... well.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great conclusion to a great set of books (5). I was a little perplexed when the series went all 'medieval' after book 2 - but I'm so glad I continued reading them. What to say about the ending, not what I expected. The last few chapters you pretty much knew what would happen with the lead character (I'm not going to give anything away so am being intentionally vague) but the actual end still came as a bit of a twist, and one that I really liked.
Good series, looking forward to reading more from this author.

[aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the final book in the jason wander series and man does it end with a bang! in this one the slugs seem to take another step towards the destruction of mankind. jason has to work out some problems on the planet of tressen in order to get some cavorite to take down the pseudocephelapod hegemony. this book takes some incredibly interesting turns which makes this book an excellent ending to the series! a great read and i highly recommend this series!

[Bruce Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this series because the story is good enough to need to be finished.
As mentioned before, it was an audio book series.
Sadly, this performer left a lot to be desired in his pacing, reading of full sentences and even his pronunciation of certain common words. He distracted from the enjoyment of the tale. Now, I'd never attempt to perform a book but someone should have done whatever the audio book equivalent of editing is done with his performance.

[Liviu · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent ending to the series consolidating Jason Wander's position as a very humane and likable series hero. The book goes a bit too much into pulp, and the series was a book or so too long for its depth, but if you liked 1-4, you will like the conclusion too.

Not quite on the top of mil-sf, but close and among the better series in the genre

[Darth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was close to 4 stars for me, but it jst bogged down for me so bad with all the Tressel intrigues, I got bored and put it down for a long time. This literally took me weeks to finish.

Still I liked the twist ending, even if I saw it coming.
This is a very good re-imagining of Starship Troopers, and in the spirit of homage, not copycat.

[Shannon T.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice ending to the series. i would have given it five stars but i felt like it left several things hanging at the end which was frustrating. but i loved the unique voice of this series and the way it incorporated history into the future. well done all around.

[Tristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was the 2nd greatest entry in the series. I hate to say goodbye to the series, but luckily there is more in the Orphanage Universe to explore. The ending was sadly disappointing in my view. Nevertheless, it was packed with action and was a very thrilling book.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really, really great finale to what's been a consistently exciting and epic series. Read them all back to back and feels like the end of a great journey. Anyone who likes a bit of military sci-fi or just action and adventure in general should give this series a read.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Orphan’s Series is one of my favorite Military Science Fiction sagas. It has everything, great characters, action, and humor. The ending is well done. If you enjoy military Science fiction or Action-based Space Opera, read all of the books.

[John (JP) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last of the Orphanage series. This was good story with a mildly unsatisfactory ending. I wish that Robert had spent a few pages telling us how such an unusual species developed spacefaring technology. The story has the feel of the Forever War

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good ending to the series: basically all the same tropes as the rest of the series. This particular alien culture has been done before Ender's Game, and I didn't feel like this pulled it off quite as well, but it was a fun read nonetheless.