Customer Reviews

Janissaries Iii Tr (Janissaries, No 3)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the first two Janissaries books we were introduced to Rick Galloway and his band of mercenary soldiers as they are kidnapped by aliens and transported to Tran, a world trapped in the middle ages, to grow illicit drugs for the aliens. We followed Galloway's adventures as he befriended the locals and tried to introduce technology to improve their lives and defend themselves against their enemies.

This final volume to the Janissaries series was a disappointment on a number of levels. Most significantly, while it does further develop the activities of the human servants of the alien civilization off of Tran, that part of the story is never brought to a conclusion. Also not resolved it the question of the preparations of the humans on Tran for the coming "Time." We are not provided with any closure on the question of whether the mercenaries will be able to prepare their new friends and allies to survive the coming conflict with the aliens.

The first two-thirds of this book delve deeply into the political intrique, and it is only in the last third that we return to the faster paced military story. Unfortunately, the book ends with the battle, without resolving any of the important plot lines. In many ways, it feels like another book was meant to follow this, but no such follow up seems to exist. It isn't clear why so much time was spent developing these plot lines if the ending was intended to leave them unresolved. The ending of the first book was much more satisfying, and that book can clearly stand on its own, but by the end of the third book, the reader deserves a more complete ending.

If you like Janissaries and Janissaries: Clan and Crown, you'll enjoy Storms of Victory. Things are getting closer to "The Time" and either destruction at the hands of the Shalnuksis and their human servants, or perhaps some alternate fate mediated by those same servants.

It's fun, it's got long battle scenes, it's got Rick in trouble again and again, and a growing Wanax becoming quite a leader. The Romans are there too, and even a fairly high risk encounter with a safely fanatical (and therefore we know he is evil) religious leader.

I kept hoping Jerry and friend would wrap this thing up in book III. Pity, they didn't! And now I see they've still not finished book IV. Pity.

I first discovered books I and II some dozen years ago and enjoyed them immensely. Recent rediscovery was just as good as I remembered, even with the somewhat dated depiction of the main female characters.

A very good read, especially for the war historians among us.

After reading the first book I started looking for the other 2 "definitely out of print" in the series. I purchased both from Amazon, and I've read both like the first part: fascinated and(almost) without a stop from first to last word. I senced a growing disapointment while advancing in part 3 finding out the story does not come near an end. I any of you know of a part IV, let me know. I expect humanity to conquer the universe and would like to read about it . .

If you like Janissaries and Janissaries: Clan and Crown, you'll enjoy Storms of Victory. Things are getting closer to "The Time" and either destruction at the hands of the Shalnuksis and their human servants, or perhaps some alternate fate mediated by those same servants.

It's fun, it's got long battle scenes, it's got Rick in trouble again and again, and a growing Wanax becoming quite a leader. The Romans are there too, and even a fairly high risk encounter with a safely fanatical (and therefore we know he is evil) religious leader.

I kept hoping Jerry and friend would wrap this thing up in book III. Pity, they didn't! And now I see they've still not finished book IV. Pity.

I first discovered books I and II some dozen years ago and enjoyed them immensely. Recent rediscovery was just as good as I remembered, even with the somewhat dated depiction of the main female characters.

A very good read, especially for the war historians among us.

Perhaps if enough of us let him know, Roland Green will finish this series, or turn it over to someone who will! He has left other series unfinished as well, especially the Wandor series. Come on Roland, you are an excellent storyteller, and create wonderful characters. Can't you finish a series? I won't even start Peace Company, since I understand you haven't completed that series either.

Otherwise, an excellent book, but you need to read the books in sequence to understand the background, and to understand why the characters make some of the choices they do. That's why Green is so good at character development, they act in a manner consistent with their backgrounds.

Book is the third in a series,however the forth has not been published and it has been a long long time.

Superb. When is the next part of the saga due out? One can get lost in the story and the characters. As a retired long service soldier and student of militarr history, I find the unique twist with Romans, Highlanders and mercenaries an enjoyable read.

This book is the third in the Janissaries series. Having read the first two many times, I was excited to find that a third had been written and was very anxious to read it. The book started out very good and includes an appendix to help keep all the characters and geography straight. This was a big help as many of the characters have similar sounding names, and the maps are hard to read. In many ways, this book is the most well written of the three; and promised to tie up many loose ends that were left from the first two. Unfortnuately, it did not. I strongly suspect that the author planned to write a fourth book because the ending fell flat. No spoliers here, but there is at least one major question/issue that has been hanging on since the very begining that is not dealt with. Still, if you have read and enjoyed the first two, it is worth reading. Just be prepared for a little dissapointment at the end.

I remember reading Janissaries Clan and Crown first. I was intrigues by the story and the rich combination of cultures and in depth characterizations of the various cultures that Jerry used for Tran. A definite illustration of his rich and in depth knowledge of history. With Storms of Victory we get into an era that Jerry especially excels at. The history of Rome is obviously near and dear to his heart and how he melds it into the rich tapestry of Tran, the horsemen, and the war with the five kingdoms is truly a work of art. Of all the book series I own, this is one that I can start at any time regardless of mood or circumstance. I am eagerly anticipating the fourth book in the series. I was so glad to hear that he had recovered from his cancer. Here's hoping for a long life of creative efforts and a good life.

This is a good series. I enjoyed all three books in the series, even if it did take quite awhile for the third one to be published. The worst part to this series is not knowing if the author is ever going to finish it. We were left hanging at the end of the third book. I hate it when authors leave a series of books unfinished.