Not for Glory [Hardcover]

Joel Rosenberg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tetsuo Hanavi may hold the noncombatant rank of inspector-general in the Mercenary Corps of the Israeli-descended planet Metzanda, but his real job is something closer to hitman. Along with his uncle, disgraced ex-Gen. Shimon Bar-El, Tetsuo here becomes involved in two of his government's campaigns. To establish the pair's powers, Rosenberg shows how their cleverness and ruthlessness clear up the first assignment in puzzlingly short order. The second, however, gets so tangled in obscure future politics that it seems just as pointless. Rosenberg's interesting idea of combining the mysticism of oriental martial arts with pragmatic sabra toughness is as undeveloped as the stock characters and the unexamined romanticism of arms and man.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

To maintain the integrity of their reputation as the galaxy's mercenary elite, the soldiers of the barren world of Metzada adhere to a rigid code of loyalty and honor reminiscent of their Jewish-Israeli ancestors. When a veteran soldier apparently betrays the code, it becomes the ongoing task of his nephew to terminate himif he can. With the same gritty realism found in Emile and the Dutchman , this delivers fact-paced sf action-adventure with a refreshing twist. For sf collections. JC
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (March 21, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0453005802
• ISBN-13: 978-0453005807
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,508,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A review from the perspective of an Army Lieutenant, April 18, 2000

By 

Benjamin J. Weiss (Edmond, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not for Glory (Hardcover)

I found this book to be not only enjoyable reading, but a sharp look into the psychology of the soldier. As a Lieutenant, I lead troops every day, and I found this book to be helpful in my understanding other mindsets. All this, and a lot of fun besides! I liked the book so much that when my copy 'disappeared', I ordered a used copy from Amazon.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Future mercenaries from a resource poor world., October 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Not for Glory (Signet) (Paperback)

This is book I picked-up by chance (I had never heard of Joel Rosenberg). It was hard to put down, and when I did, I wondered why Joel Rosenberg has gotten away from the future military genre? While I enjoy his other books, especially when one of my favorite detectives is at work, I long for more of heroes with whom I can more easily identify. If you can find a copy, read it. You may need tissue at hand.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Engaging military sci-fi, August 26, 2005

By 

David Harper (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not for Glory (Hardcover)

Joel Rosenberg tends to write in a very gritty style where bad things happen to good people. This tendency is starkly evident in Not For Glory, a far-future military novel set after humanity has colonized a thousand worlds in the stars.

The descendants of old Israel...and for some reason never explained, Japanese ninjas...were both exiled and chose to make their new home on Metzada, an inhospitable world where everything - food, medicine - has to be imported. To pay for this, the entire male population of Metzada trains from childhood to become the best darn mercenaries (and assassins) ever - and hire themselves out to whomever can pay, committing bloody acts of war in exchange for food for their children.

This rationale gets brought out and drummed every chapter of the book; by the end, one is left with mixed feelings of sympathy for them and the feeling that they're just plain obsessed. Mentions are made of the Meztadan reconstructive surgery and other medical marvels, all home-grown out of necessity when half your population is in the line of fire. Why couldn't they export their medical skills? In a far future world where space travel seems to be a dime a dozen, why not grow food in satellites? We are left to assume that the Metzadan way is the only way, which is fair enough for as short a book as this.

The writing is smooth, the action quick - you won't be left bored with this book. The characters are human and interesting, with some pecularities unique to part-Japanese Jewish mercenaries. Personally, I found some of the Hebrew words thrown around a bit hard to follow, but by and large this is a military book - I found myself looking up words such as 'brevet' and 'bivouac' more often than anything else. Fans of the genre already won't have any problem with the language, and it seems to be very realistic when it comes to war - complete with the kind of language soldiers everywhere use to simplify things.

Not For Glory was well worth reading, but not worth collecting; it made for an interesting book, but not one I'd want to re-read again and again. Your Mileage May Vary.