Orphan's Alliance (Jason Wander) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "MOUSETRAP'S VISIBLE NOW, GENERAL..." (more)
Key Phrases: human union, stone hills, social republicans, Emerald River, Mean Green, Sergeant Major (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Humans have been discovered on the Outworlds. And the Army decides to send emissaries. Emissaries like Jason Wander.


As intraplanetary conflicts rage around him, and the personal stakes get ever higher, Jason finds that playing planet-hopping politician can be harder than commanding armies.


When united mankind squares off to battle the Slugs for a precious interstellar crossroad, Jason will discover that the most dangerous enemy may be the one he least expects.

About the Author

Robert Buettner is a former Military Intelligence Officer, National Science Foundation Fellow in Paleontology, and has been published in the field of Natural Resources Law. He lives in Georgia, creating the sequel to ORPHAN'S ALLIANCE and snowboarding passably. His website is: www.RobertBuettner.com.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Orbit (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316001740
• ISBN-13: 978-0316001748
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 2.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,107 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Price of Command, November 19, 2008

By	Seachranaiche (USA) - See all my reviews

Readers of the Orphan Series might see parallels with David Feintuch's excellent Hope Series. Both Jason Wander and Nicholas Seafort fought amorphous blobs that appeared suddenly from the depths of outer space. But there the similarity ends, or does it? Buettner's Wander seems to vacillate whenever the big decisions need to be made and is wracked with guilt afterward. Feintuch's Seafort, on the other hand, is hard-edged and inflexible, sacrificing his people, seemingly without regard, in order to save the human race. Yet both characters make the big decisions and both characters win their battles: Wander just externalizes his guilt while Seafort internalizes his. Both characters understand the price of command.

There is a haplessness about Jason Wander that should make the Orphan Series light fare for space opera. Compared to the heightened tension of the Hope Series which, in Challenger's Hope, is some of the best that I have ever read, the Orphan Series underachieves from page to page. But this is where Buettner demonstrates his skill, and why the Orphan Series has been so enjoyable to read. The comedy of armed conflict, the miscues, the misfits, the humor that soldiers must find in order to maintain their sanity--this is what Buettner is exploring in simple narrative form, punctuated throughout with snappy, profound passages and references to military tradition. This is a futuristic story set in outer space, but it reads as entirely down to earth.

Winning the peace is Wander's challenge this time, which he bumbles through like Jacques Clouseau, but an edge of urgency accompanies him as he deals with the petty posturing of his new allies. As always, politicians make war through action (or inaction) and soldiers, often shaking their heads in disbelief, must fight. To reveal more would spoil the book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Union of Humanity, September 6, 2009

By	Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Orphan's Alliance (2008) is the fourth SF novel in the Orphanage series, following Orphan's Journey. In the previous volume, Bren was liberated from the Slugs by the united clans. Among those freed from slavery was Jude Metzger.

In this novel, Major General Jason Wander is now an offworld advisor. He assisted the Bren clans to destroy the Pseudocephalopods on their planet. He has an intuitive grasp of military tactics, but now is acquiring some experience.

Command Sergeant Major DeArthur Ord is the other half of the advisory team. Luckily for the general, Ord knows everything about military strategy, tactics, weapons and logistics. They work well as a team.

Howard Hibble is a Colonel and is still THE top expert on Slugs. He leads a group studying the Slug habits and artifacts. His team has designed the new space cruisers and Scorpion fighters.

Jason Udey Metzger is Jason's godson. Jude was born on Ganymede and has abnormally fast reactions; in fact, sometimes he seems to react before the stimulus occurs. But the headshrinkers have some doubts about his emotional stability.

Sharia Munshara-Metzger is Jude's mother. Munchkin had been Jason's gunner on Ganymede and then the widow of his best friend. Now she is a member of the US House of Representatives.

Audance Planck is a Brigadier General in the Tressen Army. Aud leads a highly mobile unit that appears out of nowhere to surprise the Iridan enemy. He is known as Quicksilver among the Tressen populace.

In this story, Jason and Ord are on Tressel advising the Tressens. The war against the Iridans has stagnated into classic trench warfare. But Jason has brought three hundred Kodiak hovertanks to breach the Iridan defenses and end the war.

Aud has quickly grasped the principles of tank warfare and commands the combined armored and infantry forces. He launches the attack during a heavy rainstorm and the tanks soon drown out the storm. Jason and Aud hitch a ride on the back of a hovertank as it roars through the enemy.

Unfortunately, friendly fire takes out the tank platoon, but the smart rounds only blow Jason and Aud off the top. The tanks are scrap, but they survive the explosions. Now they are stranded in the Barrens, a swamp with very hungry fauna. They hide from a Iridan armored vehicle, but Jason is almost eaten by a giant scorpion.

When the war is won, Jason, Ord and Hibble return to their transport and travel to Earth. There Jason tries to get command of an infantry division as a excuse to have some time with his godson. But he is given a different assignment that just happens to include Jude.

Jason has time to visit Munchkin in Paris. Jude is demonstrating the new Scorpion fighter at the Paris Air Show and Munchkin is providing PR for the manufacturers. Jason finally tells her that Jude and himself will be traveling outbound for Bren and Tressel on their way to a little known planetoid called Mousetrap.

Later, Munchkin arrives on Bren with a government investigative mission examining the black budget. When that mission returns to Earth, she goes with Jason to Mousetrap. There she takes charge of the workers converting the planetoid into a space fortress and arsenal.

This tale continues Jason's conflicts with the Army hierarchy and politicians. The Slugs are willing and able to destroy humanity if they are not stopped. Yet many among the upper echelons just don't understand the continuing danger of the Slug forces.

So Jason and his friends work against the system to defeat the Slugs. The next volume in this series is Orphan's Triumph. Read and enjoy!

Recommended for Buettner fans and anyone else who enjoys tales of armed conflict, political intrigue, and contrary generals. For those who have not previously read this series, the initial novel is Orphanage.

-Arthur W. Jordin

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best in series, January 9, 2009

By	Peter (USA) - See all my reviews

While this book spans perhaps the largest time span of any of the previous books its also the most interesting as it covers a wide range of characters while opening some new ideas on how societies develop from a limited point of view. Overall the slug war seems almost secondary to the story this time as the author previews how the alliance is going.
While the writing and character development is far above the others in the series, the overall story seems compressed and sparse considering all that is happening. I guess I would have liked to see this book expanded into two books where one covered the alliance and the other the war. Still it flows well and is an excellent addition. I am eager to see the next.