Exiles to Glory: Pournelle: 9780671721992: Amazon.com: Books

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Jerry Pournelle

Exiles to Glory Paperback – January 1, 1993

by Pournelle (Author)

4.5 62 ratings

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One fateful night, Kevin Senecal, an engineering student at UCLA, is attacked by a murderous "youth gang" and accidently kills one of them while escaping, and Kevin finds himself on the run. Reprint.

Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Baen Books
Publication date

January 1, 1993
Dimensions

4.25 x 0.75 x 7 inches
ISBN-10

0671721992
ISBN-13

978-0671721992
See all details

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

62 global ratings

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Old Soldier. Young Great Grand Pa.

Pure. Pournelle.

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2023

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Coming of age the hard way. Even a princess. Problems discovered, then solved, And the science is real, too, Priceless!

I would call it typical young adult

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2019

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Some moments are (politically and socially) very actual and I wondered to find that the book was written in 80s.

But it does not hold interesting fantastical assumption or plot twist.

One person found this helpful

My hardcopy book is old so I upgraded it to ebook so I can enjoy it anytime

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2018

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These are books I read over and over. My hardcopy book is old so I upgraded it to ebook so I can enjoy it anytime, anywhere.

Dated but still fun

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2019

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Jerry Pournele has a ton of books out and the dozen or more that I have read have all been fun, readable and words that take me to some far place for a while. Exiles to Glory might be one of his minor works. It involves true love, theft on a grand scale, heroism and still solid critique of then contemporary left wing social policy and notions. These social policies and notions are still current. The book also sets up some of the political and social structures for some of his future books. I would say to go ahead and read it. It is enjoyable even if some of the computer stuff is outdated.

One person found this helpful

Fun, fast teenager-level read: A 1977 work of science hope that sadly remains out of reach in 2023

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2023

NOTE: I read this in the combined Exile--And Glory edition by Baen (2008), which as both High Justice and Exiles to Glory.
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This is the indirect sequel to two short stories from the collection of short stories titled High Justice, "High Justice" (Analog, 1974) and "Consort" (Analog, 1975). The work was published in paperback in 1978 but appeared in Galaxy Magazine in Sept-Oct 1977.

Thus, it ends up being a pretty fast paced engaging story for teenaged boys. Rather brief, too. We'll see our college-level protagonist go from Earth poverty to being launched into orbit to taking a spaceship to Ceres to a brief adventure on Ceres. Most of the book takes place on earth and on the spaceship. The material on Ceres speeds by super-quick at the end. There is enough interesting plot and plot developments in all three settings to keep the reader entertained throughout.

The material is solidly at the high-school level, with no swearing and only some implied sex. The most adult thing in it, besides sexual innuendo on the spacecraft from Earth orbit to Ceres (not wanting to behave as monkeys, in light of limited privacy on an overcrowded ship) and references to prostitution on Ceres, is the word "poon" ("I'm about to go looking for a little poon myself. I know a good house.").

I think some give Pournelle unnecessary grief for the moderately but clearly expressed libertarian politics and philosophy, failing to appreciate how "bad" things were in the USA and UK, for example, in the 1970s. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagen didn't come to power and stay in power as they did because the 1970s were a time of plenty and opportunity. It was possible to see in the 1970s that the scientific progress made in aviation and space technology was slowing to a crawl, as in so many other areas of scientific research and advancement. We still haven't sent humans back to the moon in 2023. And the SR-71 reconnaissance airplane and XB-70 experimental bomber, both dating to the EARLY 1960s, remain the pinnacle of speed & altitude for operational aircraft today. The welfare state does have a direct cost and an opportunity cost. The space progress he sought ends up in...the internet, cellphones & social media!

While this could be read as part of the Co-Dominium "universe", it really doesn't feel at all connected. So, anyone thinking it should, might be disappointed.

Modern soldiers in ancient Rome on distant planet

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2014

Originally posted at Fantasy Literature.

Captain Rick Galloway and the soldiers he commands were surrounded by hostile enemies when the flying saucer arrived and offered them a way out of certain death. They had to take it. Now they’re on a planet called Tran where they’re expected to oversee the growth and harvest of a marijuana-like plant which their alien “saviors” collect and distribute on the black market when it ripens every 600 years. A human woman named Gwen has also been dumped on the planet after her boyfriend, who was working for the aliens, talked her into coming aboard the flying saucer.

Tran is not uninhabited. It is home to several ancient civilizations who were also delivered from Earth to Tran each time the harvest was nearing readiness. Galloway and Gwen, reluctant heroes, must somehow lead the locals to fulfill the aliens’ demands, or they risk being eradicated. This involves gaining power, allying with local governments, educating the people of Tran, and figuring out how to efficiently harvest the drug.

Janissaries , named after the elite soldier-slaves of the Ottoman empire, is just the first installment in this (unfinished) epic quest. After the arrival on Tran, most of the plot involves a mutiny and division of Galloway’s forces and the attempt to gain an alliance and educate the people. The most modern civilization on Tran is a Roman culture which arrived during the last harvest 600 years earlier. While I found the idea of modern people essentially being dumped into the ancient Rome Empire to be a great premise, I had a hard time believing that their society had not advanced at all in 600 years. There is an explanation for this — the aliens destroy advancing cultures to keep Tran subdued — but I found this explanation to be more fun than believable. Also unbelievable is that there isn’t an easier and less convoluted way for the aliens to get the drugs off Tran. I can think of several options that would work better than abducting humans and watching to make sure they don’t progress.

But, of course, Pournelle’s real purpose here is to mix modern and ancient humans together, a plot device that’s not new but is usually entertaining. We get to watch while Galloway and Gwen set up a school and teach the locals such things as germ theory, the importance and practice of mapmaking, how to make paper and writing instruments, farming, math, weapons and military tactics. Surprisingly, though the ancient Romans were excellent engineers, there doesn’t seem to be anyone on Tran who has the brains to figure out some of these things without help from modern Americans.

After the arrival on Tran we don’t see much of the aliens (they don’t live there) so, for the most part, Janissaries actually works as a fine historical fiction. The setting is essentially ancient Rome and there’s all of the political intrigue, barbarian invasions, and romance you might expect from historical fiction set in that period. I expect that at some point the humans will band together to confront the aliens. At least I hope so. This series has been in progress since 1987….

The original print version of Janissaries (1979) was illustrated, but I listened to Blackstone Audio’s version. It’s just over seven hours long and read by Keith Szarabajka whose performance I loved. His voices and pacing are excellent and he gives the story just the right amount of passion.

One person found this helpful

Toward a paradise of freedom and individual responsibility!

Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2017

Lots of wingnut politics, some excruciatingly saccharine characters, and a bit of implausible action. Pournelle used to be very popular among hard-science fiction readers, but for the life of me I can't remember what anyone ever saw in him. PS, The title of this book is completely random, in case you were wondering.

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