Into the Hinterlands

by David Drake, John Lambshead

Overview

FIRST TIME IN PAPERBACK.

#1 in an ALL-NEW military science fiction adventure series from veteran best-seller David Drake.

Creator of Hammer’s Slamners and genre-defining author has sold over 4 million books.

#1 in a new series from a military science fiction master with over 3 million books in print. A young hero comes of age in the crucible of war and galactic struggle.

When Allen Allenson, scion of a noble family that has fallen on hard times, gets a mission to roust the power-hungry Terrans from a “wild” star sector where they’re encroaching, he jumps at the chance to show his individual worth, improve his family’s fortunes – and gather enough lucre to make a good marriage. But the wily Terrans are not so easily persuaded by a young colonial they think of as a rube.

Worse, Riders, the beings who naturally ply the wilderness between the stars, are playing their own deadly political games – against the Terrans, against the colonials, and against one young greenhorn commander in particular: naïf young Allen, whom they figure they can manipulate to do their bidding. The one thing nobody has counted on is the fact that Allen, while young and inexperienced, and much to his own amazement, happens to be a hero in the making.

About Into the Hinterlands:

“Drake and Lambshead combine politics, military expeditions, and deep-space exploration into an intriguing tale...Recommended for all SF collections.” –Booklist

About David Drake’s RCN series:

“[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera.”— Publishers Weekly on the “RCN” series.

“The fun is in the telling, and Mr. Drake has a strong voice. I want more!” –Philadelphia Weekly Press

“[S]pace opera is alive and well. This series is getting better as the author goes along...character development combined with first-rate action and memorable world designs.” –SFReader.com

About David Drake:

“[P]rose as cold and hard s the metal alloy of a tank...rivals Crane and Remarque...” – Chicago Sun-Times

“Drake couldn’t write a bad action scene at gunpoint.”– Booklist

Comprehensive Teacher's Guide available.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781451638424
Publisher:	Baen Books
Publication date:	09/25/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	4.30(w) x 6.62(h) x 1.16(d)

About the Author

The Army took David Drake from Duke Law School and sent him on a motorized tour of Viet Nam and Cambodia with the 11th Cav, the Blackhorse. He learned new skills, saw interesting sights, and met exotic people who hadn't run fast enough to get away.

Dave returned to become Chapel Hill's Assistant Town Attorney and to try to put his life back together through fiction making sense of his Army experiences.

Dave describes war from where he saw it: the loader's hatch of a tank in Cambodia. His military experience, combined with his formal education in history and Latin, has made him one of the foremost writers of realistic action SF and fantasy. His bestselling Hammer's Slammers series is credited with creating the genre of modern Military SF. He often wishes he had a less interesting background.

Dave lives with his family in rural North Carolina.

Dr. John Lambshead is senior research scientist in marine biodiversity at the Natural History Museum, London. He is also the Visiting Chair at Southampton University, Oceanography, and Regent’s Lecturer, University of California. He also writes military history and designs computer and fantasy games.

Editorial Reviews

Into the Hinterlands is essentially the French and Indian War set in space. Allen Allenson is a young colonial gentleman living in a society with very strict rules of behavior. After the death of his elder brother, he is appointed head of the militia and sent to the Hinterlands, a region of interest to two "homeworld" superpowers. Events spiral out of control, and soon it is war between Allenson's homeworld, Brasilia, and Terra, which has cultivated alliances with the Riders, natives of the Hinterlands considered nomadic, savage beasts. While Allenson works to secure the Hinterlands for Brasilia, he questions the value of the colonists' relationship with the homeworlds and wonders if they would better off independent. The cover alone is enough to turn many readers away from this book. Those who choose to read it, however, will find an engaging, if overly complicated story. Much attention is paid to the strict protocol followed by colonial gentlemen in all maters, from how to dress to how to properly have an affair with a friend's wife. The dialogue of gentry characters, often formal as one would expect, sometimes slips into incongruous slang. Great detail is also given on the stream, a type of highway for space travel, and the types of vehicles and animals used to navigate the stream; yet, for all the description, these elements are hard to understand except in the broadest sense. The many battle scenes lack excitement. This is a secondary purchase for collections where science fiction is popular. Reviewer: Bethany Martin

VOYA - Bethany Martin

Inheriting his noble family's duties and eager to reestablish his house's failing resources, Allen Allenson sets out on a mission to survey family holdings throughout their intergalactic territory. His astute judgment and knowledge of universal human virtues, however, land him in a critical position as a novice commander of the colonial forces. Allenson proves more than capable of leading his men against greedy Terran invaders as well as the ruthless barbarian "Riders," whose innate ability to navigate the pathways between stars makes them a threat to all settled worlds. Drake ("Lord of the Isles" series) and Lambshead (Lucy's Blade) have written a series opener featuring an honorable and likable hero and an intriguing vision of an intergalactic future. VERDICT Despite a lack of significant female characters and a distinctly old-school approach, this new military sf series should carry the day with fans of the genre and Drake's many readers.

Library Journal