Into the Hinterlands - The Citizen

Product Review

#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 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

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review

(13 customer reviews)

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

Space Adventure or American History?, September 3, 2011

G. Peter Wityk "Peter Wityk" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Into the Hinterlands (The Citizen) (Hardcover)

This book is set as an adventure in the distant future and is both readable and enjoyable as such. I see echos of Daniel Leary in Allen Allenson. I see details of writing and plotting that remind me of John Lambshead's Lucy's Blades. There is action, adventure and battle to suit the tastes of those who want that in a book. It's done with typical Drake panache and verve along with the fine English touch of Lambshead. Read it and enjoy it for that.

However, there is more here. The life and times of Allen Allenson remind me of nothing so much as the life and times of George Washington through a comparable period i.e. through the French and Indian wars. Case in point -

1. Allenson leads a survey party in the first section of the book.
2. Allenson is a gentleman and son of a gentleman. His father and mother are both dead. His stepmother and he do not get along. He was raised by an older half-brother who was Inspector General of the planetary militia...Read more

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

disappointing battle scenes, September 11, 2011

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Into the Hinterlands (The Citizen) (Hardcover)

Thanks to Peter Wityk for his remarks about the analogy to George Washington in the book. That was very insightful. Unlike some reviewers who just paraphrase the plot, Wityk clearly stood back and took a more analytic and broader view.

In the current book there is often amusing repartee. A conversational back and forth depicting a future space faring society, with a social structure analogous to a European country of the 19th century or earlier. Hence many remarks about a prevasive class structure and a peon or servant underclass. The book refers to the heroes as being from a Brasilian entity. Yet there are few [none?] Portuguese names. Where is the connection to our Brazil other than the name? It sounds like a simpleminded effort to introduce a superficial air of exoticism. There is no mention of how we went from current Brazil to that Brasil, and this can be a continual nagging point to some readers.

Now the mode of space travel is largely via bicycle-type...Read more

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

Not a good read, January 10, 2012

Joseph B. Moore "Joe" (Ga) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Into the Hinterlands (The Citizen) (Hardcover)

I have read many of David Drakes books and enjoyed most of them.
This will not be my favorite of his books. Plot develops too slow and not enough action at the beginning.
A slow read.
Joe