The Fortress in Orion

by Mike Resnick

Overview

The Democracy is at war with the alien Traanskei Coalition. War hero Colonel Nathan Pretorius has a record of success on dangerous behind-enemy-lines missions, missions that usually leave him in the hospital. Now he's recruited for a near-impossible assignment that may well leave him dead. At the cost of many lives, the Democracy has managed to clone and train General Michkag, one of the Traanskei's master strategists. Colonel Pretorius and a hand-picked team must kidnap the real Michkag if they can, assassinate him if they can't, but no matter which, put the clone in his place, where he will misdirect the enemy's forces and funnel vital information to the Democracy. Against the odds, Pretorius, along with Cyborg Felix Ortega, computer expert Toni Levi, convict and contortionist Sally "Snake" Kowalski, the near-human empath Marlowe, the alien Gzychurlyx, and Madam Methuselah - the Dead Enders - must infiltrate the Fortress in Orion, accomplish their mission, and escape with their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616149901
Publisher:	Pyr
Publication date:	12/02/2014
Series:	Dead Enders , #1
Pages:	303
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mike Resnick has won an impressive five Hugos and has been nominated for thirty-one more. The author of the Starship series, the John Justin Mallory series, the Eli Paxton Mysteries, and four Weird West Tales, he has sold sixty-nine science fiction novels and more than two hundred fifty short stories and has edited forty anthologies. His Kirinyaga series, with sixty-seven major and minor awards and nominations to date, is the most honored series of stories in the history of science fiction.

Editorial Reviews

10/06/2014
Resnick returns to his Birthright universe with this middling launch title for the Dead Enders series. His take on the military caper novel in space is entertaining, but it lacks the verve of his earlier space westerns. Col. Nathan Pretorius, recovering after a near-fatal mission, is recruited by the Democracy to assemble a crack team, infiltrate the world of the alien Kabori, and replace their top general with a clone. He gathers a strongman, a thief, a hacker, an empath, and a shapeshifter of sorts, and they set off. Along the way, there are surprisingly few challenges, most of them subverted with relative ease, so tension never has a chance to develop. As always, Resnick includes larger-than-life characters and interesting ideas (e.g., Proto isn’t a true shapeshifter because he projects images into people’s heads, but still remains his usual self), but the plot limits their opportunity to shine, and few of the folks Pretorius meets on the way offer interesting diversions. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR FORTRESS IN ORION:

“This is space opera at its best—simultaneously pulse-pounding and mind-expanding. Resnick is our E. E. ‘Doc’ Smith, our Edgar Rice Burroughs: he is the twenty-first century’s master of excitement and adventure. Enjoy!”
—ROBERT J. SAWYER, Hugo Award–winning author of Red Planet Blues

“Mike Resnick is able to write deftly and poignantly about a broad spectrum of characters, exploring vast and colorful landscapes, all wrapped up in a highly entertaining story.”
—KEVIN J. ANDERSON, New York Times–bestselling author of The Dark between the Stars

“The Fortress in Orion is interstellar intrigue and derring-do of the old school. Dominic Flandry would feel right at home.”
—ERIC FLINT, author of the 1632 series

“Packed with colorful characters and endless invention, The Fortress in Orion is exciting entertainment that hurls along at nearly the speed of light. Someone should make a movie out of this book!”
—NANCY KRESS, award-winning author of Yesterday’s Kin

“If you’ve anything important to do over the next few days, don’t even start this.”
—JACK McDEVITT, Nebula Award–winning author of the Alex Benedict novels

PRAISE FOR THE WORK OF MIKE RESNICK:

"Nobody spins a yarn better than Mike Resnick." 
—ORSON SCOTT CARD, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Ender's Game 

"Resnick is a journeyman in a world of apprentices, one who knows his craft. His name on a book guarantees a solid story and believable characters, constructed with imagination and grace. Most important of all, it guarantees entertainment." 
—RAYMOND FEIST, of the Magician trilogy

From the Publisher

11/15/2014
Five-time Hugo Award winner Resnick ("Weird West Tales"; The Cassandra Project, coauthored with Jack McDevitt) begins a new series in his Birthright Universe with more of a whimper than a bang. Col. Nathan Pretorius is the Democracy's go-to officer for impossible missions, and this one is the craziest yet. Pretorius must smuggle a clone of the leading alien general into a fortress deep in enemy space, establish him there, and kill or kidnap the actual general. Rather than use a military force, Pretorius insists on choosing his team, which includes a cyborg, a computer whiz, a contortionist, and a not-quite shapeshifter. Once the team is assembled, everything goes pretty much according to plan, which is the novel's weakness. The characters are provocative enough, as is the mission, but Pretorius, as written, is just too clever. He anticipates and plans for all obstacles. This works out well for the characters but leaves little in the way of excitement or suspense for the reader. VERDICT This series opener establishes characters with potential; however, future volumes will need to ratchet up the peril in order to satisfy fans.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids

Library Journal