Agent of the Terran Empire

Poul Anderson has only been gone a few years, but already most of his extremely long list of novels and story collections is out of print. iBooks deserves praise for reviving one of Anderson's best characters, Captain Sir Dominic Flandry. Anderson was a pillar of science fiction from the late 1950s into the 1990s, and the Flandry books--part of the larger Technic future history that includes the van Rijn/Falkayn series--were from his strongest period. I read these stories as a kid and later as an adult and was impressed by how they grew with me--lots of bold adventure, but some serious musings, as well. Flandry is a very modern character, in some respects, with sophisticted tastes and inner conflicts, but also very much a man of his corrupt and decadent time. If iBooks perseveres with this series, then the best Flandry book--and one of Anderson's best--should be out soon, "A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows."

This is the Horatio Hornblower of science fiction! Great space opera, perfect for a beer and chips afternoon at the beach or whatnot. Here, the Polesotechnic League has fallen (see Anderson's "Trader to the Stars," "Mirkheim," "Satan's World," "The Trouble Twisters," and several others) to be replaced by a decadent and corrupt Terran Empire, which rules millions of worlds in the Galaxy. It is opposed by all manner of villains, including the warlike Merseans. Everyone can see that the Terran Empire, like the Roman Empire before it, will oneday fall, and that this will be a bloody business costing billions of lives. This is the time in which Dominic Flandry, of the Imperial Terran Intelligence Service, finds himself. His purpose is to basically try to hold the Empire together, at least for his time. As he says, "what is the point of living in a decadent age if you don't know how to enjoy the decadence?" Great fun. Flandry is unforgettable, and these stories are enjoyable reads that are not in the least bit banal. This is excellent "hard" science fiction of the Space Opera genre. Take my word for it: if you give this one a chance, the odds are excellent that you will become a fellow Flandry addict!