Ensign Flandry (Saga of Dominic Flandry, Book 1)

Flandry is fresh out of the military joint at 19, and shows some quick thinking and nereve in a confrontation between two races on an outpost world. An old diplomat and spymaster recognises a possible super agent, when he sees one, and apparently there is a large shortish of such even in the massive empire, so he gives Flandry a job. He uncovers a very big secret, on more than one front, and is sometimes on the run from his own side.

From the back cover of the 1985 Ace Science Fiction edition: Introducing Dominic Flandry... Before he's through he'll have saved worlds and become the confidant of emperors. But for now he's seventeen years old, as fresh and brash a sprig of the nobility as you would care to know. The only thing as damp as the place behind his ears is the ink on his brand-new commission. Though through this and his succeeding adventures he will struggle gloriously and win (usually) mighty victories, Dominic Flandry is essentially a tragic figure: a man who knows too much, who knows that battle, scheme and even betray as he will, in the end it will mean nothing. For with the relentlessness of physical law the Long Night approaches. The Terran Empire is dying...

This is the first book of the "Dominic Flandry, Agent of Imperial Terra" series. Basically, it is the 31st Century, and Humankind has established a large, but now decadent, interstellar empire. Dominic Flandry is a brilliant, resourceful young man who is eventually recruited into the Imperial Intelligence Corps by Max Abrams, head of Terran security on the world of Starkad, where the Terran Empire and their deadly rivals, the Merseians, are fighting a brush-fire war. Before all is said and done, Flandry has uncovered the deadly secret of the Starkad War, which poses a lethal threat to Humanity. Both sides are after him, and in the end his brilliance is established. Flandry is the James Bond of the 31st Century and the whole "Flandry" series is great space opera. Those readers who appreciate this genre won't want to pass this one up. The whole Flandry series by Poul Anderson is well worth reading.

This is the first book of the Poul Anderson series, "Flandry, Agent of Imperial Terra" and it was published in the mid-sixties. I say this up front because the book, story and characters live outside the copyright date and achieve that timeless quality you expect from authurs like Asimov, Burroughs and of course Poul Anderson. Flandry is just an ensign when we meet him in this story and at first, he doesn't even feel like the staring character. As the story unfolds, we expect more and more from our young ensign until the fate of Terra and other worlds hang on his every decision. Don't get me wrong, he's not made Emporer by books end. Through and through, he is just an ensign who plays the cards that are dealt him. It is said that great events make great men and we see Ensign Flandry take on a captivating shape. I haven't read the next books in the series, but have high hopes for the Long Night of the Terran Empire.

For 19-year-old Ensign Dominic Flandry, the galaxy is a harsh place. A recent graduate of the Terran Naval Academy, he's recruited by Commander Max Goldstein, of Earth Intelligence. He's assigned to infiltrate the Draconian Empire and get their military secrets. There's only one problem, he's branded a traitor and is hunted by both sides. Poul Anderson's 1966 science fiction novel is the first installment in the sereies. An excellent read.