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We Few (Mass Market Paperback)



In the thoroughly satisfactory fourth and final installment in the interplanetary bildungsroman that Weber (The Shadow of Saganami) and Ringo (When the Devil Dances) began with March Upcountry (2001), Prince Roger and his Marine bodyguards, who've been struggling on the primitive planet Marduk, manage to obtain a starship. Later, they discover not only that Roger's Royal Mother's person and power have been co-opted in a palace coup but that the sabotage that marooned them on Marduk was designed to implicate the prince. Roger and friends devise a clever Trojan Horse strategy that allows them to contact potential recruits to their cause surreptitiously. Alas, most of their new allies remember Roger as the young snot he was and not as the formidable leader he has become. Meanwhile, Roger's human advisers wrestle with the implications these changes suggest about his possible leadership of a constitutional monarchy. Whereas the first three volumes dealt with how the humans adapted to conditions on Marduk, this book shows how the alien Mardukians cope with human society, often with humorous results.


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This is the 4th book in the Empire of Man series. Prince Roger and his company of marines have been marooned on the planet of Marduk in a constant battle for life and death through the first three books. Roger has slowly turned from the care-free, "playboy Prince" into a battle-hardened and respected leader of Bravo company with just a dozen surviving members. Upon learning that his mother the Empress has fallen victim to a coup and is now being controlled as a puppet ruler, Roger and the remaining survivors, along with a number of loyal Mardukans, hatch a plot to get themselves smuggled off Marduk and back to new Earth to rescue the Empress.

Nice shift in locale after the first three books. A mix of action, intrigue and political diplomacy. Roger has to walk a fine line with trying to find allies as he finds himself as the one accused of murder and plotting against the Empress. Fast-paced and moves right along well. I like the development in Roger's character in this latest book. Fun read!







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