"Pournelle, Jerry - Codominion 01 - King David's Spaceship" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pournelle Jerry)

By Jerry Pournelle



Customer Reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
Exciting military adventure, August 16, 2002
Reviewer: Colonel Nathan MacKinnie is bitter about the world. The Imperial Navy has propped up the Havenite government and wiped out MacKinnie's resistance killing the woman he loves while doing so. When King David of Haven asks for MacKinnie's assistance, he has decidedly mixed feelings. Still, the choices available for a retired colonel in a losing army are limited.
With help from the Imperial Navy and Imperial merchants, MacKinnie and a small group of associates leave Prince Samual's World to journey to Makassar, an even less advanced planet which happens to contain an ancient First Empire library. If MacKinney can learn enough, Prince Samual's World stands a chance to become a full member of the Empire rather than simply another colony world.
KING DAVID'S SPACESHIP is an intriguing 'fish out of water' story. MacKinnie and his collegues are from a low-technology world by the standards of the Empire, but have far more advanced technologies than those available on Makassar. Unfortunately, they are forbidden to use these technologies, and Makassar is bound and determined not to let anyone have access to the library, which they regard as a holy place. Somehow MacKinnie must take what he knows and dominate the Makassar civilization--without Imperial soldiers learning anything about it. His military background gives him hope, but what can he do against the tens of thousands of barbarians threatening the ancient temple city?
KING DAVID'S SPACESHIP is set in the motie world created by Pournelle and his frequent collaborator Larry Niven, but can be read without any knowledge of the excellent MOTE IN GOD'S EYE novel.
Fine book, set in the same universe as "The Mote in Gods Eye, July 30, 2002
Reviewer: The Empire has returned to Prince Samuel's World. The Empire is helping the government of Haven conquer the rest of the planet so the world has a single government and can be brought into the Empire. But Haven has discovered that, unless it can build a spaceship in the few years left to it, and secretly, it will become a mere colony world, with the natives treated like dirt and the colonists ruling the roost. But Haven has technology equivalent to only about 1900. With the Empire's unwitting help, they send a desperate expedition to a primitive world, seeking information contained in a First Empire library. If they can return with knowledge, then there might be a chance . . .
This is a quite good page turner by Pournelle, set simultaneously with the Motie incident (though there is only casual mention of it in "Spaceship". But it is a very good read, and I can't imagine why it is not in print. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Great SciFi novel, October 21, 2001
Reviewer: "King David's Spaceship" is the story of a desperate attempt on the part of some inhabitants of a newly rediscovered lost Earth colony to find the means to build a working spaceship before the Empire that rediscovered them officially lists them as suitable for Colonization, thus removing any chance they would have of political autonomy. It is thus both a fine adventure story and an interesting exploration of the politics of interaction between advanced and primitive societies. Pournelle touches on this subject with care and intelligence, and manages to communicate everyone's POV fairly. I would not that this occurs in the same universe and time frame as the classic "Mote in God's Eye", although it is set in a totaly different place. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Hey Publishers - Put this book back in print!, July 24, 2000
Reviewer: James Flavin (see more about me) from Sydney, Australia Pournelle is a first rate Science Fiction writer. He also understands military history and this comes through in alot of his work.
In 'King David's Spaceship' the reunification of the Human Race has begun. The once mighty empire has fallen apart and new alliances and takeovers are occurring.
The rank of planets in the new situation is based on their technology - space travel being prized.
This book reads like one of those English WW2 movies like 'The Dambusters', with a group of people trying to find a technological solution to stop bad things happenning.


An Orbit Book
First published in Great Britain in 1981 by Futura Publications, a Division of Macdonald & Co (Publishers) Ltd London and Sydney
Reprinted 1984, 1988
Copyright© 1980 Jerry Pournelle
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
ISBN 0 7088 8087 8
Photoset in Wales by Derek Doyle & Associates, Mold, Clwyd
Made and printed in Great Britain by Hazell Watson & Viney Limited
Member of BPCC plc
Aylesbury Bucks
A substantially different version of a portion of this work appeared in Analog Science Fiction under the title A Spaceship for the King, copyright© 1972 Conde Nast Publications, Inc, and was published by DAW Books, copyright © 1973 Jerry Pournelle.
Futura Publications
A Division of Macdonald & Co (Publishers) Ltd
Greater London House