The Royal Brat is in Trouble Roger Ramius Sergei Chiang MacClintock didn't understand. He was young, handsome, athletic, an excellent dresser, and third in line for the Throne of Man...so why wouldn't anyone at Court trust him? Why wouldn't even his own mother, the Empress, explain why they didn't trust him? Or why the very mention of his father's name was forbidden at Court? Or why his mother had decided to pack him off to a backwater planet aboard what was little more than a tramp freighter to represent her at a local political event better suited to a third assistant undersecretarv of state? It probably wasn't too surprising that someone in his position should react by becoming spoiled, selfcentered and petulant. After all, what else did he have to do with his life? But that was before a saboteur tried to blow up his transport. Then warships of the Empire of Man's worst rivals shot the crippled vessel out of space. Then Roger found himself shipwrecked on the planet Marduk, whose jungles were full of damnbeasts, killerpillars, carnivorous plants, torrential rain, and barbarian hordes with really bad dispositions. Now all Roger has to do is hike halfway around the entire planet, then capture a spaceport from the Bad Guys, somehow commandeer a starship, and then go home to Mother for explanations. Fortunately, Roger has an ace in the hole: Bravo Company of Bronze Battalion of The Empress' Own Regiment. If anyone can get him off Marduk alive, it's the Bronze Barbarians. Assuming that Prince Roger manages to grow up before he gets all of them killed. Prince Roger, third child of the Empress of Man, finds himself a reluctant warrior when sabotage forces his diplomatic mission to make an emergency landing on a barbaric planet filled with savage predators and unexpected dangers. As the soldiers of the Bronze Battalion of the Empress's Own Regiment face a brutal march across the planet to get their royal charge to safety, Roger finds his own courage tested to the limit. Best known for his "Honor Harrington" series, Weber teams with Ringo (A Hymn Before Battle) to inaugurate a new series that combines military sf with political intrigue. Sure to appeal to both authors' avid readers. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. His Highness Prince Roger MacClintock is third in line to rule the Empire of Man, a federation of worlds that originated long ago on Earth. No one takes Roger seriously, however, especially his empress mother. With the possibility of war with the empire's archrivals brewing, she sends Roger on a meaningless mission far away. But his ship is sabotaged, and he must make an emergency landing on a disputed planet, Marduka. Accompanied by a company of fiercely loyal marines and a great deal of firepower, Roger battles his way across Marduka in search of its only spaceport. In his pampered days a clotheshorse and the definition of petulance, Roger now learns what it means to be a marine as the company slaughters literally thousands of Mardukian life-forms and outwits a ruthless king, prime directive be damned! With their intermediary arms and propensity for swordplay, the Mardukians are much like the green Martians of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter yarns, and Roger even forms a bond with a Tars Tarkas sort of character, Cord. As for Roger's marines, they would be too gung ho to believe if their creators, Weber and Ringo, weren't veterans themselves, so that their fictional soldiers' repartee, punctuated with humor and pathos, is convincingly fatalistic. This is as good as military sf gets, though it could get tiresome if it goes on beyond the promised sequel, March to the Sea . John Mort Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved With more than eight million copies of his books in print and 33 titles on the New York Times bestseller list, David Weber is a science fiction powerhouse. In the vastly popular Honor Harrington series, the spirit of C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander lives on—into the galactic future. Books in the Honor Harrington and Honorverse series have appeared on 21 bestseller lists, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times , and USA Today. Additional Honorverse collaborations include the spin-off miniseries Manticore Ascendant with New York Times best-selling author, Timothy Zahn; and with Eric Flint, Crown of Slaves and Cauldron of Ghosts contribute to his illustrious list of New York Times and international bestseller lists. Best known for his spirited, modern-minded space operas, Weber is also the creator of the Oath of Swords fantasy series and the Dahak saga, a science fiction and fantasy hybrid. Weber has also engaged in a steady stream of best-selling collaborations: the Starfire Series with Steve White; The Empire of Man Series with John Ringo; the Multiverse Series with Linda Evans and Joelle Presby; and the Ring of Fire Series with Eric Flint.