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King David's Spaceship
by Jerry Pournelle
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Simon Schuster Trade (1981-10)
ISBN: 0671431056
EAN: 9780671431051
Mass Market Paperback
SKU: CH2025
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Publisher: Simon Schuster Trade
Date of Publication: October 1981
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Condition: Very Good
Description: 0-671-43105-6 Book in great condition from non-smoking home
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Customer Reviews
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Pournelle's Grand Homage to H. Beam Piper
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-10-31
This wonderful adventure novel was Pournelle's first science fiction novel and was bought and published by legendary editor, John W. Campbell. It was serialized under the title, "Spaceship for the King," over several issues of "Analog Science Fiction" magazine, beginning in December of 1971. It received its first paperback edition from DAW Books in 1973. "Spaceship for the King" reads very much like the SF adventure stories, "Space Viking" and "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen," H. Beam Piper was writing in the early 1960s. Pournelle has often cited Piper as a major influence, and "Spaceship for the King" certainly shows the Piper touch.
In the late 1970s, Pournelle was asked by Editor David Hartwell to expand the original novels (apprx. 60,000 words) for a new Pocket Book's edition. This was after the success of "The Mote in God's Eye," and at a time when raising book prices meant longer novels, as readers demanded more bang for their bucks. Jerry complied and the result was "King David's Spaceship," which contined all of the vitures of the shorter novel and added a new subplot.
Even some thirty years later, "King David's Spaceship" holds up as one of Pournelle's finest novels, long overshadowed by the Janissaries and Falkenberg eries. It's unfortunate that this book has remained under-the-radar for most Pournelle and SF adventure fans, and thus is out-of-print. I highly recommend the book and suggest you hunt up a hardback edition (still available at very reasonable prices) for your permanent library.
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An excellent novel of future conflict!
Rating  (4)
Date: 2005-05-14
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I liked this novel a lot. It is set in the same universe as "The Mote in God's Eye" and takes place contemporaneously with that novel's story. In this one, the Empire of Man has discovered a colony world of humans that had been bombed back into a technological level about equivalent to Earth in 1900 or so. The Empire's technology is obviously centuries ahead of the colony's, and the Empire has strict rules about how such backward colonies, which lack space travel, are to be assimilated into the Empire. The plan involves bringing in favored persons from the Empire and more or less supplanting the local aristocrats with a new nobility. The locals are expected to submit or else.
The ruling folk on the colony get wind of this plan, which the Empire is concealing from them, and hatch a scheme of their own to avoid being subjigated. More would be telling, but this is actually an engaging and imaginative tale that I have returned to and enjoyed several times.
As always, Pournelle does a great job describing ground warfare with ancient weapons (pikes and spears, mostly) and the characterizations in this novel are pretty good. I enjoyed this one more than "The Mote in God's Eye" and I highly recommended it to anyone who enjoys a good military-political science fiction novel.
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King David's Spaceship - Good Intro to Pournelle's FH
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-12-25
King David's Spaceship is set principally on two worlds: One, Prince Samual's World, which has only recently gained a measure of stability and civilization as the Kingdom of Haven seeks to reunite the planet under one banner after it was destroyed during the Secession Wars that led to the demise of the First Empire of Man. The second is Makassar, a world that has a still extant Imperial Library with a civilization more primitive than the horses-and-steam engine technology on Prince Samual's. The book captures a number of interesting viewpoints. That of Imperial Navy Lieutenant Jefferson who reflects on his providence on Prince Samual's World and the enormous task of the Second Empire of Man and its goal of forcibly reuniting all planets under its rule. That of Colonel Nathan MacKinnie, whose fiancee was killed when the Imperials intervened on behalf of Haven and who is tasked by that same kingdom that defeated him to gain secrets from that Imperial Library on Makassar (and to evade Imperial scrutiny) to help them build a spaceship. Lastly, that of Malcolm Dougal, an ardent patriot not only of Haven but also of Prince Samual's World, who wants to see the planet freely admitted to the Empire as a self-governing entity rather than a colonial planet ruled by newly created Imperial royalty. This is a must-read book that is set shortly before Niven and Pournelle's masterpiece ``Mote in God's Eye'' and I highly recommend it. Good adventure, fierce fighting and even a love story develops, to boot.
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Exciting military adventure
Rating (5)
Date: 2002-08-17
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
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. It's great to see this novel back in print.
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Fine book, set in the same universe as "The Mote in Gods Eye
Rating (4)
Date: 2002-07-31
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
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.
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