We have the quick thinking of Jasper to thank. The Telford ship Bellinda is overtaken by Pruessen headhunters and despite the best laid plans, the self destruct meant to save them all from slavery is disrupted. The first five chapters could easily read as a short story that introduces us to the universe of Nathan Telford and acts as a means of showing the tragic beginning of the main character of the story while pacing of conflict and tension make this stand well alone. The story seems to start slow, but that’s because there are the equivalent of fifty pages that encompass world building and introduction of the main character: Nathan Telford. It starts in a universe with an uneasy peace, after a great Franco Pruessen war that led to the Pruessen’s unleashing a terrible bio-weapon that was designed to save them, only to have it backfire in a devastating way leaving the League little choice but to quarantine one whole area of space all leading to the formation of the Prussen Empire and the present situation where Prussen headhunters make occasional raids across the quarantine borders to obtain slave labor from the League worlds. Strebor brings to the table his own blend of elements such as family honor, redemption and revenge along with his own twist on a few tropes. Development of characters recalled for this reader the feel of many of his favorite Heinlein characters. Uncommon Purpose is a great science fiction that blends a sort of political and military setting readers are familiar with in such novels as David Webers Honor Harrington series.
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