Ensign Flandry series by Poul Anderson

I just ordered book 4 of the series Agent of the Terran Empire. I notice there is a book listed No. 4.4 We Claim These Stars. Is this included in book 4 or is this short story/novella that falls inbetween Book 4 and 5? I have always been curious?

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?5274
Also look at "is contained in" on the work page.

I hated We Claim These Stars, never read another Flandry book.

cosmicdolphin 3>

Anderson wrote Flandry stories throughout his career. He became (IMO) a better writer in the decade or two after Claim; most (all? Being too lazy to check, here) of his Hugos were awarded during that span. Also, some of the earlier stories seem to have been written under pressure to pay the rent. So if you're up for another try, I suggest A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows, or maybe The Rebel Worlds. Is it just Flandry? Have you tried other Andersons?

Thank you for the answer. That is what I assumed but was never quite sure. As far as disliking Poul Anderson. While I have read only few of his books I did enjoy them. I do have a weakness for series science fiction though. Thus I am getting ready to read the Ensign Flandry series.

dukedom_enough 4>

I'm not sure if it's Anderson or just Flandry, I liked his fantasy Broken Sword, and the only other Anderson I have tried are the Nicholas Van Rijn stories, which I gave up on (Although I was pretty distracted at the time I was trying to read them, so I will give those another go because I'm a big fan of space trading stuff)

I've read quite a bit of Anderson, and generally find him solidly entertaining if not particularly ambitious. I loved Harvest of Stars (somewhat to my surprise) and "Kyrie;" I hated (and gave up on) The Boat of a Million Years. I can understand why people love The Broken Sword.

I just finished The Rebel Worlds, my first Flandry novel. I enjoyed it more than I expected--it reminded me of A Bertram Chandler's John Grimes stories, but in The Rebel Worlds anyway Flandry is a more complicated character and Anderson takes on some surprisingly nuanced issues.

I did not like the Ensign Flandry series...I long ago started one or two books but gave up on them. But I do have a favourite Poul Anderson book titled High Crusade read it first as a teenage and then read it again a couple of years ago and still liked it.

I've read most of Anderson's catalog and while in general he's more of a "hack" he does occasionally pull out the stops. In general he's a fairly solid genre author, perhaps not as inspired as those who are constantly nominated for Hugos/Nebulas, but I've found his prose genial and easy-to-read.

I've only read Ensign Flandry, which I found old fashioned, but enjoyable. In general I found the van Rijn stories and novels tiresome. I was sorry that I read so many of them in an effort to soldier through his future history. Some of Anderson's best writing was done in non-series work at shorter lengths. Try Call Me Joe, Un-Man and The Longest Voyage. It's been a long time since I read it, but I liked his fantasy novel Three Hearts and Three Lions. Some of his books such as Tau Zero have a cosmic scope which tickles your sense of wonder, but in the case of that novel at least, the effect of its awe inspiring concept is ruined by endless lectures on the virtues of Libertarian political ideas.

I've read both Three Hearts and Three Lions and The Broken Sword relatively recently (within the last fifteen years) and liked them both. I think Anderson's early fantasies are his best work, there's a lightness to the touch and a grimness that feels real, that he lost later.

#7 Funny you should mention Chandler's John Grimes stories, Dominic Flandry makes a "guest appearance" in one of the stories. I wish I could remember which book it was in. All I know for sure is that it took place late in Grimes' career, out on the Rim where reality is stretched thin and authors could entertain themselves.

Right - the encounter is in Chandler's Dark Dimensions; Flandry is "Captain Sir", which puts it around the time of A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows (Flandry #6).

I agree somewhat with #10 on Tau Zero but I have long forgotten the "Libertarian political ideas" and just retain the awe of the cosmological concept of the relativity of time.

I just changed the reading selection in the "throne room" library to include Nebula Award Stories Seven {1971 the year in fiction} and low and behold the first story was Queen of Air and Darkness by Poul Andersen. An entertaining space colonization human/alien conflict tale.

I liked some quotes in the introductory/bio paragraph by Lloyd biggle, Jr. :

"... he brilliantly combines the saga and song of his Scanddinavian heritage with the searching mind and speculative science of the scholar."

"He also finds time for such varied activities as......the Society for Creative Anachronism {where he is known as Bela of Eastmarch in its medieval tourneys}."

He also mentions Anderson had two pseudonyms, Winston P. Sanders and Michael Karageorge.