Empire of Man

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This article is about a book series, for the galactic empire of Warhammer 40,000, see Imperium of Man.

The Empire of Man, or March Upcountry, series is a collaboration between David Weber and John Ringo. It combines elements of space opera and military science fiction, while the villains are clearly a satire of modern-day extreme environmentalists such as Earth First. It also has elements of the Bildungsroman, in the tradition of Captains Courageous. The first novel of the series shows great talent in the depiction of aliens and alien environments, begging a comparison with Stanley G. Weinbaum and other masters of alien worlds of the golden age of science fiction or with alien-savvy authors of the next generation such as Hal Clement.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The series tells the story of Prince Roger, the spoiled younger son of the Empress of the galaxy-spanning Empire of Man. When he is sent to a backwater planet to show the flag at a native ceremony, he goes sulkily and reluctantly.

But sabotage by a mind-controlled crewmember of the ship that he is traveling on sends his ship adrift to Marduk, a primitive world only nominally a part of the Empire of Man. There things get exponentially worse, for the spaceport has been betrayed to the sinister Saints, a star nation of religious zealots who make an obsession of ecological purity. The crew of the ship sacrifice themselves as a decoy so that Prince Roger and his Marine bodyguards can take their shuttles to the surface.

Now Prince Roger and his bodyguard unit must fight their way across half a hostile planet, forging alliances with a succession of local polities from hunter-gatherers to early gunpowder civilizations. In the process Prince Roger learns a lot about himself and what it means to be a leader.

The third book of the series ends with the spaceport recaptured and Prince Roger on his way back to civilization with the survivors of his bodyguard, as well as a sizeable force of Mardukan allies. The fourth book is set mainly on Earth, where the Empress of Man is being mind controlled by a group of high ranking traitors, including Rogers own father. Roger and his marine guards are forced into hiding after they are accused of an attempted coup, and must plan an assault on the palace in order to rescue the Emperess and regain the throne.