Northworld

by David Drake

Book Overview

Commander Nils Hansen, sent to Northworld by the Consensus, ruler of twelve hundred worlds, to unravel its mysterious power, enters a world of androids, sentient machines, and power-hungry men. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441848303
• ISBN13: 9780441848300
• Release Date: April 1990
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Well developed and complex military SF with a fantasy elemen

Commissioner Nils Hansen, policeman of the 'Consensus' is drafted from his normal job as head of an elite futuristic swat team to track down a mysteriously missing planet--the Northworld of the series title. Hansen finds himself dropped into a series of worlds, some peaceful, some futuristically militaristic, and one a sort of medieval teutonic/Icelandic fantasy with artifically intelligent armor and weapon systems. Hansen has the military skills to stay alive under virtually any circumstances, but when these circumstances include literal gods, the equation is definitely changed. Author David Drake uses Icelandic myth has the basis for this story and it works. Hansen is a little too perfect, but the Icelandic elements provide some plot twists that probably wouldn't occur to the average writer (and certainly not to the average reader). The ambiguous ending develops a bit of a zip. Drake is at his best in action scenes, and there are plenty in NORTHWORLD. Hansen's futuristic SWAT action at the beginning and his military restructuring of the wild norse-style warriors form the highlights of the story. Cut-aways to the gods are occasionally confusing (the doings of the gods are always confusing though, so we can blame this on Drake's source material), and don't add as much to the story as they could. The final action scene is a bit of a let-down given the superior battles that had occured earlier, but Drake's conclusion left me feeling satisfied--but wanting more.

A World of Norse Mythology

Northworld is the first novel in the Northworld series. Northworld is the gateway to eight other universes. The Concensus rules twelve hundred worlds, yet wants Northworld too. They tried to take it before, sending ships and fleets, men and androids and machines, but have always failed. Now they will try again.In this novel, Commissioner Nils Hansen is a man who gets things done, regardless of the consequences. His special units are trained and equipped to handle almost anything and Hansen clears the way for their use whenever necessary. Now they are working on a siege of the Solbarth gang's fortified headquarters. A Civic Patrolman responding to a domestic dispute was given the wrong address and knocked on the gang's front door. Just bad luck for everybody involved. Now the Civic Patrol has a minor war going on with a gang almost as well equipped as they are. The Civic Patrol is limited in its use of heavy weapons, for anything powerful enough to breach the forcefield would also take out most of that part of the city, and a frontal assault would be sheer murder ... of the cops.Hansen has a SpyFly inserted in the ventilation ducts for recon and then goes to talk to Solbarth. Someone in the building tries to fire at him with a plama rifle, but Hansen shoots the gunner before he can fire. He then gains Solbarth's attention and tries to negotiate a surrender, pinking another gunman in the process as well as holding down his own troops. He offers the gang their lives ... in prison. Solbarth points out that the gang is well-supplied, but Hansen promises to undercut their forcefield and drop the whole building into the sub-basement. Solbarth points out that there are civilians in the building, but Hansen says he doesn't care; they can relieve him after he drops them into the hole. Solbarth then points out that he is an android and the Consensus won't allow him to live, but Hansen responds that, right here and right now, he IS the Consensus and either the Consensus will ratify everything he agrees to or they will have to deal with him. Solbarth agrees to surrender.At that point, two black spindle-shaped objects come for Commissioner Hansen. They don't care what is happening on Annunciation. The Consensus has need of him on a planet called Northworld. He is sent through a portal to the Consensus itself, briefed on Northworld, and sent to infiltrate its defenses.However, Northworld knows he is coming and North himself decides to send him to Diamond. When Hansen arrives, his intrusion capsule starts to come apart and all his weapons disintegrate. It seems weapons cannot exist in Diamond. Hansen himself is expelled from Diamond, for he is a living weapon, and he then finds himself in the Open Lands, where men fight in battlesuits in primitive melees for dominance.Meanwhile, North and the other gods of Northworld are pursuing their own almost nonsensical activities. One of their joint undertakings was the construction of the twin un

Military Sci-Fi at its best.

David Drake opens his Northworld series of novels with this original story of destructive technology.People who like Clancy and Cussler, but prefer more violence will like this book and series.