Robert Buettner is an

American author American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

military science fiction Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that features the use of science fiction technology, mainly weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters who are members of a military organization involved in military a ...

novels. He is a former

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

officer, National Science Foundation Fellow in Paleontology, and has been published in the field of natural resources law.RobertBuettner.com
RobertBuettner.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-16. He has written five volumes of the ''Jason Wander'' series, three volumes of the ''Orphan's Legacy'' series, the stand-alone novel ''The Golden Gate'', numerous short stories and novellas, and the afterword to an anthology of stories by the late Robert Heinlein. Buettner currently lives in Georgia.

Bibliography

Novels

''Jason Wander'' series

''War Is an Orphanage'': Jason Wander, left orphaned at age 17 by an attack from an unseen alien enemy, must fight his own demons before he can fight Earth's. Jason starts off on a self-destructive streak that leads to being expelled from school, through foster homes and finally to an appointment with a no-nonsense judge. As the world begins falling apart, Jason is given the choice of so many others, from an earlier time in American history: join the Army or go to jail. This decision leads to an odyssey of adventures that takes Jason Wander from the pits of despair to the heights of victory. In the spirit of Johnnie Rico and ''

Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of F ...

'', Robert Buettner crafts a story that is as much about a young man coming of age as it is about fighting alien creatures. # ''Orphanage'' (April 1, 2008 – Reissued), the first volume in the "Jason Wander" series. Mankind's first alien contact tears into Earth: projectiles launched from Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, vaporize whole cities. Under siege, humanity gambles on one desperate counterstrike. In a spacecraft scavenged from scraps and armed with Vietnam-era weapons, foot soldiers like eighteen-year-old Jason Wander-orphans that no one will miss-must dare man's first interplanetary voyage and invade Ganymede. # ''Orphan's Destiny'' (April 1, 2008 – Reissued), the second volume in the "Jason Wander" series. At twenty-five, General Jason Wander has fought and won man's only alien conflict. Now, after long years in space, he's coming home...but to what? Earth's desperate nations, impoverished by war damage and military spending, are slashing defense budgets. There's just one problem with this new worldwide policy-the first alien invasion was merely Plan A. Suddenly, the real assault begins: Earth is attacked by a vast armada of city-sized warships. To block their invasion, mankind has only one surviving craft and a single guerrilla strike force...a suicide squad led by Jason Wander." # ''Orphan's Journey'' (April 1, 2008 – Reissued), the third volume in the "Jason Wander" series. In the years since the last Slug War, Jason's command style has not made him any friends in the Army. Now, in an effort to keep him out of trouble, the Army has sent Jason to the vast, Earth-orbiting resort called New Moon. At the core of this enormous space station is a starship, a relic from the last war. When a test run of the ship goes wrong, Jason, along with a handful of others, will be torn from orbit and thrust into space. Now, stranded on an alien planet, Jason realizes that not only are his friends looking to him for rescue, but an entire planet sees him as their only hope. # ''Orphan’s Alliance'' (October 28, 2008), the fourth volume in the "Jason Wander" series. Humans have been discovered on the Outworlds. And the Army decides to send emissaries. Emissaries like Jason Wander. As intraplanetary conflicts rage around him, and the personal stakes get ever higher, Jason finds that playing planet-hopping politician can be harder than commanding armies. When united mankind squares off to battle the Slugs for a precious interstellar crossroad, Jason will discover that the most dangerous enemy may be the one he least expects. # ''Orphan's Triumph'' (May 26, 2009), the fifth volume in the "Jason Wander" series. Jason Wander is ready to lead the final charge into battle. After forty years of fighting the Slugs, mankind's reunited planets control the vital crossroad that secures their uneasy union. The doomsday weapon that can end the war, and the mighty fleet that will carry it to the Slug homeworld, lie within humanity's grasp. Since the Slug Blitz orphaned Jason Wander, he has risen from infantry recruit to commander of Earth's garrisons on the emerging allied planets. But four decades of service have cost Jason not just his friends and family, but his innocence. When an enemy counter strike threatens to reverse the war and destroy mankind, Jason must finally confront not only his lifelong alien enemy, but the reality of what a lifetime as a soldier has made him.

''Orphan's Legacy'' Series

In March 2011, Baen Books, distributed by Simon & Schuster, released ''Overkill'', Buettner's sixth novel and first in a new series, which will include at least three books. This series is set a generation after the ''Jason Wander'' books and includes characters from the earlier series, both directly and by reference. A continuing theme is the search by the protagonist, Jazen Parker, for his parents. # ''Overkill'' (March 2011), . Jazen Parker, a Legion soldier recently separated from service, accepts a bodyguard assignment to a rich tourist on the planet known as "Dead End." Jazen forms both personal and professional connections as a result. # ''Undercurrents'' (July 2011), . Jazen Parker is asked to infiltrate a planet to investigate some disappearances. Personal reasons drive him to accept the assignment. This novel begins to explore the "cold war" conflict between Earth, which has a monopoly on interstellar spaceflight, and Yavet, a heavily populated planet with draconian population control and an ambition to overtake and surpass Earth. Jazen's personal moral code also conflicts, to a degree, with the goals of the organization, and people, with whom he works. # ''Balance Point'' (April 2014), . While Jazen Parker attempts to determine his future, his past makes him pivotal in a plot that could upset the balance of power between Earth and Yavet. The volume also includes the short work ''Mole Hunt''. N.B.: In the Afterword, Buettner indicates that ''Balance Point'' is his final "homage to science fiction classics". The first two novels in this series incorporated antique (by the standards of the time depicted) tanks. Buettner is the son of a tanker.

Other

''The Golden Gate'' (January 2017, ) : A novel centered around factual developments in human longevity, and its impact on interstellar travel, set in the near future. ''My Enemy's Enemy'' (June 2019, , trade paperback) : An alternate history of Nazi Germany's nuclear weapons program, as revealed through the contemporary pursuit of a nuclear terrorist bent on starting World War III.

Short stories

* "Mole Hunt" (June 2011), Published on line by Baen Books as part of the Baen Free Library, https://www.baen.com/readonline/index/read/sku/9781451637786 Set in Buettner's ''Orphanage-Orphan's Legacy'' universe, just after his novel, ''Undercurrents'', and offers a glimpse at Yavet efforts on "Dead End" to recover a critical piece of Earth technology. * "Sticks and Stones" in ''Armored'' (March, 2012), , edited by John Joseph Adams. set in Buettner's Orphanage-Orphan's Legacy Universe. * "Magic and Other Honest Lies" (April, 2014), Published on line by Baen Books as part of the Baen Free Library https://www.baen.com/readonline/index/read/sku/9781625792778; set in Buettner's ongoing Orphanage-Orphan's Legacy universe, and set chronologically after the end of his eighth novel, ''Balance Point''. * "The 100 MPG Carburetor and Other Self-Evident Truths" (Novelette-length, February 2015), Published on line as part of the Baen Free Library, https://www.baen.com/readonline/index/read/sku/9781625793805 * "The Trouble With Millenials" (February 2016), Published on line as part of the Baen Free Library, https://www.baen.com/readonline/index/read/sku/9781625794987 * "Homecoming" in "Star Destroyers" (March 2018), edited by Tony Daniel and

Christopher Ruocchio Christopher Ruocchio is an American space opera and fantasy writer and an assistant editor at Baen Books. He is best known for his ''Sun Eater'' series, the first of which earned him the 2019 Manly Wade Wellman Award. The second book in the ser ...

https://www.amazon.com/Star-Destroyers-Christopher-Ruocchio/dp/1481483099/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534692315&sr=1-1&keywords=star+destroyers&dpID=51CzJ2GayKL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch , set in Buettner's "Orphanage-Orphan's Legacy" universe. * "The Species as Big as The Ritz" (Forthcoming, March 2019) in "Voices of the Fall" , edited by John Ringo and Kelly Lockhart. * "The Frost Queen" (Forthcoming) in "Noir Fatale", edited by Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell.

Critical opinion

''The Washington Post'' and ''The Denver Post'' favorably compared Buettner's debut novel, ''Orphanage'', to Robert Heinlein's 1959 classic ''

'', to which the author has written that ''Orphanage'' is a deliberate literary homage to

Robert Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

, and also to

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including ''The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have wo ...

. Tor.com Other critics have compared Buettner's books favorably to the work of "Golden Age" science fiction writers

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...

Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name ...

H. Beam Piper Henry Beam Piper (March 23, 1904 – ) was an American science fiction writer. He wrote many short stories and several novels. He is best known for his extensive Terro-Human Future History series of stories and a shorter series of "Paratime" alt ...

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

, to recent writers

and

John Scalzi John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his ''Old Man's War'' series, three novels of which have been nom ...

, and to such diverse artists as

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

and

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...

. Buettner was nominated for the

Quill Award The Quill Award was an American literary award that ran for three years in 2005-2007. It was a "consumer-driven award created to inspire reading while promoting literacy." The Quills Foundation, the organization behind the Quill Award, was support ...

for Best New Writer in 2005. Orphanage was nominated for the Quill Award as best science fiction/fantasy/horror novel of 2004, and has recently been described as "one of the great works of modern military science fiction." Buettner's novel ''Balance Point'' was also reviewed favorably. Publishers Weekly said his 2017 novel, "The Golden Gate" was a lavishly detailed narrative...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

reverberates with current concerns over life extension nd its underlying mystery and unpredictability keep the pages turning." The science fiction review Tangent called it an "entertaining, thought-provoking read smartly-told...with just the right touches of SF, history, and science."

Commercial performance

Buettner's first novel, ''Orphanage'', made numerous bestseller lists, including Barnes & Noble's overall paperback Top 50 and the ''Locus Magazine'' paperback Top 10. ''Orphanage'' was nominated for the Quill Award as best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror novel of 2004. ''Orphanage'''s publisher (which changed its name from Time Warner Aspect to Little Brown Orbit) reissued ''Orphanage'' in April, 2008. As of June, 2008, the book was in its sixth printing. ''Orphanage,'' as well as others of Buettner's novels, has been translated by foreign publishers into Chinese, Czech, French, Japanese, Russian and Spanish, was published in hardcover by the Science Fiction Bookclub, and as an ebook in various formats. Orbit also markets the Jason Wander series in a separate edition geared for the United Kingdom market. The rest of the series is believed to have performed similarly to ''Orphanage''. Buettner's subsequent series, the Orphan's Legacy series, was a nationally bestselling series. Particularly, the third book, "Balance Point" was a Bookscan national bestseller when released in trade paperback in April 2014.

Style

All five books in the ''Jason Wander'' series are told in the first-person viewpoint and distinctive voice of the protagonist, Jason Wander. They follow his coming of age and growth from misfit soldier to maverick general during a decades-long interstellar war. Buettner said in an interview that "Writing generation-spanning space opera through a single, first-person-viewpoint character is like painting the Death Star with a toothbrush."''Sci Fi Weekly'', April 21, 2008
Comicscorral.com (April 25, 2008). Retrieved on 2012-05-16. The three books in the ''Orphan's Legacy'' series are also told in the first-person viewpoint, primarily, although not exclusively, through the protagonist Jazen Parker. ''The Golden Gate'' is told from multiple viewpoints, and incorporates detailed historical vignettes triggered by historic objects discovered by the contemporary protagonists.

References

External links

Official web siteOfficial Blog
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at BookReviewsAndMore.ca {{DEFAULTSORT:Buettner, Robert Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Military science fiction writers 1947 births American male short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers