The Prince (Pournelle)

The Prince is a science fiction compilation by Jerry Pournelle and S. M. Stirling. It is part of the CoDominium future history series. The Prince is a compilation of four previously published novels: Falkenberg's Legion, Prince of Mercenaries, Go Tell The Spartans, and Prince of Sparta. Of the original novels, the first two were written by Pournelle alone; the last two were cowrittten with Stirling. Pages 174-176 of the printed edition are new to the compilation.The Prince was published by Baen Books in hardcover () in September 2002.

The title and subject matter of the book are inspired by The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.

The CoDominium is a formal alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union which holds power over Earth, with a cynically hegemonistic policy toward all the other nations of Earth and Earth's off-world colonies. The action occurs over a period from the 2060s to the 2090s in the CoDominium universe.

Humanity has interstellar flight (the Alderson Drive) and has settled many planets outside the Solar System, simply moving in and setting up shop on some, terraforming others with a not-specified Terraforming Package that transforms an alien world into a planet that supports all Terran life forms, from bacteria to plants to animals to humans. A recurring theme through the stories is the result of the CoDominium’s policy of shipping large numbers of voluntary and involuntary colonists from Earth to the colony planets. The involuntary colonists cause much trouble, knowing nothing but a welfare state existence in government ghettos (Welfare Islands), where drugs, booze and entertainment, paid for by the productive members of society ("Taxpayers"), keep them pacified. Shanghaied to the colony worlds by the Bureau of Relocation ("BuReLock") in an attempt to keep Earth's population down, they gather in city centers and shanty towns, reverting to their parasitical or criminal lifestyles depending on their personal inclinations.

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