The Mercenary cover

The Mercenary

by Jerry Pournelle

From the back cover Pocket Book paperback February 1977: **Why Has John Christian Falkenberg Thrown Millions of People on Dozens of Planets into Turmoil?** Because he's given up the brilliant military career he's known since age fifteen to fight on his own. Because he's a legend to the Earth-bound, a mastermind to his soldiers, an enigma to the politicians who buy his services. But mostly because he's John Christian Falkenberg.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?