Poul Anderson "Ensign Flandry"
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---------------------------------------------- Poul Anderson at his best reads like poetry and wonderfully romantic space fiction, and at his worst fails to make any impression at all. His output quality was uneven and many stories are quite forgettable, but for the sheer volume of exalted "space romance" masterpieces he should be entered into the "Space Adventure Hall of Fame" on par with Hamilton and Smith, as he almost single-handedly "carried the torch" of space opera through the 60s and 70s. His fiction is very often great fun, has impressive visuals and speaks of glorious, endless exploration (his fondness for space roaming probably came from his Nordic Viking roots). My favorite Poul Anderson's story is "Gypsy", later expanded into "Star Ways". 
Artwork copyright by Chris Foss (Click to enlarge) 
 
Poul Anderson "Ensign Flandry" (nv) (Dominic Flandry series) © Amazing, Oct 1966 book: Berkley, 1966 --/ fourth place space sf novel --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ awesome scale This is one of the better Flandry novels, setting the stage not only for the series but for the endless imitations and the whole sub-genre of "naive space cadets coming of age among gritty interstellar war". Most of diplomacy and "cloak-and-dagger" plot is well thought-through and will be appreciated by those who like their Cold War-style politics suitably sophisticated and cold. For me the biggest "bang" came when Anderson unleashed the climactic space battles: told from the point of view of being inside the embattled ship, it has loads of Industrial Light & Magic special effects. Enjoyable book, one of the better efforts among "diplomatic space warfare" novels, so popular in the 60s and 70s. It's also a part of the Polesotechnic League future history; the next story in continuity of the cycle is "A Circus of Hells". Check out another enthusiastic review of this book at SF Reviews. review: 02-Sep-07 (read in 2003) 
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