Scout's Duty: A Planetary Romance (Scout series Book 3) Kindle Edition

This novel is dedicated to the memories of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Leigh Brackett. Back when Ace books and shortly thereafter Ballantine Books started republishing ERB's novels I was a teenager just beginning my life long love of science fiction and adventure books. I picked up Burroughs' A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS and became hooked. I read every Burroughs book I could find.

Fortunately Henry Vogel has not yet written the seventy odd novels that Burroughs produced, because if he had I would not be reading anything else this year not written by Vogel. What a treasure!

Like Burroughs Vogel doesn't seem to be capable of writing a boring word. Every one of his books is a gem, this one included. I'm not going to say that I like Vogel's novels better than ERB's, but I read those books four decades ago, and for my money Vogel currently writes the most entertaining stories in the genre! Sure hope he keeps going for seventy odd additional books.

Along with the first two books of his series, Henry has made this into a fun, easy read. This is an excellent introductory SF book for a young reader, but complex enough to entertain an adult. It reminds me in some ways of Burrough's Barsoom novels. Finished all three books over the weekend, and will be looking for more. Well done!

The third book of this series is fantastic. Constantly entertaining. There was more than enough drama, suspense, and action to keep you enthralled with this easy reading story.

Not quite as compelling as the first two, but nice conclusion. Except for the bit about Milo.

I received an advance review copy of "Scout's Duty" in February, and am SO pleased that it's finally out where everybody has a chance to get to it! I got another copy with Kindle Unlimited, so I could check out the cover and admire the page numbering. And also so Henry could get paid, which is a plus for authors.
David Rice is a Scout, First Class. He's many other things as well, but being a Scout goes to the core, and has an impact on the kind of friend and the kind of husband he is. When he was a little boy, and later on an older boy, he loved listening to the stories of an old, retired Scout who lived across the street from him, so every thing he does is a culmination of a lifetime dedicated to the concept of duty.
In this book, David starts off at what most would consider the top of the heap. He's married to the beautiful Princess who is destined to rule her kingdom, and there is really only one other superpower on the planet. So, David could be content either to rest on his laurels, or set about a conquering the Tartegians and then ruling the entire planet. To his credit, neither course of action seem to appeal to him.
The outside world intrudes, through a wormhole in a crippled ship, David, being a Scout, goes to rescue the castaways. And we get to meet the really, honest, no-kidding nasty bad guys, because that's no ordinary ship: it's PIRATES!!!
For a Juvenile/YA book to be good, in the Heinlein tradition, certain things HAVE to happen. The hero can't just stand off and give orders. He has to give the bad guys a fair fight. And, he has to win, in the end. And THIS is a good Juvenile! There's not a thing in here that would make me uncomfortable if I was reading it to my 10 year old, Kenneth. The pirates have tortured and tormented a young boy to make him into a cruel cyborg; David kills the cyborg, but not without a pang, because as far as he is concerned, the boy was a victim, not just a villain. He refuses to fool around with a bevy of gorgeous and scantily clad babes. When he discovers they are slaves, forced to be entertainment for the captain, he gives them some clothing (a MOST valuable psychological boost), and promises to do his best by them.
Okay, let's sum up: this is the best of the trilogy, in my opinion. It's clearly an excellent juvenile. It's also well written enough that I enjoyed reading it as well, and I am NOT a type who reads at the level of "see Spot run!" While you would benefit from reading the other two books (Scout's Oath and Scout's Honor), you don't have to read them first to enjoy this book. Give it some better cover art, and I'd be happy to see this in every school library in America.
How's THAT?