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CoDOMINIUM Headquarters

Luna Base, Sol System



Special thanks go to Dr. Pournelle for giving me permission to put these webpages about his work online.  Thanks also to Evan Powles for suggesting the Link about the Lief Ericson; to Frank Henriquez for letting me include that link; and to Timothy Rader for the information about Dalarna (see CD Worlds).


WARNING

This site contains many spoilers that could give away some stories.  However, this site has general information, and should not interfere with your enjoyment of the stories.

A further note:  this is an UNOFFICIAL website, and the opinions and conclusions stated here, outside of the direct excerpts and quotes, are not necessarily those of Dr. Jerry Pournelle or Baen Books.  Some material in this site is copyrighted © by Jerry Pournelle and/or Baen Books, and is used with permission.


The CoDominium Universe (also known as the Empire of Man Universe) of Dr. Jerry Pournelle is a “future history” series of novels and short stories about an alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union.  The alliance lasts for about a century before it falls apart, and the two nations go to war, dragging the rest of the planet down with them.  During the time the CoDominium is strong and stable, however, man begins to colonize the stars; by the time things fall apart on Earth, civilization has a foothold on other planets, and mankind survives.  This is only the beginning, however, as the colonies struggle to fill the power vacuum that the CoDominium leaves when it dissolves.

Eventually, the Empire of Man forms around the planet Sparta, where the former CoDominium Space Navy transfers its loyalty; with the fleet's backing, Sparta becomes the strongest planet in the human-settled galaxy, and is the logical capital of the Empire.  However, the Empire does not last forever, either.  The Saurons, genetically engineered warriors, lead a rebellion and start the Secession Wars.  The Empire prevails, but it wins a pyrrhic victory, as the Empire dies in the wars.

After some centuries of chaos in the galaxy, the Second Empire of Man rises from the ashes of the first, and begins to reunite humanity, with Sparta again the capital.  It is during the Second Empire's infancy that man makes First Contact with aliens:  the Moties, and a new chapter begins in the story of mankind.

- About this site


“Regarding the CoDominium, when I wrote the first of those stories in the 1960's it was a bold prediction.  Then it looked inevitable.  Now that The Wall is down, I guess it is alternate history.  But we had a good run...”    Jerry Pournelle, 1998

Since the CoDominium stories are about an alliance between the United States and a power that no longer exists, the Soviet Union, the stories may seem “obsolete.”  However, there is more to tell about this fascinating universe, which almost came to be, considering geopolitics of the recent past.  Many of the stories, especially the ones about the Second Empire, take place far enough into the future, that the present situation is irrelevant.  That last sentence sounds like something the Borg would say.  WHOOPS!  That's from another series!


Books in the CoDominium Universe

More or less in chronological order of when they take place, though some books overlap each other.

- CoDominium: Revolt on War World - see War World series below
- West of Honor
- “He Fell into a Dark Hole” - short story published in the March 1973 issue of Analog and There Will Be War, Volume V:  Warrior, Tor Books, 1986
- The Mercenary
- Falkenberg's Legion - includes West of Honor & The Mercenary, with some previously unpublished material
- Prince of Mercenaries
- Go Tell the Spartans - with S.M. Stirling; direct sequel to Prince of Mercenaries
- Prince of Sparta - with S.M. Stirling; direct sequel to Go Tell the Spartans
- War World series - Dr. Pournelle made the CoDominium a shared universe, with short stories and two novels by many authors
- War World, Vol. I:  The Burning Eye
- War World, Vol. II:  Death's Head Rebellion
- War World, Vol. III:  Sauron Dominion
- War World, Vol. IV:  Invasion - actually takes place before significant portions of Vols. I - III; despite this, I listed it in numerical order, because IV would have looked rather strange coming before I, II, and III.
- Blood Feuds - a War World novel by many authors; overlaps Vols. II & III
- Blood Vengeance - a War World novel; direct sequel to Blood Feuds
- King David's Spaceship
- The Mote in God's Eye - with Larry Niven
- The Gripping Hand (also known as The Moat Around Murcheson's Eye) - with Larry Niven; direct sequel to The Mote in God's Eye

These are all the titles I know of.  If anyone knows of any more, please e-mail me to let me know.


Links

If you know of any other CoDominium sites, please e-mail me at [email protected], and I will add the link on here.

Pournelle/CoDo sites

Follow me to Chaos Manor Dr. Pournelle's homepage.

- Chronology of Jerry Pournelle's Future History, by Larry King (I don't think it's the CNN talk-show host :-)  It has a more detailed timeline, along with an analysis of the CD Universe.

- The Lief Ericson Galactic Cruiser.  Jerry Pournelle & Larry Niven used this model as the basis for the design of the INSS MacArthur in The Mote in God's Eye.

Other links

Baen Books The publisher of most (if not all) of the CoDominium novels; you can order some of them from this site's on-line catalog.
Dave's Space Dock My spacedock is off-line pending massive updating.

This site administered by Dave Vaughn.  Hosted by Fortune City
E-Mail [email protected]