Rating: 
Summary: A bizarre concept, beautifully executed!
Review: I found the basic concept of this book, that particularly ugly members of our future technocracy are considered expendable, to be patently untenable. Perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my part and Gardner has it right - alas!As we progress in this, Festina Ramos' absorbing adventure, we befriend a number of well fleshed out and interesting characters. I admit to feeling that the characterization, as the plot, was a bit heavy handed, but I certainly enjoyed it. Swept along in her discovery of the secrets of the exile planet Melaquin, Festina gradually loses everything that she holds dear. She remains firmly rooted in her distinct personality, however, and finally triumphs in a most unexpected way. This book, like many of my favorites, didn't end as I turned the last page. Even now, mulling over it to write this review, I am struck by new realizations of the deeper purpose and meaning of Melaquin, that..... Noooooo, you'll have to read it yourself. Bravo James Alan Gardner, and thank you. I'll certainly look for more Festina and more Gardner.
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Summary: I don't normally like science fiction, but...
Review: I read this book because it was on a list of books with strong female characters. I was not disappointed, and I found myself thinking that perhaps I had misjudged science fiction. The plot revolves around the concept that people get upset if attractive people are killed on dangerous missions, but no-one really cares about unattractive or physically flawed people. So although the technology is there to correct birth defects and other physical problems (such as stammering, obesity, or birthmarks), certain children are left with their physical problem uncorrected and raised to be "explorers", so that if they die on a mission of interplanetary exploration, there won't be a public outcry or grief. These people are expendable, and no-one will notice they've died, except for other explorers, who will respond with their motto -- "That's what expendable means." They have been raised from early childhood and specially trained to sacrifice themselves. These "explorers" simultaneously think of themselves as superior and inferior -- "real people", as they call them, are shallow and weak, and yet they envy "real people." This whole concept raises questions about the value placed on physical perfection by our society and what it means to be someone who can't meet those standards. The main character, Festina Ramos, is a female explorer sent on a suicide mission to a planet from which no explorer has ever returned. She and her partner are being sacrificed as part of a larger plot to deal with another undesirable of society. Needless to say, the planet turns out to be inhabited. Festina sets off on a long adventure of survival. I really couldn't put the book down, and I particularly recommend it to those who are interested in strong, capable female protaganists.
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Summary: Simply could not put this book down!
Review: This is a wonderful book. It has interesting characters, a great story and unbeatable prose. I recommend it highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool book
Review: My friend TJ loves Expendable because of the ideas in it... me? I like the book simply because it's a well-written first-person sci-fi novel. The main character Festina Ramos, the interesting Explorer (All explorers are misfits unwanted by the society, hence "Expendable")... wacky Admiral Chee that cracks me up... and strange transparent alien Oar... all vivid characters that I enjoy reading about. I highly recoomand it.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable but implausible space adventure
Review: Expendable is based on a wacky and to my mind thoroughly implausible premise: that the morale of spaceship crews would be thoroughly undermined if quote normal unquote people were to die while exploring hostile planets. However, if abnormal, deformed, people die, nobody will much care. Those people are, see, expendable. Thus the Explorer Corps in James Alan Gardner's future space Navy is made up of people with defects, such as the port wine birthmark disfiguring the face of this book's narrator Festina Ramos. These people are so useful to the Navy, mind, that conditions such as Festina's, which could be easily fixed by future medicine, are purposely left untreated. That's a lot to swallow, and frankly I can't, really. But once you get past the absurd premise, the story told in Expendable is imaginative and fun. The other odd premise of Gardner's future is that very advanced aliens control the Galaxy with one law: that noone who would kill another sentient creature can travel in space. But people look for loopholes, and one seems to be to send unwanted sorts to dangerous planets to explore them. Festina and her partner are assigned to accompany an old Admiral, who has become a thorn in the side of the leaders of the human people, to a legendary dangerous planet, from which no Explorer has ever returned. When they get there, they find that the planet is implausibly similar to Earth in its conditions: gravity, atmosphere, climate, etc. Sent to the surface, they don't die immediately, as they've expected, but their means of return is withdrawn. Soon the mysteries begin to mount. Festina encounters a strange person apparently made of glass, and that person takes her to a city made of glass. It becomes apparent that there are several such cities on the planet, occupied by the immortal glass people, and by the previously marooned explorers. Is there any way back to the civilized Galaxy? This is fast-moving, fun, adventure, with some wild ideas. Some of the ideas are pretty neat, and some are frankly silly. The plot is similarly inconsistent. It's worth reading, and the sequels (Vigilant and Hunted) are even better.
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Summary: An Absolutely Brilliant Debut Novel
Review: Expendable is an absolute brilliant novel; that it is the debut novel for James Alan Gardner makes it even more spectacular. Many science-fiction novels, television series, and films present the future as something which should be desired by the people of our present time. Expendable, however, shows the future as not-so-desirable in two pertinent ways: 1.) Humanity can rule itself, but must constantly act within the strict guidelines established and summarily enforced by The League of Peoples, which take on a nearly-mystical, nearly-godlike role, knowing all without ever being seen; 2.) Not everyone is "beautiful," and those with both the aptitude and the lack of beauty are made into Explorers, also known as Expendable Crew Members because of the logic that "no one will miss someone who is not beautiful" - this despite the easy availability of numerous surgical procedures to essentially MAKE someone beautiful. This second point is what truly grabbed my attention from the second page. The main character, Festina Ramos, was born with a "birthmark" condition which has left "a lurid port-wine birthmark covering the right half of my face from cheekbone to chin." A very close friend of more than a decade has the same "birthmark," so the tale spun by Gardner is particularly personal. Gardner's writing style is excellent - easy to follow, providing technological explanations without being deeply detailed, and split into short segments (ranging from several paragraphs to - rarely - several pages in length) grouped together as chapters to enable the reader to stop at really any point and feel it is a good stopping point (thus making it a great book for those who are often interrupted when reading). Unfortunately, however, the story is told in the first person in flashback, which takes some of the "danger" element away from the overall mood of the narrative. Overall, Expendable is a very good read. The primary world Gardner creates is both familiar and foreign, and the narrative twists mostly unexpected. Especially for those with or those who care deeply for someone with the "birthmark" condition, this mark of "disfigurement" takes on a new light and helps to cause the reader to consider concepts of beauty in our present reality.
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Summary: The Planet of No Return
Review: Expendable is the first novel in the League of Peoples series. Festina Ramos is an Explorer, a first-in specialist, who is used to check out unknown worlds; the Explorers call themselves Expendable Crew Members. Ramos has a port-wine colored birthmark covering the right side of her face; in a society that demands perfect appearance, she is an anomaly. Most Explorers have such imperfections; the Explorer Corps is the wastebin of humanity. The League of Peoples have imposed bans on Terrans and other peoples within their jurisdiction. The most dramatic is the ban against the interstellar transportation of persons who have committed homicide. Such people just die as soon as their ship goes into interstellar space and so does everybody who assisted in their transport. Their attitude is: kill each other as much as you desire, but don't export the killers. In this novel, Festina and Yarrun Derigha, her subordinate, are ordered to accompany Admiral Chee to the surface of Melaquin. The orders are a little disconcerting, for Chee is 150 years old with declining mental faculties; in addition, though many Explorers have gone down to the planet's surface, none has ever returned; but, what the heck, Explorers are expendable. When Festina, Yarrun, and their batty Admiral reach the surface, Chee immediately discards his tightsuit and breathes the air. Festina and Yarrun ignore him and start a survey of their surroundings. Nothing dangerous appears on the bumbler, so they start sampling the soil and lifeforms. Suddenly, they notice that the Admiral is no longer with them and is nowhere in sight. This story is a tale of official corruption and unofficial bigotry. The Admiral is a hoot; he has lost almost all his inhibitions and tells it as he sees it. Underneath his cynical remarks, however, works a very shrewd mind. Recommended for anyone who enjoys nitty-gritty yarns of people in a no-win situation.
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Summary: A Light Read, Lacks Intensity and Detail.
Review: This lightweight tale is as somewhat, how should we say, "Restrained" as it's lead character; all characters are lacking in detail and intensity as it's story line is. The entire plot reads more like a juvenile or a comic book, rather than a serious piece of Sci-Fi.
Not even close to a personal best for the author, or the genre, but still a fairly good read for late night or a rainy weekend.
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Summary: GREAT BOOK! SO FUN! LOVED IT LOVED IT!
Review: THis is not a hard science book but it is great. It is very original and suprisingly funny and frank. I have never enjoyed a science fiction book as I did this one. The enviroment is strange and fun, the characters are enjoyable and the story line moves accordingly. OK the word for this book
ENJOYABLE!
Rating:
Summary: Expendable
Review: This book was compelling and very well written.
I think Gardner has the right blend of depth of characters and plot to keep things moving along at a good pace and his novels frequenlty build to wonderfully exciting climaxes.
I heartily recommend this book.
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