Rating: 
Summary: L. Neil Smith for President!
Review: I started with Lever Action, his first (and only I believe) non-fiction book. Lever Action led me to his science fiction works. Now I can read Heinlein or Smith when I need some intelligent fun.
peace joe silvestri
Rating:
Summary: Politically Incorrect--That's why it's FUN!
Review: I've been an LNS fan ever since I accidentally picked up _THE VENUS BELT_, and I can't get enough. Finally someone had the guts to print the Forge of the Elders series (it's actually three books, Contact and Commune, Converse and Conflict, and another the original publisher canceled because it made too many people squirm.)Well, FORGE is full of squirmy moments: the three space shuttles from the American Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) are named after Orrin Hatch, Bob Dole, and John McCain. (in the original two volumes they were named after comparably prominent Democrats). Don't go into this book without promising yourself to hold on to the surprise ending. It's a page-turner in the third volume. The book does have certain minor inconsistencies in the third volume, but only nitpickers would find them. Expect well-portrayed aliens who really are alien, along with one of the most original aliens yet. Expect subtlety in characterization and at least one character who transcends indoctrination (the last one you'd suspect). Expect a truly villianous villian, with a certain sick charm but definitely someone in need of killing. Expect hidden meanings and subtle (as well as not-so-subtle) puns. Expect great imagery and writing that, if not entirely consistent in quality, improves as the plot advances. Above all, expect to finish the book thoroughly disgusted by the status quo in this country. Neil's ASSR could happen here, but needn't if enough of us read this book. You won't waste your money if you buy Forge--but you may come away changed. I did.
Rating:
Summary: Constructive libertarianism
Review: In a future where Marxism has been resurrected, the ruling communist world state is in for a terrible shock. An asteroid is fast approaching earth, bearing giant capitalist squids from another dimension.
Rating:
Summary: Smith does it again
Review: In a sense _Forge_ is a fuller and robust re-telling of the basic story underneath _The Probability Broach_. _Broach's_ Win Bear becomes _Forge's_ Soviet American Expedition, as the hapless functionary(ies) from a corrupt and decaying government who stuble onto an incredibly advanced and absolutely individualist civilization. Much of _Forge_ involves the various American characters learning about how this civilization functions, and this is the vehicle by which Smith delivers one of the best argments yet for a completely stateless society. I particularly enjoyed the way he resolves the tiresome "flagpole emergency" objection to the non-agression principle. As before, Smith ably conveys the confusion and wonderment of both the visitors and the hosts as they discover one new aspect after another of their very different cultures. And each such discovery conveys an important idea about the nature of love, trade, justice, freedom, and slavery. And of course there's a real story here with a three-part main plot, several sub-plots, and more than a dozen really strong characters along with "a cast of thousands." All sprinkled liberally with humor, pathos, and just the right amount of sex.
Rating: 
Summary: The Libertarian Shoe is on the Other Foot
Review: In Forge, Smith returns to politics that seem dear to his heart. In a role reversal from Tom Pain Maru and the other works of the probability broach, in Forge we find that the humans are the unenlightened, bureaucracy laden "primitives", and the aliens are the wise, libertarian, anrachistic souls. The term alien fits only loosely, since the one hundred or more species represented are all from alternate Earths! The problem with this piece is that it is about three times as long as it should be. Smith introduces some twists and turns, but they are almost pointless as he endlessly lectures on politics and ethics. Even if you agree with the philosophies espoused here, the incessant repetition grows old.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: In this and other novels, the author portrays societies in conflict - where the people of one society live under some flavor of socialism and those of the other society live in freedom. This book is less entertaining and is more preachy than his other books, which is fine with me because it is thought provoking, but most readers should be forewarned. For example, he has tried throughout to push the envelope on libertarian philosophy. Even libertarians may be turned off by his attempt to preach an extremely moralistic brand of libertarianism. He seems to have been tripped up by the incompleteness of the central tenet of libertarian philosophy, which basically says to not initiate force, but which doesn't say anything about how to respond to an initiation of force. In this book for example, you pretty much have to die if you incur "moral debt". If you accidentally kill someone, you must die. If you grab a person and shake him, then you are obligated to grant him any wish. A man can use pretty much any amount of physical force to have sex with a woman, but if she wispers "no", then he must die. The author did make many good points (as he usually does). One example, "If voting could change anything, it would be illegal." He also included this excellent historical point on page 226, "In the 19th century, infamous Democratic party boss William Marcy Tweed said he didn't give a damn who did the voting as long as he did the nominating." If you are looking for a good novel with a libertarian bent, then read this one eventually, but first read books like "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein (or pretty much anything else by Heinlein for that matter). I also highly recommend "Across Realtime" by Vernor Vinge. In fact, L. Neil Smith wrote a book almost as good as these two, called "Pallas".
Rating: 
Summary: Smith should show not tell
Review: Instead of showing us the virtues of Libertarianism, Smith decides to tell us. And tell us. Roughly half this book is a thinly disguised lecture on the virtues of Libertarianism and the utter worthlessness of everything else. That would be acceptable if the lectures had been interesting or convincing, but for the most part Smith skipped over interesting issues and contented himself with blasting away at strawmen. The sad thing is that there is what is probably an interesting and amusing story buried in this book. If most of the heavy handed lecturing were removed and Smith could content himself with showing us the virtues of his philosophy through the plot, what was left would be an interesting and entertaining story of roughly half its current length. If your interested in a good space opera, or in reading an insighful, convincing argument on the virtues of Libertarianism, you won't find it here. However, if you're already a believer and you want to see other ideologies getting a good thrashing, you may find this book entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Review the BOOK, not the author's politics....
Review: It's obvious the Kirkus reviewer did not take the time to actually READ the book prior to 'reviewing' it. Maybe the folks at Kirkus should suggest that their reviewers keep THEIR personal politics out of their reviews in the future. As it stands, I know now to treat any negative Kirkus review as a politically motivated denunciation of content instead of a review of form, plot, and storyline.... IOW, not as a professional review.
Rating:
Summary: Getting it Right
Review: L. Neil Smith has again proven his talent for correctly extrapolating historical trends and current events into a believable and convincing possible future. In this time and place, alien contact is found in the asteroid belt along with murder, mystery - love lost and won. Individualist mollusks (drinking beer and solving crime), lovers found and lost, villians (you know who you are), and fleshed-out heroes, space battles and all the murder mystery you could ask for. This book is in the highest tradition of the art.
Rating:
Summary: Gave me an "Aha!" moment - well worth my time
Review: L. Neil Smith was the author who first got me introduced to libertarianism, and it started a friendship with the ideas and ideals of that philosophy that never wore off. This book was a delight, not only because it finally completes the cycle "Questar" never finished, but because, about halfway through the book, I had one of those wonderful "Aha!" moments. I'll describe it at the end of the review, but that moment made my year! The story is very well told. Smith *can* be a tad preachy, but it doesn't interrupt the flow of the story, while making sure you understand not only WHAT happens, but WHY. Smith has taken the concept of alternate realities farther than anyone else, and made it a truly living thing. In these days, when our government waves automatic weapons at terrified children, it's a comfort to think that *somewhere* in the multiverse there are people, (and sea-scorpions, and nautiloids, and ...) who HAVEN'T screwed up. This is a book I plan to re-read, and, with the limits on my time these days, I don't do that often. As to the "Aha!" moment. One of the main characters is "Eichra Oren", a "Moral Debt Assessor" who is a combination of detective, arbitrator, judge, jury, and, if need be, executioner. It hit me about halfway through the book that *ALL* debts are MORAL debts. Money, or any other form of restitution, is simply a tangible expression of that morality. Mr. Smith, if you read this, thank you. A book which hits me like this is a rare and valuable gem.
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