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Summary: Schmitz Back in Print!
Review: James H. Schmitz was a well-known science fiction author of the 1950s-1970s who remains popular with older fans and many authors. His style is quietly liberal (in the old sense) while avoiding the strong material seen in much of modern SF. When John Campbell (the editor of Astounding and Analog) died, he lost his primary publishing outlet and disappeared from the scene in a few years, dying about 1981. About three years ago, some older fans organized the "Schmitz List" as a meeting place on the internet for people interested in seeing him back in print. Jim Baen, the publisher of Baen Books, was an old fan of Schmitz's and was intrigued by the possibility of putting Schmitz back in print, using word-of-mouth advertising to overcome the resistance of the major book store chains to stocking mass market books by dead authors. The final catalyst for this process was Eric Flint, also a Schmitz fan, who proposed to organize a four volume series around Schmitz's Hub stories. "Telzey Amberdon" is the first volume of this set. If you like the older style of SF, or if you have children you would like to introduce to SF, this is an excellent choice.
Rating: 
Summary: Welcome reissue of a fine SF writer
Review: James H. Schmitz was one of SF's most popular writers of the 1960s and early 1970s. His stories were published between 1943 and 1974, but despite early successes such as "The Witches of Karres" (1949), the _Agent of Vega_ stories in the early 1950s, and "Grandpa" (1955), his most significant work dates to the last 15 years of his career. This period included his five novels, short stories like "Balanced Ecology" and "The Custodians", but most significantly, his closely linked stories about two young women: Telzey Amberdon and Trigger Argee. These stories, appearing for the most part in Analog, were very popular indeed at the time, particularly the Telzey stories. But Schmitz' popularity hasn't really proved enduring, except among a dedicated small group. He was just good enough to last in the minds of a certain cadre of readers, but even at his peak he never attained quite the notoriety or sales to ensure enduring print runs. And after all the latter distinction is rare indeed.This new edition, however, begins to bring some of Schmitz' best work back into print. Inclued are six Telzey stories: "Novice," "Undercurrents," "Poltergeist," "Goblin Night," "Sleep No More," and "The Lion Game." The first two have been published together as the novel _The Universe Against Her_, but they are really independent stories. The last three have been published as the novel _The Lion Game_, and in this case I think they work together pretty well as a novel: a problem introduced in the first story is not resolved until the last. "Poltergeist" has not previously been reprinted, and serves as a bridge between the two novels, hinting at the reason for a noticeable change in Telzey's attitude between "Undercurrents" and "Goblin Night." These stories are very fun reading (my favorite is "The Lion Game"), and they feature an engaging young heroine, and clever plots built around Telzey's psi powers. In addition to the Telzey stories, there are two fairly little known stories, both decent stuff, which have a tangential relation to the other stories in the book: "The Star Hyacinths" and "Blood of Nalakia". Finally I should mention that these stories have been edited slightly from the original publications. Most of the editing is aimed at making the series of stories read more smoothly together. (More like a unified novel). I am familiar with the earlier printings, and in my opinion the editing has been done in a reasonable way, and the stories have not been harmed, and in some cases have been improved.
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Summary: A Hub Chronology
Review: James Schmitz has been my favorite science fiction writer since I picked up a white paperback at a drugstore back in 1962 called "Agent of Vega". From that day I searched for everything he wrote. I didn't know of the pulps, though, and was only able to read those stories which appeared in collections, such as The Universe Against Her; The Telzey Toy; and the Lion Game. In the past year I've been collecting the old pulps featuring his work, and so I had read all of these stories prior to purchasing this volume. It was however very enjoyable to read the stories in chronological sequence; something which I had never done. I enjoyed them so much that although I had read these within the past year, I read them again and enjoyed them as much. Some are not Telzey fans. My brother doesn't care for her, though he loves Agent of Vega; and "Agent" is my favorite Schmitz, with "Witches" in a near tie. All of his stories are good, however, and Telzey is an extremely engaging girl. It was remarkable that 14-15 year old boys such as me enjoyed a 15-16 year old girl as a heroine back in those sexist days. It is equally remarkable that the 52-53 year old man I've become enjoys them just as much. Although she was probably not my favorite Schmitz character, she was the one who we watched "grow up", psi-wise; and as when I finished the pulp version of "Child of the Gods" a few weeks ago, as a first read, I was saddened, as if by the passing of a very good friend. These are timeless stories, and his casting of females as his primary characters was unusual and very refreshing, though he was sometimes criticized for it. Every memorable writer should have a character who personifies him. Edgar Rice Burroughs had Tarzan. R.E. Howard had Conan. Fleming had Bond; and John D. McDonald had Travis McGee. For James H. Schmitz, Telzey is his star, and she shines brightly for all of us, though her star winked out far too soon.
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Summary: Almost forgotten, still important.
Review: James Schmitz is perhaps the classic SF author who is simultaneously most important and least remembered by the average modern fan. Schmitz began his writing in 1943, when many of the other greats were just starting out. Clearly influenced by Doc Smith in some areas (his "Agent of Vega" series even has some definitely Smithian prose), Schmitz was best known for the fact that he wrote stories featuring strong, believeable, effective female lead characters, in an era when many SF stories -- even those by the greats such as Heinlein and Asimov -- rarely even acknowledged the existence of women except by an occasional reference to a character's mother or a token girlfriend. Schmitz' characters, by contrast, lived in a world populated equally by men and women, and had no trouble interacting with either sex (any more than they do in the real world, at any rate). In the Telzey Amberdon stories, we get to see all three of the things Schmitz became known for: strong female characters, an interesting and consistent use of psionic powers, and solid universe design. Telzey's adventures take place in the Hub, perhaps Schmitz' best known setting and certainly his most detailed. Often the Telzey stories are criticized for making her a superwoman, but I think this is often a reaction without consideration. She is no more superior to her opposition than many a male hero, and as a general rule is much more in need of subtlety and caution than male heroes common in the SF of the time. Not to say you couldn't call her a superwoman -- she's certainly got enough talent, power, and so on to qualify -- but her opposition is always formidable enough to REQUIRE a superwoman to defeat. These stories have been somewhat edited from their original form; for the most part the editing involved minor terms, removal of redundant punctuation (which Schmitz himself tended to do upon re-issues), and so on. A few have had noticeable changes. Personally I do not agree with a few of them, but the resulting stories are still clearly Schmitz' work, and the overall volume is more than merely worth the money; this is an excellent collection, and all the ones in the Schmitz re-issue series are must-haves for any SF fan.
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Summary: Explore the Hub -- Sci-Fi at its Best
Review: James Schmitz wrote well-crafted stories with strong characters. The background settings are intriguing and the stories have unusual plot twists. These volumes maintain their freshness and appeal, even after more than a quarter of a century. If you haven't met Telzey and Trigger or explored the Federation of the Hub, you will enjoy discovering this new world. (Even if you have read Schmitz' work before, it's well worth the re-visit.)
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Summary: For those who like strong heroines...
Review: Schmitz's stories are strongly plotted with interesting protagonists and even more interesting villains. The people in Schmitz's universe do unusual things in a fascinating way. The plots are not mere clockwork, but flow believably from the initial events predicated by the author. One can read Schmitz on two levels. The stories provide exciting events that move to satisfactory conclusions. Sort of a "Telzey Amberdon saves the universe with logic, a superb figure, a superior intellect and amazing psychic powers" kind of thing. However, the stories also pose universal questions and raise dilemmas faced by us all. (Which can be ignored in favor of moving on with the plotline!) Telzey might seem at first blush to be a superhuman young woman with nothing to teach us about life in the beginning years of the 21st century. But she has her personality flaws and moral failings. The Telzey stories in particular provide a nice matrix for discussions with teenagers about such things as duty to friends, loyalty to family, and duty to society in general. One can safely give Schmitz's works to even a young teenager... and hope for some carpool downtime in which that stirring discussion can occur.
Rating:
Summary: For those who like strong heroines...
Review: Schmitz's stories are strongly plotted with interesting protagonists and even more interesting villains. The people in Schmitz's universe do unusual things in a fascinating way. The plots are not mere clockwork, but flow believably from the initial events predicated by the author. One can read Schmitz on two levels. The stories provide exciting events that move to satisfactory conclusions. Sort of a "Telzey Amberdon saves the universe with logic, a superb figure, a superior intellect and amazing psychic powers" kind of thing. However, the stories also pose universal questions and raise dilemmas faced by us all. (Which can be ignored in favor of moving on with the plotline!) Telzey might seem at first blush to be a superhuman young woman with nothing to teach us about life in the beginning years of the 21st century. But she has her personality flaws and moral failings. The Telzey stories in particular provide a nice matrix for discussions with teenagers about such things as duty to friends, loyalty to family, and duty to society in general. One can safely give Schmitz's works to even a young teenager... and hope for some carpool downtime in which that stirring discussion can occur.
Rating:
Summary: A great FEMALE protagonist from an early MALE author
Review: Snap up this book even if you haven't met Telzey before: if you have, you'll want the new material in this edition. Eric Flint does not disappoint fans of Schmitz in this first of 4 volumes of tales of the Hub. Some PSI, plenty of action, but most of all,
FUN! Definitely worth reading many times.
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Summary: Classic light space-opera, starring a teenage supergirl
Review: Telzey Amberdon, age 15, is a genius, a law student, and a psi supergirl who can save the Federation in a fortnight, and still make it home in time for her sixteenth birthday party. This is silly but engaging fluff, sort of a Nancy Drew in space -- but much better-written. It's a pleasure to see the Telzey stories back in print -- I'd forgotten the breezy assurance of Schmitz's voice. Besides six Telzey 'chapters', first published as short stories 1962-71, there are two related stories: the nasty, pulpy "Blood of Nalakia" (1953), & a nice (if routine) space-piracy thriller, "The Star Hyacinths" (1961). Plus, there's a great polychrome and foil cover (Telzey with a pride of crest cats) by Bob Eggleton. Editor Flint has done a nice job of assembling the Telzey stories into a coherent fixup [note 1], and publisher Baen is to be commended for introducing a new generation of readers to the pleasures of reading Schmitz -- until this, there was only one Schmitz book still in print. James H. Schmitz (1911-1981) is best-remembered for his wonderful Witches of Karres (1966) and the Telzey stories, all set in a far-future Federation of the Hub. Co-editor Guy Gordon wrote a nice overview of the Hub in an afterword, also available online: < http://www.white-crane.com/Schmitz/History_Hub.htm >. Baen plans to publish three more volumes of Schmitz stories -- I'm looking forward to them. Note 1) Flint has been criticized for editing Schmitz with too heavy a hand, but I found no evidence of this -- the true Schmitz flavor came through loud and clear, complete with mid-century anachronisms....
Rating:
Summary: Hurray!
Review: Thank goodness! James H. Schmitz - available again! My originals are getting a bit tattered from the number of times I've read them.
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