Norstrilia

Rating:
Summary: excellent until the ending
Review: The book is full of great ideas and interesting characters. This is doubly impressive given its age; a lot of old science fiction just doesn't seem original, interesting, or relevant when you're reading it 10, 20, or 50 years after it was originally written. Norstrilia suffers from no such problems. In fact, really only two complaints can be levelled at it, and both of those might just be my opinion.

The first is that Norstrilia takes place in a vast and richly detailed universe that Cordwainer Smith details in a series of short stories. The book relies strongly on this background material, a lot is taken for granted, and very little is explicitly explained. While it is never incomprehensible because of this, I also had the feeling that the reading experience was something less than it should have been because of all the references that were lost on me. Reading Norstrilia has certainly convinced me that I should give Smith's short stories a try, though.

My second complaint is about the ending. I just didn't like it. More than that, it seemed out of character for Rod McBan, and just generally felt too much like the author was forcing the story to go in directions to suit his own ends rather than where it naturally wanted to go. On the one hand, why would the pragmatic McBan settle for a "dream" with his love rather than the real thing? Why does a citizen of Norstrilia, one who has spent his entire life fighting the system, give up so easily when an offworlder argues that he can't stay with C'mell? The realization that C'mell didn't love him wholly seems to come from nowhere (perhaps it is explained in the shorter fiction somewhere) and seems a half-hearted post-hoc rationalization for not being with her. The sudden realization of feelings for the girl back home had no real explanation. Just in general it felt like the author wanted McBan parted from his money, parted from C'mell, and back on Norstrilia away from everything.

(As a side note it would have been interesting, especially given that he is going to live for a thousand years, if we could have seen Rod McBan experiencing the great plan that the Underpeople have the universe. Instead we last seem him only a few decades after we first meet him.)

Despite, the wholly unsatisfying ending, everything leading up to it more than made up for it. Now I just need to get a copy of Cordwainer Smith's short stories.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best SF novels I've ever read!
Review: The first piece I ever read by Cordwainer Smith was a short story called "The Ballad of Lost C'mell," a story of intrigue and unrequited love featuring the cat-derived undergirl C'mell (underpeople: animals genetically altered to have human form and human intelligence, oppressed and treated as second-class citizens) and her unlikely ally Jestocost, a Lord of the reigning Instrumentality. My only fault with the story was that there wasn't enough of it. Imagine my delight on finding that there was an entire *book* set in this colorful future universe! "Norstrilia" (short for Old North Australia, the homeworld of the protagonist Rod McBan) has some of everything--intrigue, romance, adventure, philosophy, poetry, complex characters and a detailed and fascinating world. The cast of characters alone is wild and varied: the theatrical Lord Redlady; the godlike E'telekeli and his believing daughter E'lamelanie; the late unlamented Tostig Amaral; Jestocos! t, a Lord of the Instrumentality who has a passion for justice and a secret cause; Rod McBan himself, the sixteen-year-old who bought Earth (with the help of his computer and the galactic stock exchange) and who now wants nothing more than normal telepathy like everyone else and an antique postage stamp; and my personal favorite, C'mell, the fire-haired cat-girl whose beauty is matched only by her intelligence and determination. Others: Crudelta the mental pickpocket. Comissioner Teadrinker, bored with a thousand-year lifespan. The Catmaster, owner of the Department Store of the Heart's Desire. And those are just a few of the people you'll find, to say nothing of what happens to them and what they do. I can give you the plot; I can detail the characters; I can tell you what the story is about. Cordwainer Smith does as much in the prologue. But as he says, that's only what *happens*. For the story (the fun part), read "Norstrilia." You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read, even though Lacking in "Significance"
Review: There was a time when science fiction was a very insignificant genre, enjoyed almost exclusively by boys and young men, a situation that changed somewhat when the Space Age began, demonstrating that even the most far-fetched nonsense could become tomorrow's headline. Light adventure and juvenile novels gave way to "serious" science fiction works that actually "meant something". Much of this transition took place during the turbulent 1960's, and it is in this context that we should consider Norstrilia.

Part One was published in '64, and paints a delightfully barbed portrait of the kind of people who live in Northern Australia - the antecedents of the planet of Norstrilia. In a cosmic irony worthy of Vonnegut, Norstrilia is the only planet that can grow "stroon" - the prized longevity drug - making it the richest planet in the galaxy, but it is inhabited by a people who are almost painfully rooted in the past; insular, anti-technology, with strong ties to the land, reverent towards their ancestors as well as the unseen Queen of the Commonwealth, and practicing strict eugenics to preserve the purity of their lineage. This latter almost proves the undoing of the protagonist, Rod McBan the 151st, since he was born with a distinct genetic defect, being unable to communicate via telepathy the way everyone else does.

Part Two was published in '68, and is consequently faster-paced, somewhat racier, and distinctly more class-conscious. Rod travels to Earth, having just purchased it with the aid of Norstilia's only electronic computer, which has learned how to manipulate the interstellar stock market. On Earth, Linebarger (Smith) shows how all real work is done by "under-people" - half-human half-animal creatures who are struggling towards the day they can demand equal rights. Is Rod the savior the under-people have been waiting for? Will he find love with the beautiful cat-woman C'mell? And can Rod find sanctuary from the Honorable Secretary, who is trying to kill him?

There are plenty of fascinating ideas in this book, but none of them are really developed, so they don't have a lot of impact. Rather than focusing on a central theme, the work has a sprawling quality that in some ways diminishes it. Not only are the two parts somewhat disjointed, but the individual parts themselves aren't unified so much as linear: one thing happens and then another without any feeling of cohesiveness. Characters are introduced and then dropped a few pages later with scarcely another reference, even though they didn't actually do anything.

The four-star recommendation is in recognition of the fact that Linebarger's short story collection The Rediscovery of Man adds levels of richness that the immediate text is lacking, and also because despite the book's obvious flaws, it still manages to be a pretty entertaining piece of sci-fi/fantasy. It's a fun read, but it would be better if one has read The Rediscovery of Man first.

Rating:
Summary: The brilliance of Smith, forever in print
Review: There's really no way to explain the brilliance of Cordwainer Smith's work; it's so different, so lyrical, and so completely refreshing even now, decades after his death. This is unique science fiction, but it really almost crosses over into fantasy.
What can I say? Try it, and I think you'll be hooked.

It's worth mentioning that Paul Linebarger (who wrote under the pen name of Cordwainer Smith) was the son of an American diplomat and a godson of pre-Communist Chinese leader Sun Yat Sen. He wrote a definite textbook on psychological warfare, among other things. He wrote mysteries as well, all unfortunately long out of print.

However, all of his science fiction has been made available PERMANENTLY by NESFA, the New England Science Fiction Association; "The Rediscovery of Man", a large hardcover collection of all of his short science fiction, and "Norstrilia" (which, by the way, is the name of the planet that the hero comes from, which was colonized by Australians and was originally called "Old North Australia"), his one novel. This is a definitive edition, including all the text from the two paperbacks that were originally released by hacking the original maniscript into two halves. This edition includes all linking text that was written just for the two separate editions, as well as the original version and all variants.

NESFA has announced that they have arranged to print new copies of these books on demand. They're quite high quality, too, well bound and printed on acid-free paper.

Incidentally, Smith's daughter has set up a web site about him and publishes a newsletter. P>Although nobody else is like Cordwainer Smith, for those who like him I'd highly recommend "Lord of Light" by Roger Zelazny and "Bridge of Birds" by Barry Hughart.

Rating:
Summary: Norstrilia, a must read neglected classic
Review: This book has been published several times yet it's always difficult to find. The world created by Smith is fascinating and compelling on every level. Animals fighting for their own rights, benevolent (we hope) dictators pulling everyone's strings, and a young man who corners the market on the most valuable commodity in the galaxy - by accident. If you only read new science fiction I would really recommend that you broaden your horizons by trying this oldie.

Rating:
Summary: The story is even better after reading the short stories
Review: This is more of a recommendation about how to read the novel and get more out of it.

By the time I first read Norstralia 20 years ago, I had already read his "Ballad of Lost C'Mell" and met a few of the Lords. So Norstralia was much more meaningful knowing these stories beforehand. It also filled in some of the background to the revolution and gave voice to a few of the hidden players in other stories.