Wasp

Rating:
Summary: A gem
Review: This rather hard to find little book is a true classic. You'll need to get past the first few paragraphs where it seems that the author is in fact a 14 year-old... but then it grabs you and you won't have a moment's peace until it's read. So read it when you have plenty of free time ahead of you! The SF setting is somewhat irrevelevant in this novel - really it's about subversion and terrorism but the alien world is convincing enough. Russell has some novel ideas. The most amazing thing about this book is that it isn't also a film (unless you know different). It feels like a film. Buy it!

Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC - BUT THE ABRIDGED VERSION IS BEST
Review: WASP was probably my first SF novel read, and it along with MISSION OF GRAVITY by Hal Clement hooked me for life. There isn't a lot I can add to the reviews here, other than get the abridged version. Eric Frank Russell had an unfortunate propensity for clumsy and verbose phraseology. All U.S. printings (until recently) have followed the original heavily edited version. It had ~20,000 words pruned, choice phrases like "guzzle guts" and was a far better book for the lost weight. I am not saying to avoid the unabridged version (I have and have read both). But, if you are going for one only, go abridged -- you won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC - BUT THE ABRIDGED VERSION IS BEST
Review: WASP was probably my first SF novel read, and it along with MISSION OF GRAVITY by Hal Clement hooked me for life. There isn't a lot I can add to the reviews here, other than get the abridged version. Eric Frank Russell had an unfortunate propensity for clumsy and verbose phraseology. All U.S. printings (until recently) have followed the original heavily edited version. It had ~20,000 words pruned, choice phrases like "guzzle guts" and was a far better book for the lost weight. I am not saying to avoid the unabridged version (I have and have read both). But, if you are going for one only, go abridged -- you won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Unusual, political, uber-commando story of one against many.
Review: When I read this as a teenager in the early '60's, the novel was a unique sci-fi work in that it presented a first-person, military terrorist on an alien world. Based on later experiences, it was incredibly well constructed and could have served as a textbook for training an underground. Perhaps it did!