Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Panther (1968), Edition: REPRINT, Paperback
Description
The war had been going on for nearly a year and the Sirian Empire had a huge advantage in personnel and equipment. Earth needed an edge. Which was where James Mowry came in. If a small insect buzzing around in a car could so distract the driver as to cause that vehicle to crash, think what havoc one properly trained operative could wreak on an unuspecting enemy. Intensively trained, his appearance surgically altered, James Mowry is landed on Jaimec, the ninety-fourth planet of the Sirian Empire. His mission is simple: sap morale, cause mayhem, tie up resources, wage a one-man war on a plane
User reviews
LibraryThing member baswood
Wasp - Eric Frank Russell
Pulp science fiction from 1957 which has somehow become part of the Masterwork science fiction series. It holds the premise that a single person can seriously disrupt a world government if it goes about it in the right way; the analogy is of a wasp in a car full of people
As a serialised entry in a 1950's pulp magazine this could have been splashed on the front page, but as an example of the cutting edge of science fiction writing in the late 1950's it does not cut. 3 stars.
Pulp science fiction from 1957 which has somehow become part of the Masterwork science fiction series. It holds the premise that a single person can seriously disrupt a world government if it goes about it in the right way; the analogy is of a wasp in a car full of people
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that can cause a car crash and this may be true because a friend of mine drove into a ditch when a wasp flew in his car window. While a wasp could cause a car crash we are really into a fantasy world in thinking that one person could be instrumental in bringing down an alien military government with the tactics that the protagonist James Mowry uses in this novel. There is not much science but plenty of fiction.As a serialised entry in a 1950's pulp magazine this could have been splashed on the front page, but as an example of the cutting edge of science fiction writing in the late 1950's it does not cut. 3 stars.
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LibraryThing member szmytke
A classic tale of spy and counter spy set against the backdrop of a galatic war. The protagonist is sent to work under cover on an alien planet. Using all techniques of psychological terrorism, he strikes at the heart of the enemy
LibraryThing member plappen
Under the right circumstances, totally innocent happenings can have effects far in excess of the original event. For instance, consider a prisoner escaping from jail. He will singlehandedly tie up hundreds of police and prison personnel, plus police cars, helicopters and who knows what else, for
Human James Mowry is recruited to be such a person. Foe the previous 10 months, Earth has been at war with the Sirian Combine. It's pretty much of a stalemate; the war has yet to reach Earth. The Earth authorities know that such a state of affairs will not last forever, since the Combine outnumbers Earth in several vital areas. Mowry is one of a number of "wasps" placed on planets in the Combine, one per planet, to disrupt the Sirian war effort from the inside.
The planet Jaimec is full of humanoids with purple skin. It helps that Mowry was actually born there, so he has the accent all set. It's also a police state, a place of informants, patrols and sudden police searches in public. Mowry must change identities, and locations, every few days, in order to keep away from the kaitempi, the interrogators. The only way to not give information to the kaitempi is to be dead. Mowry spends his time putting stickers all over the town in which he is staying, talking about the Sirian Freedom Party (which, of course, doesn't exist). There is the occasional political assassination; boxes are sent to various leading officials, containing inexpensive clocks and wires. The recipients are left with the unmistakable impression that it could very easily have been a bomb.
As time goes on, Mowry begins to have an effect on the population. At first, he is ignored, then notices reach the official press about members and leaders of the Party being arrested and executed. Blurbs also reach the Jaimec press about this planet or that planet being abandoned for "strategic" reasons. Also, the enemy (Human) fleet is either severly damaged, decimated, or wiped out, seemingly every week (according to the official press). Then, Mowry gets the word that the official attack from Earth is coming, to end the war, once and for all.
This book is pretty good. It has a very interesting central premise, it has plenty of action, and it will keep the reader entertained. It's worth reading.
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hours or days. Consider a wasp or bee. It flies into a car and, buzzing around, can cause the driver to lose control and crash. Taking things one step further, it is possible for one person to bring down a government.Human James Mowry is recruited to be such a person. Foe the previous 10 months, Earth has been at war with the Sirian Combine. It's pretty much of a stalemate; the war has yet to reach Earth. The Earth authorities know that such a state of affairs will not last forever, since the Combine outnumbers Earth in several vital areas. Mowry is one of a number of "wasps" placed on planets in the Combine, one per planet, to disrupt the Sirian war effort from the inside.
The planet Jaimec is full of humanoids with purple skin. It helps that Mowry was actually born there, so he has the accent all set. It's also a police state, a place of informants, patrols and sudden police searches in public. Mowry must change identities, and locations, every few days, in order to keep away from the kaitempi, the interrogators. The only way to not give information to the kaitempi is to be dead. Mowry spends his time putting stickers all over the town in which he is staying, talking about the Sirian Freedom Party (which, of course, doesn't exist). There is the occasional political assassination; boxes are sent to various leading officials, containing inexpensive clocks and wires. The recipients are left with the unmistakable impression that it could very easily have been a bomb.
As time goes on, Mowry begins to have an effect on the population. At first, he is ignored, then notices reach the official press about members and leaders of the Party being arrested and executed. Blurbs also reach the Jaimec press about this planet or that planet being abandoned for "strategic" reasons. Also, the enemy (Human) fleet is either severly damaged, decimated, or wiped out, seemingly every week (according to the official press). Then, Mowry gets the word that the official attack from Earth is coming, to end the war, once and for all.
This book is pretty good. It has a very interesting central premise, it has plenty of action, and it will keep the reader entertained. It's worth reading.
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LibraryThing member datrappert
One of the all time fun books to read. Why has this never been made into a movie? It would be perfect.
LibraryThing member shireling
A wonderful combination of science fiction and humour.
Picture one man that is planted on a hostile planent, sent out to wreak havoc , like a wee wasp that might kill a car driver just by buzzing around his head.
James Mowry has been chosen to be just such a wasp.
His ingenuety eventually totally
Yet another great Eric Frank Russell!!
Picture one man that is planted on a hostile planent, sent out to wreak havoc , like a wee wasp that might kill a car driver just by buzzing around his head.
James Mowry has been chosen to be just such a wasp.
His ingenuety eventually totally
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breaks down said hostile planet, and the process is hilarious to read.Yet another great Eric Frank Russell!!
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LibraryThing member bedda
It is a science fiction book but that shouldn’t scare away any non-science fiction fans. It happens on another planet and there is space travel but the science fiction elements are not a big influence on the plot. Change it from another planet to another country and it becomes an espionage story
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instead. There is a dark humor to the story as you watch this one lone human running around an alien planet causing all sorts of trouble for the government and making them believe that there is a whole organization involved and not just one man. There is suspense and a few thrills as Mowry runs for his life on a hostile planet amid the chaos he has created. So if you are not a science fiction fan but like espionage stories with a lighter feel to them you should give this a try. If you are a science fiction fan you should not be put off by the fact that it isn’t very science fictiony. You won’t get warp drives, first contacts or time travel but it is still a good, fast story. Show Less
LibraryThing member Veeralpadhiar
Read this if you want to know how terrorism 'works'. And mind you, Eric Frank Russell was one crafty author. His aliens are more like humans than not. Just to avoid any controversy, Russell created a far away planet (Planet Jaimec) on which our protagonist (or is he?) must practice his 'skills' of
Now let me just leave you with one of the gems from the novel (don't worry, it won't spoil anything, the dialogue takes place in the first chapter itself):
"Finally, let's consider this auto smash up. The survivor was able to tell us the cause before he died. He said the driver lost control at high speed while swiping at a wasp which had flown in through a window and was buzzing around his face."
Wolf said, "The weight of a wasp is under half an ounce. Compared with a human being, the wasp's size is minute, its strength negligible. Its sole armament is a tiny syringe holding a drop of irritant, formic acid. In this instance, the wasp didn't use it. Nevertheless, that wasp killed four big men and converted a large, powerful car into a heap of scrap."
"I see the point, but where do I come in?"
"Right here," said Wolf. "We want you to become a wasp."
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terrorism for the whole humanity.Now let me just leave you with one of the gems from the novel (don't worry, it won't spoil anything, the dialogue takes place in the first chapter itself):
"Finally, let's consider this auto smash up. The survivor was able to tell us the cause before he died. He said the driver lost control at high speed while swiping at a wasp which had flown in through a window and was buzzing around his face."
Wolf said, "The weight of a wasp is under half an ounce. Compared with a human being, the wasp's size is minute, its strength negligible. Its sole armament is a tiny syringe holding a drop of irritant, formic acid. In this instance, the wasp didn't use it. Nevertheless, that wasp killed four big men and converted a large, powerful car into a heap of scrap."
"I see the point, but where do I come in?"
"Right here," said Wolf. "We want you to become a wasp."
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LibraryThing member Traveller1
Read this book in HS. Fantastic! Clever and complex plot, ingenious trickery from the secret agent, and the humans win in the end. What more could you ask for?
LibraryThing member wwwwolf
James Mowry, whose body structure kind of matches that of Sirians, an alien race humanity is waging war against, is sent to infiltrate the Sirian totalitarian society and cause trouble. He is a Wasp - a saboteur, who, like a tiny wasp that can harass a driver of a gigantic truck to make them drive
Wasp is a rousing, humorous 1950s scifi adventure, with *strangely* out of place and interesting psychological ponderings. Specifically, it's a great study of how masses of people *actually* behave when there's a great big looming terrorist threat out there. I always get the feeling that this book lacks some substance - it feels kind of short. It also feels that the book is just parodying the real-world totalitarianism while the topic was still current in post-war years - it's not exactly a remarkable book in scifi world-building sense, the story might have been as well set in Earth. But what it *has* is quite incredible. It's loads of fun. It really makes you think what makes people tick and why society fails to address all sorts of disruptive crimes when the authorities are claiming every possible step is being taken.
[Originally posted by me to Goodreads. Edited a bit since.]
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off the road, can cause lots of damage with minimum effort. He achieves this by assassinating a few key people and attributing this to an entirely fictional anti-war terrorist organisation, "Dirac Angestun Gesept" or "Sirian Freedom Party", then just sowing other kinds of seeds of dissent while dodging the dreaded Kaitempi, the Sirian secret police.Wasp is a rousing, humorous 1950s scifi adventure, with *strangely* out of place and interesting psychological ponderings. Specifically, it's a great study of how masses of people *actually* behave when there's a great big looming terrorist threat out there. I always get the feeling that this book lacks some substance - it feels kind of short. It also feels that the book is just parodying the real-world totalitarianism while the topic was still current in post-war years - it's not exactly a remarkable book in scifi world-building sense, the story might have been as well set in Earth. But what it *has* is quite incredible. It's loads of fun. It really makes you think what makes people tick and why society fails to address all sorts of disruptive crimes when the authorities are claiming every possible step is being taken.
[Originally posted by me to Goodreads. Edited a bit since.]
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
Great idea, very suspensful. Needs to be longer and have more terrorist type ideas.
LibraryThing member iansales
A SF Masterwork, and I was pretty sure I’d read this many, many, many years ago, but I couldn’t remember anything about the story. I must have picked up the main points of the plot through general osmosis, because once I started reading the book I realised it was all new to me. The story is
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simple enough: Earth is at war with the purple-skinned humanoid aliens of the Sirian Empire, so Earth drops an agent provocateur, skin suitably dyed (really? yes, really), into a city on a Sirian world, and his job is to disrupt industry and government to such an extent the Sirian Empire finds it hard to wage war. This involves lots of the sort of tricks that may or may not have been successful during World War II against the Germans. Unfortunately, the Sirians are implausibly stupid, their secret police are more like the Thompson Twins than the Gestapo, and except for a few pieces of sf furniture, the story could just as easily have set in, well, 1957. If you think this reads like a how-to manual for destabilising governments, as some reviewers apparently do, then I suspect you need to get out more. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Unfortunate & irrelevant cover. Exciting little story - still exceedingly relevant. Low yuck factor, moderate predictability, no female characters, no sexism or racism. No B&W good vs. evil, which was interesting - that is to say, the Sirians were all too familiar, not evil. Russell is a d* fine
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writer of classic SF pulp. Show Less
LibraryThing member MHThaung
I've previously enjoyed short stories by the author, but this is the first time I've read one of his novels. Given that it was first published over 60 years ago, it hasn't dated at all badly.
There was certainly humour, but I found the tone a bit darker than Russell's short stories. That said, there
Mowry seems uncannily lucky, and coincidences often go his way. But somehow, he doesn't feel like an annoying Gary Stu. I think it's because the pleasure of reading doesn't come from wondering whether he'll succeed: it's more watching the knock-on effects of his schemes on the behemoth that is the Sirian empire. The machinery of the enemy lumbers on, hampered by its own bureaucracy. I don't imagine this is a new concept for a story (not even back in 1957), but it's still fun to watch it topple.
There was certainly humour, but I found the tone a bit darker than Russell's short stories. That said, there
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was minimal on-page violence. Perhaps because I'd expected something lighter, the pacing dragged a touch for me by around the 75% mark, despite the shortness of the book.Mowry seems uncannily lucky, and coincidences often go his way. But somehow, he doesn't feel like an annoying Gary Stu. I think it's because the pleasure of reading doesn't come from wondering whether he'll succeed: it's more watching the knock-on effects of his schemes on the behemoth that is the Sirian empire. The machinery of the enemy lumbers on, hampered by its own bureaucracy. I don't imagine this is a new concept for a story (not even back in 1957), but it's still fun to watch it topple.
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LibraryThing member majackson
A good few hours of modest adventure as the hero does his best to irritate the enemy into giving up the battle.
LibraryThing member burritapal
This is an amusing little story about a man in Earth's military service who serves as a"wasp" to irritate the heck out of Earth's enemies, the Sirians.
LibraryThing member othersam
Wasp by Eric Frank Russell is one of the most gleefully subversive books I've ever read. Its SF premise barely disguises an A-Z manual on how to destabilise governments.
Earth is losing a war against the Sirian Empire. In a bid to change the odds one man is disguised as a Sirian and sent to the
Earth is losing a war against the Sirian Empire. In a bid to change the odds one man is disguised as a Sirian and sent to the
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enemy homeworld. His instructions: to cause as much chaos as he possibly can. He does. And after reading Wasp, you'll know how to follow his example. :D Show Less
LibraryThing member gbraden
This is a reread of one of my favorite books from my teens (never mind how old I am). If a wasp can fly into a car and cause that car to crash, killing all occupants, then a highly trained, well equipped agent can be placed on a planet, behind enemy lines and cause all kinds of problems for said
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enemy. I enjoyed reading this book again and recommend it highly. Live Long Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1957-11