L. Neil Smith (1946–2021)

This is the fourth book in L. Neil Smith's "North American Confederacy" series of libertarian science fiction and alternate history that began with The Probability Broach. That book could only be described as libertarian porn--a book that's one enormous in-joke for those immersed in the movement, but would probably be a big huh??? or wtf?? (or both) to those on the outside. I think The Nagasaki Vector is less of an insider book, but also less fun than the outrageous--and outrageously show more imaginative--Probability Broach. Captain Bernie Gruenblum, skipper of a timeship, is a fairly likeable smart aleck, and I did enjoy his alien sidekicks. The book reads as very Heinleinesque at times, and I did enjoy that aspect.

But brother, at times... Look, I consider myself a libertarian, but not only do I find this book preachy at times, you have to understand Smith is the kind of guy capable of describing a character as a "MarxoFriedmanite Neo-Revisionist of the Old School." That's Milton Friedman, an economist most would describe as free-market, but to Smith's ilk, not pure enough and thus near kin to Karl Marx. So, an injoke few not libertarians would likely get, while at the same time a slap at those libertarians not of Smith's flavor. I also admit that I find Smith's adoration of guns outright creepy at times--hell, I think most lifetime NRA members would.

I rated this novel as high as I did because once I got somewhat into it, I did overall enjoy it, but I don't think it's a keeper. If you haven't already and you're inclined to try Smith, I'd recommend The Probability Broach, and only if you love that one to go on to read the other North American Confederacy novels. If you're not a libertarian and find that book decidedly not your cuppa, you might actually enjoy Smith's The Crystal Empire or Henry Martyn. The first is an imaginative alternate history dealing with a powerful Sino-Aztec empire and the other a swashbuckling space opera. Both books are less polemical than his wont. show less

A glorious mix of Sherlock Holmes, evolution vs fundamentalism, and a trilaterally symmetrical species with an extreme aversion to water. The world-building and plot-structure may be heavily derivational in concept but it's wonderfully detailed in the direction it takes the ramifications of how it all plays out in this alien environment.

This one is getting one star more than the first two books. All my issues about them are still basically there, but either I've gotten used to it or there was something more to this book that the others didn't have.

Actually, there was. Lots of plots and pieces from the first two books where sort of explored and explained here, which meant it tied everything up very nicely. The only thing I feel really cheated out of was seeing Lando being an actual con man, and not just being told that he is show more one. That would ave improved all three books.

Oh well. On to the Han Solo adventures! show less

Their Majesties' Bucketeers is an AU where Holmes and Watson are Lamviin - small, trilaterally symmetrical crustaceans who live on a desert planet that is in their people's equivalent of our Victorian period. Also, they do *everything* in threes, not just symmetry - including sex and gender, so yes, there is, in fact, canon!OT3. It is at *least* as awesome as it sounds.

I found a copy of this book at a yard sale when I was about fourteen, and it's on my list of "books that got re-read dozens show more of times in high school"; I only found & remembered it a few weeks ago when I was unpacking, and I had forgotten just how much I loved it; and hadn't realized how much of my thinking about SF in recent years has been working from this book as the lost archetype.

Mymisiir Offe Woom, our POV character, is a surmale paracauterist (paramedic/trauma surgeon) in their Majesties' Bucketeer service. In fact, rhe has followed in rher surfather's fingertracks to become one of the first generation of respectable surmale professionals, and is fiercely proud of the independent status that offers rher.

Rhe is friend, admirer, and chronicler of Agot Edmoot Mav, male Inquirer in the bucketeer service, inventor of scientific forensics, and the world's first undercover detective. Mymy is continually beset by Mav's insistence on pickling his brain with dangerous chemicals, and on keeping company with disreputable personages - such as Vyssu, the smart and outspoken female brothel manager (and knitting enthusiast) who eventually completes their trine.

I submit to you, lords, ladies and lurries: is it not *awesome*, the mere fact that this book exists?

Together, the three of them are investigating the dramatic murder of Professor Srafen, an old surmale mentor of Mav's and discoverer of the theory of evolution, and in the process travel between many parts of Lamviin society, including an apocalyptic cult and the mad inventors' club. And, of course, they fall in love with each other. :D

Yes, you can say all you like about various permutations of Holmes/Watson/Irene/Mary, but Mymy/Mav/Vyssu will *always* be my Holmesverse OT3. (Mav is substantially less broken than Holmes in movieverse, but he's broken *enough*, an it's amazing how close M/M/V comes to *being* movieverse OT4, with Watson and Mary neatly combined into one character in the person of Mymy.)

The whole book is told in Mymy's first-person POV, and there are no non-lamviin characters at all (though there's an introduction from a human POV that gives the story context as an account of historical events from before their first extraplanetary contact.) The worldbuilding is just so spot-on, with everything taken for granted but introduced slowly and naturally, so that by halfway through what is really a very short novel it seems perfectly normal for Mymy to use the little lurries' room and admire Mav's shapely walking-arms and shudder in disgust at the mention of rain. And the surmale pronouns and words seem natural by about three pages in (I still kind of wonder why the accepted othergender pronouns have ended up being unpronounceable things like xie and sie - what's wrong with rhe and rher? They're good enough for Mymy!) If I can ever write an SF novel that carries off an alien world *this* well, I will be satisfied with my skills.

It's not a perfect book (though it's close): the author L. Neil Smith, who you may recognize as the writer of several of the early Star Wars novels, is a very politically active social liberatarian, and the wonderful, subtle worldbuilding and mystery story is interrupted at several points by extremely *unsubtle* political dialogues, though they're easy enough to identify & skip over; if you can handle Heinlein, it should be no trouble.

And it's got the race and colonialism issues that all Victorian stories must, compounded by the libertarian insistence on individual determination above all, although having them be furry crab creatures who never quite exactly parallel Earth cultures makes it -- at least slightly less personal. Also, I didn't remember this from my earlier readings, but Mav is multiracial - his father was a high-ranking officer in the Imperial military, but his surfather was Podfettian (think German or Russian) and his mother was from a dark-furred colonialized culture several continents over. And Vyssu's antecedents are unclear but she is stated to be recognizably descended from colonized peoples as well. It's hard to say just what that means in the book's context, through the lenses of time and alienness and libertarian doctrine (and despite the characters being mixed-race, there's some clear exoticizing going on, especially of the native-american analogues), but damp does it cry out for fanfic. :D

(I could go on and on about lamn gender too, but I doubt anyone else reading this knows the book, so I will simply reiterate: IT NEEDS FANFIC.)

Apparently some of the lamnviin characters from this book reappear in some of Smith's later novels, post-contact, but those novels sound much more politically doctrinaire so I have been having trouble gaining the enthusiasm to read them, as much as I *love* his worldbuilding skills when he lets the politics go.

Verdict: *So* glad it exists. And Mymy/Mav/Vyssu is still my canon OT3 for all Holmes fandom everywhere. I had forgotten how deeply I loved this book in high school - my copy is falling apart, and I still have stretches memorized, ten years since my last re-read. show less