Wasp (original 1957; edition 2000)

by Eric Frank Russell

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710	24	32,579	(3.98)	12
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… (more)

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Member:	ogingero
Title:	Wasp
Authors:	Eric Frank Russell
Info:	Gollancz (2000), Edition: Collectors, Paperback, 176 pages
Collections:	Your library, Wishlist, Currently reading, To read, Read but unowned, Favorites
Rating:
Tags:	to-read, goodreads

Work Information

Wasp by Eric Frank Russell (1957)

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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 enemy. I enjoyed reading this book again and recommend it highly. Live Long (

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gbraden | Mar 18, 2024 |

Excellent thriller centered on the covert operative sent on a hostile planet in order to ensure enemy forces are tied up in chasing ghosts instead of preparing for the actual invasion.

I especially like the end, reminds me a lot of what happens to the bearer of armor in the novel [b:Armor|102327|Armor|John Steakley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1337817762s/102327.jpg|604650] man ends up as victim of his own success and just gets sent over and over to more and more crazy missions - very much like in [b: Catch 22|168668|Catch-22 (Catch-22, #1)|Joseph Heller|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463157317s/168668.jpg|814330]. As you can see most books written by people who lived through war bear more or less the same message .

Highly recommended to all fans of good thriller and spy story (plus it is in SF settings :) ). (

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Zare | Jan 23, 2024 |

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. (

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burritapal | Oct 23, 2022 |

A good few hours of modest adventure as the hero does his best to irritate the enemy into giving up the battle. (

)

majackson | Dec 12, 2021 |

In the future, Earth is at war with Sirian Empire, a fascist police state. A human secret agent, James Mowry, after being recruited and trained as a subversive is sent to planet Jaimec. His mission is to cause domestic chaos among the Sirians, foment unrest in order to faciliate a Terran attack. Singlehandedly, Mowry creates the illusion of a revolutionary organization, Dirac Angestan Gesept. The "live long" valediction is a wonderful foreshadowing for Star Trek's "live long and prosper." (

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skipstern | Jul 11, 2021 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Eric Frank Russell	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Serra, Laura	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Bruna Science Fiction (41)

Delta Science Fiction (81)

Pasaulinės fatastikos aukso fondas (24)

Science Fiction Book Club

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Is contained in

Entities: The Selected Novels of Eric Frank Russell by Eric Frank Russell

Prisonniers des étoiles by Eric Frank Russell

Le sentinelle del cielo | Wade Harper, investigatore | Imponderabile piu X | Missione su Jaimec by Eric Frank Russell

Unterwegs in die Welt von Morgen (132): Flucht ins Heute - Der Stich der Wespe by Karl Alexander

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Canonical title

Wasp

Original title

Wasp

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1957-11

People/Characters

James Mowry

Important places

Jaimec

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

He ambled into the room, sat in the indicated chair, and said nothing.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Pratchett, Terry

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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Wikipedia in English (3)

Insects in literature

Sirius in fiction

Wasp

▾Book descriptions

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

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