The Thurb Revolution

A comedy of manners in space: it's as if someone had taken the outline of a Heinlein juvenile novel, given it to P.G. Wodehouse to write, and then handed the first draft to Terry Pratchett for polishing. But don't take that to mean it's mere pastiche or some sort of frankensteinian monster: Panshin is writing a story that hangs together on its own merit, and while he knows exactly what he's drawing on to build it, he makes it his.

It is *brilliant*. I picked it up knowing nothing about Panshin or Anthony Villiers, expecting a short SF novella in the pre-New-Wave style, probably quite bad but in a comforting way: instead I found myself in love within ten pages and cackling hilariously shortly thereafter. While it's far from perfect (the show more set-up, while leading up to marvellous and intricate pay-offs in the end, makes the first half of the book drag quite a bit, and requires you to hold on and trust Panshin to get there in the end- I plowed through assuming that even if it never paid off, it would still be amusingly bad, and instead I got an ending that made my head spin, in a good way) this series deserves more than its small cult following, and I really must get my hands on the rest of them, stat.

(The short summary of the story: some decadent aristocrats and an illegal alien go camping and talk about art. That does it no justice whatsoever, however; and it's not so much that a plot shows up halfway through the book, as that halfway through the book, you suddenly blink, and realize that the plot was there all along.) show less

I enjoy the Anthony Villiers trilogy and this is a worthy component. I was fresh from the books by Leslie Charteris about Simon Templar, the "Saint" and this was a happy reprise of style, and level of danger. I happily push this series on my friends.

This is my first Alexei Panshin book. It's full of clever prose and silly characters. At one point it came within spitting distance of a plot.
I know this author has fans and I know he wrote at least one award winning book. I will not be reading any more. Just not for me.

I always enjoy alternate universe stories. The alternate universe in this book is charming - unlike ours in the broad generalities, but you recognize the social situations and the quirky personalities. Torve the Trog and his devoted following, the students and yagoots and their revolution, Admiral Beagle's desperate attempts to impose order and morality, all make for a delightful visit.

I really liked this one...God, the pink plonk.

Good at times and in places though I generally did not like this book.

One of my favorite books