John Joseph McGuireReviews

Vintage 1950s SF short stories by one of the top writers of the day - H. Beam Piper.

More of a novella than a novel, it was later published as A Planet for Texans with the additional author of J. J. McGuire. I cannot speak to the novel, but I thoroughly enjoyed the novella. The exaggerated Texan culture on New Texas could be extrapolated from the current traditional one. The idea that any politician was fair game for assassination, provided the killer could prove he deserved it, was well-developed. Add in the threat of an alien invasion and the hint of romance and I would call the story a romp.

Who would like it? It is traditional science fiction, so folks who like SF would probably like this book, provided they didn't want something serious.½

A bit of a mediocre "by his bootstraps" type of story. The main character was unpleasant, the plot predictable. Not Piper's best work by any means.½

So, I can tell what Piper wrote and what he didn't. I've enjoyed the short stories of his I've read before (Oomphel earlier this month, Omnilingual last month), he's clearly sour towards most government, in such an enjoyable way and approach. The parts where I started to get drowsy-eyed were totally not his voice. So. Mr. McGuire, rest your soul, not a big fan of yours. The premise is that a bunch of Texans went and colonised a planet, turning it into a nostalgic parody of Texas-ness. And there are canine-based aliens. Some gunfights. Interesting political intrigue. Piper is kind of hilarious.