One of the early sci-fi writers. At times a crude writing style compared to today's works but entertaining nonetheless. Definitely a product of the cold war. ( )

One of the early sci-fi writers. At times a crude writing style compared to today's works but entertaining nonetheless. Definitely a product of the cold war. ( )

Old favorite. I just read Subspace Survivors, the magazine story that triggered this book and its sequel, so of course I had to reread. It starts (like Survivors) with a wrecked starship, then goes off in various interesting directions. Our Heroes (all four of them) are strongly psychic, which lets them do things that heterodyne with the political situation - like find metals in big enough chunks for automation, thereby triggering a near-catastrophic confrontation with the unions. Smith's politics are pretty simplistic, though Labor is not the only villain - greedy and corrupt Capital is equally a problem. But the planets - the colonies from Earth - have solved this with a mathematical solution that puts everyone on the same side...except Earth herself, who won't change. The book spends a _lot_ of time on this political stuff; Our Heroes get shoved into the background over and over (then pop up again, with a new twist, mostly psychic). Multiple hidden planets, secret colonies. And one that isn't, which is amusing. There are some really dated bits - the sort of thing that changes unexpectedly. Milk trucks, for one - milk deliveries are a thing of the past now, but when this was written I'm pretty sure they were expected to be a permanent thing (there's a reference - "Milk....Impossible to automate..."). The makeup of the Council is somewhat amusing - Metals, Oil, Communications, the "labor" side...and one Chinese and one Russian representative (though they expect some more to show up). Not Russian business, or Chinese companies, just ethnic Easterners... Again, Smith is showing prejudice and now-dated perceptions. But it was cutting-edge when it was written. And it's still fun, within its limits. ( )