A book I have been trying to relocate for years!

books:


	• Wasp Eric Frank Russell Del Rey, 1986 average customer review:based on 25 reviews
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highly recommended

A classic on assymetric warfare!

Decades before the Pentagon coined "assymetric warfare", Russell literally wrote the book on it. This is thus a classic, kept in print I suspect by orders from young officers at our service academies. Oh, and it also happens to be a great read.

A powerful lesson on propaganda

Eric Frank Russell has long been my favourite sci-fi author. He creates fascinating characters who win out through intellect and logic, rather than brawn, usually, and WASP is no exception.

The book is set in the future, with the Earth up against the Sirian Combine - a galactic conglomeration of planets intent on conquering the Earth. While the Terrans (read: Earthlings) have superior weapons and technology, the Sirians have vastly superior numbers. As the war drags on, the Terrans feel the best way to defeat the Sirians is through propaganda. The theory is that if a wasp can distract the driver of a car, destroying the vehicle and all 4 adults, causing havoc, death and destruction grossly disproportionate to the insect's size, that one man, armed with the right tools, can also cause havoc to a whole planet. So they recruit James Mowry to land on the Sirian planet of Jaimec, to effect such disruption. In theory, with enough distraction, more attention and resources will be concentrating on the internal strife, enabling the Terrans to launch a quick and successful attack on the planet.

To effect this goal, Mowry creates a fictitious underground rebellion called DAG, making the authorities believe that there's a whole group set against the overthrow of the government, when in reality it's just one man.

The book can be seen as a how-to in propaganda, playing into the fears of the enemy, forcing over-reaction and panic with minimal effort and maximum results. Some of the technology doesn't seem that advanced. Granted, there's space ships that can travel between planets, but there are also cars and telephones. However, considering that it was first published in 1957 - 50 years ago - it's hardly surprising. With the brilliance of the story, it is also unsurprising that the book is still in demand - the copy I have is out of print, but there are new anthologies of the author's works being brought out.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

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All military forces want wasps

My two older daughters and I have recently watched the first two Lord of the Rings movies. This was the first time for them. While watching "Two Towers" this last Saturday I commented a couple times how it was important to attack where an enemy is weak. It is best to aim for the Achilles' heel. After the movie we talked some more about how in battle you don't want to throw your strength at the enemy's strong defenses.

One of my favorite Science Fiction authors is Eric Frank Russell. He served in the RAF during World War II, and many of his stories have a military setting and with the clever hero destroying much larger opponents. The hero always finds the Achilles' Heel. "Wasp" is the first Eric Frank Russell story I ever read. I go back and reread it every couple years. I just reread it, probably for the fifteenth time.

The background for the story is Humanity is fighting for its life. We've expanded out to the stars and settled several colonies. We bumped into Sirian Empire. We got along with them for awhile, but they then decided to try and conquer us. Earth has more advanced technology, while the Sirian Empire has about ten times the number of people.

Our hero, James Mowry, is recruited to be a "Wasp." James is told a story of a small wasp that stung a driver. In trying to kill the wasp, the driver wreaked the car, killing three people, including himself. After months of training James Mowery is sent to a Sirian colony with the goal of destabilizing the colony, single handedly, to be a wasp!

This is a funny story. Eric Frank Russell does a great job of telling an interesting story while weaving in humor.

If you like classic Science Fiction from the 1950s, check out Wasp, or "Entities" which includes several of his novels. A couple dozen short stories by Eric Frank Russell's collected were put together in "Major Ingredients."

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WARNING! CAUSES SF ADDICTION

This is a terrible book. It is the first science fiction book I ever read and I have been addicted ever since. It produced the typical symptoms of science fiction addiction: boundless enthusiasm for individual initiative, a ridiculous optimism for the future, starry eyed idealism, and weekend reading marathons. I should have never read this book. Now I'm going to get a copy for my son. Better that than those darn computer games!

A book I have been trying to relocate for years!

As a young girl, I borrowed this book from my father's paperback collection. With time, it disappeared from my life, and I have missed it. Every so often, I have tried to re-locate it, and imagine my joy at finding it again.

What can you say about a book that has haunted you for over 45 years? It is great. An entertaining and enjoyable combination of spy and sci fi.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The war has raged for nearly a year and Earth desperately needs an edge to overcome the Sirian Empire's huge advantage in personnel and equipment. That's where James Mowry comes in. Intensively trained, his appearance surgically altered, Mowry secretly lands on one of the Empire's planets. His mission: to sap morale, cause mayhem, tie up resources, and wage a one-man war on a planet of 80 million--in short, to be like the wasp buzzing around a car to distract the driver...and causing him to crash. "I'd have given anything to have written Wasp."--Terry Pratchett.

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