Reprinted in new format 1964
202pp
Originally published in New Worlds around 1956, this is the full length novel.
The premise of Wasp is simple. Terra is at war with the Sirian Empire. A plan is developed to plant "wasps" on Sirian held planets, basically to harry and disrupt in any way they can, making up for lack of numbers by causing the enemy to waste resources. An example is given of a car crash, killing four and one survivior reporting that the crash occured because a wasp flew into the car and stung the driver. So a half-ounce insect can destroy four humans and reduce a car to a mass of tangled wreckage. James Mowry is sent to the planet Jaimec to be a wasp. Of course if we viewed his antics from the Jaimecan point of view, he would be called something else, but in the 1950s the world we live in today was not envisaged.
Thus the novel might be more prophetic than we thought and gives food for that thought on many levels. As always, it is fast, entertaining and well paced. The quality of the writing is very high and good and poper attention is given to making the world of Jaimec real. As before this is not done by describing things, but by assuming things and letting the context carry the meaning. It's a clever and effective technique.
If you haven'y read this yet, then off to eBay where you will always find a good selection of EFR books.
