WAR AND PEACE: Possible Futures from Analog

by Stanley--Ed. Schmidt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1983

Eleven yarns exploring--not always successfully--the causes of war and possible alternatives to it, in a rather odd combination of five 1940s items and six from 196580. Best and most thought-provoking are three golden oldies: T. L. Sherred's ""E for Effort,"" where (with the aid of a time-scanner) an attempt to reveal the ugly truth about war ends in disaster; Theodore Sturgeon's ""Thunder and Roses""--a telling dramatization of the meaninglessness of nuclear strike/counterstrike doctrine; Eric Frank Russell's persuasive ""Late Night Final,"" whose invading army prefers freedom over conquest. And another standout, of more recent vintage, is a Vernor Vinge love story--demonstrating that a cultural clash is often as destructive as a shooting war. But the remaining tales have less to say, often revealing the Analog weakness for gadgets and superheroes: A. E. van Vogt's tale of superscience in defense of justice; Murray Leinster's submarine robot bomb; one of Gordon R. Dickson's Dorsal yarns; a superplane time-jumping into WW I (Dean McLaughlin); mercenaries sorting out a lawless planet (Jerry Pournelle); aliens keen to learn how Earth has managed to avoid nuclear war (Hank Davis); and alien invaders defeated by human illogic (Marc Stiegler). The collection doesn't quite hang together thematically, then--but those oldies, no matter how overexposed, still shine.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dial

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1983

Categories: FICTION