Customer Reviews

Norstrilia

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am another who found this work to be only average, at best. For a supposed classic of the genre I was very disappointed.

There are some good points, the ideas and the society created are very interesting. Unfortunately though it seems that in order to get more out of the book you will need to read his complete short fiction The Rediscovery of Man. Though this book should stand alone, it really doesn't and characters pop in and out without the reader ever learning who they are, why they do things and where they came from.

Apart from the interesting glimpses of the universe and the society imagined in the work the book did not work for me. The plot is muddled and disjointed. I'm not really sure there is a plot actually. I understand it is actually 2 shorts put together in novel form. The prose which is praised by so many others I found to be pedestrian.

For light on plot, new-wave science fiction that shows glimpses of a well envisioned society I'll stick with John Brunner.

Hopefully reading his short fiction will make this story more complete.

I intended to give this book 2 stars before reading the other reviews on this page, but now I'm not so sure. The other voices here are almost unanimous in their praise for Mr. Smith, and given my reaction to the book, I don't know whether they are all valid reviews or misplaced sentimentality for a childhood favorite.

I'm a great fan of SF, but I really didn't enjoy the book that much, mainly because of the problems mentioned in other reviews (disjoint plot, undeveloped ideas and characters, etc). Sure, it has some unique ideas, but not that unique. If you want to read some great books from the same time period or earlier, check out Philip K. Dick, or Clifford D. Simak, or Alfred Bester. I find their work to be more brilliant, much more developed, wittier, and at times even more strange.

I may have enjoyed Norstrilia if I were ten years younger (ah, to be young again), but at my age it just doesn't stand up to it's peers from the same time. However, I certainly didn't hate it, it just wasn't that appealing. Also, given the high praise Mr. Smith has received here and elsewhere (indeed, it has been recommended to me by many), it may be worth your time. Even I may read it again to see if I missed something special.

I liked this book, and it was good enough that it deserves a second reading (its also short enough). Some times the story doesn't make sense, sometimes its just really too bizarre. But when you think about when it was written its just amazing to think of how ahead of his time the author was. I would have wished for the story to be more epic because the preface set you up for an epic story and some parts of the story didn't get as developed as they might have. This is mainly because the book has so many characters that it jumps back and forth between, that at points you expect more to be done with a certain character. I would have liked to see more be done with the space pirates which at first you think are going to be major players in the book but then are seemingly cast aside. And with all the villians in the novel the main character never really seems to be in much danger even though the author clearly wants you to believe that he is. Then there are of some stupid parts to the book. For instance, I thought that the old wise catman part was nonsence and never came accross as meaningful as it was suppose to be. Besides the flaws, I think this book has a really cool universe, which has many interesting, yet underdeveloped characters, and a lot of very strong questions on the human condition that seem suprising applicable in the present even though the book was written some 40 years ago. Probably the reason most people wish that the author would have written more novels is not because this is the greatest book ever (because its not) but because it offers so many excellent questions yet never develops itself to the point of answering them. While there are better novels out there this one is so unique, short, and easy to read that no true sci-fi fan has an excuse to not read it.

There's really no way to explain the brilliance of Cordwainer Smith's work; it's so different, so lyrical, and so completely refreshing even now, decades after his death. This is unique science fiction, but it really almost crosses over into fantasy.
What can I say? Try it, and I think you'll be hooked.

It's worth mentioning that Paul Linebarger (who wrote under the pen name of Cordwainer Smith) was the son of an American diplomat and a godson of pre-Communist Chinese leader Sun Yat Sen. He wrote a definite textbook on psychological warfare, among other things. He wrote mysteries as well, all unfortunately long out of print.

However, all of his science fiction has been made available PERMANENTLY by NESFA, the New England Science Fiction Association; "The Rediscovery of Man", a large hardcover collection of all of his short science fiction, and "Norstrilia" (which, by the way, is the name of the planet that the hero comes from, which was colonized by Australians and was originally called "Old North Australia"), his one novel. This is a definitive edition, including all the text from the two paperbacks that were originally released by hacking the original maniscript into two halves. This edition includes all linking text that was written just for the two separate editions, as well as the original version and all variants.

NESFA has announced that they have arranged to print new copies of these books on demand. They're quite high quality, too, well bound and printed on acid-free paper.

Incidentally, Smith's daughter has set up a web site about him and publishes a newsletter. P>Although nobody else is like Cordwainer Smith, for those who like him I'd highly recommend "Lord of Light" by Roger Zelazny and "Bridge of Birds" by Barry Hughart.

The book is full of great ideas and interesting characters. This is doubly impressive given its age; a lot of old science fiction just doesn't seem original, interesting, or relevant when you're reading it 10, 20, or 50 years after it was originally written. Norstrilia suffers from no such problems. In fact, really only two complaints can be levelled at it, and both of those might just be my opinion.

The first is that Norstrilia takes place in a vast and richly detailed universe that Cordwainer Smith details in a series of short stories. The book relies strongly on this background material, a lot is taken for granted, and very little is explicitly explained. While it is never incomprehensible because of this, I also had the feeling that the reading experience was something less than it should have been because of all the references that were lost on me. Reading Norstrilia has certainly convinced me that I should give Smith's short stories a try, though.

My second complaint is about the ending. I just didn't like it. More than that, it seemed out of character for Rod McBan, and just generally felt too much like the author was forcing the story to go in directions to suit his own ends rather than where it naturally wanted to go. On the one hand, why would the pragmatic McBan settle for a "dream" with his love rather than the real thing? Why does a citizen of Norstrilia, one who has spent his entire life fighting the system, give up so easily when an offworlder argues that he can't stay with C'mell? The realization that C'mell didn't love him wholly seems to come from nowhere (perhaps it is explained in the shorter fiction somewhere) and seems a half-hearted post-hoc rationalization for not being with her. The sudden realization of feelings for the girl back home had no real explanation. Just in general it felt like the author wanted McBan parted from his money, parted from C'mell, and back on Norstrilia away from everything.

(As a side note it would have been interesting, especially given that he is going to live for a thousand years, if we could have seen Rod McBan experiencing the great plan that the Underpeople have the universe. Instead we last seem him only a few decades after we first meet him.)

Despite, the wholly unsatisfying ending, everything leading up to it more than made up for it. Now I just need to get a copy of Cordwainer Smith's short stories.

Cordwainer Smith belongs to a rare group of truly original voices in the world of speculative fiction. In real life, a covert operative, graduate instructor of international studies at Johns Hopkins, advisor to the President, and all around worldly fellow (right down to the eye patch)...in fiction, a gifted writer of short stories and this one novel...a novel I've read many times over the years and each time I find new marvels...if you haven't discovered CS, read Nostrillia, then move on to his short stories...how i envy the discovery that awaits you.

As another reviewer noted, it is too bad that the complete works of this great man are not fully available. I discovered him quite by accident in an "annual" of short stories. "A Planet Called Shayol" was the only science fiction story I've ever read that brought tears to my eyes; I had to close the book for a while. That doesn't often happen when reading any book, much less science fiction work.

I stongly recommend "Quest of the Three Worlds"; unbelievable that someone could imagine that universe and then write about it so well.

That said, Norstrilia is a rolicking good time book with rich underlying stories-within-stories. Fun, but deep stuff.

Cordwainer Smith deserves the widest possible recognition. Perhaps the most highly literary of all science fiction writers before the New Wave of the sixties (and still, for my money, a better read than most of that failed revolutionary literature), Smith's single novel "Norstrilia" is utterly unlike any other science fiction novel. Rod McBan becomes the richest man in the universe through the economic warfare of his inherited computer; the novel largely concerns itself with the need to survive the acquisition of wealth. Funny, poetic, and touching, "Norstrilia" is a bittersweet read, because it starts to show how Smith would have continued the expansion and collation of his future history, the Instrumentality of Mankind. Unfortunately, his early death deprived us of what would have been the most lyrical of all future histories. At least we have his stories, which is where any new reader should start (there's a new collection in print now); much of the emotional resonance of the novel comes from recognizing characters from the shorter works, especially the cat-girl C'mell. When you're done with those shorter glories, then come to "Norstrilia" and experience the longest swim in Smith's pool. You won't regret it!

Harlan Ellison (one of my other favorite authors) brought Cordwainer Smith to my attention sometime in the 70s. Fortunately for me, both "Norstrilia" and "The Best of Cordwainer Smith" were available in paperback somewhere (used-book store?).

Ellison pretty much worshipped Smith, and I pretty much worshipped Ellison, so...

Until that point, I had considered Ray Bradbury the best user of language among the authors I read extensively.

Cordwainer Smith leaves even Bradbury in the dust. His lyrical narratives would make even mundane stories read wonderfully.

Fortunately, Smith's stories -- both short fiction and Norstrilia, his only novel-length effort -- are anything but mundane. His background and interests led him to create worlds utterly unlike any others I've encountered in 2o-some years of avid reading of speculative fiction.

Cordwainer Smith was the pen name of Dr. Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, godson of Sun Yat Sen.

He got his Ph.D. in political science at age 23, and wrote extensively about Chinese political issues, worked for the American intelligence community, produced a classic text about psychological warfare that was used by the U.S. Army for decades, and was a professor of Asiatic Politics at Johns Hopkins University and an advisor to John F. Kennedy. He died in 1966, far too early.

As well as agreeing with the other reviews, I would like to comment on the 'feel' of the universe created by the author. It is not just a setting for stories, but a rich tapestry of the evolution of human emotion and understanding. From the first story 'No, No, Not Rogov' to the final 'The lords of the afternoon', it shows the triumph of the homan spirit. These stories move me like no others have. Read his books and you will be changed forever.