- Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Baen Books; First Edition edition (1 July 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671578790
- ISBN-13: 978-0671578794
- Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 10.6 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 810,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"[A] typical James Schmitz mix of humor, strange mental powers, and mild anarchy. Delightful".
-- The Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction
Product Description
The Federation of the Hub: thousands of rough, ornery and tough-minded human worlds with only the subtlest of governments holding them together. It's prime real estate for criminals, unscrupulous corporations, and invaders from beyond Federation space. But in Hub space, a citizen is expected to stand up for herself, blaster in hand; so when Trouble comes Hubward in large doses, there's an armed citizenry waiting for it.
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Fermilaur was famous both as the leading body remodeling center of the Hub and as a luxurious resort world which offered relaxation and scenery along with entertainment to fit every taste, from the loftiest to the most depraved. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Fermilaur was famous both as the leading body remodeling center of the Hub and as a luxurious resort world which offered relaxation and scenery along with entertainment to fit every taste, from the loftiest to the most depraved. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This book follows on from an earlier collection ("Telzey Amberdon") of short stories by the sci-fi author best known for "The witches of Karres". The stories are easy to read, and Schmidt's handling of Telepathy and other psionic disciplines helped define the genre for later authors. Many of these stories were originally published in sci-fi magazines of the day such as "Analog", accounting for the compactness and impact of his work. While I personally didn't find the stories in this collection as good as those in the previous "Telzey Amberdon" collection, it's still an excellent read for anyone with an interest in classic sci-fi.
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Synopsis: Telzey Amberdon, psi and telepath, gets into various problem scenarios, and in several she is joined by Trigger Argee - super-agent and clever problem-solver. These super-females battle it out with criminals, power-hungry psychopaths and aliens. In the final story Trigger is the main character.
Some of James H. Schmitz stories are among my all-time favourites (Witches of Karres; Demon Breed), and I generally like Telzey and Trigger too. These are not among their (or his) best, but there are still several (Ti's toys, the Symbiotes) that are good enough to lift it into the 3.5 stars bracket. But why o why does Baen put these dreadful illustrations on the cover?
Some of James H. Schmitz stories are among my all-time favourites (Witches of Karres; Demon Breed), and I generally like Telzey and Trigger too. These are not among their (or his) best, but there are still several (Ti's toys, the Symbiotes) that are good enough to lift it into the 3.5 stars bracket. But why o why does Baen put these dreadful illustrations on the cover?
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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9 reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Dynamite Heroines Take On Galaxy
29 Jun 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Telzey Amberdon is the scion of an ultra-rich, politically connected family on the central world of Orado. She lives an outwardly normal life as a privileged college student, studying and taking exams, or accompanying a friend to a luxurious body remodeling resort planet. She is also one of the galaxy's most powerful and versatile psi talents (especially regarding alien beings), essentially a loner but cooperating informally with the shadowy yet powerful Psychology Service. Telzey was featured in the first volume of this Baen reissue series.
Trigger Argee comes from much humbler, possibly hardscrabble, origins, and though a latent psi, as we find out in this volume, relies on quick thinking, resourcefulness, a champion level ability with her beloved Denton pistol, and a wide range of personal connections (she seems to know and work with just about every major character of Schmitz's galactic Hub universe). We'll find out more about Trigger in the third volume.
James H. Schmitz wrote a series of stories about each of these engagingly competent heroines in the 1960's and early 1970's, and brought them together in two tales included in this second volume ("Compulsion" and "Glory Day"). A third tale, "The Symbiotes," is primarily Trigger's, though Telzey does appear briefly; sadly, this was the last significant work by Schmitz, and we'll never find out the results of Trigger's decision at the very end to develop her psi powers. The rest of the seven stories (short novels, really, at over 50 pages each) are devoted to Telzey.
Baen is to be devoutly thanked for their project bringing much of Schmitz's work (the stories set in a human dominated "Hub") back into print. Devotees have for too long been forced to lurk in used book stores, waiting for the rare tattered paperback. Schmitz writes with vigor and verve, and absolute clarity. The characters are well realized, including the truly alien aliens who are among the best ever. Though there are plenty of twists and turns (one can never be too sure who the good guys and bad guys are), the reader never feels cheated.
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
An Ending and a Beginning
23 July 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This second reprint volume of Schmitz's Hub tales lives up to the promise of the first. It finishes up the Telzey stories and introduces Trigger Argee, an agent for the Psychology Service. Schmitz was finally hitting his stride with the Telzey stories in these tales, and this volume includes what I regard as some of the best. Resident Witch, Company Planet, Ti's Toys, and Child of the Gods are much better than most of the prior Telzey stories, with only Goblin Night being their equal. She meets Trigger in Compulsion and their relationship is developed further in Glory Day, and The Symbiotes. That is the last Telzey story Schmitz wrote, and I wonder what he might have done further with her character. Her Matri twin, Gaziel, from Ti's Toys, certainly offered opportunity for more story lines. Trigger, by contrast, is not an active psi, and relies on wit, cunning, intelligence, training, and pluck to get out of predicaments. In many ways she is a much more mature, complex, and interesting character. While Telzey is fascinating, powerful (in more ways than one) and has what Flint calls a "solitary splendor" Trigger is more humanly fallible, and humanly competent, despite her latent psi ability. The next volume will feature her, her husband (a married Sci -Fi Heroine? How unusual, human, and normal.) and various associates, and I look forward to it.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Great stories, but the cover...!
18 Nov 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I read my parents' copies of these stories in the seventies and eighties. They have long been among my favorite short stories, and I'm definitely a James Schmitz fan. I'm glad to see that the stories are being republished. In this collection, I was also glad to see the pairing of Schmitz's "Pork Chop Tree" and "Compulsion" into the single story they are, especially because "Pork Chop Tree" is so hard to find.
This series has definitely been edited, and the more anachronistic technical elements of Schmitz's stories (microfilm, etc) have been suppressed. Other than that, the stories are as Schmitz wrote them.
My one major complaint are the covers, which are a big letdown, especially compared to the covers of the '80s editions. And T'Nt! Give me a break! These books should be packaged to attract new readers to Schmitz's work. The title of this volume strikes me as a cheesy in-joke that will attract people who already know about the stories but which will repel everyone else. These stories are truly classic SF, and they should have classier jackets!
Other than that, buy this book!
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