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The Rediscovery of Man (S.F. Masterworks)
 
 

The Rediscovery of Man (S.F. Masterworks) (Paperback)

by Cordwainer Smith (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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  • This item: The Rediscovery of Man (S.F. Masterworks) by Cordwainer Smith

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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz; New Ed edition (13 May 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1857988191
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857988192
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 70,875 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #1 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > S > Smith, Cordwainer

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

The unusual mythic quality of Cordwainer Smith's extraordinary future comes partly from his upbringing in China and love of Oriental literature. His tales of far tomorrow are told as ancient legends which everyone finds familiar, but not completely: "You already know the end ... But you do not know the beginning." This Millennium SF Masterworks collection opens with Smith's remarkable 1950 debut story "Scanners Live in Vain" and continues with tales of the Instrumentality of Mankind, near-immortal overlords who wield the terrible power of Imperial Inquisitors in old China. Cats appear frequently: as essential fighters against space-borne horrors in "The Game of Rat and Dragon", subjected to forced evolution in "The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal", uplifted (like other animals) to human shape as human's slaves in "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" and other haunting tales of these "underpeople". The stories throb with crazy rhythms and dangerous music, notably the very strange "Under Old Earth"; Joan of Arc's fate is echoed in "The Dead Lady of Clown Town"; one of the weirdest Hells ever imagined--the Instrumentality's ultimate punishment--comes nightmarishly alive in "A Planet Named Shayol". There are further stories with memorably poetic titles, promising a rich strangeness which Smith always delivers. --David Langford


Product Description

Welcome to the strangest, most distinctive future ever imagined by a science fiction writer. An insterstellar empire ruled by the mysterious Lords of the Instrumentality, whose access to the drug stroon from the planet Norstrilia confers on them virtual immortality. A world in which wealthy and leisured humanity is served by the underpeople, genetically engineered animals turned into the semblance of people. A world in which the great ships which sail between the stars are eventually supplanted by the mysterious, instantaneous technique of planoforming. A world of wonder and myth, and extraordinary imagination.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars _Two_ Rediscoveries, 10 Sep 2002
By Alasdair Brooks (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This collection is an excellent introduction to Cordwainer Smith's work, but a quick word of warning: there are actually two Smith books out there called 'The Rediscovery of Man'. This short story collection is the right place for beginners to start, but more ardent Smith fans may want to track down the NEFSA Press volume with the same title. The latter contains the _complete_ short fiction of Cordwainer Smith, including the non-Instrumentality short stories. If you get the NEFSA version and 'Norstrilia' you'll have all of Smith's science fiction in only two volumes.

And for what it's worth, I think 'A Planet Named Shayol' is one of the most extraordinary short stories ever written in any genre.

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars If you thought Golden Age SF wasn't challenging, think again, 13 Dec 1999
By A Customer
Cordwainer Smith brings depth, richness, and above all an amazing sense of a true alternative reality to SF with this brilliantly imagined series of stories.

Like Clockwork Orange, but without the pseudo-new-made-up-language, Smiths universe is one to be experienced in totality - and you can only really appreciate each story when you have finished the lot.

Whilst these stories only skim the surface of what was surely one of the most complete SF universes ever to grace the page, the multitude of small glimpses they offer gives far more sustenance than digesting many a weighty space opera multi-parter!

If this isn't on your bookshelf, you havent got a true context against which to measure anyone from Asimov to Gibson.

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!!!, 16 Nov 2000
This book really surprised me. Not only was the background colourful and insightful, the stories really do tie together really well. The 'Game of Rat and Dragon',rates as one of the finest short stories I have read. Read this book!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Sci-Fi with Soul
In this collection of 12 short stories Paul Linebarger, aka Cordwainer Smith, has introduced me to the most warming, heart-wrenching, soulful and imaginative sci-fi it has ever... Read more
Published 1 month ago by G. Lyon

5.0 out of 5 stars The Glory That Was Cordwainer
Cordwainer Smith was unique. Although the contents of this volume represent almost half of his entire science-fictional output, what he lacked in quantity he made up for in superb... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Patrick Shepherd

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Just to weigh in with all the other reviewers, these stories are quite amazing, in fact I've not really ever found anything like them.
Read them!
Published 3 months ago by Dr Enoch

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best collections of Sci-Fi short stories ever written
Simply put, I can't praise the work of Cordwainer Smith highly enough. No one else has yet come close to matching his erudite and morally focussed writing and this, whilst not as... Read more
Published on 29 Aug 2007 by Ed F

5.0 out of 5 stars One of science fiction's most important achievements
In this and "Norstrilia" Cordwainer Smith succeeded in producing a near-perfect set of myths, drawing on a deep understanding of the form. Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2002 by Melmoth

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