What do you think?
Rate this book
Against Peace and Freedom
It’s the 50th century. Socionomics makes the fifty human worlds of the Incatena prosperous and stable, if a bit raucous on Saturday nights. But socionomics doesn't cover crises, such as the dictatorship that’s taken over Okura, or the unscrupulous tycoon who’s plotting something over on New Bharat. For that we have Diplomatic Agents. Like Morgan. Is Morgan up to the task? The boss isn’t sure. The station AI is doubtful. But our best Agents are out of town; time to see what Morgan can do. A science fiction comedy, set in a future where the speed of light is respected, though grudgingly, and lives are measured in centuries.
- GenresFictionScience Fiction
310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2011
6 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 7, 2017
Humour? Check. This is silly, witty, self-deprecating, laugh-out-loud fun. But the real draw here is Rosenfelder's unique attention to detail on key elements that set this story apart: his application of realistic xenolinguistics is a particular winner, as is the way he positions socionomics as the AI-driven governmental paradigm of the future. Equally pivotal are the drawbacks and advantages of slower-than-light travel (for people and information—no subspace ansibles here) alongside multicentury-long lifespans (with all the shift in temporal attitude that entails). In short, the universe is thoughtfully considered and unendingly delightful.
Within that world, we have our protagonist Morgan, who is intentionally not meant to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. Indeed, in a choice of narrative voice meant to elicit choose-your-own-adventure style engagement, "you" are Morgan. Yes. Unfortunately, it's true. So, reading this one requires some tolerance for the always-bad choice of second-person perspective*, as well as a heavy load of humility to bear the failings of the particular character in question. Because I did mention, didn't I, that this book is rather self-deprecating? "You", as the perspective character, get hit with the full force of it, all in good fun.
So, you're Morgan, and a lot of that fun is watching yourself fail. But one of my gripes about this book, and my main reason for knocking off a star, is by God does it take the idiot ball a smidge too far: . On the whole, it makes for something that cuts just a bit too close to a general idiot plot.
To put it another way: But on that point, the book brings itself back from the brink of ridiculousness with redeeming flashes of self-awareness. The scene where is indeed on-point and breathtakingly hilarious.
So for that, and for the brilliance of the worldbuilding, I'm going to say that this one adds up to something that is quite a bit better than it is bad, second person warts and all, and recommend this as a distinctive and striking read.
Within that world, we have our protagonist Morgan, who is intentionally not meant to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. Indeed, in a choice of narrative voice meant to elicit choose-your-own-adventure style engagement, "you" are Morgan. Yes. Unfortunately, it's true. So, reading this one requires some tolerance for the always-bad choice of second-person perspective*, as well as a heavy load of humility to bear the failings of the particular character in question. Because I did mention, didn't I, that this book is rather self-deprecating? "You", as the perspective character, get hit with the full force of it, all in good fun.
So, you're Morgan, and a lot of that fun is watching yourself fail. But one of my gripes about this book, and my main reason for knocking off a star, is by God does it take the idiot ball a smidge too far: . On the whole, it makes for something that cuts just a bit too close to a general idiot plot.
To put it another way: But on that point, the book brings itself back from the brink of ridiculousness with redeeming flashes of self-awareness. The scene where is indeed on-point and breathtakingly hilarious.
So for that, and for the brilliance of the worldbuilding, I'm going to say that this one adds up to something that is quite a bit better than it is bad, second person warts and all, and recommend this as a distinctive and striking read.
*Footnote:
Alright, alright, second person is only almost always bad. I for one have been rather more willing to entertain it ever since it's brilliant use in the Fifth Season (which it seems that I indeed will never stop finding ways to talk about), so then the question is: does it work as well here?
Naaaaaaaaah.
But, there is one scene for which it absolutely had to be there, and the result is... interesting, to say the least. As an experiment, it kinda maybe makes it even actually worth it.
September 7, 2021
You are a fairly competent, very self-absorbed spy for an Ekumen-like interstellar union, sent to dismantle one dictatorship and prevent the formation of another. Think George Orwell and Ursula LeGuin, but funnier (and in the 2nd person). I thought it was hilarious, although the choose-your-own-gender romance subplot did not work at all for me. The story also dragged after a while, but some of the set-pieces were absolutely perfect. Especially the ones with aliens: "Please increase your intelligence!" continues to echo in my head. It's good advice.
Read
June 6, 2022So I first read this book in 2014 and decided to give it a reread while browsing my kindle on a plane flight.
I discovered Rosenfelder through his worldbuilding, and I think this book is an excellent example of his skill at the art, as a really thoughtful attempt to put together a setting given the preconditions of 1) a multi-planet society, 2) no ftl escape hatches. I think it also succeeds as comic sci-fi, although the humor is of a particular style that I could see some people bouncing off of.
The biggest road bump is that the book is written in second person. This is a very daring choice that will definitely not work for all, either because it's very uncommon, or because of characterization dissonance. Morgan is not a blank-slate video game PC, but a book character with fixed behaviors and attitudes attributed to them that a reader might find jarring to be associated with "you". I did appreciate the meta-joke scene that played on the necessary gender ambiguity, though. (I will also note another reviewer found that Morgan did not read particularly gender neutrally, a problem that I did not have, but that I do sympathize with).
Anyway, I liked the book, and if Mr. Rosenfelder ever gets around to finishing the second one, I'll read that, too.
I discovered Rosenfelder through his worldbuilding, and I think this book is an excellent example of his skill at the art, as a really thoughtful attempt to put together a setting given the preconditions of 1) a multi-planet society, 2) no ftl escape hatches. I think it also succeeds as comic sci-fi, although the humor is of a particular style that I could see some people bouncing off of.
The biggest road bump is that the book is written in second person. This is a very daring choice that will definitely not work for all, either because it's very uncommon, or because of characterization dissonance. Morgan is not a blank-slate video game PC, but a book character with fixed behaviors and attitudes attributed to them that a reader might find jarring to be associated with "you". I did appreciate the meta-joke scene that played on the necessary gender ambiguity, though. (I will also note another reviewer found that Morgan did not read particularly gender neutrally, a problem that I did not have, but that I do sympathize with).
Anyway, I liked the book, and if Mr. Rosenfelder ever gets around to finishing the second one, I'll read that, too.
October 25, 2015
I wanted to love this book. I loved the world he created when I toyed around with his website. It was such a great concept. It was completely ruined with the choice of a 2nd person narrator. (sigh)
I didn't finish it. I never got past the second chapter. It was simply too hard to move beyond the fact that I kept being told what I do, think and feel. I am not a man. I certainly didn't think or feel the things the protagonist did. He was a man. A 3rd person POV would have been a much better choice.
I didn't finish it. I never got past the second chapter. It was simply too hard to move beyond the fact that I kept being told what I do, think and feel. I am not a man. I certainly didn't think or feel the things the protagonist did. He was a man. A 3rd person POV would have been a much better choice.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews