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Citadel
Born in 1931 in East Prussia, which is now Lithuania, Algis Budrys died in 2008. He is widely recognized to have written an early classic of the genre, Rogue Moon (1960). Under his own name and a number of pseudonyms, Budrys published frequently in Astounding in the 1950s and 60s, he is, of the "Golden Age" writers, far closer to chroniclers of the Cold War like Graham Greene, or careful examiners of the human condition in the nuclear age, like William Golding. Citadel is a story of deception, manipulation and broken promises; its cynical anti-hero Marlowe is in every way, a man of the post Cold War generation -- powerful, manipulative, cold-hearted, lonely and friendless. According to Marlowe, humans are "a race of maniacs. And that is why Earthmen rule the galaxy. For our treaties are not binding, and our promises are worthless. Our government does not represent our people. It represents our people as they once were. The delay in the democratic process is such that the treaty signed today fulfills the promise of yesterday -- but today the Body Politic has formed a new opinion, is following a new logic which is completely at variance with that of yesterday. An Earthman's promise -- expressed in words or deeds -- is good only at the instant he makes it." -- Amy Sterling Casil
- GenresScience Fiction
50 pages, Hardcover
First published January 12, 2009
About the author
Algis Budrys
372 books75 followersAlgis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome, John A. Sentry, William Scarff, Paul Janvier, and Sam & Janet Argo.
Called "AJ" by friends, Budrys was born Algirdas Jonas Budrys in Königsberg in East Prussia. He was the son of the consul general of the Lithuanian government, (the pre-World War II government still recognized after the war by the United States, even though the Soviet-sponsored government was in power throughout most of Budrys's life). His family was sent to the United States by the Lithuanian government in 1936 when Budrys was 5 years old. During most of his adult life, he held a captain's commission in the Free Lithuanian Army.
Budrys was educated at the University of Miami, and later at Columbia University in New York. His first published science fiction story was The High Purpose, which appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in 1952. Beginning in 1952 Budrys worked as editor and manager for such science fiction publishers as Gnome Press and Galaxy Science Fiction. Some of his science fiction in the 1950s was published under the pen name "John A. Sentry", a reconfigured Anglification of his Lithuanian name. Among his other pseudonyms in the SF magazines of the 1950s and elsewhere, several revived as bylines for vignettes in his magazine Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, is "William Scarff". He also wrote several stories under the names "Ivan Janvier" or "Paul Janvier." He also used the pen name "Alger Rome" in his collaborations with Jerome Bixby.
Budrys's 1960 novella Rogue Moon was nominated for a Hugo Award, and was later anthologized in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two (1973). His Cold War science fiction novel Who? was adapted for the screen in 1973. In addition to numerous Hugo Award and Nebula Award nominations, Budrys won the Science Fiction Research Association's 2007 Pilgrim Award for lifetime contributions to speculative fiction scholarship. In 2009, he was the recipient of one of the first three Solstice Awards presented by the SFWA in recognition of his contributions to the field of science fiction.
Budrys was married to Edna Duna; they had four sons. He last resided in Evanston, Illinois. He died at home, from metastatic malignant melanoma on June 9, 2008.
Called "AJ" by friends, Budrys was born Algirdas Jonas Budrys in Königsberg in East Prussia. He was the son of the consul general of the Lithuanian government, (the pre-World War II government still recognized after the war by the United States, even though the Soviet-sponsored government was in power throughout most of Budrys's life). His family was sent to the United States by the Lithuanian government in 1936 when Budrys was 5 years old. During most of his adult life, he held a captain's commission in the Free Lithuanian Army.
Budrys was educated at the University of Miami, and later at Columbia University in New York. His first published science fiction story was The High Purpose, which appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in 1952. Beginning in 1952 Budrys worked as editor and manager for such science fiction publishers as Gnome Press and Galaxy Science Fiction. Some of his science fiction in the 1950s was published under the pen name "John A. Sentry", a reconfigured Anglification of his Lithuanian name. Among his other pseudonyms in the SF magazines of the 1950s and elsewhere, several revived as bylines for vignettes in his magazine Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, is "William Scarff". He also wrote several stories under the names "Ivan Janvier" or "Paul Janvier." He also used the pen name "Alger Rome" in his collaborations with Jerome Bixby.
Budrys's 1960 novella Rogue Moon was nominated for a Hugo Award, and was later anthologized in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two (1973). His Cold War science fiction novel Who? was adapted for the screen in 1973. In addition to numerous Hugo Award and Nebula Award nominations, Budrys won the Science Fiction Research Association's 2007 Pilgrim Award for lifetime contributions to speculative fiction scholarship. In 2009, he was the recipient of one of the first three Solstice Awards presented by the SFWA in recognition of his contributions to the field of science fiction.
Budrys was married to Edna Duna; they had four sons. He last resided in Evanston, Illinois. He died at home, from metastatic malignant melanoma on June 9, 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 3, 2022
Entertaining fantasy listening 🎶🔰
Another will written fantasy space Sci-Fi adventure thriller short story by Algis Budrys about a real estate agent in New York City selling real estate on planets in space and what is legal. I would recommend this fantasy novella to readers looking for something different. Enjoy the adventure of novels and books 📚. 🏡🔰😕👔 2022
Another will written fantasy space Sci-Fi adventure thriller short story by Algis Budrys about a real estate agent in New York City selling real estate on planets in space and what is legal. I would recommend this fantasy novella to readers looking for something different. Enjoy the adventure of novels and books 📚. 🏡🔰😕👔 2022
July 2, 2020
A bit long.. But I liked the last sentence.
June 12, 2026
An Interesting story and overall not a bad read.
1. The story is full of Really Irritating Characters, each with their own Personal Psychosis. But that, of course is the point. They are all of them, Irritating Unlikable People because as Ud Klavan so quaintly put it "... You are a race of maniacs, gibbering across the stars. And know, Marlowe, that the other races of the universe hate you." And Marlowe, of course agrees with Ud Klavan, because He knows it's True.
2. And speaking of David Marlowe, Secretary for External Affairs of The Solar Union, His use of Word Association to remember just Who a Particular Person was, constantly had Me chuckling. He would suddenly spit out the word "Cabbage", and then remember he was trying to Think of Ud Klavan and who he was. A trope lightly used by the Author, but Funny every time it sprang up on You.
3. There's also a pretty Good Poem in the middle of the story, written by the character David Mead. It reminded me a lot of the poem "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot. Which is a "....foundational modernist poem exploring the spiritual decay, psychological trauma, and cultural disillusionment of post-WWI Europe...it portrays a barren modern world seeking redemption and meaning...." which sounds a lot like what is going on in this story.
4. And finally I found it Interesting that this story portrayed a Society that was Extremely Libertarian. And this explains the constant state of Chaos that was going on in the story. ( I almost used the term "Anarchy" here.)
Let's see now........
For Algis Budrys Libertarianism means constant chaos, unrest, cut-throat capitalism and individually driven colonialism , personal psychosis, back-stabbing, exploitation of human weaknesses, lack of moral responsibility......
It sounds a lot different from the Anal Retentive form of Libertarianism advocated by Ayn Rand in "Atlas Shrugged".
Personally, given the choice, I'd rather live in Algis Budrys World.
Recommended Read.
1. The story is full of Really Irritating Characters, each with their own Personal Psychosis. But that, of course is the point. They are all of them, Irritating Unlikable People because as Ud Klavan so quaintly put it "... You are a race of maniacs, gibbering across the stars. And know, Marlowe, that the other races of the universe hate you." And Marlowe, of course agrees with Ud Klavan, because He knows it's True.
2. And speaking of David Marlowe, Secretary for External Affairs of The Solar Union, His use of Word Association to remember just Who a Particular Person was, constantly had Me chuckling. He would suddenly spit out the word "Cabbage", and then remember he was trying to Think of Ud Klavan and who he was. A trope lightly used by the Author, but Funny every time it sprang up on You.
3. There's also a pretty Good Poem in the middle of the story, written by the character David Mead. It reminded me a lot of the poem "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot. Which is a "....foundational modernist poem exploring the spiritual decay, psychological trauma, and cultural disillusionment of post-WWI Europe...it portrays a barren modern world seeking redemption and meaning...." which sounds a lot like what is going on in this story.
4. And finally I found it Interesting that this story portrayed a Society that was Extremely Libertarian. And this explains the constant state of Chaos that was going on in the story. ( I almost used the term "Anarchy" here.)
Let's see now........
For Algis Budrys Libertarianism means constant chaos, unrest, cut-throat capitalism and individually driven colonialism , personal psychosis, back-stabbing, exploitation of human weaknesses, lack of moral responsibility......
It sounds a lot different from the Anal Retentive form of Libertarianism advocated by Ayn Rand in "Atlas Shrugged".
Personally, given the choice, I'd rather live in Algis Budrys World.
Recommended Read.
October 23, 2023
Excellent!
February 18, 2024
Tuskless walrus, not sea lion.
August 19, 2025
scifi story by a master
September 24, 2018
In Librivox SSF Vol 017. An unusually long but great short story. Very well read and well characterized its a darkly funny/tragic chronicle of exploitation - a real estate broker selling planetoids to a client who is seeking solitude and peace. Sadly it's not what the government of humanity wants as we plan for a galactic future. Re-listened as I stopped listening for 4 months.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews