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The Hub
Trigger & Friends
IF BUREAUCRACIES HAD STARSHIPSCon games. Corrupt governors. Deadly rivalries between departments of the same government. And, of course, the long arm of the Mob. Even in our future among the stars, some things never change -- except that the governors run (and ruin) planets, the rivalries are fought with spacecraft and energy bolts, and the mobsters smuggle "real" illegal aliens and make their getaways with subspace portals. It's all just another day in that bastion of galactic peace and democracy, the Federation of the Hub --
-- "and somebody has to clean up this mess!"
Join secret agent Trigger Argee, scout adventurer Heslet Quillan and Holati Tate, master of intrigue, as they battle the criminal element on its own interstellar turf...and make the future a little safer for the rest of us.
-- "and somebody has to clean up this mess!"
Join secret agent Trigger Argee, scout adventurer Heslet Quillan and Holati Tate, master of intrigue, as they battle the criminal element on its own interstellar turf...and make the future a little safer for the rest of us.
474 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
59 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
James H. Schmitz
240 books92 followersJames Henry Schmitz (October 15, 1911–April 18, 1981) was an American writer born in Hamburg, Germany of American parents. Aside from two years at business school in Chicago, Schmitz lived in Germany until 1938, leaving before World War II broke out in Europe in 1939. During World War II, Schmitz served as an aerial photographer in the Pacific for the United States Army Air Corps. After the war, he and his brother-in-law ran a business which manufactured trailers until they broke up the business in 1949.
Schmitz is best known as a writer of space opera, and for strong female characters (including Telzey Amberdon and Trigger Argee) that didn't fit into the damsel in distress stereotype typical of science fiction during the time he was writing. His first published story was Greenface, published in August 1943 in Unknown. Most of his works are part of the "Hub" series, though his best known novel is the non-Hub The Witches of Karres, concerning juvenile "witches" with genuine psi-powers and their escape from slavery. Karres was nominated for a Hugo Award.
In recent years, his novels and short stories have been republished by Baen Books (which bought the rights to his estate for $6500), edited (sometimes heavily edited) and with notes by Eric Flint. Baen have also published new works based in the Karres universe.
Schmitz died of congestive lung failure in 1981 after a five week stay in the hospital in Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife, Betty Mae Chapman Schmitz.
Schmitz is best known as a writer of space opera, and for strong female characters (including Telzey Amberdon and Trigger Argee) that didn't fit into the damsel in distress stereotype typical of science fiction during the time he was writing. His first published story was Greenface, published in August 1943 in Unknown. Most of his works are part of the "Hub" series, though his best known novel is the non-Hub The Witches of Karres, concerning juvenile "witches" with genuine psi-powers and their escape from slavery. Karres was nominated for a Hugo Award.
In recent years, his novels and short stories have been republished by Baen Books (which bought the rights to his estate for $6500), edited (sometimes heavily edited) and with notes by Eric Flint. Baen have also published new works based in the Karres universe.
Schmitz died of congestive lung failure in 1981 after a five week stay in the hospital in Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife, Betty Mae Chapman Schmitz.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 14, 2024
ENGLISH: Baen books made a good job re-publishing all of James Schmitz's SF production, but at the same time they made a -for me- unacceptable blunder: the editors of the collection decided they were justified in modifying the books at their will. Eric Flint, a SF author, was one of the editors who decided to improve Schmitz's works. In this way, he shortened significantly the size of the novel Legacy, claiming that …Schmitz made… two big mistakes in the way he wrote the novel. Both of which mistakes can be readily fixed by good editing...
What are the mistakes? The fact that Flint finds certain parts dull, and decided to take them away. Among other minor changes, in chapter 5 one of the characters offers a cigarette to Trigger. This has disappeared in the 2001 edition, because Flint considers it behind the times. Three chapters later, Trigger says: I think I'd like that cigarette now. Of course, this also had to disappear. When readers protested, Flint answered in his editor commentary: Get a life!
Even worse are the decisions taken by the editors (Eric Flint and Guy Gordon) when they decided to change another short story in this collection: Planet of forgetting. They not only changed the title (to Forget it!), but the whole story, moving it to another time (thousands of years later) and changing the protagonist. When Flint lamented that one of Schmitz's characters (Heslet Quillan) just appears in one short story and one novel, Gordon decided to solve that "deficiency" by assigning him this short story. I find this is an attack against the right of the author to the integrity of his work, recognized in the Berne Agreement: The author will have the right... to oppose every distorsion, mutilation or any other modification of his [work]. Unfortunately, dead authors cannot oppose those transgressions.
Fortunately, Baen Books made available for some time, as a free e-book, the original version of the stories modified by Flint and Gordon, in their Baen Free Library: http://www.baen.com/library/. I never read the modified versions. I always read Legacy in the Gutenberg complete unmodified edition, and Planet of forgetting in the Baen original edition. If we allow this free handling of books written by dead authors, we'll soon be burning the books, as predicted by Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 (1953).
ESPAÑOL: La editorial Baen Books hizo un buen trabajo al reeditar toda la producción de ciencia-ficción de James Schmitz, pero al mismo tiempo cometieron un error (para mí) inaceptable: los recopiladores de la colección decidieron que tenían derecho a modificar los libros a su voluntad. Eric Flint, autor de ciencia ficción, decidió mejorar las obras de Schmitz. Así, acortó significativamente el tamaño de la novela Historia de dos relojes, alegando que ...Schmitz cometió... dos grandes errores en la forma en que escribió la novela. Ambos errores pueden corregirse fácilmente...
Los errores consisten en que a Flint ciertas partes le parecen aburridas y decidió eliminarlas. Entre otros cambios menores, en el capítulo 5 uno de los personajes ofrece un cigarrillo a Trigger. Esto ha desaparecido en la edición de 2001, porque Flint lo considera anticuado. Tres capítulos después, Trigger dice: Creo que ahora sí aceptaría ese cigarrillo. Por supuesto, esto también tenía que desaparecer. Cuando los lectores protestaron, Flint respondió en su comentario editorial: ¡Fastídiate!
Peores aún son las decisiones que tomaron los recopiladores (Eric Flint y Guy Gordon) cuando decidieron cambiar otro cuento de esta colección: El planeta del olvido. No sólo cambiaron el título (a ¡Olvídalo!), sino todo el cuento, trasladándolo a otra época (miles de años después) y cambiando al protagonista. Cuando Flint se lamentó de que uno de los personajes de Schmitz (Heslet Quillan) sólo aparece en un cuento y una novela, Gordon decidió resolver esa "deficiencia" asignándole también este cuento. Considero que esto es un ataque al derecho de un autor a la integridad de su obra, reconocido en el Acuerdo de Berna: El autor tendrá derecho... a oponerse a toda distorsión, mutilación o cualquier otra modificación de su [obra]. Lamentablemente, los autores muertos no pueden oponerse a esas transgresiones.
Afortunadamente, Baen Books ofreció durante algún tiempo, como libro electrónico gratuito, la versión original de las obras modificadas por Flint y Gordon. Nunca leo las versiones modificadas. Siempre leo Historia de dos relojes en la edición completa, sin modificaciones, de Feedbooks, y Planeta del olvido en la edición original de Baen. Si permitimos que se manipulen los libros escritos por autores fallecidos, pronto los quemaremos, como predijo Ray Bradbury en Fahrenheit 451 (1953).
What are the mistakes? The fact that Flint finds certain parts dull, and decided to take them away. Among other minor changes, in chapter 5 one of the characters offers a cigarette to Trigger. This has disappeared in the 2001 edition, because Flint considers it behind the times. Three chapters later, Trigger says: I think I'd like that cigarette now. Of course, this also had to disappear. When readers protested, Flint answered in his editor commentary: Get a life!
Even worse are the decisions taken by the editors (Eric Flint and Guy Gordon) when they decided to change another short story in this collection: Planet of forgetting. They not only changed the title (to Forget it!), but the whole story, moving it to another time (thousands of years later) and changing the protagonist. When Flint lamented that one of Schmitz's characters (Heslet Quillan) just appears in one short story and one novel, Gordon decided to solve that "deficiency" by assigning him this short story. I find this is an attack against the right of the author to the integrity of his work, recognized in the Berne Agreement: The author will have the right... to oppose every distorsion, mutilation or any other modification of his [work]. Unfortunately, dead authors cannot oppose those transgressions.
Fortunately, Baen Books made available for some time, as a free e-book, the original version of the stories modified by Flint and Gordon, in their Baen Free Library: http://www.baen.com/library/. I never read the modified versions. I always read Legacy in the Gutenberg complete unmodified edition, and Planet of forgetting in the Baen original edition. If we allow this free handling of books written by dead authors, we'll soon be burning the books, as predicted by Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 (1953).
ESPAÑOL: La editorial Baen Books hizo un buen trabajo al reeditar toda la producción de ciencia-ficción de James Schmitz, pero al mismo tiempo cometieron un error (para mí) inaceptable: los recopiladores de la colección decidieron que tenían derecho a modificar los libros a su voluntad. Eric Flint, autor de ciencia ficción, decidió mejorar las obras de Schmitz. Así, acortó significativamente el tamaño de la novela Historia de dos relojes, alegando que ...Schmitz cometió... dos grandes errores en la forma en que escribió la novela. Ambos errores pueden corregirse fácilmente...
Los errores consisten en que a Flint ciertas partes le parecen aburridas y decidió eliminarlas. Entre otros cambios menores, en el capítulo 5 uno de los personajes ofrece un cigarrillo a Trigger. Esto ha desaparecido en la edición de 2001, porque Flint lo considera anticuado. Tres capítulos después, Trigger dice: Creo que ahora sí aceptaría ese cigarrillo. Por supuesto, esto también tenía que desaparecer. Cuando los lectores protestaron, Flint respondió en su comentario editorial: ¡Fastídiate!
Peores aún son las decisiones que tomaron los recopiladores (Eric Flint y Guy Gordon) cuando decidieron cambiar otro cuento de esta colección: El planeta del olvido. No sólo cambiaron el título (a ¡Olvídalo!), sino todo el cuento, trasladándolo a otra época (miles de años después) y cambiando al protagonista. Cuando Flint se lamentó de que uno de los personajes de Schmitz (Heslet Quillan) sólo aparece en un cuento y una novela, Gordon decidió resolver esa "deficiencia" asignándole también este cuento. Considero que esto es un ataque al derecho de un autor a la integridad de su obra, reconocido en el Acuerdo de Berna: El autor tendrá derecho... a oponerse a toda distorsión, mutilación o cualquier otra modificación de su [obra]. Lamentablemente, los autores muertos no pueden oponerse a esas transgresiones.
Afortunadamente, Baen Books ofreció durante algún tiempo, como libro electrónico gratuito, la versión original de las obras modificadas por Flint y Gordon. Nunca leo las versiones modificadas. Siempre leo Historia de dos relojes en la edición completa, sin modificaciones, de Feedbooks, y Planeta del olvido en la edición original de Baen. Si permitimos que se manipulen los libros escritos por autores fallecidos, pronto los quemaremos, como predijo Ray Bradbury en Fahrenheit 451 (1953).
March 21, 2012
This volume of Hub stories revolves around Trigger Argee and her frequent friends and companions. More diverse than the Telzey stories, these tales are engaging and fun. I particularly liked Lion Loose and short novel, The Legacy. If you like space opera, this collection is highly recommended.
July 8, 2017
Telzey stories are always good, although Schmitz likes to keep mysteries about the telepathic "animals" race. I'm just putting a note here for anyone who may have collected other stories and wants to know what's here.
Stories:
Harvest Time" September 1958.
"Lion Loose" October 1961.
"Aura of Immortality" June 1974.
"Forget It" is an adaptation by Guy Gordon of "Planet of Forgetting" February 1965. (edited)
Legacy 1962 aka A Tale of Two Clocks. (edited)
"Sour Note on Palayata" November, 1956.
As another commenter noted, Eric Flint felt entitled to edit two stories that he thought were boring. Fans complained, so the unedited versions are theoretically available on the Baen Free Library. (I downloaded them years ago.) However, I only found them on Baen for a fee $5.00 (as of Feb 2017) http://www.baen.com/original-edition-...
[EDIT JULY 2017: goodreader Manuel Alfonseca in his March 2015 review states that the edited stories, Legacy and Planet of Forgetting, are available at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho... I did find Legacy there, but not Planet of Forgetting.]
So there's that.
Stories:
Harvest Time" September 1958.
"Lion Loose" October 1961.
"Aura of Immortality" June 1974.
"Forget It" is an adaptation by Guy Gordon of "Planet of Forgetting" February 1965. (edited)
Legacy 1962 aka A Tale of Two Clocks. (edited)
"Sour Note on Palayata" November, 1956.
As another commenter noted, Eric Flint felt entitled to edit two stories that he thought were boring. Fans complained, so the unedited versions are theoretically available on the Baen Free Library. (I downloaded them years ago.) However, I only found them on Baen for a fee $5.00 (as of Feb 2017) http://www.baen.com/original-edition-...
[EDIT JULY 2017: goodreader Manuel Alfonseca in his March 2015 review states that the edited stories, Legacy and Planet of Forgetting, are available at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho... I did find Legacy there, but not Planet of Forgetting.]
So there's that.
September 17, 2016
The Telzey stories in volume 1 all kind of had the same plot, but this volume is much more varied. There are more protagonists, for one thing, and though they're all highly capable they aren't as overpowering as Telzey. On the other hand, perhaps because Trigger isn't as overpowering as Telzey, the way people treat her is a lot more high-handed and occasionally sexist, which got irritating (especially Quillan! Why do you like him, Trigger? You deserve better!) Also, the unfortunate over-reliance on not telling the reader important details that all the characters involved are aware of solely to maintain suspense continues.
November 1, 2021
-Considering that Schmitz wrote these stories in the late 1950s & early 60s it is amazing how relevant to our present day political situations they are. His characters are crisp and memorable. The plots are full of suspense, and the milk of human kindness shows through in all of them. Well worth the time to read.-
Rereading in 2021. As of 10/31 on p425.
Rereading in 2021. As of 10/31 on p425.
September 24, 2021
Trigger & Friends (Kindle)
by James H. Schmitz
Harvest Time" September 1958.
"Lion Loose" October 1961.
"Aura of Immortality" June 1974.
"Forget It" is an adaptation by Guy Gordon of "Planet of Forgetting" February 1965. (edited)
Legacy 1962 aka A Tale of Two Clocks. (edited)
"Sour Note on Palayata" November, 1956.
by James H. Schmitz
Harvest Time" September 1958.
"Lion Loose" October 1961.
"Aura of Immortality" June 1974.
"Forget It" is an adaptation by Guy Gordon of "Planet of Forgetting" February 1965. (edited)
Legacy 1962 aka A Tale of Two Clocks. (edited)
"Sour Note on Palayata" November, 1956.
January 4, 2026
Trigger & Friends contains six stories, purportedly all dealing with Trigger and people associated with her (Trigger herself only appears in 3 stories, though is only a main character in Legacy). It's unfortunately quite uneven, with some of Schmitz's less attractive tendencies on full display with awkward info-dumping. "Harvest Time" and "Aura of Immortality" were interesting at least, and the included novel Legacy follows up on the scientific discovery from "Harvest Time," though was ultimate unsuccessful for me.
I have one big complaint, however, and that is Eric Flint & Guy Gordon's rewriting/reediting of Schmitz's published works, most prominent in this volume. The story "Forget It" is a rewrite by Gordon of the original story "Planet of Forgetting," prompted solely by Flint's wish that there was another story with Quillan (also in "Lion Loose"). The rewrite changes a bunch of elements to make it fit into the Hub setting that all the Telzey and Trigger stories are written in, and also cuts off the final two pages of the original story (available in the February 1965 issue of Galaxy on the Internet Archive). Flint acknowledges that it's "impure" of him to have included that, and I'd go so far as to say unethical, because guess what, if Schmitz had wanted that story to be a Quillan story, he would've written that. The other major reediting that was done was Flint's extensive structural edits of Legacy to remove what he considered pointless information that Schmitz included in early chapters (and removing silly things like mentions of cigarette smoking). Flint defends his actions in the Afterword and a commentary article by saying that he's only making the story better and that he's working for a general audience and not a scholarly one, but I think that kind of major change is not great, because he's creating his own vision of what he thinks Schmitz should have done. I'm pretty sure Flint would reject people doing that with his works, now that he's dead. Also, what's so funny about all this, is that Legacy is STILL boring as hell, and whether or not it's the original version (available on Project Gutenberg) or Flint's version, it's still not a good story.
I have one big complaint, however, and that is Eric Flint & Guy Gordon's rewriting/reediting of Schmitz's published works, most prominent in this volume. The story "Forget It" is a rewrite by Gordon of the original story "Planet of Forgetting," prompted solely by Flint's wish that there was another story with Quillan (also in "Lion Loose"). The rewrite changes a bunch of elements to make it fit into the Hub setting that all the Telzey and Trigger stories are written in, and also cuts off the final two pages of the original story (available in the February 1965 issue of Galaxy on the Internet Archive). Flint acknowledges that it's "impure" of him to have included that, and I'd go so far as to say unethical, because guess what, if Schmitz had wanted that story to be a Quillan story, he would've written that. The other major reediting that was done was Flint's extensive structural edits of Legacy to remove what he considered pointless information that Schmitz included in early chapters (and removing silly things like mentions of cigarette smoking). Flint defends his actions in the Afterword and a commentary article by saying that he's only making the story better and that he's working for a general audience and not a scholarly one, but I think that kind of major change is not great, because he's creating his own vision of what he thinks Schmitz should have done. I'm pretty sure Flint would reject people doing that with his works, now that he's dead. Also, what's so funny about all this, is that Legacy is STILL boring as hell, and whether or not it's the original version (available on Project Gutenberg) or Flint's version, it's still not a good story.
March 20, 2022
This is the new anthology edited by Eric Flint. He has promised two more volumes in this series and IT HASN'T HAPPENED!
Trigger is a side character in "Harvest Time " with her supervisor Tate being the diabolical hero, taking on the unscrupulous people in the Academy.
Quillan stars in "Lion Loose" with no Trigger yet in his life. He is the conniving hero playing two sides against each other. Cute ending with a little twist.
"Aura of Immortality" has some humor. Trigger and Tate are side characters and Mantelish is the unexpected hero who actually does rescue himself AND save the day.
"Forget It" is another Quillan adventure. He discovers a species with a unique method of self-protection.
"Legacy" is a reprint of a stand-alone book starring Trigger, but I think it has been slightly abridged. Again, I want one of those Beldon outfits (and Trigger's figure to go along with it!).
Finally, "Sour Note on Palayata" features Pilch, whom we have met in two other short stories as a very minor character. My least favorite of the stories.
Trigger is a side character in "Harvest Time " with her supervisor Tate being the diabolical hero, taking on the unscrupulous people in the Academy.
Quillan stars in "Lion Loose" with no Trigger yet in his life. He is the conniving hero playing two sides against each other. Cute ending with a little twist.
"Aura of Immortality" has some humor. Trigger and Tate are side characters and Mantelish is the unexpected hero who actually does rescue himself AND save the day.
"Forget It" is another Quillan adventure. He discovers a species with a unique method of self-protection.
"Legacy" is a reprint of a stand-alone book starring Trigger, but I think it has been slightly abridged. Again, I want one of those Beldon outfits (and Trigger's figure to go along with it!).
Finally, "Sour Note on Palayata" features Pilch, whom we have met in two other short stories as a very minor character. My least favorite of the stories.
April 2, 2024
One novella and several short stories set in the world of the Hub.
April 24, 2023
A good read
March 2, 2014
Product Description
IF BUREAUCRACIES HAD STARSHIPS
Con games. Corrupt governors. Deadly rivalries between departments of the same government. And, of course, the long arm of the Mob. Even in our future among the stars, some things never change -- except that the governors run (and ruin) planets, the rivalries are fought with spacecraft and energy bolts, and the mobsters smuggle real illegal aliens and make their getaways with subspace portals. It's all just another day in that bastion of galactic peace and democracy, the Federation of the Hub --
-- and somebody has to clean up this mess!
Join secret agent Trigger Argee, scout adventurer Heslet Quillan and Holati Tate, master of intrigue, as they battle the criminal element on its own interstellar turf...and make the future a little safer for the rest of us.
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January 9, 2010baen ebook
September 26, 2012
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