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The Great Explosion
In less than a century, 50 percent of the human race fled the aged and autocratic Terra, settling wherever they could establish a world of their own choosing. The following centuries result in hundreds of independent new civilizations--too independent for an ambitious Terran government out to conquer an empire.
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1962
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700 people want to read
About the author
Eric Frank Russell
395 books113 followersEric Frank Russell was a British author best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction and other pulp magazines. Russell also wrote horror fiction for Weird Tales, and non-fiction articles on Fortean topics. A few of his stories were published under pseudonyms, of which Duncan H. Munro was used most often.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
November 27, 2018
In his 1955 collection entitled "Men, Martians and Machines," English sci-fi author Eric Frank Russell told, via one short story and three novellas, some of the adventures of a starship crew that strongly suggested nothing less than a proto-"Star Trek" ensemble. The collection featured visits to three very different sorts of planets, in which the men, Martians and robot of the starship Marathon came up against a world of mechanical devices; a world of green-skinned inhabitants, lethal trees and giant snakes; and a world of ropy creatures with the power to induce hypnotic hallucinations. Apparently, Russell liked the episodic nature of the collection, with its explorations of three discrete and very strange worlds, and thus used it again for his 1962 offering "The Great Explosion." Initially released as a Torquil hardcover (the edition that I was fortunate enough to acquire), the novel was based on a short story of Russell’s called "And Then There Were None," which had appeared in the 25-cent, June '51 issue of John W. Campbell's "Astounding Science-Fiction" magazine. The novel, Russell's eighth out of an eventual 10, turns out to be a complete success, and no less a critic than David Pringle has gone so far as to call it "perhaps Russell's best." Both highly amusing and wildly imaginative, the book ultimately provides the reader with much in the way of food for thought, as well.
As for that interesting title, "the great explosion" does not refer to the original Big Bang, as might be expected, but rather to the sudden outburst of migration that followed mankind's discovery of the first faster-than-light means of space travel, the Blieder drive, named after the eccentric tinkerer who had discovered it, Johannes Pretorius van der Camp Blieder. This discovery, the reader gathers from later evidence, takes place some 200 years from the present day, while the bulk of the book transpires another 400 years further on, when Terra decides to make contact with the oddball cultists, dissidents, faddists, and so on who had previously gone out to colonize some 1,600 worlds. Thus, we watch as the crew of the unnamed, mile-long starship--composed of around 2,000 crewmen, Army troops, bureaucrats and one Earth ambassador--sets out on its mission of contacting four of these worlds, and hopefully establishing consulates and military alliances. As it turns out, their mission is anything but simple.
The first visited world was settled by former convicts and assorted criminals, whose descendants have apparently mellowed not a whit after four centuries. The second planet, Hygeia, was originally established by health faddists and nudists; a planet of bare-naked sun worshippers and germophobes who go far in embarrassing the starship crew. Planet 3 is never landed upon, as this world, Kassim, settled by a mixed sect of Buddhists and Muslims, appears to have been wiped out by a plague of sorts. On planet 4, dubbed officially K229, the crew encounters folks who don't seem the least bit interested in the mile-long ship that has landed in their midst. (It is this final planetary visit that comprised the entire text of the original short story.) They are a people who live by three key tenets: MYOB (mind your own business); a moneyless economy that instead entails the transferring of "obs" (obligations) to one another; and the philosophy of passive resistance, borrowed from Gandhi, that basically boils down to saying "I won’t" (kind of like 27th century Bartleby the scriveners). This last philosophy, unfortunately, as it turns out, is one that proves quite irresistible and contagious to the spaceship's crewmen, with the result that before long, ship captain Grayder and Army colonel Shelton find themselves dealing with nothing less than a full-blown mutiny and wholesale desertion...
Eric Frank Russell was Campbell's favorite author--an astonishing thing to ponder, when one considers all the remarkable talents who the editor gathered together to usher in science fiction's so-called Golden Age--and one who Brian Aldiss would later call Campbell's "licensed jester." But anyone fortunate enough to lay hands on (the sadly long-out-of-print) "The Great Explosion" will soon heartily concur with that "licensed jester" statement. The book, to be succinct, is absolutely hilarious, and one that caused me to laugh out loud any number of times; not an easy feat. The book is written in Russell's best slangy, jokey, lighthearted, tough-guy manner, and all the crew members we meet--and we do get to know a good number of them--are either pompous asses or wisecracking comics...all except Grayder himself, the only straight-arrow character to be found. As the dust jacket on that first edition tells us, the book is "peopled with as lovable a cast of characters as anyone could wish for, on Earth or off," and I would most definitely agree with that statement!
From the very first page, Russell's amusing and appealing style is on display: "Johannes Etc. Blieder was a lunatic of the same order as Unk (who first made fire) [and] Wunk (who designed the wheel)...." It is difficult to explain how Russell achieves his comical effects, but trust me, they are there in abundance. Characters don't simply walk in this novel; they "mooch" along. (After bumping into this word a good half dozen times in Russell's book, I have decided that "mooch" is one of the funniest words in the English language!) When describing one of the wacky residents on planet 4, Col. Shelton opines, "The only thing missing was his bubble pipe!" (That one really cracked me up!) On planet 1, one of the tough-guy residents repeatedly calls our ambassador "Fatski," forcing his excellency to comically shout "Stop calling me Fatski!" And what is the name of the trooper who has his trumpet stolen by one of the thieving occupants of planet 1? Wagstaff...the same name that Groucho Marx"s character had sported in the 1932 comedy classic "Horse Feathers." To my happy surprise, "The Great Explosion" is easily one of the funniest sci-fi novels that I have ever read; on a par with Harry Harrison's 1965 gem "Bill, the Galactic Hero" in the laughs department.
But as I mentioned earlier, Russell's book isn’t merely an exercise in comedy, and does give the reader much to consider. The novel is often mordantly critical of the way the military operates, with its conflicting orders and buffoonish officers. And despite the ambassador's disgust with the living arrangements on both Hygeia and K229, the reader soon senses that the health-worshipping nudists and the freedom-loving, self-styled "Gands" might be on to a better, more well-considered way of life than anything that Terra could possibly offer. No wonder so many hundreds of crewmen decide to desert the ship by the novel's end! Given the choice between regulations and conformity, or complete liberty to follow your individual whims and eccentricities, what would you do? For most of us, I feel, the answer is a no-brainer.
Satirical, funny, fast moving and delightful, "The Great Explosion," it seems to me, would make prime fodder for the big-screen treatment. Until such time as that happens, however, we have Russell's wonderful original. This one comes more than highly recommended by yours truly. Read it now, and you can repay me the ob later....
(This review, by the way, originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Eric Frank Russell....)
As for that interesting title, "the great explosion" does not refer to the original Big Bang, as might be expected, but rather to the sudden outburst of migration that followed mankind's discovery of the first faster-than-light means of space travel, the Blieder drive, named after the eccentric tinkerer who had discovered it, Johannes Pretorius van der Camp Blieder. This discovery, the reader gathers from later evidence, takes place some 200 years from the present day, while the bulk of the book transpires another 400 years further on, when Terra decides to make contact with the oddball cultists, dissidents, faddists, and so on who had previously gone out to colonize some 1,600 worlds. Thus, we watch as the crew of the unnamed, mile-long starship--composed of around 2,000 crewmen, Army troops, bureaucrats and one Earth ambassador--sets out on its mission of contacting four of these worlds, and hopefully establishing consulates and military alliances. As it turns out, their mission is anything but simple.
The first visited world was settled by former convicts and assorted criminals, whose descendants have apparently mellowed not a whit after four centuries. The second planet, Hygeia, was originally established by health faddists and nudists; a planet of bare-naked sun worshippers and germophobes who go far in embarrassing the starship crew. Planet 3 is never landed upon, as this world, Kassim, settled by a mixed sect of Buddhists and Muslims, appears to have been wiped out by a plague of sorts. On planet 4, dubbed officially K229, the crew encounters folks who don't seem the least bit interested in the mile-long ship that has landed in their midst. (It is this final planetary visit that comprised the entire text of the original short story.) They are a people who live by three key tenets: MYOB (mind your own business); a moneyless economy that instead entails the transferring of "obs" (obligations) to one another; and the philosophy of passive resistance, borrowed from Gandhi, that basically boils down to saying "I won’t" (kind of like 27th century Bartleby the scriveners). This last philosophy, unfortunately, as it turns out, is one that proves quite irresistible and contagious to the spaceship's crewmen, with the result that before long, ship captain Grayder and Army colonel Shelton find themselves dealing with nothing less than a full-blown mutiny and wholesale desertion...
Eric Frank Russell was Campbell's favorite author--an astonishing thing to ponder, when one considers all the remarkable talents who the editor gathered together to usher in science fiction's so-called Golden Age--and one who Brian Aldiss would later call Campbell's "licensed jester." But anyone fortunate enough to lay hands on (the sadly long-out-of-print) "The Great Explosion" will soon heartily concur with that "licensed jester" statement. The book, to be succinct, is absolutely hilarious, and one that caused me to laugh out loud any number of times; not an easy feat. The book is written in Russell's best slangy, jokey, lighthearted, tough-guy manner, and all the crew members we meet--and we do get to know a good number of them--are either pompous asses or wisecracking comics...all except Grayder himself, the only straight-arrow character to be found. As the dust jacket on that first edition tells us, the book is "peopled with as lovable a cast of characters as anyone could wish for, on Earth or off," and I would most definitely agree with that statement!
From the very first page, Russell's amusing and appealing style is on display: "Johannes Etc. Blieder was a lunatic of the same order as Unk (who first made fire) [and] Wunk (who designed the wheel)...." It is difficult to explain how Russell achieves his comical effects, but trust me, they are there in abundance. Characters don't simply walk in this novel; they "mooch" along. (After bumping into this word a good half dozen times in Russell's book, I have decided that "mooch" is one of the funniest words in the English language!) When describing one of the wacky residents on planet 4, Col. Shelton opines, "The only thing missing was his bubble pipe!" (That one really cracked me up!) On planet 1, one of the tough-guy residents repeatedly calls our ambassador "Fatski," forcing his excellency to comically shout "Stop calling me Fatski!" And what is the name of the trooper who has his trumpet stolen by one of the thieving occupants of planet 1? Wagstaff...the same name that Groucho Marx"s character had sported in the 1932 comedy classic "Horse Feathers." To my happy surprise, "The Great Explosion" is easily one of the funniest sci-fi novels that I have ever read; on a par with Harry Harrison's 1965 gem "Bill, the Galactic Hero" in the laughs department.
But as I mentioned earlier, Russell's book isn’t merely an exercise in comedy, and does give the reader much to consider. The novel is often mordantly critical of the way the military operates, with its conflicting orders and buffoonish officers. And despite the ambassador's disgust with the living arrangements on both Hygeia and K229, the reader soon senses that the health-worshipping nudists and the freedom-loving, self-styled "Gands" might be on to a better, more well-considered way of life than anything that Terra could possibly offer. No wonder so many hundreds of crewmen decide to desert the ship by the novel's end! Given the choice between regulations and conformity, or complete liberty to follow your individual whims and eccentricities, what would you do? For most of us, I feel, the answer is a no-brainer.
Satirical, funny, fast moving and delightful, "The Great Explosion," it seems to me, would make prime fodder for the big-screen treatment. Until such time as that happens, however, we have Russell's wonderful original. This one comes more than highly recommended by yours truly. Read it now, and you can repay me the ob later....
(This review, by the way, originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Eric Frank Russell....)
August 17, 2021
The Great Explosion is a fix-up novel that grew out of one of his most successful short works, And Then There None. Thematically, it's similar to The Space Willies, and structurally like Men, Martians and Machines, my other two favorites of his outer-space novels. At times quite humorous, and by turns touching and sincere, it's the story of a star-ship's crew mission to reconnect with colonies that left Earth four-hundred years before, and the unique societies that have evolved in the interim. Recommended for fans of David Drake, John Scalzi, Alan Dean Foster, and original Trek. Great sense-of-wonder writing.
August 26, 2019
Short, fun read with a great premise for an adventurous sci-fi romp. Many fringe groups (criminals, nudists, religious cults, anarchists, etc) have left Earth to establish their own worlds out among the stars (i.e. "The Great Explosion"). Several centuries later Earth attempts to re-assert it's influence over these colonies, each of which has developed its niche element to an extreme.
Outrageous situations ensue as a ship from Earth sets out to several of these worlds, where the Earthmen are viewed as the outcasts, and find these new worlds wholly enigmatic. Each is quite libertarian, making it difficult for those of the highly centralized Terran Empire to grok. The ineptitude of the Earthmen's military and diplomatic contingencies serve as fodder for some the crew's misadventures as Russell lambastes their rigid hierarchies and bureaucratic dispositions.
Overall a solid piece of humorous sci-fi, reminiscent of some of Robert Sheckley's work, and perhaps something akin to what John Scalzi would have produced if he was writing 50-60 years ago.
Outrageous situations ensue as a ship from Earth sets out to several of these worlds, where the Earthmen are viewed as the outcasts, and find these new worlds wholly enigmatic. Each is quite libertarian, making it difficult for those of the highly centralized Terran Empire to grok. The ineptitude of the Earthmen's military and diplomatic contingencies serve as fodder for some the crew's misadventures as Russell lambastes their rigid hierarchies and bureaucratic dispositions.
Overall a solid piece of humorous sci-fi, reminiscent of some of Robert Sheckley's work, and perhaps something akin to what John Scalzi would have produced if he was writing 50-60 years ago.
August 22, 2016
Yup, it's funny. And not in a mean, snide way. Just, well, even smart people have blinders cuz of their own perspectives. I round down from 3.5 stars because I just can't quite see the success of the third world.
(ok, the fourth... was the third just filler, to make this book long enough to publish?)
(ok, the fourth... was the third just filler, to make this book long enough to publish?)
January 6, 2025
Nach der Entwicklung eines Überlichtantriebs kam es zum großen Exodus von Unzufriedenen.
400 Jahre später fliegt ein Riesenraumschiff voller Diplomaten und Soldaten vier der Kolonien an, um die Bewohner für ein terranisches Verteidigungsbündnis zu gewinnen. Das klappt bei weitem nicht so gut, wie man erwartet hatte.
Russell schrieb hier einen gelungenen humoristischen SF-Roman. Neben Wortwitz und Situationskomik gab es auch satirische Spitzen.
Auf einer der 4 Welten hat sich die Anarchie etabliert.
Natürlich ist das kein ernstzunehmendes politische Abhandlung, aber es ist doch lohnenswert sich mal wieder zu vergegenwärtigen, dass unsere eigene Gesellschaftsform mit ihren vielen Regeln, Verboten und Hierarchien auch nicht gerade das Gelbe vom Ei ist.
400 Jahre später fliegt ein Riesenraumschiff voller Diplomaten und Soldaten vier der Kolonien an, um die Bewohner für ein terranisches Verteidigungsbündnis zu gewinnen. Das klappt bei weitem nicht so gut, wie man erwartet hatte.
Russell schrieb hier einen gelungenen humoristischen SF-Roman. Neben Wortwitz und Situationskomik gab es auch satirische Spitzen.
Auf einer der 4 Welten hat sich die Anarchie etabliert.
Natürlich ist das kein ernstzunehmendes politische Abhandlung, aber es ist doch lohnenswert sich mal wieder zu vergegenwärtigen, dass unsere eigene Gesellschaftsform mit ihren vielen Regeln, Verboten und Hierarchien auch nicht gerade das Gelbe vom Ei ist.
November 17, 2008
An old favorite, always enjoyable. A little reminiscent of the "Retief" series by Keith Laumer.
400 years after the discovery of a faster-than-light drive causes a mass exodus from Earth, Earth sends out a huge spaceship to begin the process of picking up the pieces and forging them into a new Empire.
But the descendants of the fringe groups that escaped Earth so long ago have other ideas...
A wry and funny book, with Russell's characteristic anti-authority viewpoint. It's a pity that he only created three alternate societies in this book; it's a small gem, and an undisputed SF classic. It also has a warm heart, an essential niceness to it that is all too rare in modern SF. The world and creed of the Gands is likely to stay with you for a long, long time.
Gordon R. Dickson's Dorsai series explored the idea of the varigation of humanity from a biological and spiritual viewpoint. In A Planet Called Treason (later poorly rewritten as simply Treason), Orson Scott Card took the biological angle much further. The remarkable Cordwainer Smith also used similar themes of wild variation among far-flung branches of humanity, although the concept was not central to his work.
Eric Frank Russell didn't take the biological route. The people on distant planets are still quite human in every way. Rather, their culture is different - in the first two cases, a comic exaggeration of an already existing human trait.
It's a lovely book. When you're finished, you'll wish there was more.
Incidentally, the final section was also released separately as a short story "...And Then There Were None".
400 years after the discovery of a faster-than-light drive causes a mass exodus from Earth, Earth sends out a huge spaceship to begin the process of picking up the pieces and forging them into a new Empire.
But the descendants of the fringe groups that escaped Earth so long ago have other ideas...
A wry and funny book, with Russell's characteristic anti-authority viewpoint. It's a pity that he only created three alternate societies in this book; it's a small gem, and an undisputed SF classic. It also has a warm heart, an essential niceness to it that is all too rare in modern SF. The world and creed of the Gands is likely to stay with you for a long, long time.
Gordon R. Dickson's Dorsai series explored the idea of the varigation of humanity from a biological and spiritual viewpoint. In A Planet Called Treason (later poorly rewritten as simply Treason), Orson Scott Card took the biological angle much further. The remarkable Cordwainer Smith also used similar themes of wild variation among far-flung branches of humanity, although the concept was not central to his work.
Eric Frank Russell didn't take the biological route. The people on distant planets are still quite human in every way. Rather, their culture is different - in the first two cases, a comic exaggeration of an already existing human trait.
It's a lovely book. When you're finished, you'll wish there was more.
Incidentally, the final section was also released separately as a short story "...And Then There Were None".
January 4, 2025
Ein klassischer SF-Roman ist in GR "aufgetaucht", gesehen, weil ihn ein GR-Freund ihn gerade liest... so dass ich darüber etwas schreiben kann.
Als Jugendlicher mit großer Begeisterung gelesen. Raumflug-Technologie erlaubt Menschheit sich auf Planeten im fernen Sternensystemen niederzulassen. Ein wahrer Exodus unterschiedlichster Gruppen. Auf der Erde weiß man wenig davon, als eine offizielle Expedition mit Soldaten, Bürokraten und Wissenschaftlern losgeschickt werden, um diese Kolonien administrativ einzuhegen. Die trifft auf Planeten, die von Mafiosi oder Nudisten bewohnt werden, was die Bemühungen der Terraner schnell ins Leere laufen lässt.
Mit sehr viel Humor und satirischen Spitzen geschrieben. Russel hat die Planetarier (des Mafiosi-Planeten) mit phantasievollen Schimpfwörtern ausgestattet, von denen mir "Triefäugiger Snelk" noch in Erinnerung ist.
Eine der Romane, die eine Wiederauflage verdienen.
Als Jugendlicher mit großer Begeisterung gelesen. Raumflug-Technologie erlaubt Menschheit sich auf Planeten im fernen Sternensystemen niederzulassen. Ein wahrer Exodus unterschiedlichster Gruppen. Auf der Erde weiß man wenig davon, als eine offizielle Expedition mit Soldaten, Bürokraten und Wissenschaftlern losgeschickt werden, um diese Kolonien administrativ einzuhegen. Die trifft auf Planeten, die von Mafiosi oder Nudisten bewohnt werden, was die Bemühungen der Terraner schnell ins Leere laufen lässt.
Mit sehr viel Humor und satirischen Spitzen geschrieben. Russel hat die Planetarier (des Mafiosi-Planeten) mit phantasievollen Schimpfwörtern ausgestattet, von denen mir "Triefäugiger Snelk" noch in Erinnerung ist.
Eine der Romane, die eine Wiederauflage verdienen.
June 25, 2017
Following the discovery of faster-than-light travel, Earth's population fell by half as her children fled to the stars. After decades of benign neglect, the powers that be on Earth -- the military and politicians -- have decided to reassert their authority. A grand ship is built, and ordered to fulfill an even greater commission: arranging a meet between the imperial ambassador and the local leaders, so that his lordship can declare to them that it's time to rejoin hands with Earth and march together into the future. But as the Dude would say -- yeah, well...that's just, like, your opinion, man.
The Great Explosion is a SF comedy, an expansion of the author's amusing "And Then There Were None" (1951). The plot is straightforward: a ship with hundreds of crewmen, soldiers, and government flunkies visit a series of planets and attempt to reunite them to the lovingkindness (a compound word translating to "rules and taxes") of Earth. Shockingly, however, no one who left the Man behind on Earth is eager to see him come back -- whether they're criminals, nudist health freaks, or libertarians. Anyone who has had an ill experience with government functionaries -- from IRS auditors to DMV clerks -- will find vicarious amusement here, as a series of rebellious characters annoy, exasperate, obfuscate, and harass humorless G-men and their pompous, pot-bellied prince.
The third story is the heart of the book, as the ship lands on the planet 'Gand'. The imperials are utterly tactless in their approach to the locals, regardless of the planet, but Gand is a particularly bad place to be grabbing people and pressuring them for information. Gand is composed entirely of some tribe of libertarian anarchists, who don't cotton to authority. So deeply do they loath the idea of uniformity or regimentation that there isn't even a common style of clothing. Every intrusive question is answered "Myob*!", and attempts to physically coerce the Gands is met with civil disobedience. One exploring sailor on his bicycle, out of uniform, manages to discover what makes the Gands tick. Close to the Gandian heart is cooperation; they don't even use money, instead using a barter system of favors, or "obs". The Gands live in small communities in constant contact with one another, meaning that free riders ('scratchers') don't get away with it for too long. Those who break rules are shunned. The Mahatama would be intrigued.
As a novel there are faults; the health-nudists of Hygeia, for instance, insist that Earth deal only with them, and ignore a smaller community on their planet. Why? Who knows, because the Earthers leave without this other community ever being mentioned again. There the ship goes directly to another planet where there were settlers, but now...there aren't. Every sign of civilization also points to the planet's population being long gone, their structures surrendered back to Nature. What happened there -- again, who knows, because the Earthers enter orbit, decide not to risk a pandemic, and break orbit. As a rule, creators of fiction avoid introducing elements have have no functional element in the story, so to see two instances of it back to back was rather odd.
Still, I enjoyed the original short story, and this expansion of it. It's a short bit of comedy with some food for thought sprinkled in.
*Mind your own business!
Related:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein. Another libertarian society where culture is more important than force.
The Martian Chronicles, with another chapter of free-spirited settlers being chased down by humorless drones working for the government.
The Great Explosion is a SF comedy, an expansion of the author's amusing "And Then There Were None" (1951). The plot is straightforward: a ship with hundreds of crewmen, soldiers, and government flunkies visit a series of planets and attempt to reunite them to the lovingkindness (a compound word translating to "rules and taxes") of Earth. Shockingly, however, no one who left the Man behind on Earth is eager to see him come back -- whether they're criminals, nudist health freaks, or libertarians. Anyone who has had an ill experience with government functionaries -- from IRS auditors to DMV clerks -- will find vicarious amusement here, as a series of rebellious characters annoy, exasperate, obfuscate, and harass humorless G-men and their pompous, pot-bellied prince.
The third story is the heart of the book, as the ship lands on the planet 'Gand'. The imperials are utterly tactless in their approach to the locals, regardless of the planet, but Gand is a particularly bad place to be grabbing people and pressuring them for information. Gand is composed entirely of some tribe of libertarian anarchists, who don't cotton to authority. So deeply do they loath the idea of uniformity or regimentation that there isn't even a common style of clothing. Every intrusive question is answered "Myob*!", and attempts to physically coerce the Gands is met with civil disobedience. One exploring sailor on his bicycle, out of uniform, manages to discover what makes the Gands tick. Close to the Gandian heart is cooperation; they don't even use money, instead using a barter system of favors, or "obs". The Gands live in small communities in constant contact with one another, meaning that free riders ('scratchers') don't get away with it for too long. Those who break rules are shunned. The Mahatama would be intrigued.
As a novel there are faults; the health-nudists of Hygeia, for instance, insist that Earth deal only with them, and ignore a smaller community on their planet. Why? Who knows, because the Earthers leave without this other community ever being mentioned again. There the ship goes directly to another planet where there were settlers, but now...there aren't. Every sign of civilization also points to the planet's population being long gone, their structures surrendered back to Nature. What happened there -- again, who knows, because the Earthers enter orbit, decide not to risk a pandemic, and break orbit. As a rule, creators of fiction avoid introducing elements have have no functional element in the story, so to see two instances of it back to back was rather odd.
Still, I enjoyed the original short story, and this expansion of it. It's a short bit of comedy with some food for thought sprinkled in.
*Mind your own business!
Related:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein. Another libertarian society where culture is more important than force.
The Martian Chronicles, with another chapter of free-spirited settlers being chased down by humorless drones working for the government.
February 18, 2019
Great Work By An Underappreciated Author
This has always been one of my favourite Eric Frank Russells, ever since first encountering it in my youth. It is set about five centuries in the future, and about four centuries after the discovery of an interstellar drive has allowed every religious, political or other discontented minority group to take off and find a world of its own. Only now, the bureaucrats and military brasshats back on Terra have decided that all the prodigals have been left alone long enough, and are sending out expeditions to weld the scattered worlds into one empire.
TGE is the story on one such expedition. A battleship, loaded with spacemen, troopers, civil servants and an Imperial Ambassador, visits three worlds. The first was settled by the descendants of exiled criminals, the second (this bit is hilarious) by a group of fanatical naturists who regard the wearing of clothes as obscene.
The final section (about half the book) had already been separately published as a novella _And Then There Were None_. Its settlers were and are non-violent anarchists, whose answer to any attempt to give them orders is an uncompromising "I won't". They never offer a hint of physical violence to the intruders - yet nonetheless succeed in frustrating them totally. A classic in itself.
All in all, it's a great read for anyone who likes to see authority taken down a peg or two. To be fair, authority, as portrayed here, is not all that malevolent or brutal, just stuffy, convinced that it knows what is best for everyone, and often inconsiderate to those who serve it. Sound familiar? The Ambassador is allowed the occasional telling criticism of the various utopias, but overall we are expected to cheer at his discomfiture, and most readers probably will.
Russell is, for me, one of the sf greats, and I often feel he isn't remembered as much as he deserves to be. For those new to him, TGE is an excellent place to start. If you haven't read it, do
This has always been one of my favourite Eric Frank Russells, ever since first encountering it in my youth. It is set about five centuries in the future, and about four centuries after the discovery of an interstellar drive has allowed every religious, political or other discontented minority group to take off and find a world of its own. Only now, the bureaucrats and military brasshats back on Terra have decided that all the prodigals have been left alone long enough, and are sending out expeditions to weld the scattered worlds into one empire.
TGE is the story on one such expedition. A battleship, loaded with spacemen, troopers, civil servants and an Imperial Ambassador, visits three worlds. The first was settled by the descendants of exiled criminals, the second (this bit is hilarious) by a group of fanatical naturists who regard the wearing of clothes as obscene.
The final section (about half the book) had already been separately published as a novella _And Then There Were None_. Its settlers were and are non-violent anarchists, whose answer to any attempt to give them orders is an uncompromising "I won't". They never offer a hint of physical violence to the intruders - yet nonetheless succeed in frustrating them totally. A classic in itself.
All in all, it's a great read for anyone who likes to see authority taken down a peg or two. To be fair, authority, as portrayed here, is not all that malevolent or brutal, just stuffy, convinced that it knows what is best for everyone, and often inconsiderate to those who serve it. Sound familiar? The Ambassador is allowed the occasional telling criticism of the various utopias, but overall we are expected to cheer at his discomfiture, and most readers probably will.
Russell is, for me, one of the sf greats, and I often feel he isn't remembered as much as he deserves to be. For those new to him, TGE is an excellent place to start. If you haven't read it, do
November 13, 2022
1980 grade A
2022 Grade A
This early 60s SciFi story might be impossible, but if you're an irreverent cynic like me, it is wonderful. I read it 40 years ago but remembered parts of it the whole time wishing I could read it again. Now I did, and it is still just as delightful. Earth sends out a mega-ship to look-up earlier emigration worlds colonized by single minded groups for the purpose of turning them into colonies under earth control. Needless to say, it does not work. All while the author makes subtle fun of everyone!
Recommended
2022 Grade A
This early 60s SciFi story might be impossible, but if you're an irreverent cynic like me, it is wonderful. I read it 40 years ago but remembered parts of it the whole time wishing I could read it again. Now I did, and it is still just as delightful. Earth sends out a mega-ship to look-up earlier emigration worlds colonized by single minded groups for the purpose of turning them into colonies under earth control. Needless to say, it does not work. All while the author makes subtle fun of everyone!
Recommended
March 3, 2008
This is a little and entertaining book about trying to reunite the human race. When a superfast hyperdrive is discovered, hundreds of groups of people take off for other habitable planets to get away from the overcrowded earth. Four hundred years later, Earth is trying to regain contact with these groups to form a galactic empire - but civilizations that have been left alone for 400 years aren't usually eager to get under earth's thumb again.
August 28, 2015
Look at these kooky guys! Now look at these kooky guys! Now think long and hard about these clever people for the rest of your life.
This book is silly, dated fun, until it's suddenly, secretly serious.
This book is silly, dated fun, until it's suddenly, secretly serious.
May 5, 2025
Major surprise. I expected run-of-the-mill science fiction but got something on the edge of that genre that is original, subversive, and genuinely funny.
January 4, 2019
Na de ontdekking van de Blieder-aandrijving (vernoemd naar de excentrieke uitvinder er van) die verre zonnestelsels dichterbij brengt, trekken miljoenen mensen weg om zo'n 1.600 planeten te koloniseren.
Na een periode van 400 jaar wil de Aarde een poging doen om deze planeten onder beheer te krijgen en worden en schepen uitgezonden om dit voor elkaar te krijgen.
We lezen over een ruimteschip van ongeveer 2 kilometer lang en met een doorsnede van 250 meter, en zo'n 2.000 bemanningsleden, soldaten en ambtenaren, alsook een ambassadeur en diverse consuls. Dit ruimteschip heeft de opdracht om 4 van deze werelden te bezoeken en weer onder het Aardse gezag te krijgen.
De eerste wereld werd gekoloniseerd door veroordeelden en criminelen, wiens nazaten na 4 eeuwen niets veranderd zijn.
De tweede wereld is bewoond door gezondheidfreaks en nudisten; een planeet vol met naakte zonaanbidders en germofoben, die het niet laten om het de bemanning belachelijk te maken.
Op de derde wereld, Kasim, word niet geland, omdat het lijkt dat de bevolking van Boeddhisten en Moslims door een plaag is getroffen en volledig is uitgeroeid.
Op de laatste planeet, met de naam K229, die het schip aandoet treft de bemanning een bevolking aan die het niet lijkt te interesseren dat er een kilometers langs schip is geland.Het zijn mensen die leven volgens de principes van MIZU (Maak Ik Zelf Uit), een geldloze economy (inplaats daar van gaan de mensen VERP's aan (VERPlichtingen) , en de filosofie van 'passief verzet', gebaseerd op Ghandi), dat vooral neerkomt op 'IK NIET'. Deze filosofie lijkt besmettelijk en onweerstaanbaar voor een deel van de bemanning, op zo'n schaal dat de scheepskapitein Grayder en Kolonel Shelton te maken krijgen met muiterij en desertie.
Dit was naar mijn idee een zeer goed te lezen boek, met een duidelijk anti-autoritair gezichtspunt. Het gezichtspunt van de Gands zal me lang bij blijven: IK NIET
Na een periode van 400 jaar wil de Aarde een poging doen om deze planeten onder beheer te krijgen en worden en schepen uitgezonden om dit voor elkaar te krijgen.
We lezen over een ruimteschip van ongeveer 2 kilometer lang en met een doorsnede van 250 meter, en zo'n 2.000 bemanningsleden, soldaten en ambtenaren, alsook een ambassadeur en diverse consuls. Dit ruimteschip heeft de opdracht om 4 van deze werelden te bezoeken en weer onder het Aardse gezag te krijgen.
De eerste wereld werd gekoloniseerd door veroordeelden en criminelen, wiens nazaten na 4 eeuwen niets veranderd zijn.
De tweede wereld is bewoond door gezondheidfreaks en nudisten; een planeet vol met naakte zonaanbidders en germofoben, die het niet laten om het de bemanning belachelijk te maken.
Op de derde wereld, Kasim, word niet geland, omdat het lijkt dat de bevolking van Boeddhisten en Moslims door een plaag is getroffen en volledig is uitgeroeid.
Op de laatste planeet, met de naam K229, die het schip aandoet treft de bemanning een bevolking aan die het niet lijkt te interesseren dat er een kilometers langs schip is geland.Het zijn mensen die leven volgens de principes van MIZU (Maak Ik Zelf Uit), een geldloze economy (inplaats daar van gaan de mensen VERP's aan (VERPlichtingen) , en de filosofie van 'passief verzet', gebaseerd op Ghandi), dat vooral neerkomt op 'IK NIET'. Deze filosofie lijkt besmettelijk en onweerstaanbaar voor een deel van de bemanning, op zo'n schaal dat de scheepskapitein Grayder en Kolonel Shelton te maken krijgen met muiterij en desertie.
Dit was naar mijn idee een zeer goed te lezen boek, met een duidelijk anti-autoritair gezichtspunt. Het gezichtspunt van de Gands zal me lang bij blijven: IK NIET
September 12, 2016
also read the great explosion by eric frank russel:
Is criminality nature or nurture?
Do we need clothes?
ARe you dirty minded?
whats a antigand?
whats the weapon?
why do we take orders from fat burocrats?
read and find out! ton of fun awaits!
other leads for you noobs:
Voyage from Yesteryear
by James P. Hogan
U 50x66
Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review
Sep 11, 2016 · edit
it was amazing
Read in January, 2014
Ayn rand was right about everything, youtube yaron brook.
Wow this novel is wicked awesome!
Stop regulating and everyone is happy!
other scifi leads, thank me later:
Moorcock Vance Howard Gygax AE VAN VOGT oh my!!!! you could make 10 movies at least and whole video game franchises and MMPORGS based on the black company universe!!
Goldmine of very orginial combinations of ass kicking fighting fantasy!
other tips and leads:
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1)
by Glen Cook
U 50x66
Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review
Sep 11, 2016 · edit
it was amazing
Read in January, 2004
For those of you who are discovering awesome scifi not pushed by socialists, I salute you.
Glen Cooks amazing The Silver Spike black company 3.5, was my intro, then I backfilled 1-3 after spike I think he had ghostwriter because it falls off bigtime. BUT while it lasts WOW cook was ON like few others!!!!
VERY D&D VERY palladium RPG
brilliant really to mix Dying earth with small squad military, amazing no VIDEO GAME or movies based on this!!!! ASTOUNDING IN FACT
while crap from orson scott card and philip k dick gets made...although total recall with arnold was good as well as blade runner, but some of the other dicks are thumping bad
here are some other pointers:
The Lure of the Basilisk (The Lords of Dûs, #1)
by Lawrence Watt-Evans (Goodreads Author)
U 50x66
Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review
Sep 11, 2016 · edit
it was amazing
Read in January, 2009
Very palladium rpg or D&D.
Cool ideas, a bit dying earth with wizards creating a race? superscience? sorcery?
Great in that the individual has goals and seeks them.
Wish evans wrote more, or did he and I haven't checked?
Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance U 50x66 Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review Sep 11, 2016 · edit i
Tales of the Dying Earth
by Jack Vance
U 50x66
Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review
Sep 11, 2016 · edit
it was amazing
Read in January, 2012
Arguably the best book ever written. Endlessly re reable. A classic that should be used in schools instead of drivel like Jayne Eyre and other goblin shit. Combines humor, vast worldbuilding, and wit with amazing plots and endless creativity. Did I menion it inspired the entire role playing game industry? starting with dungeons and dragons? Jack Vance is arguably the greatest author ever, with only Robert E Howard himself, AE Van Vogt, and Michael Moorcock at his very best with Erlic 1-6 Corum 1-3 and Hawkmoon 1-3 to contend. SO much better than Heinlein Azimov Card Vinge and others who are bandied about as good. Eric frank russel the great explosion, hogan with voyage to yesteryear, cook with black company 1-3, silver spike and lawrence watt evan with lords of dus bring a little of the magic feel you get from Vance. If only he had written more in the early period. Even Vanc'e later dying earth stuff is nowhere near the VAst Vast worldbuilding power of the originals. Just mind blowing. And you never hear of it. I believe this is because of socialist education and democrats. Vance in hsi space operas envisions a lightly regualted hotel and resort universe with conniving bureaucrats. This must bug pissy lefty librarians. Well now you know despite the coverup!! enjoy!
I think any public library system without a full collection of AE van Vogt, Robert E Howard, and JAck Vance should be all fired. They should also at least have the Moorcocks listed previously. and for you noobs yes get Tom baker the 4th doctor who videos. They along with 1982 the thing, alien 2, and the first 3 star wars will complete a basic good scifi collection.
Is criminality nature or nurture?
Do we need clothes?
ARe you dirty minded?
whats a antigand?
whats the weapon?
why do we take orders from fat burocrats?
read and find out! ton of fun awaits!
other leads for you noobs:
Voyage from Yesteryear
by James P. Hogan
U 50x66
Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review
Sep 11, 2016 · edit
it was amazing
Read in January, 2014
Ayn rand was right about everything, youtube yaron brook.
Wow this novel is wicked awesome!
Stop regulating and everyone is happy!
other scifi leads, thank me later:
Moorcock Vance Howard Gygax AE VAN VOGT oh my!!!! you could make 10 movies at least and whole video game franchises and MMPORGS based on the black company universe!!
Goldmine of very orginial combinations of ass kicking fighting fantasy!
other tips and leads:
The Black Company (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #1)
by Glen Cook
U 50x66
Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review
Sep 11, 2016 · edit
it was amazing
Read in January, 2004
For those of you who are discovering awesome scifi not pushed by socialists, I salute you.
Glen Cooks amazing The Silver Spike black company 3.5, was my intro, then I backfilled 1-3 after spike I think he had ghostwriter because it falls off bigtime. BUT while it lasts WOW cook was ON like few others!!!!
VERY D&D VERY palladium RPG
brilliant really to mix Dying earth with small squad military, amazing no VIDEO GAME or movies based on this!!!! ASTOUNDING IN FACT
while crap from orson scott card and philip k dick gets made...although total recall with arnold was good as well as blade runner, but some of the other dicks are thumping bad
here are some other pointers:
The Lure of the Basilisk (The Lords of Dûs, #1)
by Lawrence Watt-Evans (Goodreads Author)
U 50x66
Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review
Sep 11, 2016 · edit
it was amazing
Read in January, 2009
Very palladium rpg or D&D.
Cool ideas, a bit dying earth with wizards creating a race? superscience? sorcery?
Great in that the individual has goals and seeks them.
Wish evans wrote more, or did he and I haven't checked?
Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance U 50x66 Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review Sep 11, 2016 · edit i
Tales of the Dying Earth
by Jack Vance
U 50x66
Jackvanc3gmail.Com's review
Sep 11, 2016 · edit
it was amazing
Read in January, 2012
Arguably the best book ever written. Endlessly re reable. A classic that should be used in schools instead of drivel like Jayne Eyre and other goblin shit. Combines humor, vast worldbuilding, and wit with amazing plots and endless creativity. Did I menion it inspired the entire role playing game industry? starting with dungeons and dragons? Jack Vance is arguably the greatest author ever, with only Robert E Howard himself, AE Van Vogt, and Michael Moorcock at his very best with Erlic 1-6 Corum 1-3 and Hawkmoon 1-3 to contend. SO much better than Heinlein Azimov Card Vinge and others who are bandied about as good. Eric frank russel the great explosion, hogan with voyage to yesteryear, cook with black company 1-3, silver spike and lawrence watt evan with lords of dus bring a little of the magic feel you get from Vance. If only he had written more in the early period. Even Vanc'e later dying earth stuff is nowhere near the VAst Vast worldbuilding power of the originals. Just mind blowing. And you never hear of it. I believe this is because of socialist education and democrats. Vance in hsi space operas envisions a lightly regualted hotel and resort universe with conniving bureaucrats. This must bug pissy lefty librarians. Well now you know despite the coverup!! enjoy!
I think any public library system without a full collection of AE van Vogt, Robert E Howard, and JAck Vance should be all fired. They should also at least have the Moorcocks listed previously. and for you noobs yes get Tom baker the 4th doctor who videos. They along with 1982 the thing, alien 2, and the first 3 star wars will complete a basic good scifi collection.
January 3, 2012
by Eric Frank Russell. This is the best argument
book I've read, contradictionary dialogue, slightful
banter to the brows. There's a million different
disagreeable goons who go out on the great explosion into
space on cheap travel to get away from Earth
beurocracy. The folks who hate policy and police have their
own world /ideas going on each world which for the
most part means 'don't participate if you dont want
to'. "Dissidents".
A inevitable cartooned out
platoon of explorers are out to have a consul of
civilization representatives on the different planets in very
respectable presentations. These other planet inhabitants,
who for the most part could care less about someone
else's policy and mostly about feeding themselves.
The first bunch on the first planet are confined to
keeps for the most part. These keeps have societies of
people who don't want to do much at all, steal, eat.
Sleep.
The 2nd planet that's visited is of a bunch of
naturists who, in physical fitness and nudity, poke fun at
all the army types and especially the paunchy
ambassador who gives orders to the healthy types. He gets
laughed at since everyone is in perfect health and just
sees him, and the rest for the most part, as freaks.
Ignored and thought of as contaminated..
The 3rd planet has no use for money having an obligation system
of bartering. I work for meals. Everyone gets
whatever they want, the population is in check, all things
balance. Ignore any orders for the sake of freedom.
Followers of Gandhi, the Gands, give anyone anything for
some work, the explorers get caught up in the
arguments and spin around drunk mostly on this one.
This whole book is a great argument for a lack of
government or how to contradict some one seeking information
for a purpose semi-vague anyhow: setting up a consul
in a place that's already functional within the
bounds of it's definition of satisfaction. The
ambassador who is basically helpless without his lackeys
comes out looking the goofiest. This is classic science
fiction just missing the slide rules but with all the
irony and smart ass remarks you could hope for. Fnck
the police.
--
This is perfect next to the book by
Jack Vance "Space Opera". Brilliantly written book
about the taking of opera culture to places that have
no concept of music or subtlety.
Review originally in Brutalsfx group.
book I've read, contradictionary dialogue, slightful
banter to the brows. There's a million different
disagreeable goons who go out on the great explosion into
space on cheap travel to get away from Earth
beurocracy. The folks who hate policy and police have their
own world /ideas going on each world which for the
most part means 'don't participate if you dont want
to'. "Dissidents".
A inevitable cartooned out
platoon of explorers are out to have a consul of
civilization representatives on the different planets in very
respectable presentations. These other planet inhabitants,
who for the most part could care less about someone
else's policy and mostly about feeding themselves.
The first bunch on the first planet are confined to
keeps for the most part. These keeps have societies of
people who don't want to do much at all, steal, eat.
Sleep.
The 2nd planet that's visited is of a bunch of
naturists who, in physical fitness and nudity, poke fun at
all the army types and especially the paunchy
ambassador who gives orders to the healthy types. He gets
laughed at since everyone is in perfect health and just
sees him, and the rest for the most part, as freaks.
Ignored and thought of as contaminated..
The 3rd planet has no use for money having an obligation system
of bartering. I work for meals. Everyone gets
whatever they want, the population is in check, all things
balance. Ignore any orders for the sake of freedom.
Followers of Gandhi, the Gands, give anyone anything for
some work, the explorers get caught up in the
arguments and spin around drunk mostly on this one.
This whole book is a great argument for a lack of
government or how to contradict some one seeking information
for a purpose semi-vague anyhow: setting up a consul
in a place that's already functional within the
bounds of it's definition of satisfaction. The
ambassador who is basically helpless without his lackeys
comes out looking the goofiest. This is classic science
fiction just missing the slide rules but with all the
irony and smart ass remarks you could hope for. Fnck
the police.
--
This is perfect next to the book by
Jack Vance "Space Opera". Brilliantly written book
about the taking of opera culture to places that have
no concept of music or subtlety.
Review originally in Brutalsfx group.
April 28, 2013
This is an expansion of a short story by Eric Frank Russell . Read And Then There Were None instead. It is a much more plausible anarchist utopia than The Dispossessed.
December 8, 2017
hear that boogle? just go fetch your government just like that!!
the devil? never heard the word fatski!
blieder was a maniac of same order as og (inventor fire) who was certain despite lack of any academic credentials he could levitate a penny if he only experimented long enough and who oatrages academic and the know it alls by getting impossible results
army n avy always fight, its traditional
inventor of the weapon, the weapon u have no defense for
f IW
one of best scifi novels ever
the devil? never heard the word fatski!
blieder was a maniac of same order as og (inventor fire) who was certain despite lack of any academic credentials he could levitate a penny if he only experimented long enough and who oatrages academic and the know it alls by getting impossible results
army n avy always fight, its traditional
inventor of the weapon, the weapon u have no defense for
f IW
one of best scifi novels ever
January 27, 2018
Aww, it's scifi from the 60s! It's witty, and funny, and sarcastic (but never quite mean). Love it a lot.
The first half of the book explains the general situation, and allows us to get to know the ship's crew as they come into contact with three planets (but only one meaningful one, grown from a colony of nudists).
The second half centers on an anarchist world and … it's pure joy. Go read it.
The first half of the book explains the general situation, and allows us to get to know the ship's crew as they come into contact with three planets (but only one meaningful one, grown from a colony of nudists).
The second half centers on an anarchist world and … it's pure joy. Go read it.
October 17, 2020
The Great Explosion showed just how diverse the human minds are, and the various ways society organise itself can produce varying results. This satire science fiction comedy was a milestone in the genre for popularising the "Mind Your Own Business" acronym and the anti-authoritarian theme. Although sometimes it can feel a bit juvenile in its humour, the Great Explosion made fun of the absurdity of society and its tedious bureaucracy.
September 5, 2015
A fix-up that relies heavily on the often-anthologised last story for impact . And its great.
Slight but very enjoyable classic sf.
Slight but very enjoyable classic sf.
December 11, 2021
Un autore che non delude mai
June 27, 2019
Some guy inadvertently invents a super fast method of space travel and pretty soon every misfit group on earth has abandoned the planet to set up shop on their own. Then 400 years in the future, the powers that be on earth want to form a space alliance to defend against outer space threats (which there so far have been none). So they send out a ship led by a big fat ambassador and visit four of these relatively recently settled planets. The first planet started as a penal colony and is now full of a bunch of lazy thief people with a woman shortage. Those people turn out to be dicks so the Terrans leave for the next place. This one is full of nudists who are dicks too. They think all the Terrans are dirty mined because they wear clothes but even when said dirty minded people take their clothes off the nudists lay into them for having gross bodies and not having sick tans. So those people were dicks too and the spaceship takes off. Third planet was a syncretic muslim-buddhist planet where everyone seemed to have died off. Dunno why this was added. Author's comment on the practicality of those religions, p'r'aps. The fourth planet is full of anarcho-libertarian free spirits who don't use money but instead trade obligations to each other for goods and services. I give you a meal, you owe me some sort of favor in return, etc. They do what they want and don't do what they don't want using Gandhi-style passive resistance. Due to super simplified storytelling and wishful thinking this system works flawlessly in the book. So flawlessly that a bunch of the spaceship people go AWOL and choose to stay on this planet. The spaceship has to take off so that it won't lose any more people and the fat ambassador can get home. In the end I think the moral is the earth people are the actual dicks.
It was interesting but overly idealist. I think I picked it up because I was looking for a book that was the "opposite of Atlas Shrugged". A semi-flimsy maybe on that front.
Stay hard,
Mitch
It was interesting but overly idealist. I think I picked it up because I was looking for a book that was the "opposite of Atlas Shrugged". A semi-flimsy maybe on that front.
Stay hard,
Mitch
March 30, 2019
An interesting, funny, thought-provoking novel about a giant spaceship from Earth calling on a series of long-ago colonised planets to see how the inhabitants are doing and to (hopefully) establish a Terran consulate on each, on the pretext of providing ‘protection’ in the event of attack from (as yet unidentified and possibly non-existent) alien invaders.
Unusually, this massive, mile-long ship actually lands on the planets it travels to, leaving a ten-foot deep groove in the solid rock on which it touches down. And there’s not a computer in sight - the officers still consult books and paper maps in the 26th century despite having faster than light travel at their command! (But it was published in 1962, so this can be excused.)
Ultimately the mission is not a great success but the book itself is. I have read from other reviews here on Goodreads how The Great Explosion developed from a short story by Russell which perhaps explains the brevity, but I would have liked to read about more than the 4 (out of 1600) colonised worlds that they actually visit. And in addition to the wonderful tongue-in-cheek humour, this quirky tale also raises some intriguing questions about social structures and human nature in general. Highly recommended.
Unusually, this massive, mile-long ship actually lands on the planets it travels to, leaving a ten-foot deep groove in the solid rock on which it touches down. And there’s not a computer in sight - the officers still consult books and paper maps in the 26th century despite having faster than light travel at their command! (But it was published in 1962, so this can be excused.)
Ultimately the mission is not a great success but the book itself is. I have read from other reviews here on Goodreads how The Great Explosion developed from a short story by Russell which perhaps explains the brevity, but I would have liked to read about more than the 4 (out of 1600) colonised worlds that they actually visit. And in addition to the wonderful tongue-in-cheek humour, this quirky tale also raises some intriguing questions about social structures and human nature in general. Highly recommended.
March 1, 2025
Pensate ad un nave stellare in viaggio nello spazio con il compito di passare in rassegna 4 pianeti lontani per aggiornarsi sullo stato di civilizzazione dei terrestri migrati centinaia di anni fa...
Il romanzo è una grande presa in giro della burocrazia e di chi vuole imporre regole assurde agli altri. Prende in giro i burocrati e i capi che si credono troppo furbi. Gli ufficiali della nave pensano di essere i più intelligenti della galassia, ma ogni volta che cercano di "civilizzare" qualcuno, finiscono per fare solo figuracce.
Russell ti fa riflettere sulla libertà senza annoiarti. Ti mostra mondi dove la gente vive senza governi, senza capi e senza imposizioni, e funziona! Il capitolo sui gand è una vera perla: loro non fanno nulla che non vogliano fare… e così riescono a fregare i terrestri senza nemmeno sforzarsi!
Questo è un romanzo divertente e brillante, senza mai essere pesante. Non è la solita fantascienza seriosa: è un libro pieno di battute intelligenti, dialoghi assurdi e situazioni paradossali. Ti fa ridere, ma allo stesso tempo ti lascia con delle idee in testa che continuano a girarti per giorni.
Il romanzo è una grande presa in giro della burocrazia e di chi vuole imporre regole assurde agli altri. Prende in giro i burocrati e i capi che si credono troppo furbi. Gli ufficiali della nave pensano di essere i più intelligenti della galassia, ma ogni volta che cercano di "civilizzare" qualcuno, finiscono per fare solo figuracce.
Russell ti fa riflettere sulla libertà senza annoiarti. Ti mostra mondi dove la gente vive senza governi, senza capi e senza imposizioni, e funziona! Il capitolo sui gand è una vera perla: loro non fanno nulla che non vogliano fare… e così riescono a fregare i terrestri senza nemmeno sforzarsi!
Questo è un romanzo divertente e brillante, senza mai essere pesante. Non è la solita fantascienza seriosa: è un libro pieno di battute intelligenti, dialoghi assurdi e situazioni paradossali. Ti fa ridere, ma allo stesso tempo ti lascia con delle idee in testa che continuano a girarti per giorni.
May 13, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"Overwhelmed by M. John Harrison’s entropic visions (attempting to finish A Storm of Wings at the moment) and the horror of Covid-19, I decided to find a work of humorous science fiction to help get my mind off things—and it worked! In a teenage bathroom humor sort of Libertarian SF way…
Eric Frank Russell’s The Great Explosion (1963)–a satirical skewering of the foibles and follows of Terran explorers, military might, and fringe social movements—is an expansion of his short story “…And Then There Were None” (1951).
The Blieder drive, named after a myopic [...]"
"Overwhelmed by M. John Harrison’s entropic visions (attempting to finish A Storm of Wings at the moment) and the horror of Covid-19, I decided to find a work of humorous science fiction to help get my mind off things—and it worked! In a teenage bathroom humor sort of Libertarian SF way…
Eric Frank Russell’s The Great Explosion (1963)–a satirical skewering of the foibles and follows of Terran explorers, military might, and fringe social movements—is an expansion of his short story “…And Then There Were None” (1951).
The Blieder drive, named after a myopic [...]"
December 5, 2025
I suddenly remembered 'Obs' the other day.
I was chatting with an old friend that reminded me that when we played D&D I used to bind the party members to my liberal autocratic Paladin by writing down obligations (or Obs) that put a PC in my debt, you know - gave a Cure to, gave a magical weapon to, removed a burrowing Son Of Kyuss necrotic-inducing worm from the skull of, that sort of thing.
I had taken the name from a story/book I'd read years before. A bit of internet digging and I realised it was from the short story 'And Then There Were None' by EFR.
A bit more digging and I realised that in fact I had PROBABLY read the novel from which he developed the initial story into.
I must have read it in the late 70's and It has stuck with me all these years but I remember only bits and bobs of the synopsis, but enough to allow me to rate the book a 3.5*
I was chatting with an old friend that reminded me that when we played D&D I used to bind the party members to my liberal autocratic Paladin by writing down obligations (or Obs) that put a PC in my debt, you know - gave a Cure to, gave a magical weapon to, removed a burrowing Son Of Kyuss necrotic-inducing worm from the skull of, that sort of thing.
I had taken the name from a story/book I'd read years before. A bit of internet digging and I realised it was from the short story 'And Then There Were None' by EFR.
A bit more digging and I realised that in fact I had PROBABLY read the novel from which he developed the initial story into.
I must have read it in the late 70's and It has stuck with me all these years but I remember only bits and bobs of the synopsis, but enough to allow me to rate the book a 3.5*
July 18, 2017
A book written in 1993 concerning colonization of space after the invention of a faster than light drive. The mission was to explore several worlds that had been settled after the drive invention. Earth's government wanted to establish an agreement about protecting Earth and the planet being visited. Each of the planets selected had been colonized by specialized groups. the first planet had been send the dregs of the criminal society and so on. The humor/difficulty of the story is the planet's society's dealing with representatives of the world they had decided to abandon. The author's view of what each of these planets might have evolved to and the dealing with the changes made the story. I was torn between 3 or 4 stars but went 3 stars I enjoyed it for a quick read.
May 31, 2024
If you like weird humorous bureaucratic science fiction it's very good. Unfortunately, it's not my genre at all. I only read it because it's my dad's favorite book. Nevertheless, I like the philosophical take on the topics of being free and thinking freely. During and after reading it, I found it a bit meh but solid. In retrospect, I often think about it now and have to say that it has made some things so much clearer to me and I have gained insights. That's why I find it difficult to rate this book with just stars, because although it's not my favorite kind of story, it has brought me further and made me think.
December 4, 2018
A witty adventure to three planets that are all very different. Getting to know the crew in this book really reminded me of my own time in the service. The final planet really brought back memories, when crew members were thinking about staying. I remember floating through the Solomon Islands and thinking "I bet I could jump right now, no one is looking, and make it to one of the many islands in sight. It was so beautiful there. They natives might have even given me my own piece of land for an ob or two; )
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