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The War Book
Original 1st Edition hardcover!!!
- GenresScience FictionWar
176 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1971
21 people want to read
About the author
James Sallis
188 books396 followersJames Sallis (born 21 December 1944 in Helena, Arkansas) is an American crime writer, poet and musician, best known for his series of novels featuring the character Lew Griffin and set in New Orleans, and for his 2005 novel Drive, which was adapted into a 2011 film of the same name.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 12, 2011
This fine collection contains 13 SF short stories about war, nearly all of which present it in a negative light. The standout is William Tenn's The Liberation of Earth, a brilliant satire which, according to isdbf.org, has been anthologised over twenty times. It was written during the Korean War, but was equally applicable to Vietnam, which was occupying the world's attention when The War Book came out. I was reminded of it just now when I looked at notgettingenough's review of Equality, where poor Afghanistan is officially identified as the worst country in the world for a woman to live in. The story is evidently quite timeless; Afghanistan fits just as well as its hapless predecessors.
If you haven't read it, Tenn, in his usual deadpan style, describes how Earth is sucked into a conflict between two mighty galactic empires. First, the majestic Dendi land, and explain how their enemies, the loathsome Troxxt, have infested the whole stellar segment surrounding our little solar system. Admittedly, we hadn't noticed them, but we have none the less just been liberated. (This, the narrator explains in an aside, is the beginning of the First Liberation of Earth). The Dendi have been ordered by the Galactic Council to rid the universe of this scourge, and have reluctantly complied.
Humanity is flattered by its new role in galactic politics, and asks how it can assist. Well, say the Dendi politely, clearing their equivalents of throats, little concrete help is needed as such. Really, it will be enough if we keep out of their way while they set up their weapons. And this we do, until the Troxxt duly appear and mighty battle is joined. Huge discharges of energy are exchanged, and a tenth of the world's population are eliminated as part of the inevitable collateral damage. But at the end, the Dendi are forced to flee in confusion, and the Troxxt land.
They do indeed look rather repulsive, but they have an important piece of news to impart. The Dendi, it turns out, have lied to us. Fooled by their vaguely humanoid appearance, we took them to be our cousins; in fact, they have a completely different, silicon-based structure. The Troxxt, even though they resemble huge, slimy worms, have a biology centered on good Earthly carbon, and are far more like us underneath. They hold a series of scrupulously fair trials, and execute all of Earth's leaders as "Traitors to Protoplasm", a fate they richly deserve. Thus proceeds the Second Liberation of Earth.
But the Troxxt have barely finished their unpleasant but necessary task when the Dendi counterattack, starting the Third Liberation. New explanations are offered - bipedal gait, you see, is actually far more important than crass biology - and new trials held. There is more collateral damage. People are doing their best to stay enthusiastic, but a certain something is now evidently lacking.
Liberation follows liberation, until the two warring parties make a discovery. The Earth has been so badly battered that it now fails to meet the minimal safety standards required for an interstellar combat zone. The engagement veers off elsewhere, leaving the our planet to recover as best it can.
The story has been recounted by an Earthling several generations later. Here is his wonderful conclusion:
If you haven't read it, Tenn, in his usual deadpan style, describes how Earth is sucked into a conflict between two mighty galactic empires. First, the majestic Dendi land, and explain how their enemies, the loathsome Troxxt, have infested the whole stellar segment surrounding our little solar system. Admittedly, we hadn't noticed them, but we have none the less just been liberated. (This, the narrator explains in an aside, is the beginning of the First Liberation of Earth). The Dendi have been ordered by the Galactic Council to rid the universe of this scourge, and have reluctantly complied.
Humanity is flattered by its new role in galactic politics, and asks how it can assist. Well, say the Dendi politely, clearing their equivalents of throats, little concrete help is needed as such. Really, it will be enough if we keep out of their way while they set up their weapons. And this we do, until the Troxxt duly appear and mighty battle is joined. Huge discharges of energy are exchanged, and a tenth of the world's population are eliminated as part of the inevitable collateral damage. But at the end, the Dendi are forced to flee in confusion, and the Troxxt land.
They do indeed look rather repulsive, but they have an important piece of news to impart. The Dendi, it turns out, have lied to us. Fooled by their vaguely humanoid appearance, we took them to be our cousins; in fact, they have a completely different, silicon-based structure. The Troxxt, even though they resemble huge, slimy worms, have a biology centered on good Earthly carbon, and are far more like us underneath. They hold a series of scrupulously fair trials, and execute all of Earth's leaders as "Traitors to Protoplasm", a fate they richly deserve. Thus proceeds the Second Liberation of Earth.
But the Troxxt have barely finished their unpleasant but necessary task when the Dendi counterattack, starting the Third Liberation. New explanations are offered - bipedal gait, you see, is actually far more important than crass biology - and new trials held. There is more collateral damage. People are doing their best to stay enthusiastic, but a certain something is now evidently lacking.
Liberation follows liberation, until the two warring parties make a discovery. The Earth has been so badly battered that it now fails to meet the minimal safety standards required for an interstellar combat zone. The engagement veers off elsewhere, leaving the our planet to recover as best it can.
The story has been recounted by an Earthling several generations later. Here is his wonderful conclusion:
Naked, hungry, and thirsty came we into the world, and naked, hungry, and thirsty do we scamper our lives out upon it, under the huge and never-changing sun. The same tale it is, and the same traditional ending it has as that I had from my father and his father before him. Suck air, grab clusters, and hear the last holy observation of our history:
"Looking about us, we can say with pardonable pride that we have been about as thoroughly liberated as it is possible for a race and a planet to be!"
Displaying 1 of 1 review