Operation Chaos

Operation Otherworld #1

by Poul Anderson

The prequel to the popular Operation Luna.

In a war waged against black magic, a werewolf and his witch wife are called upon to neutralize an enemy's ultimate weapon--the world's most powerful demon.

Set in a fantasy alternate history United States where magic and technology combine. Werewolfery is not only hereditary, but a recessive gene, and the polarized component of moonlight has been isolated, so that the hero can use a Were-flash to transform without the full moon.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Alternate History, Urban Fantasy, Werewolves, Paranormal

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1971

About the author

Pseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.

Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]

Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.


Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

SF Grand Master, Poul Anderson, at his idea-cultivating, world-germinating, yarn-spinning BESTest................you just should ignore the somewhat tepid, plywood character development.

This is head, shoulders and naughty bits above any other Anderson effort for pure synapse-satisfying, brain-boggling creativity. This book has a warehouse full of "holy shit that's cool" ideas that somehow manage to fit together into a phantasmagoric, adrenaline-fueled funhouse of awesome.

Operation Chaose is really a fix-up novel that aggregates 5 related short fiction pieces that had been previously released separately. All of the stories are set in the same world and involve two principal characters: a werewolf named Steven Matuchek and a witch named Virginia (or Ginny). I guess this might be a good locale to fill you in on the incredible world of “Operation Chaos.”

THE SETTING:

The place is an alternative history version of Earth where:

1. Magic exists and can be harnessed scientifically by means of de-magnetizing iron;

2. Given the ease of harnessing such energies, magic is employed in place of many consumer products and industrial technology and scientific applications;

3. The existence of God and Satan (aka The Adversary) have been proven and such knowledge has been incorporated into the fabric of society with very interesting consequences. (Note: not nearly as awe-inspiring as Ted Chiang’s Hell is the Absence of God, but this aspect of the book is still terrific.)

4. All manner of supernatural creature from vamps, were-[insert animal of choice...my favorite being the were-tiger], zombies (used as test subjects, cheap labor and cannon fodder), witches, warlocks, djinn, goblins and a rather large number of etc..etc..etc...Hey, I told you this was a scrumptiously delicious bit of world building.

PLOT SUMMARY:

The story begins with America in the middle of an alternative version of World War II. The bad guys, rather than Nazi Germany, are a Djinn-powered Islamic Caliphate that has invaded and taken over a portion of the American northwest. Our stalwart heroes and secret government operatives, Steve and Ginny, meet as they’re recruited to undertake a mission to prevent the invaders from unleashing an incredibly powerful Afreet that had previously been imprisoned in a bottle by King Solomon. In subsequent stories, the two battle fire elementals, an incubus and even travel to Hell itself, sans any political muckraking, Italian guides with a gift for bizarre imagery.

THOUGHTS:

Overall, this is barrels of fun to read and one I recommend without reservation. That said, there is a fair amount of “okay” mixed into the outstandingness. However, the “meh” is in a significantly lower weight class than the large, heavyweight amounts of "I love it."

THE GOOD: As the brief summary above may gently hint, the world-building in this story is OFF THE CHARTS awesome. In fact, the whole first story about the Afreet where the background is largely explained is worthy of 5 stars on its own. The combination of supernatural elements and everyday life and technology is brought together effectively and is incredibly well done.

For example:

**Burying a loved one after death is a felony as corpses are re-animated to be used in zombie squads for everything from road building to front line combat.

**Traveling by broom (or magic carpet) is standard and just about every form of supernatural creature is involved in one way or another with the war effort (except of course fang-bangers whose (i) weakness to the sun or UV light makes them too easily killed by the enemy and (ii) their “blood lust” can cause them to turn on their own men if not kept adequately supplied).

**Other very interesting touches include the creation of technology to assist in magical applications. For example, in the book Polaroid produces a camera that mimics the light of the full moon and allows Steve to transform into wolf form at will.

The number of clever ideas that Anderson jams, crams and stuffs into this very short book is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Given how fanguyish I am about quality world-crafting, I was as happy as Pooh Bear with a big ole honeypot absorbing all the incredibleness of the stories.

THE NOT SO GOOD: The characters in all of the stories, including Steve and Ginny, are pretty flimsy and act as nothing more than set pieces for the world-building. I never found myself invested in what happened to them and so any sense of dramatic tension was lost on me. For some tales where the emotional aspect is critical this would be a much larger boo boo and would require a harsher rating. However, here is it only “not so good” rather than bad because for this story characterization is less important as the ideas and world building are intended to carry the load.

And believe me, they do indeed carry the load.

Overall, 4.0 stars based on outstanding world-building, amazing ideas and concepts, interesting plots and weak characterization.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

[Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years before we read this book, Barb and I had read and greatly liked Poul Anderson's The High Crusade, and I'd read and liked a few of his short stories. But this book wasn't on my radar, and I'd never have discovered it but for a recommendation from a Goodreads friend back when I was new to this site. I've forgotten now who my benefactor was; but on the strength of that recommendation, I put the book on my BookMooch wishlist, and eventually got a copy. Last month, when I was looking around for a stand-alone read for our next "car book" (so as not to get tied up into another long series --it's possible to have too many of those being juggled at once!) I selected this out of one of the TBR piles. It was a good pick; I liked it even better than our first Anderson novel!

The latter, of course, is a science fiction genre classic. This one, however, is an example of Anderson's fantasy. We're in an alternate mid-20th-century U.S. here, in a world where magic, though dormant since the Bronze Age, somehow reasserted itself around the turn of the 20th century, and became the major force (rather than technology --although here technology adapts to and works with it) that revolutionized modern society, industry and daily life. (For instance, rather than using cars, people travel by broomstick or magic carpet.) The magical system is normally incantational, manipulating impersonal and morally neutral paranatural forces in the world (but the villains may also invoke demonic powers). It's also a world where science has demonstrated and accepted the reality of Deity, the afterlife, atonement, moral law, and the angelic and the demonic, without establishing (or denying) the truth of any particular theistic creed. That represents our hero/heroine's take on the spiritual (and apparently Anderson's as well) --and it's a theme taken seriously here.

Steve and Ginny, the aforementioned H/h, are, respectively, a werewolf (Anderson's werewolves, like Anthony Boucher's, are simply people who can shapeshift into wolves --that doesn't make them vicious or madly homicidal) and a white witch. When we first meet them, they're Army officers serving in World War II --but in this reality, the Allies' main adversary is a restored, brutal Islamic Caliphate (considered heretical by some other Moslems) that's out to conquer the world and impose its version of theocracy. (This book was published in 1971; it's interesting to see how subsequent history has developed in the Middle East, with ISIS, etc.) And of course this is a war in which magic is the principal weapon employed by both sides. At the book's outset, our co-protagonists are tasked with a probably suicidal mission that's vital to the war effort, and from there the action and the jeopardies continue thick and fast. But their real battle is much bigger than the war, and the real Adversary isn't the Caliphate. Who is he? Well... he's our Adversary, too.

Steve serves as our narrator; Anderson uses the conceit that he's in a trance state, communicating across the ether between alternate realities to share the benefit of his experiences with any receptive inhabitants, who share a common cosmic struggle and destiny. IMO, that device works well. The author's prose style is conversational, but erudite, with a rich substratum of dry, dead-pan humor in the way things are phrased and the matter-of-fact acceptance of how magic permeates daily life. But this is also a serious book, with lethal violence and life-and-death (or worse) danger, defining moral choices, real psychological depth in places, and an underlying spiritual and social message(s) that's as serious as a heart attack. Anderson's solid knowledge of worldwide mythology and occult lore enriches the tale, as does his accurate understanding of Gnosticism and its significance. Steve and Ginny are characters readers can readily like, admire and root for. Bad language here is limited to an occasional h- or d-word, and there's no unwholesome sexual content.

All in all, I found this a great read, from a master writer at the top of his game. (Barb greatly liked the book, too!) My appetite is officially whetted to read more of his work --hopefully a lot more!

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Their child has been kidnapped by a demon from a universe with highly non-Euclidean geometry, so they summon up the spirits of Riemann, Bolyai and Lobachevsky to assist them and then head off through the transdimensional portal to get her back. As one does.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read other reviewers say that Poul Anderson is a great idea man if not always a great writer of stories.

I have always been impressed with his story telling skills but I can whole heartedly agree with their first part, he comes up with original and well thought out fantastic and science fiction ideas. Operation Chaos was first published in 1971 but was put together from short stories first released in the fifties and sixties. Anderson introduces a world where magic and technology live side by side and the global community is a conglomerate of science and the arcane.

Piers Anthony started publishing his Xanth novels in the mid seventies, Orson Scott Card first published the Alvin Maker books in the mid eighties, Phillip Pullman’s Golden Compass series began in the early nineties and the Harry Potter books came out in the mid nineties. Anderson was decades ahead of other writers in this same hybrid genre.

Operation Chaos follows the exploits of a werewolf and a witch as they fight in an alternate World War II and beyond. Some recurring themes of libertarianism break through, this is Poul Anderson after all, and even some erudite and untimely discussion of Gnosticism, as well as a trip to the “hell universe”, and overall it is very original, humorous, and entertaining.

This was dedicated to Robert A. Heinlein and there is also a red haired character named Virginia.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of all Poul Anderson's works I've read so far, I believe I liked this one the least. It's not to say I disliked it, just that it didn't make as much of an impression in me as I'd have hoped. It starts by promising a world much like ours except with magic dominating instead of technology, and demonstrates how different warfare is as a result, but it eventually forgets about this angle and goes off on a whole different tangent - a basic fantasy story, well-written in its own right but still rather the standard one.

I believe I would have preferred if it'd stuck with the mortal affairs. More war stuff. Maybe spy plots.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the frame on this one. They are projecting his story outward in case there are alternate universes out there, to warn us. He discusses what he probably has in common with the recipient -- but you should hang on, even if you know how steam boilers work or who won World War II, because too much information is better than too little.

Then he talks about his part in the push near Oregon. . . yup, you don't know who fought World War II, or where. But our hero, being a werewolf, is pulled in on a special mission; they are sending a witch and her familiar into the enemy camp to deal with an afreet that the opposing forces are about to let loose from its Seal of Solomon. And when he is wounded and unconscious at one point, he has a dream encounter with a powerful and evil being. And dismisses it as a hallucination of some kind while he gets on with it.

The witch, named Ginnie, and he deal with that, end up going to college after the war -- where a prank goes very wrong -- and marrying -- and they have an uncanny encounter on their honeymoon.

It is after this, and the birth of their daughter, however, that they learn that there was indeed a thread tying together these things, and that its consequences are even worse for them than they had realized. They have to face up to a bigger foe than ever before.

A tale involving stained glass windows, a horrendous stench, a ruined castle, a cat named Svartalf, brownies who get revenge for what Svartalf does, flying carpets, two dead geometers, and other wonders.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in the 70s and have (without knowing the title) been holding it up as a deft mingling of science and fantasy. The magic even follows some "scientific" rules, such as conservation of mass and energy.

[Jenny Schwartzberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book since the early seventies on my keeper shelves. I forget how many times I've happily reread it. It's four connected stories with interludes woven into an episodic novel. Great fun, set in a world where magic became a science after 1900, so up to 1900 it shares a common history with our world then takes a sharp turn left. It echoes the attitudes of the 1960s and 1970s vis-a-vis family, women, and work but presents a very strong woman in the heroine. The cover of my copy is rather cheesy and not what Ginny would have worn, but it does reflect her personality. I found out that a sequel was written in the 1990s, Operation Luna, and hope to get hold of it soon. I definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy a mix of fantasy, alternate history and math. Watch out for two famous 19th-century mathematicians who make an appearance! I leave you with the last sentence: "I'm sure God likes to laugh."

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite fantasy books. Made from a selection of short stories, Anderson mixes magic and technology in ways I'd never considered before this book. The set-up in the intro, explaining the alternate history is priceless. Of course, our story would be nothing without great characters like our werewolf protagonist and the unforgettable witch, Ginny. The sequel is good, too, but this is ground-breaking stuff. I need to read it again.

[ირაკლი სულაძე · Rating 4 out of 5]

ზუსტად ისეთია, როგორც პოლ ანდერსონის პორტრეტების უმეტესობა - ჩაფიქრებული და თან ძალიან მხიარული. გაძეძგილია ევროპული ფოლკლორის პერსონაჟებით, კოსმოსურ ოპერის ტრადიციული ეპიკურობით, ამერიკული ფენტეზის მხატვრულობით და ძალიან ბევრი საინტერესო ანალოგიით წარსულთან, ბიბლიასთან, რეალურ ადამიანებთან და ა.შ. დემონების "გლავარი" რომ a moustached man with a strange armband who speaks with a strong Germanic accent-ია (იქ, სადაც ალტერნატიულ მომავალში ნაცისტურ გერმანიას საერთოდ არ უარსებია) ეგ ცალკე სილამაზეს მატებს წიგნის მეორე ნაწილს. ყველაფერთან ერთად, დიდი მადლობა ანდერსონს, რომ changeling განასახიერა და საერთოდაც მთელი თავისი სათქმელი და ამ წიგნის მთავარი სიმშვენიერე რომ ბოლო წინადადებაში ჩაატია.
*თითქმის Spoiler Alert*
როდესაც უკან ვიხედები, ხშირად ვერ ვიჯერებ რომ ეს ყველაფერი მართლა მოხდა და ჩვენ ეს ყველაფერი დავძლიეთ. ყველაფერს ერთად გავუმკლავდით - წითური ალქაჯი, კუდმოჭრილი მგელი-მაქცია და ქედმაღალი შავი კატა. და მაშინ მახსენდება, რომ მტერს იუმორის გრძნობა არ აქვს, ღმერთს კი, როგორც ჩანს, მოსწონს სიცილი.

[Rusu Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one bites the dust! This just didn't do it for me! Like I loved the idea of the book and even some bits and pieces of it but as a whole it was a pinch meh.

[Georgann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of magic and faith. I liked that for a 1971 book, our heroine was a boss! Not simply arm candy. Her husband respected her and followed her lead. I needed a glossary, tho, for so many unfamiliar and perhaps invented words, which made it difficult for me to follow the world-building at times.

[Juushika · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a world where fantasy is as real as our own science, Steve is a werewolf and Ginny is a highly-skilled witch. Drawn together by need and love, this husband/wife team battle elementals and demons—but a darker threat may hide behind their enemies. A series of short stories drawn together in one volume, Operation Chaos has an unusual and promising take on science-fantasy, but it's altogether unconvincing and plagued by uneven pacing. As other reviews indicate, my response is not the majority opinion—but I found this novel unconvincing and more than a little frustrating, and I don't recommend it.

The first three-quarters of the book is the escapades of the husband/wife team's fantastic battles. This section starts out well—the scientific look at fantasy tropes is unusual and interesting, and the various battles are fast-paced and high energy. But it has a tongue-in-cheek humor which I detest and which makes the science-fantasy too comically cliché to be realistic; furthermore, the episodic format become repetitive and the overarching narrative of the couple's relationship is unconvincing. The final quarter of the book, by contrast, is a frenzied journey into hell—one which deviates wildly from the hitherto glib fantasy elements, one which is so fast-paced that it feels like it's been plucked from a different novel. As Operation Chaos is a gathering of short stories, the episodic style and uneven pacing make sense—but that explanation doesn't make these faults any more enjoyable to read.

Operation Chaos has its good points—the science-fantasy is promising, and hell in particular is artfully rendered and at once unique and convincing. But for a variety of reasons, the novel just didn't work for me: I found the humor grating, the love story and science-fantasy unconvincing, and I believe the uneven pacing degrades the quality of the book and makes for a weak resolution. Perhaps some of this is an issue of personal taste (in particular my sense of humor and my unease with the arbitrary fantasy elements), but still I don't recommend Operation Chaos. A different reader may enjoy it more, and the original short story format explains many of its problems, but in all I found this book more frustrating than enjoyable.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

(2013-05-01)

I picked this as a "read out loud in the car" book for the family as we traveled around, consciously picking a book I loved and that was an inspiration for some of my own writing. It was enjoyed by all, so far as I could tell, though reading it aloud made me conscious of (a) some interestingly epic prose styles that Anderson used, and (b) some substantial infodump passages, which are usually interesting reviews of the historic differences in our worlds, but which still drag the action to an abrupt (and sometimes self-conscious) halt.

Still enjoyed it an awful lot, though.


(2011-11-29)

This was one of my favorite SF/Fantasy books as a youth, and probably the first of what would be today called "urban fantasy" books I ever read. Consisting of four short stories with an overarching frame that informs the last one, it's a "what if magic were real but life in these United States was mostly the same?" kind of a tale. It's a world of pervasive magic, where it's acknowledged and used just like common technology. Thus our hero, a werewolf and former B-grade movie actor, and his true love, a Madison Avenue witch.

The earliest couple of tales are the rockiest, as Anderson has problems telling a World War II story and a GI Bill College Days tale without being overly cute (and dated) with the parallels (discussing brooms and flying carpets like they were cars; mentioning the different magical features of various brands of cigarettes). But the story of their honeymoon on a haunted Mexican coast, or the final piece in which a demonic mishap leads to a confrontation with the forces of Hell, are excellent, and more than compensate.

Part of the joy is the relationship between Steve and Ginny, which grows and deepens with each installment. And they serve as a great model for how you can have a strong, happy, interesting married couple as protagonists.

Despite some of the initial weaknesses, this book is a lot of fun, a set of rollicking tales, and worth tracking down a copy of. (And, no, you can't have mine.)

[Trayana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Тази книжка е писана в далечната вече 1971 и на много от читателите вероятно ще се стори леко остаряла. Не за друго, а защото е много сбита, върти се предимно около идеите на автора, но за сметка на това героите са леко попретупани. И все пак си мисля, че романът заслужава внимание, защото се чете изненадващо бързо и незатормозяващо.

Малко преди края на Втората световна война на съвместна мисия са изпратени вещицата Вирджиния Грейлък и върколака Стивън Матучек. Задачата е да бъде неутрализиран изключително мощен ифрит, когото врагът държи в стратегически значимия град Тролбург. ...още.

[Louisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

My rating is really too kind, and just because I liked the first story (the book is a fix-up novel of four earlier shorter works). That first bit was new to me in the Anderson library -- a contemporary world where magic replaced technology, so brooms and flying carpets replaced aircraft, etc. It had demons and magic spells as a werewolf and virgin witch fought off the evil Caliphate that had invaded the good ol' U.S.

That was fun and interesting, but the further stories and novelisation just took things in a very boring direction, with bitter whining about the "dang gubberment" and bizarre twists like "God is real and exists but I am going to deny this because I am a whiny contrarian manchild." In fact, the novel is a good example of the older Anderson, who just had to write of the Glories of Libertarianism every now and then, in books that sacrifice story to demagoguery.

[Mantas Balakauskas]

Praėjusiais metais sugalvojau idėją rašyti recenzijas apie fantastikos knygas, kurias leido Eridano leidykla. Žinoma, kad šią idėją apleidau, bet nusprendžiau prie jos sugrįžti. Kartais dalinsiuosi ne tik tekstais apie vyną, bet pasitaikys ir Eridano knygų recenzijų . Jos mano manymu, užima itin svarbią vietą Lietuvos knygų leidybos istorijoje ir daugelio mūsų vaikystėse. Knygų lygis buvo pats įvairiausias, nes leidykla veikė ne vieną dešimtį metų. Tad įtariu jog pasitaikys pačių keisčiausių kūrinių. Pirmas tekstas ir iš kart long readas, nes literatūros mums niekad nebus per daug.

Chaosas popieriaus lape

Eridano leidykla ilgą laiką buvo ko gero didžiausia fantastikos leidykla Lietuvoje, ilgai laikiusi svarbų literatūros frontą. Jie drąsiai darė tai, ko niekas kitas iš esmės nesiryžo daryti arba negalėdavo daryti plačiu mastu. Ir šiais laikais fantastika vis dar Lietuvoje dažnai nepelnytai nuvertinamas žanras, galintis pasiūlyti daug nuostabių idėjų ir suteikti neišdildomą skaitymo malonumą.

Nusprendžiau patyrinėti, kokias knygas leido ši legendinė leidykla. Planas paprastas – susirandame knygą, ją perskaitome, parašome ką apie ją galvojame, o tada judame toliau. Ilgainiui turėtų susidaryti visai graži mozaika. Eridanas išleido 497 knygas, tad mūsų laukia labai labai daug darbo.
Rankose laikau 35 pasaulinės fantastikos aukso fondo knygą „Operacija Chaosas“. Vilkolakiai, raganos ir katinai ant šluotų, mokantys šaudyti iš automatinių ginklų. Ko dar gali norėti mūsų fantastikos ištroškusios širdys? Iš mėlyno viršelio į mane žvelgia keistas vilko, žmogaus ir goblino hibridas. Vilką paminėjau, nes pagrindinis veikėjas sugeba kada panorėjęs pavirsti vilkolakiu. Padaras šypsosi ir pirštu rodo į milžiniškus grybus. Pagalvojęs apie grybus šypsausi ir aš. Viršelis pakankamai gražus, nors apie knygą iš esmės nieko nepasako.

Poul Anderson yra gausiai apdovanotas autorius: septyni Hugo apdovanojimai, trys Nebulos ir daugybė kitų paglostymų. Rimta paraiška būti rimtu pasaulinio lygio autoriumi. Atsivertę knygą matome, kad ji dedikuota kitam puikiam rašytojui - Robertui A. Heinlainui. Pastarasis yra vienas pirmųjų detalizuotojo science fiction pionierių, kas šią dedikaciją daro kiek komiška ir verčia prunkštelėti.

Autorius aprašinėdamas knygos pasaulį iš esmės nepaaiškina nieko ir todėl veikėjai gali elgtis kaip panorėję. Egzistuoja dvi plačiai paplitusios maginės sistemos, kurias galima pritaikyti rašant knygą ir kuriant jos pasaulį – hard magic ir soft magic. Pastaroji turi tam tikras nubrėžtas ribas, tačiau neįpareigoja rašytojo smulkmeniškai paaiškinti magijos veikimo principų aprašomame pasaulyje. Geras pavyzdys yra burtininkas Gendalfas iš Žiedų Valdovo. Jis paslaptingas, mes tiksliai nežinome kaip ir ką jis gali, bet taip pat suvokiame, kad staiga pasivertęs raketa jis nenuskris subombarduoti Mordoro. Tuo tarpu perskaičiuos pusę „Chaoso operacijos“ negali būti tikras dėl nieko.
Paralelinėje žemėje įvyko magijos revoliucija ir todėl visi gali burti iš peties. Kiek sugalvosi mitologinių būtybių ar pavadinimų – tiek jų ten ir rasi. Įdomu tai, kad magijos revoliucija beveik nepakeitė žemės tautų istorijos. Knygoje randame daugelį realybėje egzistavusių ar egzistuojančių šalių. Kur jų teritorija? Kaip jos atsirado? Jokios informacijos. Knygos veiksmas vyksta JAV. Šios valstybės pajėgos iš pradžių kariauja su Saracėnų kalifatu. Kažkur fone egzistuoja ir nacistinė Vokietija (žinoma, Saracėnų pusėje). Įdomu, ką veikia Hitleris? Šį sakinį parašiau prieš užbaigdamas skaityti knygą ir balsu nusijuokiau, kai knyga davė labai konkretų ir aišku atsakymą. Jis pragare ir toliau sėkmingai vadovauja naciams. Tiesiogiai, žinoma, jis nėra įvardijamas.
Knygoje sutinkame kelis pagrindinius veikėjus: Stivą, Džinę ir katiną Svertfaltą. Verta paminėti, kad pastarasis moka vairuoti skraidančią šluotą ir naudotis automatiniais ginklais. Tuo tarpu Stivas geba virsti dzido ir karate kovos menus įvaldžiusiu vilkolakiu. Apskritai šis personažas veikia pirmojo asmens šaudyklės principais. Jei yra sužeidžiamas – jis tiesiog pabėga, pasinaudoja vilkolakio regeneracija, dar pastebėdamas, kad priešai galėtų šaudyti ne paprastomis, o sidabrinėmis kulkomis (dėl mistinių priežasčių niekas nesusivokia to padaryti) ir vėl imasi veiksmo. Dėmesio verta ir scena, kurioje trumpindamas kelią Stivas savanoriškai išsitaško į betoninį grindinį. Čia veikėjas paguli, atsistoja ir lyg niekur nieko nubėga ten kur jam reikia. Kas iš mūsų tokiu būdu nėra trumpinęs kelio kokiame nors žaidime? Visi pagrindiniai knygos veikėjai visada elgiasi kaip patys tikriausi super herojai. Jie greitesni, protingesni už priešininkus ir apskritai jiems viskas tiesiog geriau sekasi. Jei jie yra sučiumpami oponentų, tai tik tam, kad greičiau atsidurtų ten, kur siužetui jų reikia labiausiai. Į veiksmą bandoma įpinti ir romantikos elementų. Per pirmuosius trisdešimt puslapių užsimezga romanas, kurio drama vystosi paraleliai su kitais knygoje aprašomais įvykiais.

Vėliau kūrinio žanras pakinta ir ima priminti prastą Hario Poterio fan fiction, sėdint kur nors Alabamoje po milžiniška JAV vėliava. Labiausiai mane nustebino beveik du puslapiai, kuriuose liejamas pyktis ant hipių kultūros. Atrodo, kad autorius staiga pamiršta, jog rašo fantastinę knygą apie ant šluotų skraidančius FTB agentus.
Kūrinio atomazga verčia nemaloniai nustebti. Galbūt esate matę garsų filmą Youtube kanale – „Kung Fury“. Autorius savo sprendimais labai priartėja prie šios nuostabios parodijos. Skaitant atrodo, kad rašytojui geriausiai sekasi ten, kur nereikia smulkiai aiškinti kaip veikia magija ir kokią vietą ji užima paralelinėje žemėje. „Chaoso operacija“ primena senus pulp fiction eros fantastikos kūrinius ir šią knygą turbūt geriausia skaityti būtent taip, nes kitu atveju ji daug malonumo nesuteiks.

Penki protestuojantys hipiai iš dešimties.

[Alfaniel Aldavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing breath of fantasy from Poul Anderson.

I *loved* this book. Its "what if" is Just Fun (tm): what if the human race wouldn't have gone the way of industrial revolution and giving value of physics/mathematics in scientific thinking, but instead, it was witchcraft who had "won" in medieval times? What if science would be science of psychical realm, not physical realm?

I loved this book. Ah, the idea alone is nothing speshul. Fun, fun, but the body-soul dualism has yielded many sub-theories along this line. The execution is king, and Anderson's storytelling shows his mastery of fantasy writing, and makes the incursion in the imaginary of this particular "what if" unforgettable.

Did I say I LOVED this book?



-- To be re-read and re-reviewed. --

[Sam (Hissing Potatoes) · Rating 1 out of 5]

No plot is intriguing enough to deal with patronizing misogyny in every other paragraph. Seriously, constantly questioning the capability of a woman WITH THE SAME MILITARY RANK AS YOU just because she's a woman? Referring to her as "girl" and "the woman"? Immediately judging only her based on her looks when introducing all the characters (the others male) in the room? Disgusting. Couldn't even get past chapter 2.

[Joris · Rating 3 out of 5]

humor flavoured proto urban fantasy with a twist

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hei, voi de acolo!
Dacă existaţi, vă salut!
S‑ar putea să nu aflăm asta niciodată. Facem doar un experiment nebunesc, verificând o ipoteză şi mai nebunească. Dar suntem datori să încercăm.
Zac în transă, numai pe jumătate conştient de lumea mea. Sunt folosit de ei ca să stabilesc canale de comunicaţie peste şuvoaiele timpului, fiindcă tot ce mi s‑a întâmplat în urmă cu mulţi ani a lăsat urme în firea mea omenească; şi ei cred că un mesaj gândit de mine are mai multe şanse să găsească rezonanţe în voi, decât dacă ar veni de la oricine altcineva.
Deşi şansele nu sunt prea mari. Mediocritatea mea aproape că înăbuşă puţinele puteri magice care plutesc încă în mine ca un abur. Şi, de altfel, s‑ar putea foarte bine – dacă nu cumva chiar aşa se întâmplă – să radiez în neant.
Ipoteza că timpul are mai mult decât o singură dimensiune, că pot să coexiste nenumărate universuri de sine stătătoare, unele total diferite, altele ale căror diferenţieri faţă de al nostru sunt prea subtile spre a fi detectabile, este doar o idee filosofică… Oare de ce folosesc în vis asemenea limbaj? De obicei nu mă exprim astfel. Pregătirile m‑au aruncat într‑o stare ciudată. La naiba, voi redeveni eu însumi, şi asta nu doar mâine, când mă voi trezi, ci chiar acum şi în tot timpul nopţii… Pământuri unde generalul Lee a câştigat la Gettysburg sau Napoleon la Waterloo; Pământuri unde cultul lui Mitras a învins, în Imperiul Roman, creştinismul; Pământuri unde Roma nu a existat niciodată; Pământuri unde un alt animal, iar nu omul, a evoluat, devenind o fiinţă raţională, sau unde aşa ceva nici nu s‑a întâmplat; Pământuri, întregi universuri, unde legile naturii sunt altele, unde este posibil să faci ceea ce noi nu vom putea realiza niciodată, dar ai căror locuitori nu vor realiza niciodată ceea ce noi facem cu uşurinţă.
Ei bine, mi s‑a spus că ipoteza este susţinută nu doar de filosofie. In teoria fizicii moderne există anumite indicii prea greu de înţeles pentru mine. Unele atestări – cazuri de apariţii, dispariţii sau amândouă la un loc – sugerează că însuşi corpul omenesc se poate transfera printre asemenea curenţi ai timpului – Benjamin Bathurst, Kaspar Hauser… Cam aşa s‑a întâmplat şi cu mine, cu trupul meu, deşi nu chiar acelaşi lucru. Oricum, de aici a luat naştere ocupaţia noastră.
Vedeţi voi, dacă lumile paralele există, ele trebuie să fie legate într‑un mod absolut fundamental; altfel, ipoteza nu s‑ar putea verifica din principiu şi ar fi, în consecinţă, lipsită de sens. Având aceeaşi origine, fiind întipărite în aceeaşi matrice, ele trebuie, într‑un fel, să împărtăşească acelaşi destin. Oricât de diferite ar fi ca formă, cu siguranţă că în toate se desfăşoară acelaşi război dintre Ordine şi Haos.
Noi am învăţat anumite lucruri. Ar trebui să transmitem în eter lecţia şi avertismentul.
Pentru voi, cei de dincolo, totul poate să pară doar un vis. La fel mi se întâmplă şi mie, deşi îmi amintesc lucruri petrecute cu adevărat. Ne îndoim că voi – oricare dintre aceia la care am putea să ajungem – veţi fi în stare să ne răspundeţi, chiar dacă aţi dori s‑o faceţi. De n‑ar fi aşa, am fi primit deja mesaje din alte părţi. Dar gândiţi‑vă la ceea ce recepţionaţi! Întrebaţi‑vă dacă un simplu vis ar putea semăna cu acestea toate.
Deşi nu avem o idee concretă despre cum arătaţi, putem încerca să ne închipuim, presupunând că reprezentaţi mai mult decât un vid. Probabil că nu trăiţi în lumi radical diferite de a noastră, deoarece altfel comunicarea ar fi imposibilă. Ar putea, oare, eul meu lipsit de complicaţii să intre în rezonanţă cu un adevărat extraterestru? Ba nu, sunt sigur că şi voi sunteţi oameni şi aveţi o cultură tehnologică. Cu siguranţă, vă amintiţi şi voi de Galileo, Newton, Lavoisier, Watt; nu‑i deloc exclus să fiţi chiar americani. Dar, de la un anumit moment, am pornit pe drumuri divergente. Aţi avut şi voi un Einstein? Iar dacă da, cum i‑a evoluat gândirea după ce a publicat primele lucrări despre mişcarea browniană şi teoria relativităţii? Întrebările ar putea continua la nesfârşit.
Bineînţeles că şi voi vă veţi fi punând asemenea întrebări despre noi. Aşa că am de gând să hoinăresc prin propria mea poveste. (Oricum, un lucru greu de evitat, în acest amurg somnolent în care ei m‑au cufundat.) Fără îndoială că de multe ori voi relata lucruri evidente, dând amănunte excesive. Dacă ştiţi deja cum funcţionează generatoarele electrice, cum s‑a terminat primul război mondial – sau orice altceva – fiţi îngăduitori cu mine. Mai bine prea multe informaţii decât prea puţine. Este mai mult decât vital pentru voi.
Dacă existaţi.
De unde să încep? Cred că, în ceea ce mă priveşte, totul s‑a declanşat în timpul celui de‑al doilea război mondial, deşi, bineînţeles, rădăcinile merg mult mai adânc şi mai departe în timp; conflictul este mai bătrân decât însăşi creaţiunea…

[Rodzilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poul Anderson is not a great writer in the typical literary sense, though he is good. But like so many writers of Sci Fi and Fantasy, he can spin out an entertaining story with some intriguing ideas, and at his best can create something special. These traits plus productivity are sufficient to drive the careers of most SF or Fantasy writers.

Operation Chaos (OC) is based in a world where technology and conventional magic/mythology overlap. The book sorely lacks in the narrative and character departments. This is probably because it consists of pasted-together short stories originally published in magazines. It shows. For me, it was not a read that dragged me in, and would ordinarily be two stars, disappointing but not outright bad. The redeeming feature that adds another star is the extraordinary number of ideas that flowed out of this collection. Not only big organizational ideas, like the nature of heaven and hell in such a world, but countless little ideas that wrung a chuckle out of me. I've remarked myself and read many times that most of JK Rowling's Harry potter series is derivative. It is the weaving together of so many ideas in an entrancing yarn, coupled with the progression in style and comprehension that grows as her readers grew, that created a phenomenon unique thus far in YA literature.

OC is not YA fiction. But it is brimming with the kind of ideas on which Harry Potter (and earlier, Piers Anthony's Magic of Xanth, which quickly got dull for me) are built. Closer to Xanth but written years earlier, one wonders if all of the later mashups of a technological world and magic were directly inspired by Anderson's casual (or was that causal?) tossing of this collection into the oeuvre. Regardless, I was entertained enough by Anderson's cleverness and research and appreciative enough of his having pioneered this kind of world building that I bestowed another star on this book.

My rough rubric. It should result in a bell curve centered on three, though obviously I try to push that curve upward by finding those infrequent gems.
One star: dreck. Why would I read this? If one appears in my list, I've made a bad mistake.
Two: disappointing. Usually I am led here by an author of whom I am otherwise a fan
Three: enjoyable read, no regrets.
Four: High quality book that stayed with me for days or weeks, often sucked me in for reading marathons. Worthy of a re-read down the road a few years.
Five: classic. I will revisit this periodically in my mind for years to come, and will circle back multiple times for a re-read over the decades.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointment. After some good experiences recently with Anderson, particularly The People of the Wind, I was looking forward to this one. because many years ago I remembered reading and enjoying 'Operation Salamander,' an often-anthologized story that became part of this fix-up novel.

There is a lot to like here. Predating 'urban fantasy' as a full-blown genre by 25 or so years, Operation Chaos offers an alternate Earth where magic lives side-by-side with science, but with the sort of idiosyncratic approach that's possible only before a premise has become a standard trope. The two protagonists might not be the most compelling, but they're engaging enough to drive a short novel, and I had every reason to expect this to be an enjoyable romp.

To some degree it is just that, but unfortunately, in becoming a fix-up novel it acquired unnecessary baggage that hasn't aged well. While I'd managed to avoid Anderson's reputation for tiresome libertarianism before now, it's on full-display here and matched with a 'get off my lawn' reactionary tone directed the politics of the day (this edition was published in 1971). If this amounted to just a plea for political quietism, well, whatever. But the narrative goes further, embracing a self-righteous mean-spiritedness that takes delight in scenes such as magically tear-gassing a non-violent protest (involving some '[only] slightly toxic' substances) for the 'sin' of staging a sit-in at a weapons manufacturing plant.

This is, of course, presented in that 'Can't you take a joke?'/'I'm just being a rationalist' tone the pervaded certain subgenres of SF back in the 1950s-80s (and not quite dead yet). It's forced and out-of-place in a book like this, and throws the reader completely out of the story. Coupled with the choice of having co-protagonist Virginia lose her magical abilities upon sex and marriage, and the book feels less light and entertaining than antiquated and stodgy. It left me wishing Anderson could have gotten out of his own way and just let the story happen without piling on the gratuitous side commentary.

Your mileage may vary, of course. Certainly, if you happen to be a decrepit, 'get off my lawn' type codger yourself (or aspire to be one), none of this is likely to bother you, and you'll find much to enjoy here. But for anyone else, I'd recommend Anderson's other works instead, such as the solid stories in The Queen of Air and Darkness which are equally as old but remain fresh and interesting.

[Robert Defrank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poul Anderson is swiftly becoming one of my favorite writers, perhaps even my very favorite in the sense of being the most well-rounded due to his high qualities in such a wide variety of genres. There are elements such as big ideas, near-poetic language, breadth of knowledge, fast-paced plots and realistic characters, and although other writers may exceed Anderson in one element or another, Anderson partakes of them all.

But as for this particular collection, it’s a must for any fan of the urban fantasy genre. We are introduced to Steve Matuchek and Ginny Graylock, werewolf and witch and an exceptional husband-and-wife team.

In an alternate world where magic is real and is mated to tick in fantastic yet believable ways, Steve and Ginny meet and have their first mission, in an alternate version of World War II where the western powers do battle with an aggressive, jinn-powered Caliphate, they must prevent the enemy using a bottle where a jinn of apocalyptic power and destruction is imprisoned.

Fortunately, Steve has his were-flash of artificial moonlight allowing him to shift at will, and Ginny is armed with arcane might of her own. And this is only the beginning of a serious of adventures that will take them to the pits of hell and to the barren surface of the moon!

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anderson, Poul. Operation Chaos. Doubleday, 1971.
In an introduction, Poul Anderson says he intended Operation Chaos as an homage to Robert Heinlein’s stories that combine science and engineering with magic. To that end, he named his heroine Virginia, after Heinlein’s wife. Indeed, his husband and wife team of a werewolf and a white witch would be right at home in Heinlein’s Magic, Inc. We are in an alternate America where magic works, and your morning commute is likely to be on broomstick or magic carpet; but to guide you on a journey through Hell, you will need to summon the ghost of a non-Euclidean mathematician. The novel was cobbled together from a handful of stories going back to the mid-1950s. I suspect that explains why we have an alternate second world war rather than an alternate Vietnam. It also accounts for the episodic nature of the plot, as our characters take on one dangerous mission after the other. The mishmash is entertaining, but not Anderson’s best. 3.5 stars.

[Nathan Dehoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is pretty fun, although the worldbuilding was more interesting than the plot. It takes place in an alternate world where not only has magic been scientifically proven, but so have the existence of God, the Devil, and souls. It packs in a lot of different fantastic and often funny elements, with its main hero being a werewolf and his wife a witch. Demons, salamanders, brownies, dragons, and basilisks also show up. Magical household and military devices are quite common, leading to mentions of a university getting a billion-volt Philosopher's Stone, Tibetan prayer wheels that deter nuclear weapons, and flying brooms with the same brand names as cars. At one point, the characters summon the spirit of the Russian mathematician Lobachevsky, and there are references to the Tom Lehrer song. And it ends with the two main characters traveling to Hell to rescue their daughter. The book opens with a war against an Islamic caliphate, which Anderson is careful to make clear is a radical group that doesn't represent mainstream Islam even in this world, but still comes across as a bit problematic these days. Another significant religious group in this world is a Gnostic Christian sect that's become popular and is widely considered

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started well. The first three sections are short stories from the 50s. The stories are clever and entertaining. The basic idea is familiar--magic is a science governed by its own rules. Unlike the similar "Enchanter" series by De Camp and Pratt, this book focuses on the ties between magic and religion. The main characters are a male werewolf and a female witch. The first story is set during an alternate WWII in which Muslim heretics invade America. The heroes must foil a plan involving an efreet. The next story has a salamander (fire elemental) set loose in a small college town. In the third, they face a succubus/incubus. The last half of the book is a novella written to extend the earlier stories to novel length. This part is disappointing, although the climatic expedition to Hell is entertaing.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book and, I'll admit, I almost didn't expect to. The description emphasizes the werewolf/witch angle to the degree that its description sounds like the disposable werewolf fiction one sees on the shelf these days. This book is not disposable, though. The world described by "Operation Chaos" manages to make magic both everyday and pedestrian and mysterious, no mean feat of its own. The descriptions of the mechanics of the world make it all seem much better thought out than it perhaps was (Dunsany was the king of stage backgrounds that looked deeper than they were) and reminds me a great deal of Stanislaw Lem's "Cyberiad". The stakes for the characters are always personal and that is probably what keeps it from seeming generic.

[Patrik Sahlstrøm · Rating 2 out of 5]

So close, yet so far away. The setting is great, our world but with magic. A bit like the Harry Potter series, though it lacks the british charm. The plot itself isn't halfbad, though not very ambitious. Where this book utterly fails is in the action sequences. A badger with constipation could have written them better. I reminds me off an 8 year old that wants to make a character that is as tough as Superman multiplied by Conan and then add even more heroicness for good measure. If you like pulp writing this propably will appeal to you, but I hate those kinds of stories. And it's a shame, since otherwise this book would have been great.

[Aphrael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit oldfashioned in its language, but an interesting story nonetheless. I like that the story is about a married couple, that's not super common. I also enjoyed how normal witches/werewolves/etc are, and how society and technology is clearly adapted to their existence. Also, Hitler as a chief in hell looking like he always looked but among various hellbeasts was great, especially since the book is set in a parallel universe that apparently never had a Hitler so the main character just thinks he's a weirdo. Even though I sometimes had a bit of a hard time following it due to the amount of slang, I did enjoy this book.