I have first time read this book in the early nineties, in the translation to Russian (I'm not a native speaker of English). Since than, the book has been read several times, needless to point out that every time it was a great pleasure to me.
What took me then? Believe or not, but Jaimec of the late fifties was very similar to Russia, Saint-Petersburg of the early nineties. Let's see, what I mean:
-personal computers were utterly uncommon due to their cost and the fact that ninetynine percent of the population was unaware of MS-DOS
-personal typewriters existed, but in opposite to Jaimecian users, there was the need to register any one bought
-mobile phones weren't available for citizens
-Russian kaitempi wasn't so severe, but rumors represented it so frightening as Jaimecian spec ops
-not many had a car, similarly to Jaimec, being free of heavy traffic
-the ruling caste was strong, admired and abhorrent, just as for now here
In other words, Jaimec matched exactly our life of those times.
Discussing the plot, it's one of the most dynamic and fun, the great combination, I ever read. The book is relatively short, so this factor along with aforementioned makes the impression of an explosion! The good fun explosion of actions performed by the protagonist James Mowry.
Recently I read this in English, of course slightly slower then in Russian, but the plot caught me again. I almost completely forgot the most of the book, since I last time read it in the late nineties, and it's been read as virtually new to me.
Indeed, no mobile phones even for military officers, no traffic jam and using of typewriters are not signs of the contemporary landscape, but the intencity of actions, somewhat formal style of narration combined with the humor, again overwhelmed me for a couple of weeks commuting with the Kindle.
Never regretting if you bought it. Also, this Kindle edition has a font slightly bigger than usual.
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Eric Frank Russell's "WASP"
Greetings & Salutations! James Mowry is asked to be a wasp. The planet Earth is fighting a losing war against a fascist-like civilian known as the Sirians which have a secret police called the Kentempi, similiar to the secret police of wartime Japan in the late 1930s and early 1940s, in which even James Mowry runs into serious trouble with and he is forced to change disguises and identities many times when his cover is blown. His job is to cause a breakdown in public confidence in the Sirian Government and cause panic among the population of bow-legged purplish complexioned peoples who because of the bright purple backsides are called "Bot-Flies" by the Terrans (Earthlings). He employees technology that is advanced to what the Sirians have, they out-number the people of Earth 12-to-1 and the Earth is at a stalemate and cannot keep holding them at bay, that is why they land James Mowry behind the lines to be like a wasp in a closed automobile buzzing around causing the car's occupants to panic and have a fatal accident, thus the name "Wasp!" James Mowry seeks out the criminal element and bribes them with counterfeit banknotes to kill selected leaders and he mail packages to the leaders that sound like an alarm clock that are otherwise harless and later send out packages with real bombs as well as letters from the Sirian Liberation Front using stolen stationary of the Kentempi. He later engineers a prison break and steals a number of vehicles, including those owned by the secret police and you shall have to read this exciting book, which I am sure you cannot put down once you open it's exciting pages, I know I had to keep reading to see what would happen next, you shant be able to set it down either! This is the best by far by the late Eric Frank Russell who points out it is not a fight between good and evil, simply put, Mowry is fighting for his own planet against the Sirians who are from another planet. ENJOY! Sarge Booker of Tujunga, California
Top reviews from other countries
C
A fantastic book from the golden era, great readable edition
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2023
Uday Reddy
Shows the Caliber of a Single Covert Operative in an enemy Territory!
Reviewed in India on April 18, 2021
Miss Marple
Highly Recommended - adventure, humor, - this story has almost everything
Reviewed in Australia on January 4, 2015oliver
it would be a very good book for kids to read some sci fi
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 22, 2023