Customer Reviews

The Best of Cordwainer Smith

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In the Old English, "wag" was woven work on a wall, now more commonly, "wainscotting," and no longer woven. "Cordwainer Smith" was the pseudonym of Dr. Paul M. A. Linebarger (1913-1966),a weaver of short science fiction which was very unlike most of the genre written before or since. Dr. Linebarger was a prominent US citizen who was accomplished in several fields and languages, who was likely a genius, and who kept his identity to himself until not long before his death. In his Cordwainer Smith role, he was really a weaver of enchanting characters, strange ruling systems, amazing cultures and situations, and bizarre worlds, all of a unique viewpoint.

"The Best of Cordwainer Smith" is just that: a dozen of his best short science fiction stories, and these, for the first time, organized chronologically within Linebarger's "Instrumentality of Mankind".

My book is copyright 1975, begins with a short biography of Cordwainer Smith, followed by the Table of Contents, and a listing of "surrounding events" on the page following. It is 342 pages in a sewn binding and green boards. Each story has a short introduction by the Editor, J. J. Pierce, in addition to his contributions listed above.

Since there are other anthologies extant, it seems prudent to list the contents here in order:

Scanners Live in Vain
The Lady Who Sailed the Soul
The Game of Rat and Dragon
The Burning of the Brain
Golden the Ship Was---Oh! Oh! Oh!
The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal
The Dead Lady of Clown Town
Under Old Earth
Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons
Alpha Ralpha Boulevard
The Ballad of Lost C'mell
A Planet Named Shayol

There is no need to try to rate the stories, as they are all excellent.
Scanners Live in Vain was not Linebarger's first published story, but it was so different and compelling that it started the years-long puzzle as to Cordwainer Smith's actual name.

All of the stories are compelling, each in its own way.

As a second generation science fiction fan, I have happily read SF spread over decades. Time and time again I return to my slim volume of Cordwainer Smith stories. They are unlike any other authors, with fascinating characters and haunting story lines. You'll find yourself thinking about these tales long after you've read them.

This compilation of tales is a great introduction to the people (both real, and animal derived), politicial systems and worlds of Cordwainer Smith. Lyrical prose and haunting poetry are the hallmarks of this great writer, and the cast of characters while often changing from one short story to another have a historical, if not familial continuity - witness the Vomacts who held their name for over 10,000 years. The only downside to this book is that it is a "Best of" and therefore incomplete - hence the rating of 9/10. But it has a great timeline listing with (I think) all the stories listed so that you can complete the series. Note: Reviewed version was printed 1975, paperback from Ballantine Books, JJ Pierce editor. If you like Science Fiction, Cordwainer is a MUST!

What an amazing book! This collection presents Smith's stories chronologically; this allows the reader to become more fully immersed in the amazing universe he has created. The stories are touching, painful, and eerily beautiful.
I highly recommend this book as a must for any classic sci-fi fan.

Cordwainer Smith is the pen name of Mr. Paul M. A. Linebarger, who lived a comparatively short (1913 - 1966) and difficult life. He was educated in China, Germany and USA. He loose one eye in an accident being a child. Had a PH degree in Political Sciences, was a university professor and worked undercover for CIA. At the same time he wrote fascinating sci-fi stories.

My first contact with the author's stories was "Alpha Ralpha Boulevard" (included in this volume). It was obvious for me that this was a fragment of a greater story, full of mysterious and provoking ideas as the Rediscovery of Man, the Eketeli and so on. I was captivated by the imagery and searched for more works from Cordwainer Smith. Little by little they were appearing in different sci-fi magazines and short stories collections.


There are various editions of collected short stories of the author. This book contains twelve of them, constituting a fair sample of the author's universe giving the reader a broad inkling to it.
Each story of this publication has a short introduction by J. J. Pierce, editor of this collection.


"Scanners Live in Vain" was Cordwainer's first published tale, situated around year 6000 AD, describes a crisis within the Scanners Guild and the emerging of a new type of interstellar flight.

In "The Game of Rat and Dragon" humans and telepathic cats join forces against dreadful dragons of deep space. The author describes the almost symbiotic relation between cats and men.

The story "The Dead Lady of Clown Town" is an overwhelming recreation Joan D'Arc story transferred to the Underpeople and my favorite one from the author.

The second outstanding story in this volume is "Under Old Earth" describing the pilgrimage of agonizing Lord Sto Odin to the Gebiet a mysterious place under old Earth.

"Alpha Ralpha Boulevard" describes the Rediscovery of Man a sort of Cultural Revolution decided by the Instrumentality and focuses on a young couple trying to cope with the new situation.

Last of my favorite tales in this book is "Ballad o Lost C'Mell" about the lovely cat-girl C'Mell and her impossible love for Lord Jestocost.


Recently all Cordwainer Smith tales has been published in Spanish in a four volume edition and I obviously treasure them!

This is a wonderful sample from an unjustly underrated author.


Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Cordwainer Smith is the pen name of Mr. Paul M. A. Linebarger, who lived a comparatively short (1913 - 1966) and difficult life. He was educated in China, Germany and USA. He loose one eye in an accident being a child. Had a PH degree in Political Sciences, was a university professor and worked undercover for CIA. At the same time he wrote fascinating sci-fi stories.

My first contact with the author's stories was "Alpha Ralpha Boulevard" (included in this volume). It was obvious for me that this was a fragment of a greater story, full of mysterious and provoking ideas as the Rediscovery of Man, the Eketeli and so on. I was captivated by the imagery and searched for more works from Cordwainer Smith. Little by little they were appearing in different sci-fi magazines and short stories collections.


There are various editions of collected short stories of the author. This book contains twelve of them, constituting a fair sample of the author's universe giving the reader a broad inkling to it.
Each story of this publication has a short introduction by J. J. Pierce, editor of this collection.


"Scanners Live in Vain" was Cordwainer's first published tale, situated around year 6000 AD, describes a crisis within the Scanners Guild and the emerging of a new type of interstellar flight.

In "The Game of Rat and Dragon" humans and telepathic cats join forces against dreadful dragons of deep space.

The story "The Dead Lady of Clown Town" is an overwhelming recreation Joan D'Arc story transferred to the Underpeople and my favorite one from the author.

The second outstanding story in this volume is "Under Old Earth" describing the pilgrimage of agonizing Lord Sto Odin to the Gebiet a mysterious place under old Earth.

"Alpha Ralpha Boulevard" describes the Rediscovery of Man a sort of Cultural Revolution decided by the Instrumentality and focuses on a young couple trying to cope with the new situation.

Last of my favorite tales in this book is "Ballad o Lost C'Mell" about the lovely cat-girl C'Mell and her impossible love for Lord Jestocost.


Recently all Cordwainer Smith tales has been published in Spanish in a four volume edition and I obviously treasure them!

This is a wonderful sample from an unjustly underrated author.


Reviewed by Max Yofre.