Lone Star Planet [Paperback]

H. Beam Piper (Author), John J. McGuire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2008

In 1999, this novel won the Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame Award for Best Classic Libertarian SF Novel. This tale features a planet of Texans whose dinosaur-sized cattle have to be herded with tanks, and whose system of government derives its character from H.L. Mencken's classic essay "The Malevolent Jobholder". The protagonist is an insubordinate junior diplomat who is appointed as ambassador to this cantankerously independent planet in the hope that he will be assassinated (as the previous ambassador had been), thereby justifying the forcible invasion and conquest of the Texans. The crux of the story is the trial of the previous ambassador's assassins--actually paid killers hired by an alien empire also planning invasion--under a legal system that considers the killing of a practicing politician to be justifiable homicide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (August 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440414211
• ISBN-13: 978-1440414213
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,442,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars H.L. Mencken and his influence on science fiction, April 1, 2007

By 

Dr. van der Linden (Williamstown, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lone Star Planet (Paperback)

...

Originally published as A PLANET FOR TEXANS in the magazine FANTASTIC UNIVERSE (Vol. 7, No. 3, March 1957), this novella was expanded by John J. McGuire and published as a short novel in 1958.

This work is a clear and obvious tribute to H.L. Mencken's classic essay "The Malevolent Jobholder" (from THE AMERICAN MERCURY, June 1924), in which Mencken proposed:

"...that it shall be no longer malum in se for a citizen to pummel, cowhide, kick, gouge, cut, wound, bruise, maim, burn, club, bastinado, flay, or even lynch a [government] jobholder, and that it shall be malum prohibitum only to the extent that the punishment exceeds the jobholder's deserts. The amount of this excess, if any, may be determined very conveniently by a petit jury, as other questions of guilt are now determined."

In 1999, the novel won the Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame Award for Best Classic Libertarian SF Novel. This tongue-in-cheek tale features a planet of Texans whose dinosaur-sized cattle have to be herded with tanks and helicopers, and whose system of government derives its character from Mencken's essay.

The protagonist is an insubordinate Terran junior diplomat who is appointed as ambassador to this cantankerously independent planet in the hope that he will be assassinated (as the previous ambassador had been), thereby justifying the forcible invasion and conquest of the Texans. The crux of the story is the trial of the previous ambassador's assassins - actually paid killers hired by an alien empire also planning invasion - under a legal system that considers the killing of a practicing politician to be justifiable homicide.

An interesting premise, carried out with typical '50s-style space opera ingenuity and light-hearted disrespect for government authority.

--

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely great!, May 29, 2009

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lone Star Planet (Paperback)

This story stands alone, which is to say that is it is not in Piper's Terro-Human Future History or Paratime milieus. New Texas was founded when the whole ornery state of Texas built themselves spaceships and headed out to the new frontier - space. But now, these rugged and independent New Texans are the target of an expansive race of extraterrestrials, and it's up to the Solar League's ambassador to guide them back into Earth's embrace. Well, mister, it's going to take one tough and wily ambassador to steer the New Texans - but is Stephen Silk that tough and that wily?

This story is absolutely great! H. Beam Piper (1904-64) is one of the little recognized greats of science fiction. He was an expert at creating fascinating worlds that were both fantastic and yet utterly believable, and this story shows his writing ability off to great effect. If you like good sci-fi, then you will like this book. If you are a fan of H. Beam Piper, then it is a must-have!