The Outpost [Paperback]

Mike Resnick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2002

Award-winning writer Mike Resnick takes us back to his wild and wooly Inner Frontier in this tall-tale of an adventure novel.

On the planet Henry II, orbiting the twin suns of Plantagenet and Tudor, at the very edge of the great black hole at the center of the Milky Way, there is a tavern called The Outpost. Through the doors of The Outpost have come the greatest heroes, villains, and adventurers of the galaxy - to drink, to brag, and to swap tales.

The Outpost is neutral territory where fighting is forbidden and blood enemies can have a drink together and tell stories of battles past. After all bounty hunters, con men, itinerant preachers, thieves, and assassins have more in common with each other than they do with the rest of the mundane galaxy.

But their pleasant life of recalling murder and mayhem is interrupted by an alien invasion, and to save their way of life these rugged individualists must try to work together for a change.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In a book that reads more like an anthology than a novel, Mike Resnick tells the kind of tall tales in which history isn't necessarily written by the winners. It's written instead by the best human, alien, and mutant storytellers this side of the Galactic Core, with a little embellishment from Willie the Bard.

At the edge of an enormous black hole on the planet Henry II, one of the Eight Henrys, rests the Outpost tavern, owned by Tomahawk. It's so far out that only heroes, villains, and adventurers "three times as big as life and twice as wide" can manage to find it. But once they do they've earned bragging rights to tell their story.

It's the kind of place where characters like Catastrophe Baker, Bet-A-World O'Grady, Cyborg de Milo, and Hurricane Smith come to hang around, swap tales, and wait for the approaching alien invasion to get close enough to bother with. However, once the aliens decimate the Navy and start to take over the Henrys, the adventurers reluctantly set off to save the universe one tall tale at a time.

Hugo and Nebula award-winner Resnick spins the stories into a novel that examines the way legend and history are created, and the philosophy that you shouldn't let the facts stand in the way of a good yarn. Fans of tall tales will love the vivid characterizations and the way Resnick shows how each character's real adventure is embellished into an even better story. --Kathie Huddleston --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Hugo and Nebula award winner Resnick's (A Hunger in the Soul) tales are often surprising, and this novel comprised of individual narratives is no exception. The characters at the Outpost a gathering place at the outer edge of the galaxy where adventurous souls can come to drink and brag are galaxy-renowned "heroes and bandits, artists and athletes, ministers, geniuses, prostitutes, bounty hunters, gamblers, even aliens." What begins as a fun round of tale-swapping turns more serious and thoughtful as the book progresses through its three parts: "legend," "truth" and "history." Throughout the opening a war has been approaching the Outpost, and by the second segment the "heroes" are forced to fight. Resnick then changes the tone. The complexity the characters gain when their actions are described by an impartial narrator in the "truth" section elevates the book from simple entertainment. Some act with honor, some back down from everything they stand for, some show their dedication to humanity while others flee. When they reconvene and record their exploits for posterity, they reveal even more of their true natures in the ways they want history to remember themselves and others. This lightly philosophical read is a good introduction to a solid author. (May 16)his stories, "Hunting the Snark" and "Hot House Flowers."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (August 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312875770
• ISBN-13: 978-0312875770
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #696,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Resnick is the author of numerous science fiction novels and short stories, including Dragon America, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power, Mutiny, Return to Santiago, and Santiago. He is the editor of This Is My Funniest and has won five Hugo Awards and the Nebula Award. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, June 1, 2001

By 

David L. Gilbert (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Outpost (Hardcover)

I've been a Resnick fan for years, although I usually find his books in the back corners of used books stores or through eBay auctions. Mike's written alot of books, and it's unfortunate that most of them are out of print. What keeps me coming back for more are the continual themes of humanity that are present in all of his novels. No matter how whiz-bang golly gee his space operas become, his characters always remain fundamentally human. (Kirinyaga, Dark Lady, Miracle of Rare Design, and The Soul Eater being my favorites.

With "The Outpost," however, I don't see any of that. These characters are sophomoric cliches and the stories seem written for 13 year old boys. He gives most of the dialogue to a sex-deprived, foul-mouthed preacher who spends a quarter of every page lusting after the female characters.

The different stories and the changes of perspective are a nifty gimmick, but I didn't care about the characters enough to make it worthwhile. As a whiz-bang space opera it succeeds admirably, but if you're looking for something along the lines of Resnick's deeper work, pay a visit to a used book store or alot of his older stuff is available there.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old fashioned escapist fun, March 10, 2002

By 

David Kveragas (Newton, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Outpost (Hardcover)

This is an old fashioned escapist collection of very short stories told in a bar room setting.A bar on the farthest reaches of the inner frontier of the gallaxy and patronized by only the toughest and craziest inhabitants of the universe. Both human and otherwise.
It is reminiscent of the early Spider Robinson Callahan's series before that went downhill and serious.
Anyone looking for the more dramatic Resnick stories needs to go elsewhere. This is humor pure and simple. No deep meanings or charectarizations. There's no time as the stories come fast and furious. This is the type of book I look for when I'm taking a break from more serious science fiction.

It's full of interesting though lite charectors telling stories of shape changing aliens, space opera like adventures, fortunes (in the form of whole palnets and even systems) won and lost and even an interesting bar/card trick.
Admitedly it's not exactly what I expected when I picked up the copy but I am more than pleasantly suprised. Hope you are too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old fashioned escapist fun, March 10, 2002

By 

David Kveragas (Newton, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Outpost (Hardcover)

This is an old fashioned escapist collection of very short stories told in a bar room setting.A bar on the farthest reaches of the inner frontier of the gallaxy and patronized by only the toughest and craziest inhabitants of the universe. Both human and otherwise.
It is reminiscent of the early Spider Robinson Callahan's series before that went downhill and serious.
Anyone looking for the more dramatic Resnick stories needs to go elsewhere. This is humor pure and simple. No deep meanings or charectarizations. There's no time as the stories come fast and furious. This is the type of book I look for when I'm taking a break from more serious science fiction.

It's full of interesting though lite charectors telling stories of shape changing aliens, space opera like adventures, fortunes (in the form of whole palnets and even systems) won and lost and even an interesting bar/card trick.
Admitedly it's not exactly what I expected when I picked up the copy but I am more than pleasantly suprised. Hope you are too.