Denver detective Win Bear, on the trail of a murderer, discovers much more than a killer. He accidentally stumbles upon the probability broach, a portal to a myriad of worlds--some wildly different from, others disconcertingly similar to our own. Win finds himself transported to an alternate Earth where Congress is in Colorado, everyone carries a gun, there are gorillas in the Senate, and public services are controlled by private businesses.
The Probability Broach
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"Contained ideas I wish could be shouted to the world, ideas that come from the American heritage of freedom and which could bring still greater individual liberty, greater technical progress."--Vernor Vinge, author of A Deepness in the Sky
"Pick up a new copy of the book and rediscover this exciting world, and reserve me a table at Meep's Texas Barbecue."--Prometheus
"Pick up a new copy of the book and rediscover this exciting world, and reserve me a table at Meep's Texas Barbecue."--Prometheus
About the Author
L. Neil Smith is the two time winner of the Prometheus Award for Best Libertarian Fiction for his novels Pallas (1993) and The Probability Broach (1980). As founder and National Coordinator of the Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus, publisher of the on-line magazine The Libertarian Enterprise, and a Life member of the National Rifle Association, Smith is renowned for his prominence in the Libertarian movement, of which he has been a part of for more than thirty-five years. Author of more than twenty books, Smith has been hailed for his ability to combine adventure, humor, and rivetingly original political concepts to create more compellingly than any other writer, novels that embody Libertarian concepts. He currently resides in Fort Collins, Colorado, with his wife and daughter.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Probability Broach is Smith's first novel. It is the story of a Denver Police Lieutenant Edward William Bear, called Win, who somehow find himself in a different continuum. This novel is followed by a direct sequel, The American Zone, which has some of the flavor but less of the excitement of this novel.
Win is on lunch break when he is called to the scene of a homicide. The victim, Vaughn L. Meiss, has been shot multiple times by a machine pistol, yet got off four shots with his own weapon, apparently to good effect. Meiss is a professor of Physics at Colorado State University and is also a card-carrying Propertarian. Since Meiss was killed in the vicinity of the Propertarian state headquarters, Win checks with the staff there and learns that Meiss was expected for an executive committee meeting. After interviewing the State Director, Jenny Noble, and other directors at the meeting, he finds that Meiss had been very excited by something and that the weapon that Meiss was carrying had been provided by the government to protect state secrets.
Win also interviews Dr. Otis Bealle, chairman of the CSU Physics department, and gets to see Meiss' office and laboratory. While he is in the lab, several men try to kill him with a machine pistol and other weapons. He accidentally hits the power switch on the gadget in the lab and then dives through an emergency exit, which happens to be an intercontinual portal. Shot, dazed and not very coherent, he stumbles out of the hole on the other side and is then blown through the air by an explosion. Looking for help, he finds a telecom booth containing a screen and a keyboard, where he enters "O" for operator, but the animated drawing that appears cannot find a listing for the Denver Police anywhere in the known solar system. He tries for Bealls' number, but finds no "Otis" listed. However, he sees an adjacent listing for Edward W. Bear, Consulting Detective.
The phone is busy, but the location is nearby, so he decides to walk -- make that stagger -- to the address. On the way, he refreshes himself, and his clothes, at a corner pit stop, later is pursued and shot by unknown persons in a long black hovercraft, and then lands face down in front of the other Bear's garage door. When he awakens, he is being treated by a medico with a beautiful voice and a mean electronarcosis gun. When he wakes up again, he discovers that the voice belongs to a gorgeous blonde named Clarissa Olson. He also meets the other Bear, called Ed, as well as Lucille Gallegos Kropotkin, a 136 year old war veteran, judge, and congressperson. Lucy is Ed's next door neighbor and totes two 50 caliber Gabbet Fairfax pistols when she is going on a raid; otherwise, she only carries one during normal everyday activities.
Win is now a resident of the North American Confederation governed under Propertarian principles as expounded by Albert Gallatin. The novel is full of political philosophy in between shootouts and chase scenes. The politics is interesting and even intriguing, but well integrated into the action.
This is a different kind of novel than most, much like Starship Troopers in its union of thought and action. It makes a good case for universal arming of the population and an even better case against governments of every kind. After 9/11, the idea of arming airline passengers doesn't seem so silly, does it?
Recommended for anyone who has seriously considered the nature of governments and individual freedom, but wants his polemic with some excitement.
Win is on lunch break when he is called to the scene of a homicide. The victim, Vaughn L. Meiss, has been shot multiple times by a machine pistol, yet got off four shots with his own weapon, apparently to good effect. Meiss is a professor of Physics at Colorado State University and is also a card-carrying Propertarian. Since Meiss was killed in the vicinity of the Propertarian state headquarters, Win checks with the staff there and learns that Meiss was expected for an executive committee meeting. After interviewing the State Director, Jenny Noble, and other directors at the meeting, he finds that Meiss had been very excited by something and that the weapon that Meiss was carrying had been provided by the government to protect state secrets.
Win also interviews Dr. Otis Bealle, chairman of the CSU Physics department, and gets to see Meiss' office and laboratory. While he is in the lab, several men try to kill him with a machine pistol and other weapons. He accidentally hits the power switch on the gadget in the lab and then dives through an emergency exit, which happens to be an intercontinual portal. Shot, dazed and not very coherent, he stumbles out of the hole on the other side and is then blown through the air by an explosion. Looking for help, he finds a telecom booth containing a screen and a keyboard, where he enters "O" for operator, but the animated drawing that appears cannot find a listing for the Denver Police anywhere in the known solar system. He tries for Bealls' number, but finds no "Otis" listed. However, he sees an adjacent listing for Edward W. Bear, Consulting Detective.
The phone is busy, but the location is nearby, so he decides to walk -- make that stagger -- to the address. On the way, he refreshes himself, and his clothes, at a corner pit stop, later is pursued and shot by unknown persons in a long black hovercraft, and then lands face down in front of the other Bear's garage door. When he awakens, he is being treated by a medico with a beautiful voice and a mean electronarcosis gun. When he wakes up again, he discovers that the voice belongs to a gorgeous blonde named Clarissa Olson. He also meets the other Bear, called Ed, as well as Lucille Gallegos Kropotkin, a 136 year old war veteran, judge, and congressperson. Lucy is Ed's next door neighbor and totes two 50 caliber Gabbet Fairfax pistols when she is going on a raid; otherwise, she only carries one during normal everyday activities.
Win is now a resident of the North American Confederation governed under Propertarian principles as expounded by Albert Gallatin. The novel is full of political philosophy in between shootouts and chase scenes. The politics is interesting and even intriguing, but well integrated into the action.
This is a different kind of novel than most, much like Starship Troopers in its union of thought and action. It makes a good case for universal arming of the population and an even better case against governments of every kind. After 9/11, the idea of arming airline passengers doesn't seem so silly, does it?
Recommended for anyone who has seriously considered the nature of governments and individual freedom, but wants his polemic with some excitement.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By John Gracy
Format:Paperback
It has been a long time since I read a book that was both fun to read as well as made me think. I haven't figured out all of Mr. Smith's underlying philosophy since I have only read one book by him (The Probability Broach). His idea of stopping air piracy (everyone carries a gun on the aircraft: the airline just checks to make sure that the bullet will not disable the plane) is great. The notion of personal responsibility is great in these days when most people think that the government is supposed to take care of them (womb to the tomb). I liked his book enough that I am going to buy some more novels by him.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
...and ends up liking them. L. Neil Smith's authoritative book, now unexpurgated, points out that not all Science Fiction has to revolve around militaristic governments where the rights of the individual exist only when they serve the state.
Detective Win Bear is pulled from a pre-apocolyptic society to a strange new place where the virtue of selfishness is readily apparent. It is so different that Det. Bear resists the idea. However, his philosophical journey is complicated by his investigation, and subsequent hijinks, so the story is less of a lecture and more of an adventure with political undertones.
The point of the book, however, is that there is always another way, especially in science fiction. When you suspend your disbelief that such a society could never form because of a subtle difference in history, then you can objectively examine the system and see if it could work. L. Neil Smith's scenarios make it work.
While I cut my teeth on Smith's The Nagasaki Vector and Tom Paine Maru, the Probability Broach remains one of my favorites
Detective Win Bear is pulled from a pre-apocolyptic society to a strange new place where the virtue of selfishness is readily apparent. It is so different that Det. Bear resists the idea. However, his philosophical journey is complicated by his investigation, and subsequent hijinks, so the story is less of a lecture and more of an adventure with political undertones.
The point of the book, however, is that there is always another way, especially in science fiction. When you suspend your disbelief that such a society could never form because of a subtle difference in history, then you can objectively examine the system and see if it could work. L. Neil Smith's scenarios make it work.
While I cut my teeth on Smith's The Nagasaki Vector and Tom Paine Maru, the Probability Broach remains one of my favorites
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Beginning of It All
The Probability Broach is L Neil Smith's first novel and, to me, one of his best. The story pioneers the concept of "uplifting" lower animals to a human level of intellect, using... Read more
Published 6 days ago by Steven Vandervelde
5.0 out of 5 stars
A change of pace
I first stumbled across this book in my high schools library back in the eighties. It altered the way I viewed politics and the notion of individual liberty. Read more
Published 24 days ago by W. Keller
2.0 out of 5 stars
Book listed as new was used and damaged!
Bought this item in February 2013 and made the mistake of trusting that it was new as they said it was, and let it sit for over a month before reading it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by MakeThingsThatWork
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fun Journey to a Libertarian Society
Although not perfect, it was very fun to read this graphic novel. Anyone looking to explore how society could be where fundamental property rights are respected and where... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dan Thorndyke
5.0 out of 5 stars
A real romp of a comic.
Beautifully drawn and of an extremely creative subject matter which is directly relevant to my interests. Though I would not recommend it to a statist. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Myles
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just got curious
I wanted to see how a comic book would compare to the original novel. It lost!
The 'graphic novel' (comic book) was OK, and it told the same story as the 'prose' novel. Read more
The 'graphic novel' (comic book) was OK, and it told the same story as the 'prose' novel. Read more
Published 5 months ago by 60srocker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Book Ever
I absolutely loved this book! I read it straight through and by the time I got to the end I was wishing the broach was real so I could move there! This is a must read for everyone!
Published 10 months ago by QengpuBenal
2.0 out of 5 stars
Talk about hard to swallow...
I like fantasy books. I regularly read stories about fairies and elves, vampires and magic, and I have no trouble at all suspending my disbelief and enjoying the story. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Bradford Daniels
2.0 out of 5 stars
Meh. I'd say skip it.
I really wanted to like this book. I loved the ideas behind "The Watchmen" style of anarchism even though I'm not an Allen Moore kind of anarchist but merely a Jeffersonian... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Victory
2.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive, imaginative ideas--unremarkable writing and story.
I read this a number of years ago. While I am 100% minarchist and libertarian, and have been so for 20 years, I found the writing and story unremarkable and unengaging. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Sui Juris
