Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The previous reviewer is an abject illiterate, March 25, 2007
..
That which rouses the ire of the damnfool in question is the central political theme in "A Planet for Texans."
Originally published 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 (LONE STAR PLANET) 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.
Anyone but a blank and drooling idiot would have recognized the tribute paid by Piper and McGuire in originating this story, and the saliva-spattered initial reviewer is invited to read the inspiration in Mencken's essay, which was compiled in THE MENCKEN CHRESTOMATHY (1949) and is prsently available freely online.
Withal, an interesting premise, carried out with typical '50s-style space opera ingenuity and light-hearted disrespect for government authority.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cowboys Under Capella, July 23, 2008
A Planet For Texans (1958) (AKA: Lone Star Planet) is a short standalone SF novel. It is set on Capella IV, a planet settled by virtually the entire population of the State of Texas circa 2100. The inhabitants have a culture based on the legends of the nineteenth century rancheros, although they herd fifteen tons beasts with the best flavor in the known universe. Each major ranch has a force of about five hundred cowboys who herd the supercows with medium tanks and supersonic aircraft.
In this novel, Stephen Silk writes an interesting article on the future course of the Solar League and is quickly called to the office of the Secretary of State to discuss his future in the Department. Silk is a member of the Consular Service, but the new job requires a transfer to the Diplomatic Service with the title of Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary.
Silk is assigned to fill a vacancy on New Texas caused by the murder of the previous ambassador. He is hustled out of the Solar System to his new job without much of a briefing. The paperwork to be opened only after the first jump says little about the planet except the last messages of the previous four ambassadors.
One of the surprises of his new job is the secretary assigned to him. Hoddy Ringo knows little about being a secretary, but a lot about guns. He is obviously a bodyguard and guide.
Other surprises include a trunk full of local clothes -- colorful shirts and four pairs of levis of different dark shades -- as well as a pair of automatic pistols and a trick gunbelt. He is ordered to wear the clothes and carry the guns at all times when he is outside the embassy. He is also ordered to destroy the documents, although the need to do so is rather obscure.
Silk takes the precaution of searching Hoddy's room while the bodyguard is busy with an Alderbaran widow. He finds a letter addressed to the Department of Aggression attache on New Texas, but hasn't the equipment to open it surreptitiously. He reckons that it is only a letter of credence with the real message passed verbally.
In this story, Silk figures that he is being setup to provoke a takeover of the Capellan System. Still, he is charged with discovering the reasons for -- and perpetrators of -- the murder of his predecessor. He also wants to learn the name of the blonde who joined his boisterous party with Hoddy prior to arrival in the Capellan System.
Landing at the New Texas spaceport, Silk is greeted with overwhelming passion by a party from the embassy and never gets to talk to the blonde, whom he now remembers is named Gail. He is hustled away from the spaceport -- even half carried -- by his staff and flown out in the back of an embassy aircar. Soon they find themselves being followed by two aircars of identical make and successfully evade the pursuers.
After sliding into the open gates of the embassy shortly thereafter, Silk is greeted by more of his staff and taken inside. The staff insist that he has to immediately complete the paperwork to take over his new position. After firmly refusing to sign anything without an inventory, Silk issues orders for a public statement about his arrival.
Then a New Texas Rangers captain arrives and is surprised to find him alive and well in the proper building. It seems that the Rangers had received a report of a kidnapping and had lost the fleeing vehicle in the pursuit. Apologizing for the confusion, Silk has a quick drink with the officer -- ain't extraterritoriality wonderful -- and then leaves for the welcoming barbecue (which had started hours before when his ship had just arrived in the system).
This tale is a farce based on the popular stereotype of Texas. Being a Texan myself, I can state with full solemnity that barbecues of that style and size are not frequent among the common population of the state. However, politicians -- such as LBJ -- do have them rather more often.
The universal carrying of weapons in New Texas is also an exaggerated conception of common practice in the state. More people own and use personal weapons in Texas than in Eastern states, but the practice of carrying such weapons is nowhere near universal. Even less common is personal ownership of armed tanks and aircraft; in fact, the armed state of New Texas hasn't been seen in Texas since the days of the cattle barons.
Despite this Hollywoodish depiction of Texans, the story is a rather good tale of police work and appropriate application of justice. Although this is the only story about New Texas, the authors have written similar SF action novels: Crisis In 2140 and Empire. The senior author has also written other SF tales in a similar vein: The Cosmic Computer and Uller Uprising. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Piper & McGuire fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of fast adventure, political intrigue, and a touch of romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely great!, November 12, 2007
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!
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