Pallas: Smith, L. Neil: 9780812509045: Amazon.com: Books

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Pallas Paperback – January 1, 1995

by L. Neil Smith (Author)

62

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True to his namesake, Emerson Ngu follows the way of individualism, making him the hero of Pallas, a libertarian paradise atop an asteroid, and the enemy of former senator Gibson Altman, the jealous leader of a communist dystopia. Reprint.

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Print length

448 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Tom Doherty Assoc Llc
Publication date

January 1, 1995
Dimensions

4.25 x 1.25 x 6.75 inches
ISBN-10

0812509048
ISBN-13

978-0812509045
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tom Doherty Assoc Llc (January 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0812509048
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812509045
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1.25 x 6.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #8,683,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #293,049 in Science Fiction (Books)
- #304,328 in American Literature (Books)

Customer Reviews:
62

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

62 global ratings

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Freedom and Its Not-So-Fictional Opponents

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2014

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I enjoy the way science fiction novels will present a single cultural or technological change, and pursue the results of that change to its eventual conclusions. One of my favorite sub-genres shows a free society opposed to a socialist one. Pallas presents just such a contrast between those who live in a free society and their neighbors who do not.

On the terraformed asteroid Pallas, most are free people living as they please, according to the founding document they all signed. That life includes hunting (and eating) the wildlife that was brought to Pallas for the specific purpose of being hunted. It includes the right to innovate, compete, and succeed as one is able—or to fail and starve if one is not able.

All is not Eden in this paradise of freedom, however. A regimented farm enclosed within a Berlin-like wall houses the agrarian society of the GUMP: the Greeley Union Memorial Project, which hopes to show that manual labor and a meatless diet in a preachy communal setting will result in a better life for all.

The story takes off when Emerson Ngu, a rebellious child of the "ant farm" (as the free people of Pallas name the Project), makes it over the wall to freedom. His coming of age in the greater society of Pallas illustrates the paths each of us must take to become truly free, as L. Neil Smith presents that state.

The founding philosophy of the colony, which Emerson uses to guide his growth, comes from Mirelle Stein (the character is an an obvious homage to Ayn Rand) and Raymond Louis Drake-Tealy (a similar homage to Robert Ardrey, as the novel's epigraph makes clear.)

The controlling force at the "ant farm," on the other hand, is one-time Senator Gibson Altman, a remittance man exiled to Pallas by sexual scandal. Altman's control of the Project's populace is a good illustration of the Daniel Webster quote, "In every generation, there are those who want to rule well—but they mean to rule. They promise to be good masters—but they mean to be masters."

We may dislike the Senator, but eventually Emerson Ngu accepts that all three of these larger-than-life characters, Altman, Stein, and Drake-Tealy, have a hand in making him the free man he becomes.

6 people found this helpful

Old time scifi for libertarian capitalists.

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2014

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This is a political treatise written as a scifi novel in which Smith presents his view of a utopian society. It is written in the Heinlein style. As such it reads and feels as if it was written back in the 70's or 80's but it is still a good read. I found it much better than most current scifi. I read this book many years ago right after it first published and then hunted it up a few months ago. I purchased the Kindle version to read immediately then ordered a hard copy for my library.

It has a couple of innovative ideas such as the inexpensive but powerful pistol Ngu develops. One surprising but expected twist is that Ngu never carries one of his own pistols. It shows the humanity of Ngu that he continues to carry the pistol he was given by his friends, the first people he encountered when he escaped slavery. I was surprised and a little disappointed that Ngu never carries one of his own pistols but it fits with Ngu's character.

The ending is a bit surprising but somehow it fits in a unique way with the story and the characters Smith has developed. I won't provide a spoiler. The ending provides plenty of food for thought. I recommend you read the book and see.

4 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2015

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Ok read

THOMAS JEFFERSON WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2013

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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I'm sure any freedom lover would feel the same way. The story background is original, set on an asteroid covered in some seriously tough plastic filled with air but written so well that it seems completely realistic. The free market, gun-toting society there sort of tolerates the one bastion of complete, state controlled socialistic slavery which makes for a great story line when the hero escapes from that sad excuse for living and the chains come off his creativity. Its an awesome lesson in the natural laws of life, written as a pure adventure that is hard to put down.

3 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2015

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This story was very hard to stay with. There were times I almost put it up and stop reading, but kept going. There were good / parts but I have to admit I stayed confused most of the book. Sorry

One person found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2016

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Ann exciting story. Unusual heroes, cleverly drawn. The best thing about _Pallas_ is its descriptions of what's been done to the asteroid, and how it turned out for the characters. The description was so sharp I found myself wanting to live there!

One person found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2012

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I actually rarely read the info blurb from Publishers Weekly that Amazon uses to generally describe a book...I usually just skip to reviews. I wish I would have read it though and looked up the definition of "stultifying" (Cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative, esp. as a result of a tedious or restrictive routine. Maybe I would have saved myself the money and annoyance of reading this book. I am conservative and generally find myself attracted to libertarian ideas, but I found the presentation of these ideas to be about as enlighening and entertaining as watching Fox News Hannity & Colmes. Both sides are so stereotyped that the plot is as predicatable as it is absurd.

And why is this book set in 2007? Its not like it was written back in the 60's.

Yet underneath all of the political preaching (no, it was NOT woven into the story as some reviewers claim), there was a decent cast of characters that I was interested in. But to reach the end of the book, I was forced to skip page after unreadable page...nothing even happened until nearly 50% thru book.

Oh, and the ending was definately a big WTF??? moment.

7 people found this helpful

Sci-fi story telling at it's best. Check it out

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2015

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This was the book that introduced me to L Neil Smith's work, and I became an instant fan. Sci-fi story telling at it's best. Check it out.

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