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wynwicket's review
4.0
One of my first major forays into classic science fiction (1960s in this case) turned out to be quite an exhilarating, poetic, *strange* adventure.
We the Underpeople is comprised of several long short stories and a novel, Norstrilia, which, combined, tell the tale of an Earth in the far future, inhabited by true humans (kept stagnantly and oppressively happy by a totalitarian government called the Instrumentality) and the underpeople, humanlike beings bred from animals to serve as slaves to mankind.
The first stories in the collection provide the history of the underpeople's struggle for freedom and those who rebel against the Instrumentality, a history which later becomes myth and inspires the events in the later stories, culminating in the novel Norstrilia, in which one man meddles with the economies of multiple planets to such a degree that he ends up owning the planet Earth. Allied with C'Mell, a cat-woman, he may be able to bring the establishment down to its knees...
This is some heady stuff, and Cordwainer Smith's writing style is... unusual. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
We the Underpeople is comprised of several long short stories and a novel, Norstrilia, which, combined, tell the tale of an Earth in the far future, inhabited by true humans (kept stagnantly and oppressively happy by a totalitarian government called the Instrumentality) and the underpeople, humanlike beings bred from animals to serve as slaves to mankind.
The first stories in the collection provide the history of the underpeople's struggle for freedom and those who rebel against the Instrumentality, a history which later becomes myth and inspires the events in the later stories, culminating in the novel Norstrilia, in which one man meddles with the economies of multiple planets to such a degree that he ends up owning the planet Earth. Allied with C'Mell, a cat-woman, he may be able to bring the establishment down to its knees...
This is some heady stuff, and Cordwainer Smith's writing style is... unusual. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
ederwin's review
5.0
This book contains five short stories and one novella. After only one story I decided I want to read everything this guy ever wrote. (Well, all his SF, anyway.)
After reading all five short stories, I returned the book to the library. I still want to read everything he wrote, but he wrote so little that I need to save it for later.
After reading all five short stories, I returned the book to the library. I still want to read everything he wrote, but he wrote so little that I need to save it for later.
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