Cordwainer Smith Books

Like just about all of his other work, this, Smith's only sf novel, is both unique and highly lyrical. Set within his universe of the Instrumentality of Mankind, it's the story of Rod McBan, 16 year-old heir to his family fortune, which is based on the stroon (a drug that provides near-immortality) his family farm produces from genetically modified giant sheep, if only he can survive the testing that all inhabitants of Norstrilia (Old North Australia) must go through to prove their basic competence and genetic purity. But Rod has problems, being a `broad-band' telepath instead of the normal type, and he can only pass this test after multiple tries. Worse, he's not sure if he really wants to be part of the very conservative Norstrilian society, and concocts a scheme in conjunction with his (proscribed) war games computer to manipulate the galactic futures market, with the net result of his suddenly becoming the owner of Old Old Earth, just so Rod can obtain an old postage stamp. And that's just the beginning.

This book sprawls across the landscape that Smith built over the years in various short stories, which are collected in The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith, and I highly recommend that that volume be read prior to this, as otherwise many items that are only mentioned in passing here will either not make sense or will not provide the intended resonance. Mother Hitton's Little Kittens, Shayol, the various Lords of the Instrumentality, the Underpeople (most especially the cat-girl C'Mell): each of these has a back-story detailed in some of these other stories. And you'll want to catch each of these nuances, for the story here is as engrossing as it is odd, and the universe it details is something you'll wish you could know more about.

There's intrigue and skullduggery, social evils and battling injustice, love, musings on the purpose of life, religion, revolt, and yes, the Store of Heart's Desire, all waiting inside these pages for you to discover and enjoy. All couched in Smith's inimitable style that is like no other author's. Originally published as two rather hacked-up pieces, this volume puts the entire work together again as it was intended to be, a great example of what can be done by a wordsmith of great imagination and great skill.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

When I read this novel I thought that it was a parody of Frank Herbert's DUNE. Then I checked the dates of publication- this was released a year before DUNE was first published. Did Herbert consciously, or unconsciously, draw on the ideas in this book for DUNE?

First of all you have an immortality drug being harvested from a disease that only grows on giant sheep (as opposed to an immortality drug being derived from giant worms.)

Secondly, you have a race of supermen that evolved from a harsh life on a desert planet (in this case they were originally Australians and not Arabs.)

Thirdly, there is a coming of age ritual where failure means death (except in this book you "giggle" yourself to death.)

Fourthly, telepathic powers figure prominently in the plot.

Fifthly, shawdowy galactic brotherhoods mold the evolution of the human race for its own good (as defined by them.)

Sixthly, mechanical computers are outlawed on Norstrilia.

Seventhly, the Norstrilians keep nuclear grenades in their homesteads (which sound much like the "family atomics" in Dune.)

Eigthly, the main character is regarded as a "messiah" type.

Either someone is copying someone here, or we have one of the greatest examples of synchronicity in the history of literature...

CAUTION: MAKE THIS YOUR LAST CORDWAINER SMITH BOOK! This novel was a rather late addition to Smith's expansive and self-contained literary universe, which he had been constructing for decades, and mostly in his voluminous short stories. All interested persons should first become familiar with the stupendous omnibus collection "The Rediscovery of Man: The Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith." (His short stories are collected in a variety of other editions, and at least one is also titled "The Rediscovery of Man," but these are partial collections of varying usefulness.) Over his career, Smith built an immense and astonishing future history spanning tens of thousands of years, during which humanity had spread throughout the universe and pockets of human society became isolated. A group known as the Instrumentality initiated the Rediscovery of Man to bring far-flung human culture back together. This is all mapped out in an astonishing array of Smith's short stories, and "Norstrilia" (his only full-length novel) must be considered an extension of just one portion of that vast literary universe.

For the newbie, I'm not sure if "Norstrilia" fully functions as a stand-alone novel because I was lucky enough to experience the short stories first. Thus I can understand a few of the less favorable reviews here, claiming that the story is diffuse and doesn't make sense. One issue for the newbie is the great source of Smith's genius - his mythology-like non-Western storytelling technique that is laid out more logically in the short stories, while appearing rather abruptly here. That's why fans should become familiar with Smith's progression of short stories first, because then this novel will make more sense, as it's merely piece of a much larger puzzle. Also note that this novel is a bit lighter and more comical as compared to the largely dark and foreboding nature of many of Smith's short stories. In any case, the sci-fi community has criminally overlooked Smith's literary achievements, and "Norstrilia" fits in perfectly as a masterpiece of social observation and an exploration of the enduring quality of humanity, through the lens of a future history in which humanity has been dispersed nearly to the point of extinction. Smith's universe is astonishing in its depth and breadth, and all serious fans of the genre would find great satisfaction in exploring its wonders. It's just important to remember that this novel may not be the best place to start. [~doomsdayer520~]

Dr. Paul Linebarger was the son of American diplomats in China (his godfather was President Sun Yat-sen), advisor to Chiang Kai-shek, intelligence analysis in World War II and Korea (he sat out Vietnam), and a linguist and published poet. On top of all that, he wrote science fiction of very high quality under the name "Cordwainer Smith." All his stories are set some 15,000 years hence, in a perfectly managed world of perfect, long-lived people and their "underpeople" servants. And it's all become stale, bland, boring, and decadent. So the Lords of the Instrumentality establish the Rediscovery of Man, allowing disease, accident, anger, and multiple languages and cultures back into the world, just to make things interesting. In this, his only novel, the author brings together all those themes and characters -- Lord Jestocost, C'mell, D'joan, Alpha Ralpha Boulevard, and all the others -- and orbits them around Rod McBan CLI, an enormously wealthy hayseed from the planet of Old North Australia, home of stroon (the drug responsible for near-infinite life), and his leveraged purchase of nearly the whole of Old Earth. Will he find his heart's desire? Originally published as two separate, hacked-up short novels, the whole story is brought back together here. What made Linebarger's work so much above average is that he wasn't so much a story-teller as a myth-maker, creating amazing yarns about larger-than-life characters, telling the history of our maybe-future.

I just finished "Norstrilia" a couple days ago. Offhand, I can't recall ever being so baffled by how any book became a widely acknowledged masterpiece of science fiction. The claims advanced for Norstrilia appear to be:

1. Smith has great imagination.
2. His universe is extremely thorough and believable.
3. His writing is lyrical and touching.

To which I respond: yes, no, and sort of.

For starters, "Norstrilia" leans towards being comic science fiction. Actual moments of humor exist, but they are rare. Perhaps light-hearted science fiction would be a better term. On the imagination side, there are a lot of original ideas in this book, though not really more than what you expect from most good SF novels. The problem is in organization and unity: there is none. Smith doesn't really build up to anything here. Each original idea, after being introduced, is either forgotten or used as a punchline. For instance, we get a one page introduction to a planet ruled by a council of thieves. They then appear only one more time in the book, revealing that the thieves don't manage to steal anything but make tons of money anyway. Ha ha, and that's the last we see of them.

The story, characters and writing are all basically average, and nothing stands out for high distinction. We might consider the fact that protagonist Rod McBan buys all of planet Earth in the space of one night. You might be hoping for some particularly clever explanation of how he pulled off such a feat, but no such luck. His computer simply issues a lot of buy and sell commands, and that's that. Then we're off to a fight with a giant murderous sparrow. (Don't ask.) Many books from the 50's and early 60's were lofted to the status of "science fiction classic" merely because their basic competence was an improvement over the genre's pulp origins. "Nostrilia", sad to say, was one of them.

This is a good reference guide to Cordwainer Smith's various books. Do not expect too much, though. Mostly, what you get is one-sentence definitions of many of the people, places and things in Smith's books, and, in some cases, a brief explanation of where the name comes from. A publication guide to Smith's stories is also included.

While there's an introduction, the book's greatest lack is essays and discussions concerning the works and their author (Paul Linebarger, as Smith was his nom de plume). Comparisons of Smith's stories and the myths he took some of them from would be helpful.

Good, but there's work to do in future editions.

Minotauro is an old and prestigious sci-fi collection that made available to Spanish speaking public many genre classic as Bradbury's "Martian Chronicles", Wyndham's "The Day of the Triffids" or Sturgeon's "More Than Human". The editorial house has recently launched a new bunch of hardcover new books and also re-edited in a smaller and modern pocket-book format most of the titles available.

Cordwainer Smith is the pen name of Mr. Paul M. A. Linebarger, who lived a comparatively short (1913 - 1966) and difficult life. He was educated in China, Germany and USA. He loose one eye in an accident being a child. Had a PH degree in Political Sciences, was a university professor and worked undercover for CIA. At the same time he wrote fascinating sci-fi stories.

My first contact with the author's stories was "Alpha Ralpha Boulevard" (included in this volume). It was obvious for me that this was a fragment of a greater story, full of mysterious and provoking ideas as the Rediscovery of Man, the Eketeli and so on. I was captivated by the imagery and searched for more works from Cordwainer Smith. Little by little they were appearing in different sci-fi magazines and short stories collections.

This book contains eight stories, being the key ones "Mark Elf", "Alpha Ralpha Boulevard" and "The Game of Rat & Dragon", giving the reader a broad inkling to Cordwainer's universe.

Recently all Cordwainer Smith tales has been published in Spanish in a four volume edition from another editorial house.

This is a wonderful sample from an unjustly underrated author.


Reviewed by Max Yofre.

It has been quite awhile since I have even found these titles, in fact I am probably one of the few who knows the authors' real name. Those who have read The Instrumentallity Of Mankind and Norstrillia also know his name and know that the quality and style of writing and wordsmanship are only equalled by authors like Asomov and Clark and maybe Zelasny. In my humble but well read opinion, all of these books are not only worth the mony, but worth the decades that they stay in your, and my, memory.
Thank you,
David Bequette

I bought this book for $2 at a used bookstore - I bought it based on the silly cover and even sillier summary on the back.

This book is a bad book. While the first half is somewhat amusing, the second half of the book is quite painfully bad. You're left scratching your head, wondering what Cordwainer was thinking with the last part. Chicken planet? What?

Only read it if you can read it quickly (2-4 hours) and feel like reading a silly bad sci-fi book.

I read this book in the 1960's, when I was a teenager. Many of the images from the book remain clear in my mind thirty years later. Smith, more than any other recent SF writer, had the ability to depict the far future as if part of a remembered and mythic past. I'm trying to find this book on out-of-print search, so I can read it again.

This is also the Best of Cordwainer Smith in a different edition - not to be confused with Rediscovery of Man : the complete stories. Yes, people who name collections the same as an existing collection are annoying.

However, this is outstanding, the story average is 4.04 thanks to not one, but two 5 star stories, in Scanners Live In Vain, and Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons.

Smith is one of those amazing throw you in the middle of wonder kind of writers. (This is partly why I like Terry Dowling so much, someone who actually is one of the Lords of the Instrumentality.) These two gentlemen have two of the highest rated SF collections I have ever read, the other being a writer with a different style completely, in Greg Egan.

Absolutely worth reading.


Best of Cordwainer Smith : Scanners Live in Vain - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : The Lady Who Sailed the Soul - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : The Game of Rat and Dragon - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : The Burning of the Brain - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : Golden the Ship Was Oh! Oh! Oh! - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : The Dead Lady of Clown Town - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : Under Old Earth - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : Mother Hitton’s Littul Kittons - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : Alpha Ralpha Boulevard - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : The Ballad of Lost C'Mell - Cordwainer Smith
Best of Cordwainer Smith : A Planet Named Shayol - Cordwainer Smith


Monopoly is bad, and worth doing something about.

5 out of 5


Solo starnaut sheila's suitor.

4 out of 5


Another actual use for a live cat. Fight you little bastich.

4 out of 5


Mind destruction manoeuvre rescue transfer.

4 out of 5


Lost planet female cancer transsxual aggression solution is timeslip cat kill cull.

4 out of 5


Time for war, duckie.

4 out of 5


Witch woman and dead robot animal trial.

4.5 out of 5


Too happy is bad.

3.5 out of 5


Old North Australia's mutant mad mink secret defense doesn't pussyfoot around with thieves and murderers. Or, Stop, You'll Eat Yourself.

5 out of 5


Hard to believe in France.

3 out of 5


Underpeople Lord assisted execution escapage.

4.5 out of 5


Pain punishment makes skin way more deep.

3.5 out of 5

THIS IS NOT THE COMPLETE SHORT FICTION OF CORDWAINER SMITH, RATHER A COLLECTION BY THE SAME NAME!!!

From world to world with Casher O'Neill. On the Gem Planet: seeking aid to free his home world from a tyrant, he was drafted for the bizarre rescue of an exotic alien being none of his hosts had dreamed of... a horse. On the Storm Planet: The help he needed was offered at a price - murder. O'Neill accepted, but the victim was ready for him - armed with love. On the Sand Planet: He overthrew its implacable dictator - though no one ever knew it - and began a new search for a stranger and stronger goal.