/lit/ - Literature

I read Wasp, an entertaining little 1957 science fiction novel by British author Eric Frank Russell. Here, Earth is losing a war to a vastly numerically superior Sirian empire. The book's protagonist is a man who volunteers to be dropped alone onto a remote Sirian planet with the aim of waging asymmetrical warfare; undermining the enemy war effort by inciting fear and unrest among the population; diverting as many resources from the front lines as possible, with as little means and resources as possible.

This begins with graffiti, rumor-mongering, and phony bombs, and soon progresses to collaborations with local organised crime, assassinations and sabotage. The narrator carefully explains the motivations and effects of each act in a way that is very instructive and gives the novel a somewhat subversive feel. In any case, these is plenty of action, cat-and-mouse games with the secret police (including a tense jailbreak scene) and a great deal of hard-boiled dialogue. Overall a 5/5 dino book and the most fun read I've had since Leigh Brackett.