War is a serious business—or is it? Christopher Anvil turns his sardonic sense of humor loose on the subject and considers what might happen if:

 

·         Someone devised a computer war game so realistic and addictive that the people in charge of battle on both sides didn’t have the time or inclination to start a real war.

·         Another device gave every homeowner the power to block off his property from any incursion, even by nuclear weapons.

·         A secret organization pulls the plug on an impending war by causing the commanders on both sides to be unable even to think of any of the words they need to order their forces into action.

·         And, in a full-length novel, The Steel, the Mist and the Blazing Sun, the devastation after World War III has not put an end to war—not as long as men survive who still want to conquer and dominate; nor as long as others will fight, not just to survive, but to defend freedom.

 

     The many faces of war, examined by a master of science fiction adventure with a wryly humorous twist.

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Humans—there's no understanding them, and no dealing with them either. Or even their planet. Pity the poor aliens, whose shape-changing ability should let them take over the planet Earth before the humans even know they're there—if it weren't for all that omnipresent pollution. Or consider another set of invaders, from a planet where the weather is always mild and the changing of the seasons is hardly noticeable. They land in force and their weapons are more powerful than those of the primitive humans—but they've never before had to deal with below-zero temperatures, flash floods or tornados—not to mention volcanoes. Then there were the aliens who noticed how belligerent humans were, and gave them the ?gift? of TV-like devices which would show anything anywhere on Earth, which was sure to lead to war. Imagine how surprised the aliens were when the humans took the gadgets apart, improved them, and started spying on everything the aliens were up to, all over the galaxy. Humans don't make sense, they don't fight fair, and they're making aliens throughout interstellar space think seriously about pulling up stakes and moving to another galaxy!...

Humans—there’s no understanding them, and no dealing with them either. Or even with their planet.

      Pity the poor aliens, whose shape-changing ability should let them take over the planet Earth before the humans even know they’re there—if it weren’t for all that omnipresent pollution. Or consider another set of invaders, from a planet where the weather is always mild and the changing of the seasons is hardly noticeable. They land in force and their weapons are more powerful than those of the primitive humans—but they’ve never before had to deal with below-zero temperatures, flash floods or tornados—not to mention volcanoes. Then there were the aliens who noticed how belligerent humans were, and gave them the “gift” of TV-like devices which would show anything anywhere on Earth, which was sure to lead to war. Imagine how surprised the aliens were when the humans took the gadgets apart, improved them, and started spying on everything the aliens were up to, all over the galaxy.

      Humans don’t make sense, they don’t fight fair, and they’re making aliens throughout interstellar space think seriously about pulling up stakes and moving to another galaxy!

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Humans on the space frontiers may have enough problems with befuddled bureaucrats, rules that don’t fit the realities of very dangerous situations, and general rear-echelon incompetence without bringing in unfriendly aliens, but it’s that kind of universe. On the other hand, as master satirist Christopher Anvil makes clear, the aliens are anything but omnipotent and have plenty of problems of their own.

 

     Here for the first time the stories and short novels of the war with the Outs are collected into a novel-length chronicle. The Outs had mental powers they could use to make humans see illusions and convince them to change sides. Obviously, they were unbeatable—until some troublesome humans found their Achille’s heel.

 

     These and other stories of human/alien conflict fill this large volume by the master of wryly sardonic science fiction adventure.

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