This is basically libertarian wish fullfillment. Koskinen comes back from Mars with the secret of a personal (but expandable) near-impregnable shielding device. Everybody wants it, specifically a gang boss, the Chinese, the Department of Military Security (a foreshadowing of Homeland Security, though run by Marcus, a power-hungry bureaucracy based (like Ed Garver in the van Rijn tales) on J. Edgar Hoover, the Egalitarian Party (who are not in fact Egalitarians --they want voting restricted to or skewed in favor of the smart and successful) and others. Koskinen (eventually joined by Vivienne, originally an adventuress working against him) is betrayed by almost everyone at one point or another,but finally stands off Marcus in an ultimate showdown and is rescued by the regular American armed forces, though the ending is bittersweet, as Vivienne leaves him, for (she says) his own good. The plot is very similar to "Strange Bedfellows" in Seven Conquests, which I hope to review soon. ( )

I was really impressed with this book. It has everything in perfect measure - action, politics, romance, science - and the characterisation is superb. An intelligent, strong-willed, motivated woman who isn't an emotional deadzone? Written in the 60s? (it's more likely than you think!). Characters had their own motivations and goals that intersected, and I would love to read about some of the others that crossed paths with the protagonists - the Polish insurrectionist, the crime boss, the martians. It's a really rich world.

This is exactly what good sci fi should be. Likeable characters, complex worldbuilding, tight pacing and rational plotting. I would love to see this adapted for film or tv, or even radio. Anything to bring it to a wider audience.

www.solelyfictional.org ( )