Los señores de la Instrumentalidad es una monumental, sorprendente e irrepetible historia del futuro que maravilla por su poesía, sus personajes y su riqueza temática. Su autor, uno de los más originales escritores de ciencia ficción de todos los tiempos, fue profesor universitario, catedrático de ciencia política, experto en asuntos del Lejano Oriente y asesor de información militar en varias confrontaciones bélicas. La dama muerta de Clown Town , hasta hoy inédita en España, es una de sus mejores y más entrañables narraciones. Sus personajes son de lo mejor que ha sugerido la ciencia ficción, en particular por el tratamiento de las complejas y sutiles relaciones emotivo-telepáticas entre hombre y animal, resueltas con gran maestría y profundidad psicológica.

Pretty odd stuff, a lot of it downright silly - like the existence of mind-destroying monsters in the space between stars, and mankind's use of cats to combat them.

So much of it is so dated or so innocent that one gets caught off-guard by the occasional critique of modern life:

Don't think about the roads. Think of the millions of vehicles that ran on those roads, the people filled with greed and rage and hate, rushing past each other with their engines on fire. They say that fifty thousand a year were killed on the roads alone. We would call that a war.

The highlight of the collection is the final story, A Planet Named Shayol. Putting aside for the moment some amusement about a member of the Mercer family being sent to eternal punishment for treasonous crimes, this is an excellent examination of the notion of retribution, and of the cruelty and humanity that organically arise within any system of justice.

Don't think that I am punished any more. This place is not a punishment. It is something else.

Quite a departure from the fixation on cats that appeared in most of the previous stories. ( )

I find it remarkably difficult to explain why I love a book, but I'm going to have a try because Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind is such a wonderful and overlooked (outside of fandom) work of science fiction.

The stories contained here are related to his Instrumentality of Mankind universe, and contain almost all of them, with the notable exception of the novella Norstrilia.

While some of the stories have not aged as well as the others, overall they are remarkably timeless and there is a sense of alienness and wonder to the stories that few of his contemporaries managed to create. And the stories are extremely readable and draw you right into the worlds Smith created.

The Instrumentality itself is a remarkable strange, alien, perhaps mystical yet essentially human and immensely believable universe. You think "Yes, this is a direction humanity could take".

Anyway, read this book, you will see why I love it. ( )

I'm gonna hit my bongo drum, Sun-man. Anyone up for a laminated mouse brain? I love it. So many great ideas packed into these short stories, I feel as giddy as if I sent my frozen cat people back two million years in the past to fight off the tragic planet of men, men, and nothing but men.

Really, people, this is some classic stuff. :)
( )

This is the 1975 collection published by Doubleday/Del Rey and republished by the Science Fiction Book Club. It is a marvelous collection as were all done in that series. It has the following stories:
Scanners Live in Vain
The Lady Who Sailed The Soul
The Game of Rat and Dragon
The Burning of the Brain
The Crime And the Glory Of Commander Suzdal
Golden the Ship Was Oh! Oh! Oh!
The Dead Lady of Clown Town
Under Old Earth
Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons
Alpha Ralpha Boulevard
The Ballad Of Lost C'mell
A Planet Named Shayol

All of these are part of his grand history, The Instrumentality of Mankind. Scanners Live in Vain is a classic; I first read it in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame. The Game of Rat and Dragon should be read by any cat lover; they should continue on to The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal. Commander Suzdal also appears A Planet Named Shayol. I loved the plot of Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons. The Dead Lady of Clown Town is quite powerful. Finally, The Ballad of Lost C'mell pulled at my heart.

Smith's writing is quite lyrical at times and his storytelling techniques may take some getting used to. But give him a chance and you'll find a fascinating history of the future of mankind. You'll find yourself regretting the author's early death.

If you enjoy science fiction, I believe you'll enjoy this book. If you love well-told stories, I would suggest you try it. It held my attention through various doctors' appointments, so the stories are compelling. ( )