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Industrial Revolution
Excerpt: ...a little. "Sure," he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." He took another sip as he hunted for suitable words. A beautiful girl, a golden wine . and vice versa . why couldn't he simply relax and enjoy himself? Did he have to go fretting about what was probably a perfectly harmless conundrum?. Yes. However, recreation might still combine with business. "Permit me to daydream," he said, leaning close to her. "The Navy's going to establish a new base here, and the Altair will be assigned to it." "Daydream indeed!" she laughed, relieved to get back to a mere flirtation. "Ever hear about the Convention of Vesta?" "Treaties can be renegotiated," Blades plagiarized. "What do we need an extra base for? Especially since the government plans to spend such large sums on social welfare. They certainly don't want to start an arms race besides." Blades nodded. Jimmy's notion did seem pretty thin, he thought with a slight chill, and now I guess it's completely whiffed. Mostly to keep the conversation going, he shrugged and said, "My partner
20 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1963
11 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Poul Anderson
1,623 books1,110 followersPseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 12, 2019
Industrial Revolution by Poul Anderson is a novella first published in 1963. It is a somewhat introspective adventure story about the legendary beginnings of an organized revolution of asteroid miners against an authoritative and bureaucratic Earth. Anderson’s scientific narrative is detailed and speculative rather than fantastic.
As other stories I have read from him, he tends toward the hard science fiction of Heinlein and Asimov rather than the softer, humanistic and fantastic sub-genre popularized by Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick. That this pre-dates Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is amazing because the similarities are unmistakable, could this have been an inspiration of Heinlein’s? Both were named SFWA Grandmasters, and also both literate and persuasive libertarians; Industrial Revolution lacks the generational catch phrase of “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” but Anderson makes his argument as interesting.
This is also vaguely reminiscent of Frederick Pohl’s writing and I wish Anderson had expanded this idea into a full-length novel. Anderson mixes in a good analogy to colonization in space (specifically the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter) and European colonization in the 1500-1800s. This is simply a damn fine SF story.
As other stories I have read from him, he tends toward the hard science fiction of Heinlein and Asimov rather than the softer, humanistic and fantastic sub-genre popularized by Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick. That this pre-dates Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is amazing because the similarities are unmistakable, could this have been an inspiration of Heinlein’s? Both were named SFWA Grandmasters, and also both literate and persuasive libertarians; Industrial Revolution lacks the generational catch phrase of “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” but Anderson makes his argument as interesting.
This is also vaguely reminiscent of Frederick Pohl’s writing and I wish Anderson had expanded this idea into a full-length novel. Anderson mixes in a good analogy to colonization in space (specifically the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter) and European colonization in the 1500-1800s. This is simply a damn fine SF story.
August 20, 2018
In space, nobody can realise that you are retelling history!
This is a story that pithily describes how the American colonies had sought for freedom. But it so gleefully inverses the conventions, and makes the reading experience so enjoyable, with space stations, missiles, jupiter, love, punch, and piracy (sort of) thrown in, that the reader is bound to get carried away, rooting for the would-be rebels.
Recommended.
This is a story that pithily describes how the American colonies had sought for freedom. But it so gleefully inverses the conventions, and makes the reading experience so enjoyable, with space stations, missiles, jupiter, love, punch, and piracy (sort of) thrown in, that the reader is bound to get carried away, rooting for the would-be rebels.
Recommended.
September 17, 2025
So this was an O.K. story.....which isn't saying much.
What it is, is a predictable, formulaically written story, typical of the monthly sci-fi genre. No surprises. Nothing surprising or memorable contained within. In fact, quite dull at points.
I upped the star rating from 2 to 3 simply because there was some fun science stuff in the story. I liked the stuff where P. Anderson talked about the types of gasses available in Jupiter and how the scoop ships collected the gasses and stuff like that.
It was the best part of the story. In fact it was better than the story itself. It was the only thing that kept me interested enough to keep listening.
Oh yes, cudos for the narration by Tom Trussel (who ever that guy is) on the version I listened to. He ability to change his voicing just slightly enough to make each character sound distinct was not only well done, but quite entertaining. Particularly memorable was his voicing of Avis, the token "girl"...I mean woman of the story. She truly sounded like a "typical girl character" of the sci-fi pulp Era
Some of my favorite things from the story:
- everybody smokes
- everybody's an alcoholic
- every woman, especially Avis, or Mrs. Blades as she is named at the end of the story, needs a husband
- the blue eyed, blonde girl...er woman is called both a she-devil by Avis and a She- Canadian by Blades
- oh yes, Michael Blades. What a masculine name
- there's a "padre" on the navy ship. Would any modern writer have a pardre character in their story?
- every woman, especially Avis, or Mrs. Blades as she isnamed at the end of the story, needs a husband
- women are called "girls"....of course
- the good guys are called little pink-bottomed angels....
..ah.....excuse me?
- Avis refers to the mining operation as " a baby"
"Now who would want to hurt a baby?" she says at one point. We'll she is "a girl" after all and she just doesn't know about or understand all that man stuff, you know
- the use of Q.E.D. at the end of an argument
Now just what does that prove?
What it is, is a predictable, formulaically written story, typical of the monthly sci-fi genre. No surprises. Nothing surprising or memorable contained within. In fact, quite dull at points.
I upped the star rating from 2 to 3 simply because there was some fun science stuff in the story. I liked the stuff where P. Anderson talked about the types of gasses available in Jupiter and how the scoop ships collected the gasses and stuff like that.
It was the best part of the story. In fact it was better than the story itself. It was the only thing that kept me interested enough to keep listening.
Oh yes, cudos for the narration by Tom Trussel (who ever that guy is) on the version I listened to. He ability to change his voicing just slightly enough to make each character sound distinct was not only well done, but quite entertaining. Particularly memorable was his voicing of Avis, the token "girl"...I mean woman of the story. She truly sounded like a "typical girl character" of the sci-fi pulp Era
Some of my favorite things from the story:
- everybody smokes
- everybody's an alcoholic
- every woman, especially Avis, or Mrs. Blades as she is named at the end of the story, needs a husband
- the blue eyed, blonde girl...er woman is called both a she-devil by Avis and a She- Canadian by Blades
- oh yes, Michael Blades. What a masculine name
- there's a "padre" on the navy ship. Would any modern writer have a pardre character in their story?
- every woman, especially Avis, or Mrs. Blades as she isnamed at the end of the story, needs a husband
- women are called "girls"....of course
- the good guys are called little pink-bottomed angels....
..ah.....excuse me?
- Avis refers to the mining operation as " a baby"
"Now who would want to hurt a baby?" she says at one point. We'll she is "a girl" after all and she just doesn't know about or understand all that man stuff, you know
- the use of Q.E.D. at the end of an argument
Now just what does that prove?
June 29, 2022
Entertaining listening 🎶🔰
Another will written fantasy Sci-Fi space adventure thriller short story by Poul William Anderson about life on an asteroid which becomes threatened by a government wanting the industry shut down. But it ends will. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for a quick fantasy space read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of eye damage and health issues. 2022 👒😊💑
Another will written fantasy Sci-Fi space adventure thriller short story by Poul William Anderson about life on an asteroid which becomes threatened by a government wanting the industry shut down. But it ends will. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for a quick fantasy space read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of eye damage and health issues. 2022 👒😊💑
August 23, 2018
A well-written novella that basically is the American Revolution placed in space. Fundamentally, it revisits the economic situation of the American colonies as compared to the British Empire and puts the asteroid belt in that position of the colonies and Earth in the position of the Empire. A tribute to individualism and free-markets.
April 7, 2022
60's libertarian pulp, complete with smoking, sexism, and a "romance" subplot that reads like sustained sexual harassment. It is interesting for its view of asteroid mining, but the rest of it has dated very badly.
October 9, 2021
The end was just...acceptable. Neat.
Which made me think the whole thing was a padded short story.
Cool setting. Nice idea. Shrug.
Which made me think the whole thing was a padded short story.
Cool setting. Nice idea. Shrug.
December 23, 2021
4 out of 5
February 6, 2017
Good solid scifi
February 17, 2013
boring...
May 5, 2013
This short story concerns the revolution of colonies in the asteroid belt
against a bloated and corrupt welfare state back home on Earth. Libertarian
themes. A pretty good suspense story.
against a bloated and corrupt welfare state back home on Earth. Libertarian
themes. A pretty good suspense story.
November 15, 2024
Another great book from Poul, highly recommended political space conflict more or less
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews