The Wardove

Coordinated Arm #3

by L. Neil Smith

Earth was destroyed in 2023 and only Lunar colonists survived. Nine hundred years later, in a star-spanning "nation" without conscription or taxation, "The Parkinson" is transporting famous entertainer Chelsie Bradford on a tour of the galaxy to raise funds for a very unpopular interstellar war. Captain Nathaniel Blackburn of Coordinated Arm Intelligence must find out who's killing rock musicians raising money for the War Against the Clusterian Powers. Then the deaths begin. Blackburn knows the killer will strike again. But he doesn't know why. Are the murders acts of sabotage--or acts of twisted love? Political passion, or personal fury directed at the beautiful, enigmatic Chelsie? . . . the woman who is--the WarDove!

Genres: Fiction

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 1986

About the author

L. Neil Smith was a Libertarian science fiction author and gun rights activist.Smith was born in Denver, Colorado.

Smith began publishing science fiction with “Grimm’s Law” for Stellar 5 (1980). He wrote 31 books, including 29 novels, and a number of essays and short stories. In 2016, Smith received the Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions to libertarian science fiction.

He was editor of LEVER ACTION BBS [now defunct], founder and International Coordinator of the Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus, Secretary and Legislative Director of the Weld County Fish & Wildlife Association and an NRA Life Member.

Smith passed away on August 27, 2021 in Fort Collins, Colorado at age 75 after a lengthy battle with heart and kidney disease. Smith is survived by daughter Rylla Smith and wife Cathy Smith.

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this as the concept sounded great - a rock 'n' roll murder mystery on a spaceship! But it was just so much of a slog to get through. It wasn't very well written, the politics made little sense in this context, and the reams of fake future song lyrics didn't add anything. (If you are someone who skips the italics in books then avoid this one). There were some interesting concepts, but ultimately the execution didn't do them justice.

[David Johnston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting if impractical idea for how to run a political system. And the description of how ticket scalpers are really doing a public service for everyone is hilarious.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I wouldn't go as far as to call myself a fan, I have enjoyed various novels by L. Neil Smith: The Probability Broach, The Nagasaki Vector, Pallas, The Crystal Empire, Henry Martyn. Smith is known as a writer of "libertarian science fiction," works that interweave his political philosophy with alternate histories and space operas. Although even as a libertarian, at times I've found his polemic heavy-handed, he usually has a leavening of humor and I usually found his novels overall enjoyable. Not this one.

Although there is a libertarian society in the backdrop of this story, it's not that I found the political message heavy handed for once--at least in comparison to his other books. No, worse, I found this irritating and dull. And right from the dedication, with its spelling of "Amerika." The lyrics sprinkled throughout the story were even more annoying than the songs of Hobbits and elves throughout Tolkien. Maybe it's that by and large I'm not a music fan, at least not of pop music to the extent it's featured in this book. Maybe it's the humorlessness of this book, while Smith's North American Confederacy books, for instance, are generally filled with humor (and a lot of libertarian in-jokes.) But the emotion this filled me with for as long as I could stand reading was irritation. Not even the kind of irritation you feel at having ideas you cherish challenged. No, that would have been commendable at least. Just a niggling, I don't like this world, these characters, or how this is written.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

IMHO, this is far from the best of L. Neil Smith's books. There were long stretches of not much happening, and the action, when it came, was not as well depicted as in his other novels. Additionally, a big part of the reason I like his other novels is because of the way he weaves in his alternative history possibilities and his political philosophies, sort of a combination of anarchist, independent, and libertarian thought. There was much less of that in The War Dove, though the influence could stille be felt and seen. Finally, this was darker than his other novels, less hopeful. It was a bit depressing to read. Nonetheless, if you have enjoyed other novels or writings of L. Neil Smith, I recommend this one also, if only to get a more complete picture.