Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity

Federation of Humanity #2

by Christopher Anvil

Vaughan Roberts and his two companions had been trapped on a crime-ridden, chaotic planet until they bamboozled the population with a gigantic hoax-which brought them to the attention of the Interstellar Patrol, who were looking for a few good con men, capable of ingenious improvisation and adept at playing dirty tricks on the bad guys. The new recruits acquited themselves admirably, so they naturally were given more tough nuts to crack, ú Flummoxing an alien empire which has taken a number of human prisoners as reconnaisance for an invasion. This has a personal aspect, since the prisoners are from the planet which Roberts tricked into reforming. . . .ú Stopping a plan by not-so-good Samaritans who are pretending to cure a planetary plague-which they introduced to the planet-with a "miracle" drug which creates an addiction to the same drug, which the schemers will be glad to continue supplying for ever-increasing sums . . .ú Not only rescuing some Patrol personnel taken hostage by fanatics who plan to execute them one at a time until their leader is released, but convincing other fanatics throughout the galaxy that the consequences of threatening anyone in the Patrol are too terrible even to think about. . . .ú Making sure that the rightful heir to a planet's throne escapes from captivity and overthrows the usurper. This time there's a Roberts may be falling for the ruler's beautiful sister. . . . And much more. . . .

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks

656 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Christopher Anvil was a pseudonym used by author Harry C. Crosby. He began publishing science fiction with the story "Cinderella, Inc." in the December 1952 issue of the science fiction magazine Imagination. By 1956, he had adopted his pseudonym and was being published in Astounding Magazine.

Anvil's repeated appearances in Astounding/Analog were due in part to his ability to write to one of Campbell's preferred plots: alien opponents with superior firepower losing out to the superior intelligence or indomitable will of humans. A second factor is his stories are nearly always humorous throughout. Another was his characterization and manner of story crafting, where his protagonists slid from disaster to disaster with the best of intentions, and through exercise of fast thinking, managed to snatch victory somehow from the jaws of defeat.

Reviews

[Marshall]

I loved this book, however, I would recommend reading this one first before reading part 1. It just gave more insight on the ship to me and some other key details that just fit better with the characters.

[Nathan]

I enjoyed the 'Roberts' stories. The 'Colonies' stories varied from interesting to bizarre, and took a bit to figure out what was going on.

[Jim]

Product Description

Vaughan Roberts and his two companions had been trapped on a crime-ridden, chaotic planet until they bamboozled the population with a gigantic hoax - which brought them to the attention of the Interstellar Patrol, who were looking for a few good con men, capable of ingenious improvisation and adept at playing dirty tricks on the bad guys. The new recruits acquitted themselves admirably, so they naturally were given more tough nuts to crack, including: Flummoxing an alien empire which has taken a number of human prisoners to gather information prior to an invasion. This has a personal aspect, since the prisoners are from the planet which Roberts tricked into reforming...Stopping a plan by not-so-good Samaritans who are pretending to cure a planetary plague-which they introduced to the planet-with a 'miracle' drug which creates an addiction to the same drug, which the schemers will be glad to continue supplying for ever-increasing sums. Making sure that the rightful heir to a planet's throne escapes from captivity and overthrows the usurper. This time there's a complication: Roberts may be falling for the heir's beautiful sister...And much more, including such lethal alien wildlife as banjo birds with rapier-like beaks, alien caterpillars with flaming dragon like exhalations, and a cast of thousands of biting, stinging, bloodsucking insects from a host of colony worlds who think humans are the tastiest things they've ever come across.

[Greg]

This is a good collection of somewhat cheesy pulp science fiction. The author has a talent for humorous twists to end the short stories. Bottom line: a good collection of chewing gum for the mind from the golden age of science fiction.

[David]

Classic irreverent humor. A great read.

[Jumana]

One of those which would make a great movie, but isn't so much fun as a book

[Lynn Calvin]

baen ebook

[Kevin Connery]

Great collection of Anvil’s shorter works, plus the novella Warlord’s Planet.

[Ari]

More Anvil. Broader range of stories. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, aiming for amusement more than insight.

Freely available as an e-book from Baen's free library.

[bluetyson]

Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity (Federation of Man) by Christopher Anvil (2006)