The Eternal Frontiers

by James H. Schmitz

Earth's colonists have divided into the Swimmers, who spend their entire lives in zero-gravity and claim to be the next step in evolution, and the planet-dwelling Walkers. The Swimmers regard those who prefer to live on the surface of a planet as little better than unevolved apes, while the Walkers are not about to say farewell to the planets they grew up on, and think the Swimmers are not advanced at all, but merely deranged. Crowell, born a Swimmer but now a Walker by choice, is caught in the middle as the two sides prepare for war. Then he discovers the true cause of the altercation: a hidden alien race trying to provoke a war of extinction.

Genres: Science Fiction

143 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 10, 2010

About the author

James Henry Schmitz (October 15, 1911–April 18, 1981) was an American writer born in Hamburg, Germany of American parents. Aside from two years at business school in Chicago, Schmitz lived in Germany until 1938, leaving before World War II broke out in Europe in 1939. During World War II, Schmitz served as an aerial photographer in the Pacific for the United States Army Air Corps. After the war, he and his brother-in-law ran a business which manufactured trailers until they broke up the business in 1949.

Schmitz is best known as a writer of space opera, and for strong female characters (including Telzey Amberdon and Trigger Argee) that didn't fit into the damsel in distress stereotype typical of science fiction during the time he was writing. His first published story was Greenface, published in August 1943 in Unknown. Most of his works are part of the "Hub" series, though his best known novel is the non-Hub The Witches of Karres, concerning juvenile "witches" with genuine psi-powers and their escape from slavery. Karres was nominated for a Hugo Award.

In recent years, his novels and short stories have been republished by Baen Books (which bought the rights to his estate for $6500), edited (sometimes heavily edited) and with notes by Eric Flint. Baen have also published new works based in the Karres universe.

Schmitz died of congestive lung failure in 1981 after a five week stay in the hospital in Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife, Betty Mae Chapman Schmitz.

Reviews

[Matthew Smonskey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what to make of this book.

Spoilers.

It seemed rather confused about what it wanted to be. First, it had the makings of an interesting human faction political thriller thing. Then it turned into a mystery. Then it turned into a monster hunter story. Then into a ghost story. Then into an alien war story. Then a crazy technology race. And then done, in a span of 143 pages. It really should have focused on one of those. It felt like chapters were missing at points.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

[General information you'll glean in the first few pages of the book] Several factions of galactic governments discover an uninhabited planet ripe with mineral wealth... but discover a small, illegal, abandoned mining operation already there. The people of the illegal mining camp seem to have disappeared instantly, leaving no sign of struggle, leaving behind their work, supplies, and transport ship. An investigation ensues.

This book feels like it should be in the middle of a larger series. It starts abruptly, it feels as though we're supposed to know about the characters than we do, and it ends with a feeling that the story continues and many things unresolved. It should almost just be embedded within a larger novel.