Cordwainer Smith (Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger): The Game of Rat and Dragon

Pinlighting is a hell of a way to earn a living. Underhill was furious as he closed the door behind himself. It didn't make much sense to wear a uniform and look like a soldier if people didn't appreciate what you did.

He sat down in his chair, laid his head back in the headrest and pulled the helmet down over his forehead.

As he waited for the pin-set to warm up, he remembered the girl in the outer corridor. She had looked at it, then looked at him scornfully.

"Meow." That was all she had said. Yet it had cut him like a knife.

--- Snip ---

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29614/29614-h/29614-h.htm

One of my all-time favorites (and not just because I'm a cat person). Linebarger seems like a really interesting person - godson of Sun Yat-sen and an early expert in psychological warfare, his far-future Instrumentality of Mankind is a complex and fascinating reality...

(Another favorite from him is Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons.)

5 replies, 3076 views

Thread info Bookmark this thread Trash this thread

Reply to this thread

Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum

Replies to this discussion thread

5 replies	Author	Time	Post
Cordwainer Smith (Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger): The Game of Rat and Dragon (Original post)	petronius	Jun 2013	OP
A favorite of fans, critics, and other authors as well ...	eppur_se_muova	Jun 2013	#1
Just remembering	intaglio	Jun 2013	#2
Huh, I was re-reading that just a few weeks ago! (nt)	Babel_17	Jun 2013	#3
There is a cordwainersmith.com ...	eppur_se_muova	Jun 2013	#4
No one mentioned The Dead Lady of Clown Town?	Fortinbras Armstrong	Jul 2013	#5

Response to petronius (Original post)

Tue Jun 4, 2013, 01:38 AM

eppur_se_muova (35,136 posts)

1. A favorite of fans, critics, and other authors as well ...

CS's stories keep getting republished, and they're famous for hidden acrostics and other buried treasure. Often modelled after classical Oriental literary styles (and, I've recently read, Biblical allusions abound). http://www.amazon.com/Cordwainer-Smith/e/B000APBV9Y#/ref=la_B000APBV9Y_st?qid=1370327557&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB000APBV9Y&sort=daterank I got hooked on his style after buying a worn paperback copy of The Planet Buyer at a neighbor's garage sale back around junior high (maybe earlier).

Reply to this post

Response to petronius (Original post)

Tue Jun 4, 2013, 07:41 AM

intaglio (8,170 posts)