Legacy Paperback – November 27, 2010

A collection of one novel and ten novellas and short stories by sci-fi master James H. Schmitz. All are well written and held my interest but some seem a little long. Schmitz really wrote about people so there is usually excellent character development. Sometimes just a little of the trappings make a piece sci-fi. Many could be easily edited to be another genre. Most of these pieces are adventures or space opera.LEGACYAN INCIDENT ON ROUTE 12 - a murderous robber gets what he deserves. Maybe more. But no, I have little sympathy for violent sociopaths and psychopaths.GONE FISHING - a very bright con artist is not bright enough. But then, he is out of his league.HAM SANDWICH - a con artist unknowingly assists the government.LION LOOSE - a very cold-blooded heist in which thousands will die. Quillan from LEGACY becomes a major character in this crime caper which is sci-fi only because of its setting and the loot. The good guys race against the clock in this tense novella or long story.NOVICE - a young law student makes startling discoveries about herself and her pet.ONENESS - for one and a half centuries Earth has been ruled by a totalitarian, one party government. A large group of escaped prisoners may have a way to replace the system and restore liberty.THE OTHER LIKENESS - they look like us but ...?THE STAR HYACINTHS - my full review of this crime caper is located at its standalone title.THE WINDS OF TIME - a little time travel spices things up. Then there is the question of who is the master.WATCH THE SKY - a hoax has unexpected consequences.

Written in 1962 under the title of, "A Tale of Two Clocks", this is a classic of the early years of science fiction. Schmitz was never as successful as the Heinliens or Asimovs, but he pioneered strong stories about people overcoming odds in a future world of space. He always had great strong female characters often as the leads. In this one Trigger Argee must solve the mystery of alien life found on an ancient world. Full of action, political intrigue and futuristic science it reads as if it was recently written. It is part of Schmitz's future civilization of 'The Hub' which is an organization of over one thousand human worlds. Today it kind of reads as a high YA story, but it is still is a lot of fun.

Dear author,I applaud you on a terrific book. This book reminds me of a mix between Menace to Society meets some gay friends I had in HS. Menace because of its grittiness, in your face, abrasive moments and like my gay friends from HS because of the constant use of "b****" in reference to others and the humor that is associated with being gay (I feel like some gay men have a very witty sense of humor that is blunt and straight to the point, correct me if I'm wrong). This is a fiction piece with non-fiction qualities. The storyline is easy to follow, which many can relate to, which makes for a good read. The characters in the story actually FEEL real which helps bring the story more to life. Josh sells the story; he actually makes the story more believable than it really is. Turning 21 + living in BK + being raised by his grandmother (divided by) a large sum of money he's set to inherit from his father who was a drug kingpin at the time but who got murdered (divided by) a mother who becomes a fiend due because of her husband's death x Josh being gay x a new BF + everything else you WOULDN'T believe happening = Legacy, an eyebrow raising, profound, and incredibly well written book.I like the way Josh and Jeff meet; it's believable because how many times did we see someone who caught our eye in the deli, early in the morning on out way to "paid slavery" aka work? Plenty! All of the twist and turns had me more and more intrigued to read the next page. How the story starts off with Josh in the hospital and rewinds back to the time before he turns 21, then back to him being in the hospital, then back to events leading up to HOW he got put in the hospital is impressive to say the least. The story doesn't feel rushed. All of the characters play a role and the dialogue between them, gives for a good laugh here and a shiver to the spine there. When you grow up around the drug game, one of the key things to remember is, "the game is to be sold...never to be told." I mean, pimps also follow that philosophy as well, but it can very much be applied here for this story. Some of the quotes I like, especially by the grandmother are, "I tried to raise my kids to think education was a way out to break the cycle..." & "I should have been a mother but I was concerned about the money I was so use to it, was all I knew..." The climax when Josh is beginning to find out all the information that was kept from him REALLY brought the book to life. as the story gets deeper, Josh finds his "balls" and becomes to shape into the "man" his father planned for him to be.I will be honest, it was a little uncomfortable reading but as a fellow writer, I had to remind myself that I must have "an open mind, when opening a new book." The recurrent sex was a tad, unsettling to say the least...but so is watching a horse penetrate a female in Mexico. Aside from some frequent grammar and spelling errors, nothing bad can be sad about this. If I read it again, with a pen and highlighter, I could give you better feedback you might consider for part 2...if there is a part 2 in the works. It had me in suspense because normally I am not a reader of such novels. I don't know if I wanna classify it has a "hood" book, don't know it that's really, politically correct so to say, but hopefully you get the message I'm trying to convey here. 2 thumbs up sir."am I, my father's keeper?!"- in my G-Money from New Jack City voice...yes Josh, indeed you were.

I fell in love with the stories of James Schmitz when I was a teenager, especially the characters of Telzey Amberdon and Trigger Argee. Now, many years later, I can appreciate Schmitz' going against the grain of his time and writing about strong female characters who aren't sexualized or trivialized as arm-candy. There's also Heslet Quillan, a charming rogue who appreciates competent women as well.I had read Legacy many years ago, and it's always a pleasure to revisit it. Though I do own it in paperback, I bought the Kindle edition as well. The book was translated well to the Kindle, including front and back cover graphics, but the scanning included the page numbers which interrupted the flow of the text. (I expect to see page numbers in a paper book, but they're visually separated from the text.)I have frequently given Schmitz books as gifts to younger readers - there's never anything that would be inappropriate for even a young teen, and even in Schmitz' "juvenile" books (most famously,  The Witches of Karres ), he never talks down to his audience and just tells a cracking-good story with intriguing characters. Highly recommended.

Strange story. Not sure what to make of it. Not very exciting. I was looking for something amazing to take place. Something of stellar proportions. Something to benefit mankind. Oh well............

A good read enjoyed it !