FORGOTTEN BOOK: DESIGN FOR GREAT-DAY

Design for Great-Day by Alan Dean Foster & Eric Frank Russell  (1995; an expansion by Foster of Russell's novella "Design for Great-Day" (Planet Stories, January 1953; Russell's novella was reprinted as "The Ultimate Invader" in The Ultimate Invader and Other Science Fiction:  Stories from the Four Corners of Time, edited by Donald A. Wollhem, 1954; also as "The Ultimate Invader," the novella was included in Major Ingredients:  The Selected Short Stories of Eric Frank /Russell, 2000)

Eric Frank Russell (1905-1978) was a major science fiction witer of the 1940s and 1950s, Russell's first novel, Sinister Barrier, was the cover story for the inaugural issue (May 1939) of Unknown, the legendary fantasy magazine edited by John W. Campbell, Jr.  (Legend has it that Campbell created the magazine in order to publish Russell's story, although there has never been any evidence of that.)   Other popular and influential science fiction novels by Russell include Dreadful Sanctuary (1948), Sentinels from Space, (1953, based on his 1951 story "The Star Watchers"), Three to Conquer (1956, based on the 1955 serial "Call Him Dead"), Wasp (1958), Next of Kin (1959, based on the 1958 story "The Space Willies," which in turn, was an expansion of the 1956 story "Plus X"), and The Great Explosion (1962, based on the 1951 novella "...And Then There Were None").  His story "Allamagoosa" (Astounding Science Fiction, May 1955) won the first-ever Hugo Award for Best Short Story.  Other notable short stories include "Jay Score" (Astounding Science Fiction, May 1941), "Metamorphosite# (Astoudning Science Fiction, April 1949), "Hobbyist" (Astounding Science Fiction, September 1947), "dear DEvil" (Weird Tales, May 1950), "Diabologic" (Astounding Science Fiction, March 1955), and "The Waitabits" (Astounding Science Fiction, July 1955).  Russell's sort stories were reprinted in most of the major science fiction anthologies of the 1950s, and well into the 1960s.  He was only the second UK author to regularly appear in Campbell's Astounding, and many readers believed him to be an American author.

Much of Russell's writing was influenced by Charles Fort and the "we-are-property" theme appears in a lot of his work.  But Russell was also known for his wit, which was evident in many of this stories for Campbell.  He also was  a major exponent of Campbell's favorite theme -- the competent Earthman who pulls one over on alien races, something that was evidenced in "Design for Great-Day."

Alan Dean Foster (b. 1946) is a popular science fiction writer who has published some 75 novels, including the long-running Humanx Commonwealth series, as well as over 40 tie-oin novels and collections (he ghosted the original Star Wars novel for George Lucas, for example).  Foster credits his love for an interest in science fiction to Russell's original "Design for Great-Day" story.  The expansion of this story into a novel is Foster's homage to Russell.

A strange small space ship appears on the distant world.  Its occupant is an Earthman, James Lawson.  With his are some intelligent bee-like creatures.  They are representatives of the Solarian Combine, a federation of beings clustered around several solar systems in a near-by galaxy.  These beings (of many physical types) have joined together in harmony to promote peaceful travel through space.  That is their only stated concern; idividual planets may fight and destroy each other if they wish -- just do not bring their wars and weapons into space.   Unfortunately, in this galaxy there are two interstellar empires who have been warring for centuries.  It's Lawson's job to see that they stop.  Or else.  Of course, Lawson will not resort to physical violence to achieve peace, but he and the members of the Solarian Combine are advanced enough that they do not need to.

Weaponless, armed with only his wits and his skill at persuasion (and with the support of the many races of the Combine), Lawson goes head to head in a battle of wits against the Great Lord Markhamwit, who as, a powerful warlord, cannot be convinced that Lawson was not sent as a ploy from his interstellar enemies. 

The result is a biting commentary on the stupidity of was and -- even more so -- onj the stupidity of the leaders of war.

All of this must be taken with a grain of salt, of course.  The dumb aliens all react as dumb humans might because in this universe human motivtion and human greed are the norm, no matter what form an alien might take.  That's all part of the science fiction game of the Fifties, which is what this book essentially is.  It's all great fun and the reader just has to sit back and enjoy the uncritical ride.

My basic problem with the book is that it really isn't needed.  It pads the original story, and doing so, lessens it.  The book reads well, but...

Why mess with something that worked?  And worked well.  Stick with the original story, which -- as with Foster -- also blew me away way back then.