Norstrilia

I have to say it - "Cordwainer Smith" has been one of my all-time favourite SF short story writers since I was a teenager, and I see no reason to drop him now.

His Instrumentality universe is an amazing creation; his characters are so memorable I can still picture the Lord Jestocost and C'Mell the way I did in around 1969 - and then I found this, years later.

The concept of Norstrilia (Old North Australia), the home of the immortality-conferring stroon, being an insanely wealthy but rural planet was brilliant - and having someone who has failed what is in efffect a genetic lottery, go out and win unbvelievable riches with the help of an old military computer and redeem himself, also. The ending is brilliant. But then, so is the whole story.

Smith/Linebarger's writing style is also unique: simple, poetic, mythic. I so wish he'd lived longer. But for anyone who likes this, there are other stories out here, equally wonderful: The Ballad of Lost C'Mell, Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons, and my all-time and absolute favourite, Alpha Ralpha Boulevard. Read and enjoy!