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Average rating2
Welcome to Old North Australia, or Norstrilia, the only planet that has "stroon," a substance that indefinitely delays aging in humans. Stroon is cultivated from huge, deformed sheep farmed by the wealthiest estate owners to ever exist in all of humanity's existence. *** Rod McBan is the last of one of the oldest and most honorable families on Norstrilia. But he himself has shortcomings that would normally have led to his death under the strict laws governing population control on a planet where immortality is cheap and imperfect citizens are ruthlessly "culled" to make way for more productive members of society. *** But even McBan's vaunted stature in the society is not enough to save him from the basest of human emotions-jealousy- as the enmity of a former friend forces him to escape to Earth, where McBan's unprecedented fortune quickly makes him a magnet for all manner of crooks and revolutionaries.***
Reviews with the most likes.
Fantastic. Sweet and bittersweet, weird and retro but also a bit timeless - Cordwainer Smith is sublime and this story was a nice little joy and distraction.
Series
1 released bookInstrumentality of Mankind is a 10-book series first released in 1964 with contributions by Cordwainer Smith, Wojciech M. Próchniewicz, and Paul M.A. Linebarger.
Series
2 primary booksL'Instrumentalité is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 1975 with contributions by Cordwainer Smith.
Series
3 primary booksLos señores de la Instrumentalidad is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1963 with contributions by Cordwainer Smith.