Novel about interstellar war: Both sides win, both sides think they lost
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I recall reading this novel in the ’90s; my recollection is that the author was better-known for bad fantasy than for SF (but the SF of his that I’d read was better than his fantasy).
The story opened in media res just before a battle was joined; there is a dialogue between the captain of one of the ships and one of his crew. We never see the actual battle; we instead see the conquest of Earth by the aliens - and the conquest of the alien homeworld by Earth.
It is slowly revealed that the two sides contrived a way to both avoid the destruction of actual war, and solve their respective worlds’ respective problems of overpopulation, infrastructure decay, et multae ceterae. We also see that the solution was that the conquering aliens were secretly selecting Earthmen to rule their homeworld, while the humans were selecting aliens to rule Earth.
About halfway through, there is suddenly a third world that must be ‘conquered’ and brought into the network. The plot gets complicated after that.
story-identification novel
edited Aug 21 at 12:11
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
asked Aug 21 at 12:08
Jeff Zeitlin
5,5122442
add a comment |Â
up vote
17
down vote
favorite
I recall reading this novel in the ’90s; my recollection is that the author was better-known for bad fantasy than for SF (but the SF of his that I’d read was better than his fantasy).
The story opened in media res just before a battle was joined; there is a dialogue between the captain of one of the ships and one of his crew. We never see the actual battle; we instead see the conquest of Earth by the aliens - and the conquest of the alien homeworld by Earth.
It is slowly revealed that the two sides contrived a way to both avoid the destruction of actual war, and solve their respective worlds’ respective problems of overpopulation, infrastructure decay, et multae ceterae. We also see that the solution was that the conquering aliens were secretly selecting Earthmen to rule their homeworld, while the humans were selecting aliens to rule Earth.
About halfway through, there is suddenly a third world that must be ‘conquered’ and brought into the network. The plot gets complicated after that.
story-identification novel
edited Aug 21 at 12:11
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
asked Aug 21 at 12:08
Jeff Zeitlin
5,5122442
add a comment |Â
up vote
17
down vote
favorite
up vote
17
down vote
favorite
I recall reading this novel in the ’90s; my recollection is that the author was better-known for bad fantasy than for SF (but the SF of his that I’d read was better than his fantasy).
The story opened in media res just before a battle was joined; there is a dialogue between the captain of one of the ships and one of his crew. We never see the actual battle; we instead see the conquest of Earth by the aliens - and the conquest of the alien homeworld by Earth.
It is slowly revealed that the two sides contrived a way to both avoid the destruction of actual war, and solve their respective worlds’ respective problems of overpopulation, infrastructure decay, et multae ceterae. We also see that the solution was that the conquering aliens were secretly selecting Earthmen to rule their homeworld, while the humans were selecting aliens to rule Earth.
About halfway through, there is suddenly a third world that must be ‘conquered’ and brought into the network. The plot gets complicated after that.
story-identification novel
edited Aug 21 at 12:11
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
asked Aug 21 at 12:08
Jeff Zeitlin
5,5122442
I recall reading this novel in the ’90s; my recollection is that the author was better-known for bad fantasy than for SF (but the SF of his that I’d read was better than his fantasy).
The story opened in media res just before a battle was joined; there is a dialogue between the captain of one of the ships and one of his crew. We never see the actual battle; we instead see the conquest of Earth by the aliens - and the conquest of the alien homeworld by Earth.
It is slowly revealed that the two sides contrived a way to both avoid the destruction of actual war, and solve their respective worlds’ respective problems of overpopulation, infrastructure decay, et multae ceterae. We also see that the solution was that the conquering aliens were secretly selecting Earthmen to rule their homeworld, while the humans were selecting aliens to rule Earth.
About halfway through, there is suddenly a third world that must be ‘conquered’ and brought into the network. The plot gets complicated after that.
story-identification novel
story-identification novel
edited Aug 21 at 12:11
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
asked Aug 21 at 12:08
Jeff Zeitlin
5,5122442
edited Aug 21 at 12:11
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
asked Aug 21 at 12:08
Jeff Zeitlin
5,5122442
edited Aug 21 at 12:11
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
edited Aug 21 at 12:11
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
edited Aug 21 at 12:11
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
32.4k13182224
asked Aug 21 at 12:08
Jeff Zeitlin
5,5122442
asked Aug 21 at 12:08
Jeff Zeitlin
5,5122442
asked Aug 21 at 12:08
Jeff Zeitlin
5,5122442
5,5122442
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
up vote
27
down vote
accepted
This sounds like it could be Piers Anthony's early novel Triple Detente (1974).
From Goodreads:
Earth and Kazo have created a unique peace. Kazo administers Earth, and Earth controls Kazo. Nothing is really complicated until both humans and Kazos discover the existence of a third intelligent race in the galaxy and try to bring them into the newly developing peace.
If I recall correctly, both planets have overpopulation problems, and their leaders secretly agreed to 'surrender' and let the other part administer their planets and do what was necessary (i.e., cull the populations).
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
answered Aug 21 at 12:14
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
5,45611723
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up vote
2
down vote
You might be thinking of the short story “Mother Earthâ€Â, which was anthologized in The Early Asimov. It's a story looking back to the war in which the Spacer worlds fight for their independence, isolating Earth completely for a while.
The short story indeed begins in medias res, with a conversation apparently already going on. The very first paragraph is this provocative question.
“But can you be certain? Are you sure that even a professional historian can always distinguish between victory and defeat?â€Â
Gustav Stein, who delivered himself of that mocking question with a whiskered smile and a gentle wipe at the gray mustache from the neighborhood of which he had just removed an empty glass, was not a historian. He was a physiologist.
But his companion was an historian, and he accepted the gentle thrust with a smile of his own.
Read the full text of this novel as it appeared in the Astounding magazine.
answered Aug 21 at 23:14
b_jonas
20.4k1190245
1
Asimov's "Mother Earth" was anthologized more than once. Seeing as it's not a novel, and Asimov is better known for his science fiction than his bad fantasy, and seeing as "Mother Earth" does not match several plot details mentioned in the question, perhaps the OP was not wrong to accept Piers Anthony's Triple Detente as the answer to his question.
– user14111
Aug 22 at 5:17
@user14111: You're right. It was anthologized only once by Asimov himself in his own books, but anthologized more times in other books.
– b_jonas
Aug 22 at 9:11
A number of comments were deleted from the accepted Answer; there is no question that the accepted Answer is in fact correct.
– Jeff Zeitlin
Aug 22 at 11:22
1
Still, somebody coming to this question searching for a similar but different story could find this answer useful.
– Jules
Aug 22 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
27
down vote
accepted
This sounds like it could be Piers Anthony's early novel Triple Detente (1974).
From Goodreads:
Earth and Kazo have created a unique peace. Kazo administers Earth, and Earth controls Kazo. Nothing is really complicated until both humans and Kazos discover the existence of a third intelligent race in the galaxy and try to bring them into the newly developing peace.
If I recall correctly, both planets have overpopulation problems, and their leaders secretly agreed to 'surrender' and let the other part administer their planets and do what was necessary (i.e., cull the populations).
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
answered Aug 21 at 12:14
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
5,45611723
add a comment |Â
up vote
27
down vote
accepted
This sounds like it could be Piers Anthony's early novel Triple Detente (1974).
From Goodreads:
Earth and Kazo have created a unique peace. Kazo administers Earth, and Earth controls Kazo. Nothing is really complicated until both humans and Kazos discover the existence of a third intelligent race in the galaxy and try to bring them into the newly developing peace.
If I recall correctly, both planets have overpopulation problems, and their leaders secretly agreed to 'surrender' and let the other part administer their planets and do what was necessary (i.e., cull the populations).
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
answered Aug 21 at 12:14
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
5,45611723
add a comment |Â
up vote
27
down vote
accepted
up vote
27
down vote
accepted
This sounds like it could be Piers Anthony's early novel Triple Detente (1974).
From Goodreads:
Earth and Kazo have created a unique peace. Kazo administers Earth, and Earth controls Kazo. Nothing is really complicated until both humans and Kazos discover the existence of a third intelligent race in the galaxy and try to bring them into the newly developing peace.
If I recall correctly, both planets have overpopulation problems, and their leaders secretly agreed to 'surrender' and let the other part administer their planets and do what was necessary (i.e., cull the populations).
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
answered Aug 21 at 12:14
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
5,45611723
This sounds like it could be Piers Anthony's early novel Triple Detente (1974).
From Goodreads:
Earth and Kazo have created a unique peace. Kazo administers Earth, and Earth controls Kazo. Nothing is really complicated until both humans and Kazos discover the existence of a third intelligent race in the galaxy and try to bring them into the newly developing peace.
If I recall correctly, both planets have overpopulation problems, and their leaders secretly agreed to 'surrender' and let the other part administer their planets and do what was necessary (i.e., cull the populations).
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
answered Aug 21 at 12:14
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
5,45611723
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
TheLethalCarrot
32.4k13182224
32.4k13182224
answered Aug 21 at 12:14
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
5,45611723
answered Aug 21 at 12:14
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
5,45611723
answered Aug 21 at 12:14
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
5,45611723
5,45611723
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
You might be thinking of the short story “Mother Earthâ€Â, which was anthologized in The Early Asimov. It's a story looking back to the war in which the Spacer worlds fight for their independence, isolating Earth completely for a while.
The short story indeed begins in medias res, with a conversation apparently already going on. The very first paragraph is this provocative question.
“But can you be certain? Are you sure that even a professional historian can always distinguish between victory and defeat?â€Â
Gustav Stein, who delivered himself of that mocking question with a whiskered smile and a gentle wipe at the gray mustache from the neighborhood of which he had just removed an empty glass, was not a historian. He was a physiologist.
But his companion was an historian, and he accepted the gentle thrust with a smile of his own.
Read the full text of this novel as it appeared in the Astounding magazine.
answered Aug 21 at 23:14
b_jonas
20.4k1190245
1
Asimov's "Mother Earth" was anthologized more than once. Seeing as it's not a novel, and Asimov is better known for his science fiction than his bad fantasy, and seeing as "Mother Earth" does not match several plot details mentioned in the question, perhaps the OP was not wrong to accept Piers Anthony's Triple Detente as the answer to his question.
– user14111
Aug 22 at 5:17
@user14111: You're right. It was anthologized only once by Asimov himself in his own books, but anthologized more times in other books.
– b_jonas
Aug 22 at 9:11
A number of comments were deleted from the accepted Answer; there is no question that the accepted Answer is in fact correct.
– Jeff Zeitlin
Aug 22 at 11:22
1
Still, somebody coming to this question searching for a similar but different story could find this answer useful.
– Jules
Aug 22 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
You might be thinking of the short story “Mother Earthâ€Â, which was anthologized in The Early Asimov. It's a story looking back to the war in which the Spacer worlds fight for their independence, isolating Earth completely for a while.
The short story indeed begins in medias res, with a conversation apparently already going on. The very first paragraph is this provocative question.
“But can you be certain? Are you sure that even a professional historian can always distinguish between victory and defeat?â€Â
Gustav Stein, who delivered himself of that mocking question with a whiskered smile and a gentle wipe at the gray mustache from the neighborhood of which he had just removed an empty glass, was not a historian. He was a physiologist.
But his companion was an historian, and he accepted the gentle thrust with a smile of his own.
Read the full text of this novel as it appeared in the Astounding magazine.
answered Aug 21 at 23:14
b_jonas
20.4k1190245
1
Asimov's "Mother Earth" was anthologized more than once. Seeing as it's not a novel, and Asimov is better known for his science fiction than his bad fantasy, and seeing as "Mother Earth" does not match several plot details mentioned in the question, perhaps the OP was not wrong to accept Piers Anthony's Triple Detente as the answer to his question.
– user14111
Aug 22 at 5:17
@user14111: You're right. It was anthologized only once by Asimov himself in his own books, but anthologized more times in other books.
– b_jonas
Aug 22 at 9:11
A number of comments were deleted from the accepted Answer; there is no question that the accepted Answer is in fact correct.
– Jeff Zeitlin
Aug 22 at 11:22
1
Still, somebody coming to this question searching for a similar but different story could find this answer useful.
– Jules
Aug 22 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
You might be thinking of the short story “Mother Earthâ€Â, which was anthologized in The Early Asimov. It's a story looking back to the war in which the Spacer worlds fight for their independence, isolating Earth completely for a while.
The short story indeed begins in medias res, with a conversation apparently already going on. The very first paragraph is this provocative question.
“But can you be certain? Are you sure that even a professional historian can always distinguish between victory and defeat?â€Â
Gustav Stein, who delivered himself of that mocking question with a whiskered smile and a gentle wipe at the gray mustache from the neighborhood of which he had just removed an empty glass, was not a historian. He was a physiologist.
But his companion was an historian, and he accepted the gentle thrust with a smile of his own.
Read the full text of this novel as it appeared in the Astounding magazine.
answered Aug 21 at 23:14
b_jonas
20.4k1190245
You might be thinking of the short story “Mother Earthâ€Â, which was anthologized in The Early Asimov. It's a story looking back to the war in which the Spacer worlds fight for their independence, isolating Earth completely for a while.
The short story indeed begins in medias res, with a conversation apparently already going on. The very first paragraph is this provocative question.
“But can you be certain? Are you sure that even a professional historian can always distinguish between victory and defeat?â€Â
Gustav Stein, who delivered himself of that mocking question with a whiskered smile and a gentle wipe at the gray mustache from the neighborhood of which he had just removed an empty glass, was not a historian. He was a physiologist.
But his companion was an historian, and he accepted the gentle thrust with a smile of his own.
Read the full text of this novel as it appeared in the Astounding magazine.
answered Aug 21 at 23:14
b_jonas
20.4k1190245
edited Aug 22 at 13:39
answered Aug 21 at 23:14
b_jonas
20.4k1190245
answered Aug 21 at 23:14
b_jonas
20.4k1190245
answered Aug 21 at 23:14
b_jonas
20.4k1190245
20.4k1190245
1
Asimov's "Mother Earth" was anthologized more than once. Seeing as it's not a novel, and Asimov is better known for his science fiction than his bad fantasy, and seeing as "Mother Earth" does not match several plot details mentioned in the question, perhaps the OP was not wrong to accept Piers Anthony's Triple Detente as the answer to his question.
– user14111
Aug 22 at 5:17
@user14111: You're right. It was anthologized only once by Asimov himself in his own books, but anthologized more times in other books.
– b_jonas
Aug 22 at 9:11
A number of comments were deleted from the accepted Answer; there is no question that the accepted Answer is in fact correct.
– Jeff Zeitlin
Aug 22 at 11:22
1
Still, somebody coming to this question searching for a similar but different story could find this answer useful.
– Jules
Aug 22 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
1
Asimov's "Mother Earth" was anthologized more than once. Seeing as it's not a novel, and Asimov is better known for his science fiction than his bad fantasy, and seeing as "Mother Earth" does not match several plot details mentioned in the question, perhaps the OP was not wrong to accept Piers Anthony's Triple Detente as the answer to his question.
– user14111
Aug 22 at 5:17
@user14111: You're right. It was anthologized only once by Asimov himself in his own books, but anthologized more times in other books.
– b_jonas
Aug 22 at 9:11
A number of comments were deleted from the accepted Answer; there is no question that the accepted Answer is in fact correct.
– Jeff Zeitlin
Aug 22 at 11:22
1
Still, somebody coming to this question searching for a similar but different story could find this answer useful.
– Jules
Aug 22 at 15:02
1
1
Asimov's "Mother Earth" was anthologized more than once. Seeing as it's not a novel, and Asimov is better known for his science fiction than his bad fantasy, and seeing as "Mother Earth" does not match several plot details mentioned in the question, perhaps the OP was not wrong to accept Piers Anthony's Triple Detente as the answer to his question.
– user14111
Aug 22 at 5:17
Asimov's "Mother Earth" was anthologized more than once. Seeing as it's not a novel, and Asimov is better known for his science fiction than his bad fantasy, and seeing as "Mother Earth" does not match several plot details mentioned in the question, perhaps the OP was not wrong to accept Piers Anthony's Triple Detente as the answer to his question.
– user14111
Aug 22 at 5:17
@user14111: You're right. It was anthologized only once by Asimov himself in his own books, but anthologized more times in other books.
– b_jonas
Aug 22 at 9:11
@user14111: You're right. It was anthologized only once by Asimov himself in his own books, but anthologized more times in other books.
– b_jonas
Aug 22 at 9:11
A number of comments were deleted from the accepted Answer; there is no question that the accepted Answer is in fact correct.
– Jeff Zeitlin
Aug 22 at 11:22
A number of comments were deleted from the accepted Answer; there is no question that the accepted Answer is in fact correct.
– Jeff Zeitlin
Aug 22 at 11:22
1
1
Still, somebody coming to this question searching for a similar but different story could find this answer useful.
– Jules
Aug 22 at 15:02
Still, somebody coming to this question searching for a similar but different story could find this answer useful.
– Jules
Aug 22 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
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