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Interstellar Patrol II-The Federation of Humanity


Villains With Slick Tricks
Met Their Match in the Slicker
and Trickier Interstellar Patrol . . .

Vaughan Roberts and his two companions had been trapped on a crime-ridden, chaotic planet until they bamboozled the population with a gigantic hoax—which brought them to the attention of the Interstellar Patrol, who were looking for a few good con men, capable of ingenious improvisation and adept at playing dirty tricks on the bad guys. The new recruits acquitted themselves admirably, so they naturally were given more tough nuts to crack, including:

  • Flummoxing an alien empire which has taken a number of human prisoners to gather information prior to an invasion. This has a personal aspect, since the prisoners are from the planet which Roberts tricked into reforming . . .
  • Stopping a plan by not-so-good Samaritans who are pretending to cure a planetary plague—which they introduced to the planet—with a “miracle” drug which creates an addiction to the same drug, which the schemers will be glad to continue supplying for ever-increasing sums . . .
  • Not only rescuing some Patrol personnel taken hostage by fanatics who plan to execute them one at a time until their leader is released, but also convincing other fanatics throughout the galaxy that the consequences of threatening anyone in the Patrol are too terrible even to think about . . .
  • Making sure that the rightful heir to a planet’s throne escapes from captivity and overthrows the usurper. This time there’s a complication: Roberts may be falling for the heir’s beautiful sister. . . .

And much more, including such lethal alien wildlife as banjo birds with rapier-like beaks, alien caterpillars with flaming dragonlike exhalations, and a cast of thousands of biting, stinging, bloodsucking insects from a host of colony worlds who think humans are the tastiest things they’ve ever come across. . . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christopher Anvil began writing science fiction in the early 1950s, publishing stories in the vintage SF magazine Imagination in 1952 and 1953. In 1956 he debuted in Astounding, the leading magazine in the field, with his story “The Prisoner.” That was the beginning of an avalanche of stories for Astounding (and Analog, as the magazine was retitled in 1960) which combined fast-paced adventure plots with a pointed satirical sensibility, puncturing dogmas and bureaucracies both human and alien. His stories in Astounding/Analog frequently took first place in the magazine’s reader polls, and were nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards. His work also appeared in such SF magazines as Galaxy and Amazing Stories. He lives in New York state.

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Eric Flint is a popular new star of military and alternate history SF. His first novel for Baen, Mother of Demons, was chosen by Science Fiction Chronicle as a best novel of the year. His second novel, 1632, a major novel of time-travel adventure, was a commercial and critical success. He has also shown a powerful gift for humorous fantasy adventure with The Philosophical Strangler, which Booklist described as “Monty Python let loose in Tolkien’s Middle Earth.” His collaborations include 1633, a sequel to 1632, with David Weber, and five novels in the Belisarius series with David Drake, the latest being The Tide of Victory. A longtime labor union activist with a degree in history, he currently resides in northwest Indiana with his wife Lucille.

Editor's Note:

Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity is a companion volume to Christopher Anvil's Interstellar Patrol (published by Baen Books in April, 2003). In this volume, the later adventures of the Interstellar Patrol agents Vaughan Roberts and his associates are recounted. Included also are all the various other stories which Anvil wrote in the same Federation of Humanity setting.

Cover art by Jeff Easley


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This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, March 2005

Copyright information for Christopher Anvil,
Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity
"The Claw and the Clock" was first published in Analog in February 1971.
"Riddle Me This..." was first published in Analog in January 1972.
"The Unknown" was first published in Amazing in July 1972.
"The Throne and the Usurper" was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in November 1970.
"The Trojan Hostage" was first published in Analog in July 1990.
Warlord's World was first published in 1975 by DAW Books.
"Goliath and the Beanstalk" was first published in Astounding in November 1958.
"Facts to Fit the Theory" was first published in Analog in November 1966.
"Cantor's War" was first published in If in May/June 1974.
"Uplift the Savage" was first published in Analog in March 1968.
"Odds" was first published in Amazing in July 1977.
"The Troublemaker" was first published in Astounding in July 1960.
"Bill For Delivery" was first published in Analog in November 1964.
"Untropy" was first published in Analog in January 1966.
"The Low Road" was first published in Amazing in September 1970.
"Trial By Silk" was first published in Amazing in March 1970.
"The Operator" was first published in Analog in March 1971.
"While the Northwind Blows" was first published in Amazing in November 1978.
"Leverage" was first published in Astounding in July 1959.
"The Sieve" was first published in Astounding in April 1959.
"Mating Problems" was first published in Astounding in December 1959.
"Hunger" was first published in Analog in May 1964.
"Contrast" was first published in Analog in December 1964.

 

ISBN: 0-7434-9892-5

Copyright © 2005 by Christopher Anvil. Afterword copyright © 2005 by Eric Flint.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
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Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com

Production by Windhaven Press
Auburn, NH

Electronic version by WebWrights
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Distributed by Simon & Schuster
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New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America


Baen Books by Christopher Anvil

Pandora's Legion
Interstellar Patrol
Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity

The Trouble with Aliens (forthcoming)

 

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