Catch-22 in Space: The Small Colonial War Series by Robert Frezza
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A Small Colonial War, Fire in a Faraway Place, and Cain’s Land by Robert Frezza
(Del Rey/Ballantine, 1990-96). Covers by Stephen Hickman and Peter Peebles
Anyone else out there read stray book comments on the internet that send them off in search of 30-year old paperbacks? No? Yeah, that figures. Well, that’s what happened to me when I stumbled on this brief mention of Robert Frezza’s 1990 military SF novel A Small Colonial War on Reddit last night.
Anyone read A Small Colonial War? Catch-22 in space. Need to find my copy, it was dad’s favorite SF and he was very well read. Had to send my paperback to his widow.
It’s a total cluster-f**k of an empire trying to impose their will on a rebellious colony, told mainly from the point-of-view of the invaders. And it’s hilarious. And brutal. And hilarious.
A Small Colonial War was the first novel in a trilogy published between 1990-96. I’ve never read it, and I’m not 100% even sure I’ve ever seen a copy. But that small mention pinged around in my head because someone else had recommended A Small Colonial War recently, and it took some mental gymnastics to remember who and when. (Cut me some slack — I read about a lot of books).
But I remembered eventually. It was James Nicoll, in his July post Five Doomed Armies in Science Fiction at Tor.com. Here’s his more involved take.
22nd-century Japan’s empire reaches to the stars. Travel takes years, although relativity and hibernation spares travellers from paying that cost. Instead, they pay in alienation, as society back home on Earth changes beyond recognition. Japan’s solution is to defer the task of controlling their empire to modern-day peregrini recruited from the lesser nations of Earth — forces like Lieutenant-Colonel Anton “the Veriag” Vereshchagin and his command, the 1st Battalion, 35th Imperial Infantry.
Communication lag means the Japanese Diet is forever misinformed about their colony worlds. No problem for the Diet, safe at home on Earth. For the soldiers of the 35th, this means assignment to Sud Afrika, a planet settled by racially paranoid Boers. The Boers were followed by cohorts of heavily armed settlers who, the Japanese optimistically assumed, would bring the previous colonists to heel. The 35th is very much the odd man out in this conflict; they’re hated by all sides.
What’s better than a new Vintage Treasure to track down? Three Vintage Treasures, of course! All three volumes in the trilogy were published in paperback by Del Rey/Ballantine in the 90s; none were ever reprinted, and there are no digital editions. Here’s the publishing details; jot these down for me while I start an internet search.
A Small Colonial War (301 pages, $3.95 in paperback, February 1990) — cover by Stephen Hickman
Fire in a Faraway Place (319 pages, $4.99 in paperback, March 1994) — cover by Peter Peebles
Cain’s Land (313 pages, $5.99 in paperback, January 1996) — cover by Peter Peebles
Robert Frezza published two more SF novels, McLendon’s Syndrome (1993) and The VMR Theory (1996), before hanging up his hat as an SF writer. I wondered what happened to him, and then I remembered that James Nicoll took a stab at answering that question on his blog in 2015, in an article titled Whatever Happened to Robert Frezza? (Man, apparently I spend a lot of time on that guy’s blog. Thanks James! I’m not stalking you, I swear.)
See all our recent Vintage Treasures here.
i would say i am probly 98% more ignorant of books and authors then you, so i do the Book Search i would guess way more often then you :p hahaha
i dont know why but i have always found it fun to just type in a theme or idea in the search bar of amazon or abe books and see what comes up going through many pages just wish listing things. i think it has to do with a collectors/addictive mind, but instead of seeking out drugs or drink, i seek out and make lists of books etc.
in fact, i think my wife has told me to stop looking at your vintage treasure posts for fear of going bankrupt haha. i bet she would be even more driven to crazy if i didnt buy most things in digital, i already have a huge graphic novel collection that is one hell of a hassle to move.
> i think my wife has told me to stop looking at your vintage treasure posts for fear of going bankrupt haha.
Well, that’s one advantage of collecting vintage paperbacks. Every book I’ve covered in the last 12 months I bought for well under ten bucks — even COLD HAND IN MINE by Robert Aickman. It’s a rich hobby, but it doesn’t have to be an expensive one.
One of my all time favourite mil-sf series. I had too buy replacements on the second hand book market when the originals wore out. Really wish they would be republished digitally.
> One of my all time favourite mil-sf series.
It sure seems to be a neglected gem. I’m surprised I never heard of it. That’s the curse and blessing of being part of such a huge industry. There’s always more to discover, and it’s too easy for really great books to be overlooked.
Frezza’s bio mentioned service in the Judge Advocate Corps, and residence in Maryland, so I checked the Maryland Bar; alas, no listing.
Nice detective work! This is a team effort; we’ll find him eventually.
Good to know I’m not the only one puzzled about what happened to Frezza. Though, it’s more because I enjoyed “McLendon’s Syndrome” and “The VMR Theory,” which reminded me of the Stainless-Steel Rat but with fewer nominal hero characters who transgressed the irksomely smug line.