WASP is not a book that necessarily has to be science fiction or fantasy by its basic premise, as say DONOVAN'S BRAIN or DARKER THAN YOU THINK are. So the agent is called a wasp, and wasp imagery is repeatedly used to reinforce the point. "Neverthless, that wasp killed four big men and converted a large, powerful car into a heap of scrap." In a similar way, a single clever agent provocateur with a plan can start the downfall of a military regime. The essential theme of the book is presented in having a tiny wasp, less than half an ounce in weight, sting at just the right moment. As it is, my stack of books to be read is taller than I am at this point.) (As an aside, I picked up a copy of the slightly abridged 1971 Bantam edition because, hey there it was, and if I waited to find the longer version, I might never get to read it. "The Terran agitator was the sting to cripple the invincibility of the Sirian empire", hmm doesn't look like anything special, I would have mistakenly thought. Eric Frank Russell's SINISTER BARRIER I had heard about, because of its Fortean themes and I would likely have read it at some point, but his later book WASP would have been just another title in a long row of science fiction books. I want to thank all who recommended this book.
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