The Great Explosion

Mission of Empire: Earthmen had colonized hundreds of planets in the four centuries of deep space exploration - independent new civilizations founded by the discontented and adventurous of Terra. Trouble was, they were too independent - and the Terran government had ambitions for a space empire. A giant battle cruiser went out into the starlanes, with instructions to persuade the colonial planets to join the Empire - and with a couple of thousand troops to back up the persuasion! It looked like an interesting, if easy, mission - after all, what kind of opposition could a bunch of backwoods planets offer to the most advanced military power in the Galaxy? Quite a lot, as it turned out... and all of it wildly unexpected! One of the "old pros" of science-fiction, Eric Frank Russell has, in The Great Explosion, written a fast-paced and compelling adventure - a fascinating look at a possible tomorrow. A satirical classic.