James H. Schmitz

James H. Schmitz was the author of a number of science fiction fantasy novels and stories. After his death, his out-of-print works retained an enthusiastic following and were republished in the 1980's. They are remarkable for their bold female characters (surprising even by today's standards), and also for the author's deft handling of psionics. Many of Schmitz' writings fall into one of two universes and have many interlocking characters. He wrote one set of tales set in the universe of the "Agent of Vega" series. He created a different universe in the "Federation of the Hub" series which includes over two dozen stories and novels. His writings exist as eight novels and fifty-odd stories in several collections, most of which were published between 1960 and 1974.

List of works

A Tale of 2 Clocks (1962)

A Tale of 2 Clocks was published in 1962. It is a Trigger Argee adventure, and touches on Quillan, Pilch, plasmoids, and Old Galactics.

The story is a mystery, which Trigger Argee eventually unwinds almost by accident. Trigger is one of two recurring female lead characters for Schmitz. Like Telzey, she is privileged and extremely capable, but unlike Telzey, she has little or no psionic ability. Instead, she is equipped with above average intelligence, training, and a dollop of creativity.

Several of Schmitz' strengths as a writer come out in this yarn. Human perception gets questioned, as the alleged culprits turn out to have a very unexpected nature and motivation. Qualities of "good" and "bad" are played with ironically. Pilch is one example: powerful and unrelenting enough to take on a forbidding mien to Trigger and others, but Schmitz makes clear that she is basically benign. She also appears in other works, as does the resourceful free-lance, semi-criminal detective, Quillan.

This story does not move as quickly as some other works, but is nevertheless a thought-provoking and satisfying read.

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