Design for Great-Day

In keeping with the practice of resuscitating standard works of the SF genre, Foster here expands Russell's 1953 novella Design for Great-Day to novel length. The story, related mainly through the perceptions of a major participant, is one of Russell's few works in which humans comprise part of a pacificist force instead of finding themselves subjugated by one. (Indeed, the original tale's resonance with the Korean conflict has itself been made new again by recent world events.) Though Foster's amplification, which notably makes the warring alien factions even more villainous, is generally no more than serviceable, his writing blends well with Russell's. He highlights his predecessor's disdain for authority--especially those intent on wreaking destruction in the name of ``peace''--while maintaining the narrative's brisk pace. Also, he wisely has not attempted to update the original ``scientific'' explanations with more contemporary bafflegab. Readers drawn to this title by Foster's currently familiar name (novelizations such as Star Trek adventures and the Alien films) will be gratified by this intriguing renaissance of a work that otherwise might have been unjustly forgotten. (Feb.)