Reportedly, the book had its origin while Russell was working on ways that a saboteur could undermine the Japanese empire during World War II (he was in the RAF for four years), and the resemblance of the story to an English agent infiltrating Japan is overwhelming (the Kaitempi, or Sirian secret police, is so close to the historical Kempetai as to seem like a punchline). It would only take an editor a short time to change a detail here and there to make this a plausible spy story taking place in modern times. 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.

Wasp by Eric Frank Russell