7.2 /10 1 Votes
Language English Publication date 1985 Originally published 1985 Country United States of America Preceded by The Peace War | 3.6/5 Goodreads Series Across Real Time Followed by Marooned in Realtime Genre Science Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Awards Prometheus Hall of Fame Award Similar Vernor Vinge books, Across Realtime books, Prometheus Hall of Fame Award winners | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The Ungoverned" is a 1985 science fiction novella by Vernor Vinge, set between his novels The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime. It was first published in Far Frontiers, Volume III, first collected in True Names and Other Dangers, and later published in the 1991 edition of the omnibus Across Realtime (Baen Books, 1991).
Plot summary
The framework is the story of the Republic of New Mexico (NMR) invading the peaceful anarcho-capitalist society in Kansas. The NMR creates a military fiasco by completely failing to understand the cultural differences — including the amount of self-protection a lone Kansas farmer may have.
The protagonist is Wil W. Brierson, a detective/insurance agent, who attempts to disrupt the invasion while trying to minimize the property damage (and thus claims his company might have to pay out) and bridge the cultural gap. Brierson is also the protagonist of Marooned in Realtime.