243 pages
English language
Published Sept. 29, 1986
One minute, down and out actor Lorenzo Smythe was — as usual — in a bar, drinking away his troubles as he watched his career go down the tubes. Then a space pilot bought him a drink, and the next thing Smythe knew, he was shanghaied to Mars.
Suddenly he found himself agreeing to the most difficult role of his career: impersonating an important politician who had been kidnapped. Peace with the Martians was at stake — failure to pull off the act could result in interplanetary war. And Smythe's own life was on the line — for if he wasn't assassinated, there was always the possibility that he might be trapped in his new role forever!
An enjoyable romp, I may have missed some of the finer points about politics. Will look for annotations to fill me in, if need be. On many Sci Fi classics lists, and deservedly so - this book certainly influenced other writers in the last 56 years.
