Author:	Poul Anderson
Copyright:	1981
Date Reviewed:	8/7/84
Rating:	6.0

Synopsis: "The Psychotechnic League" consists of one short story and three novellas in a future history.

Review: "The Psychotechnic League" is similar to Heinlein's future history series (Lazarus Long), but it reminds me more of Blish's "Cities in Flight". Like that anthology, it consists of four short stories. The first is dissimilar from the other three and is used to set the stage for the following stories.

The first story, "Marius", takes place shortly after a devastating nuclear war and is about a man who executes a coupe against another who is on his way to becoming a dictator. Although all talk, it was a gripping story.

The second story, "Un-Man", follows a special agent of the U.N. (which is a powerful political entity). All "Un-Man" agents look like the same person. One has been killed and another replaces the first and infiltrates an organization planning to overthrow the U.N. This one started out sounding interesting but soon became a mediocre spy story.

The third story, "The Sensitive Man", is simply a retelling of the second with a different set of characters.

The last story, "The Big Rain", is also a spy story but is made more interesting because it takes place on Venus. The Venusian culture is nicely detailed.

"The Psychotechnic League" has some interesting ideas but since two of the stories were not that good, the book as a whole is a disappointment. I may read the next sequel, "The Cold Victory", but I'm in no hurry.