It's always nice when you get to visit an old friend whom you haven't seen in 16 years, but when that old friend goes by the name of Edward "Win" Bear and lives at 626 Genet Place, Greater LaPorte, N.A.C., you know you're in for a genuine treat… Yes, L. Neil Smith has at last returned to his most popular literary creation, the world of The Probability Broach. Most of our old friends are around, including Lucy Kropotkin and Will Sanders. The title refers to the semi-slum area of LaPorte where the new arrivals to the Confederacy from worlds like our own tend to congregate. The story takes place in 220 A. L. (1996 AD), which locates it between the events chronicled in The Nagasaki Vector and The Venus Belt.

The story this time revolves around two interesting questions: How would many of today's ostensible libertarians behave if they found themselves in a truly free society, and how would that society deal with a serious terrorist threat. Obviously, in the wake of 9/11, the second question seems the more relevant. The N.A.C. is suffering through a series of high-profile attacks, and Win Bear is hired by Lucy to find out who's responsible, before the people of the Confederacy can be stampeded into making the terrible mistake of creating a state in the name of public safety. At the same time, Win has also been hired by Clark Gable and Carole Lombard to find out who has been importing alternate reality DVDs, starring other versions of themselves. Naturally, both investigations take him deep into the American Zone and involve many meeting with several recent escapees from worlds like our own.

Smith is at his best as he parodies well known figures from our world, including a certain former Libertarian Party Presidential candidate who will remain nameless. His hilarious Book Reviews appearance in the novel demonstrates that when Smith has the bit between his teeth, he's easily the equal of Jonathan Swift or H. L. Mencken as a satirist. Along the way, there are gunfights, missile attacks, escapes from burning hovercraft, and all the other excitement we've come to expect from a Confederacy story. Smith serves up his libertarian philosophy straight, without the usual chaser of "but we can't seem too extreme lest we frighten the average voter" claptrap.

Tor Books has also just reprinted The Probability Broach in a new trade paperback edition. So pick up a copy of Zone for yourself to read, and if you need a gift for that budding libertarian on your Xmas list, why not a two book set? Give them the book that started in all over two decades ago and a copy of the latest installment. If they love Liberty and good SF, I guarantee they'll thank you!