The Mouse on the Moon by Leonard WibberleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
On rereading this book after about 40 years--I still liked it.
It's a slim book and a quick read; somewhat realistic and somewhat farcical; quite satirical and quite funny. Taken together, it's a winner.
This isn't biting satire, but whimsical, though it isn't less effective for that. It still forces the reader to think from the perspective of citizens of small nations and maybe reconsider (as an American) how much we walk on other people without considering their rights.
In some ways, the first novel and this sequel are both science fiction, imagining a world where a tiny nation develops some key new technology and uses it to leapfrog the superpowers in importance and genuine power. This science--a type of nuclear bomb in the first novel and a new type of nuclear power in the second--dismantles the power balance of the time (1960s).
It's a nice thought experiment, and the author uses it to tell a gentle satire on the politics of that time. It's also got a little comedy, a little romance, and international politics, making it easy to see why it was made into a movie.
So, good fun. I almost would give it all the stars except I don't want to oversell it. It's pleasant and amusing, and you would probably like it.
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