Subspace Encounter

This is the last book Smith wrote before he died, and it had to be put together and completed after his death. To those who have read a lot of Smith, there will be a slight difference in the style. This, however, does nothing to change the fact that it is a wonderful story and extremely entertaining. It takes up the saga of the psionic experts after the North American political election, but rather than follow that thread in detail he instead builds up a fascinating parallel civilization with a richly detailed culture, which will eventually encounter that of Earth. The plot is classic Smith, with the forces of First (Earth) Space and Second Space having to combine to meet the threat of the Garshan empire, which is native to Second Space. All in all, a worthwhile read.