...

a story where a murder was being investigated against a back drop of, say,

the purges on Saurian Major with a very pedantic police official attempting to solve a crime oblivious of the far greater crime being committed by the authorities. I'm not sure if that would work though.<<

I think this is a very good idea for a detective story, as it isn't just fun in itself but you are using the genre, with its theme of restoring moral order, to make the point that the federation has no moral order. My favourite detective author is Dashiell Hammett, who I think was making the same point about US society, as a lefty who nevertheless had to make his living as private detective for hire, and as an alcoholic in a country where alcohol was illegal.

I think it really would work, and it could please 'plot and ideas' types like grumpy me, and character lovers who I must say seem to come across as much less grumpy on this list :-)

Alison

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