sent to the Sirian outpost world of Jaimec to begin his mission. The first phase of his mission involves placing stickers with subversive slogans all over the Jaimecan towns in the hope of beginning to create the first murmurings of confusion and concern in Sirian society. Completing his first objective, Mowry begins the second: sending letters to various people of importance informing them of several deaths by his hand. These threats are always signed by a mythical rebel organisation named Dirac Angestun Gesept (Sirian Freedom Party) and often emblazoned by the slogan, "War makes wealth for the few, misery for the many. At the right time, Dirac Angestun Gesept will punish the former, bring aid and comfort to the latter." Following this, Mowry moves on to phase three, the hiring of Sirian civilians as contract killers to kill prominent members of the Kaitempi and other government officials. With the Sirians becoming more concerned about the disruption they believe the D.A.G. is causing, Mowry's success allows him to move on to phase four of his plan. The fourth phase involves Mowry planting fake wire tapping devices on several buildings (including the Kaitempi headquarters) to engender paranoia. He also continues to spread rumours via Sirian civilians to plant other seeds of doubt among the populace. With a Terran invasion imminent, Mowry is told to skip to phase nine of his operation: the sabotaging of Jaimecan sea-ships in another effort to divert the Sirians' concern away from the real – and approaching – threat. This time, the Terrans strike and the invasion begins. Mowry is captured by a Terran spaceship and is held for a few days before a government man recognises that he is not Sirian, but Terran. The novel ends with a government man informing Mowry that a wasp on another world has been captured, and that he is the replacement. Themes The novel portrays the Sirian Empire's censorship, suppression, and police state as folly and oppressive. Wasp frequently employs wry, black humour when dealing with these ideas and themes. Reception Terry Pratchett talks of the ironic nature in Russell's storytelling; that Wasp is a "funn[y] terrorists' handbook". An example of this humour is found in the protagonist's letter to the Sirian Central Bureau of Records in which he mockingly registers the rebel organisation Dirac Angestun Gesept as a legitimate organisation: The novel has also been praised for its gritty realism.