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Enterprising Tales
by Marc Smith
£10.99 available from Bridge Magazine

Ever since the early days of bridge, many texts have been written to instruct players at all levels of the game. Many authors have attempted to combine bridge problems with literature to make learning easier and they have done so with varying degrees of success. This book is a first - Marc Smith has successfully blended bridge hands and science fiction in an unusually clever publication. He has incorporated many real-life bridge personalities, both American and European, as Star Trek type characters to illustrate the hands. Amidst the science fiction setting, many of the characters are easily recognizable as well-known bridge players with slightly disguised names but possessing distinctive character traits of their real-life models.

The hands are creatively played and defended by the comical personalities on the starship Competitor.

The hands are not only amusing, cute and inventive, but highly instructive and interesting from a bridge point of view. The hands can improve your bridge knowledge as well as provide humorous, enjoyable reading material. The examples are well presented and clearly analyzed to emphasize various play and defensive problems.

This work is a bridge novel of the highest quality. As the story line unfolds, the main characters develop into people to whom the reader can easily relate. Many of them you will recognize from your local bridge club. Every club has a player who fits the description of Captain Quirk, for example.

Many of the opponents that the Competitor crew members play against are vividly described. You are unlikely to encounter any of these aliens at your next ACBL tournament, but look out for Steven Spielberg's next science fiction extravaganza - Marc Smith might easily appear as the screenwriter in the credits.

I highly recommend Enterprising Tales for all levels of bridge players, both for its entertainment value as well as its bridge instruction. For science fiction and Star Trek buffs, this book is a must!

Jim BECKER