World Without Stars (Ace Books #F-425)

A normal man would have lain down and died. But to Hugh Calland the task before him seemed simple enough: organize a revolution by a group of primitives against their telepathic overlords; build with the help of those same primitives a spaceship virtually from scratch; cotact, via that spaceship, a third group of aliens and enlist their aid in returning home across the galactic abyss. At worst it would take a lifetime... and Mary O'Meara was waiting.

I found a lot to enjoy in Poul Anderson's WORLD WITHOUT STARS. So much, in fact, that it made me wish I'd explored his books earlier. This is my first exposure to Anderson and I'm very impressed by his abilities as a storyteller and as a world-builder. At first glance (and looking through the first few chapters), WORLD would appear to be a fairly standard pulp science-fiction novel, with bold humans seeking out new life forms on a strange new world where no human has gone before. But as you get further along, the story never quite goes where it's expected. There are a lot of surprises hidden in here. The book contains loads of those neat little science fiction ideas that one expects from this type of book: human immortality, telepathic aliens, future cultural changes, etc. But what I really enjoyed in addition to the ideas (and the repercussions they have on life in the future) was Anderson's presentation style. He doesn't simply provide huge information-dumps where every aspect of some space-age development is dryly recited. Rather the clues are dropped quite subtly. On more than one occasion, I flipped back in the book to reread an earlier passage in the light of a later revelation. It's a very rewarding read if you like that sort of thing (as I do). The plot is relatively straightforward; a group of humans is marooned on a seemingly primitive planet and must contend with strange cultures of aliens who regard these invaders with suspicion (and not for the usual reasons). However, the plot is secondary to the tour-de-force of the character of Hugh Valland who provides the book with its emotional core. He's a fascinating character, and, while bordering on cliché at times, he's entirely memorable and single-handedly brings the book to life. His back-story, slowly revealed through the novel, is what gives the novel its weight. The back cover blurb of the Ace edition I own gives away far too much of the plot, and I recommend not reading it if you can possibly resist the temptation. This is a short book (the paperback ends at exactly the 150 page mark), but it packs quite a punch. The Valland character and the neat ideas running throughout give this book a depth that belies its size. I'll be looking out for more Poul Anderson books in the future.

I remember reading this book many years ago, yet many details remain fresh in my memory. This book deals with the middle years of human expansion into our galaxy, at a point in the far future when Humans have become almost immortal. Emphasis on the almost. Mr. Anderson explores the idea of the limits of immortality, the social effects this would have on both civilizations ("ultimate hospitality",shipwives) and individual relationships (an immortal love), and the way in which a group of immortals view the passage of time. I was awed by the way the immortals viewed disaster much differently than we would. A lot of ideas are packed into this short book. Highly recommended.

Having loved the Harvest of Stars series, this was my first trip back in time to one of Anderson's more common shorter works. I was delighted. It reminded me of an excellent Roald Dahl short story, which is surprising. It is told in the first person, and is a fairly exciting story. What is really remarkable is the writing; the story is so well told. There is even some thought-provoking discovery. All this is and two good characters (one excellent) are fit masterfully into less than 150 pages. The ending is fitting and Anderson pulls it off perfectly - (and be careful not to glance around when flipping to the end to see how many pages there are). I can think of no compelling reason whatsoever not to read this book. For those of you searching, my version is an old Ace. Find it.