Deathworld
(Deathworld 1)
by Harry Harrison
science fiction
copyright 1960
read in May 2016
rated 8/10: really quite good
It's an ancient old book. And still a very good book.
Sure, it's a bit dated. Only in the style, not in what it says. It reads like solid, over the top space opera. Beneath that, the plot and the message are still as good as ever.
I may have read it before... the planet itself seems vaguely familiar. When I read a book, I barely notice the title or the author, I just read the book. Which is one reason for this blog -- a reminder, to myself, of what I have read!
A quick search: I have not read Deathworld since starting the blog.
My current copy of the book comes from the Gutenberg website. What a brilliant site! At least, brilliant for someone who occasionally like to read older books.
What more can I say?!
This is a brilliant book with a strong message about humanity's destruction of the environment? This is a strongly worded message about the need to work with nature rather than against? This is a rubbish book where animals are unthinkingly sacrificed in order to further a battle plan of the brutal humans?
No. It's a not-so-simple adventure story, set in a what-if world of violent nature and sudden death. Where the hero seeks out a long-term solution, where the locals are unable to look beyond their short-term survival. All this overlaid with the author's then-current thinking on environmental issues -- with human expansion still the ultimate aim.
An enjoyable adventure. Reflecting -- simply to drive the pllot -- various views which I support, others which I do not.
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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Agamedes Consulting
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"The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing." — William Arthur Ward.
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