A review by metaphorosis
Deathworld by Harry Harrison
3.0
3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
Jason din Alt is a gambler with a special touch. When Kerk, ambassador from Pyrrus, engages din Alt to multiply a small stake, things get complicated, and the pair flee to Pyrrus, which offers problems of its own.
It took me a long time to get to Deathworld, way back when. A friend of mine promoted the books, but he was partial to military SF (he was right about Dorsai) and Gor (I've never wanted to check). When I finally did get around to Harry Harrison, I was pleasantly surprised. The Deathworld wrist holster in particular stuck in my mind, for some reason.
On this return trip, I was even more pleasantly surprised to find that it holds up. Sure, it's a very 'manly' book, but it's pretty good regardless. Harrison sets up an interesting situation, and he doesn't opt for the easy answers. There's admittedly a lack of subtlety to it, and it gets pretty heavy-handed at the end, but it's still worthy adventure SF when you want some light reading.
Jason din Alt is a gambler with a special touch. When Kerk, ambassador from Pyrrus, engages din Alt to multiply a small stake, things get complicated, and the pair flee to Pyrrus, which offers problems of its own.
It took me a long time to get to Deathworld, way back when. A friend of mine promoted the books, but he was partial to military SF (he was right about Dorsai) and Gor (I've never wanted to check). When I finally did get around to Harry Harrison, I was pleasantly surprised. The Deathworld wrist holster in particular stuck in my mind, for some reason.
On this return trip, I was even more pleasantly surprised to find that it holds up. Sure, it's a very 'manly' book, but it's pretty good regardless. Harrison sets up an interesting situation, and he doesn't opt for the easy answers. There's admittedly a lack of subtlety to it, and it gets pretty heavy-handed at the end, but it's still worthy adventure SF when you want some light reading.