Product Description

The first planet was called Pyrrus ...a strange place where all the beasts, plants and natural elements were designed for one specific purpose: to destroy man. The second planet was unknown ...a savagely primitive place where every man had to kill other men - or live as a slave. The third planet was called Felicity ...a joke, but not for those compelled to live there, along with the creatures bred for thousands of years for a single, deadly purpose. And one man, Jason dinAlt, has to face all three.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #211062 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 470 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Harry Harrison is the author of over 40 books, of which Deathworld, originally published in John W. Cambell's Astounding Science Fiction magazine, was the first. Since then the author has won the Nebula Award, the Prix Jules Verne and the Premio Italia. This omnibus edition contains Deathworld and its two sequels, together with a new introduction written by the author in 1999. Collectors should note that Deathworld 2 was originally published in Great Britain as The Ethical Engineer.

The Deathworld books concern Jason dinAlt, a professional gambler with psi powers who travels the galaxy in search of adventure. In each book he finds it on a different but equally dangerous world. These novels are tough, fast-moving hardboiled pulp thrillers. The future societies and technologies depicted now seem somewhat old fashioned, but the Deathworlds are vigorously imagined and convincingly dangerous.

Though tense and exciting, the trilogy's original impact has inevitably lessened due to the sheer number of imitations there have been of these very successful and influential tales. Nevertheless, the first Deathworld novel remains a SF classic, and all three books make for gripping reading. This single volume edition represents an essential part of SF history. --Gary S. Dalkin

Review
'Hard to put down' New Scientist 'A coldly thrilling piece of science fiction' The Spectator 'Marvellously exciting' TLS

Spectator
'A coldly thrilling piece of science fiction'

Customer Reviews

Not as good as it used to be
Maybe I'm just getting harder to please as I get older, but I wasn't as thrilled when I re-read this collection as I was the first time (maybe 15 years ago).

The first book is undoubtedly superb: well written and tight. Good plot; strong characters; excellent setting and action.

The second book is the weakest of the three by a mile. Jason ends up on his own (no Pyrrans in sight) on this primitive world in the company of this platitude-spouting idiot, Mikah. The plot of the book is all well and good, but Harrison includes so much argument between Jason and Mikah that you come to see the book as a thinly-disguised vehicle for Harrison's own views on justice, religion, human freedom and social development.

The third book is back on form, although again not so well-developed as the first. Harrison ties up a few loose plot ends to round off the trilogy. We reach the denouement of the relationship between Jason and Meta, but you can't help wincing at the "is this what you humans call love?" type dialogue, which reads about as fresh as a month-old Stilton left in a nice, warm cupboard.

All in all, the trilogy is a pleasurable enough read. I looked forward to reading the series again, but ended up being disappointed this time around. There just isn't enough depth in the books to make them classics.

GasDoc

You won't be able to put it down!
Astounding books that are both gripping and humorous. Harrison's ability to keep you on the edge of your seat, while laughing, is unsurpassed. I read these at about 15 and have read them at least every couple of years since. Classic books for any age that will keep you entertained and in suspense again and again. A must for all lovers of Sci-fi.

A fantastic page-turner: why did he stop at 3?
Before the Stainless Steel Rat, Harrison cut his teeth on a tale of a world where the flora and fauna were actually trying to kill the human inhabitants, leading to natural selection making the humans who survive there the epitome of strenght, speed and beauty. Into this arena steps our wise-cracking hero who soon realises there is more to things than meets the eye and starts to use his brainpower to assess the situation. There starts an entertaining formula of landing on 3 planets, finding out why each deserves the tag, "Deathworld", and then putting it to rights in clever and fun ways. Some fascinating insights into socialisation merge with laugh-out-loud humour and some cool action moments to create 3 classics. I guarantee you'll read it within a week.