The People of the Wind

by Poul Anderson

When the two star-faring races from which they are descended enter into war against each other, the two species who share the planet Avalon--one of humans, the other of winged creatures--must make enemies of friends. Reprint.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Fantasy, Aliens, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

176 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1973

About the author

Pseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.

Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]

Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.


Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry

Reviews

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oddly Heinleinian offering by Poul Anderson.

True, the two grandmasters share an affinity for the physical and the libertarian, and both have a natural talent for world building – but Anderson steers this ship clearly along the Missourians path. This is similar to The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and / or Between Planets.

First published in 1973, People of the Wind was good enough to be nominated for the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Locus. (It lost to Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, which swept all three awards that year) Telling the tale of Avalon, a planet in between great empires – the Terran and the Ythrian.

Anderson goes into greater detail, and his science seems well thought out and exhaustive, about describing the bird-like Ythri. Avalon has been colonized by both races and so a hybrid civilization of both has grown up on the small planet. When galactic political troubles brew, the small colony world and it’s mixed society finds itself caught in between.

Easily read as an allegory about race relations, Anderson does one better than Heinlein in his Farnham's Freehold by telling the story from the perspective of the humans on Avalon who feel an affinity for the Ythri and the fused culture they have created. Anderson’s impressive ability to tell both sides of a story is in full form in this work.

Like Dances With Wolves, the Avalonian humans have gone native, or in this context, “gone bird”.

Fans of Anderson will also take note and find interesting that Avalon was populated, Pitcairn Island style, by descendants of David Falkayn, his Polestechnic master trader.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess I just don't appreciate Poul Anderson's style of writing. I like his ideas, I like his settings, and I enjoy the themes he explores. It's really first rate SF, and I plan to read as much as I can.

But I find it slow going - his sentence structure is sparse, and there's little linkage between ideas, so when I'm reading, I tend to get distracted, and daydream. Then I get to the bottom of the page and I really have no idea what I've read, so I start over.

It's rather a bit like work for me to read Poul Anderson. It's worth the effort, but I wish it could be more natural for me. Very few authors have this effect on me... but I'm not giving up.

Anyways, that's perhaps my fault, and not something that I need to project onto Poul Anderson the writer.

So how about this book? It's a nice military SF book, with lots of politics and battle maneuvers. But it's also a love story, and a coming of age story. It's a story of betrayal, and betrayal upon betrayal, and heartbreak. A story of challenge and triumph. And Anderson really does find a good ending, with just enough twist to satisfy the reader with the novel's conflict's resolution.

It's really a wonderful novel. I read it quickly, and during a busy time, so that I could share my paperback copy with another person on bookmooch. But I'm also purchasing the series of Poul Anderson omnibus editions in ebook format from baen.com, so I will read this again fairly soon. It's that good, and I'm sure I'll find my attention wanders a bit less the second time through.

Recommended book... there may be some confusion if you don't know the Falkayne name, or the politics that carry over from other Poul Anderson books, but for the most part you can read this as a stand-alone novel and enjoy it on its own, without having read other works by Poul Anderson in the same milieu.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nicely done shortish novel about two races on a colony world that have to learn to co-exist peacefully in order to survive despite conflict between their races on their parent worlds. The background infrastructure is built on Shakespearian romance and Heinleinian politics, and it's an altogether full and fast-paced and engrossing read. It's not my favorite of his science fiction novels, but it's among his best. It was serialized from the February through April issues of Analog magazine in 1973 when Ben Bova was the editor and then released in a mass market paperback edition almost immediately by Signet. It was on both of the final ballots for the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel of the year, but Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama won both that year. (The other choices were Gerrold's The Man Who Folded Himself, Heinlein's Time Enough for Love, Niven's Protector, and Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. Of those, I would have voted for Gerrold or Niven, but my personal choice for best of that year goes to Sterling Lanier's Hiero's Journey.) Anyway, The People of the Wind is an enjoyable hard-sf story set on the planet Avalon where humans and the bird-like Ythri seem evenly matched...

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard for me to rate any Poul Anderson book under a 4. This is not one of my favorites by him but it's still beautifully written and engaging. Love his style, even when I don't always understand what he's trying to portray.

[Allan Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the 1970's, Poul Anderson had a six-year string of books nominated for either the Hugo or Nebula award. The People of the Wind was his 1974 nominee, relatively short at 176 pages. It is set on the planet Avalon, which is peacefully settled by the two races from the surrounding empires, the Terrans (human) & the Ythrians (bird-like). They are caught in the middle when war begins.

Typical of the time, it's a short novel at 176 pages, so the story moves along quickly. At the start, it seemed like a romance, an aspect I didn't care for, but as it morphed into space opera, I found more appreciation for it. I've read a number of Anderson's books, and he's not one of my favorites, but better in short doses like this. In this one, the language comes off very stilted and his phrasing is quite awkward, so the impression it leaves is strange, although the story itself is pretty straightforward.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written tale of a colonized world inhabited by two species, one human and one bird like, living peacefully side by side, whose home planets get drawn into a bloody, high stakes war. The story has a powerful theme, about the strength that comes from diversity, and the ties that can bind people to transcend differences of tribe, race, and indeed even species.

[prcardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storyline: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 5/5

Whenever I come to a classic science fiction work that numbers less than 200 pages, I think to myself, "Oh, it is one of those books. Those books tend to feature a single (or perhaps a few) novel idea(s), some fun action and adventure, and quick development and closure. The novel idea will often be dated, the action is ridiculous, the adventure forgettable, and the pacing and development simply embarrassing. I think that those books might have been fine as magazine serials targeting teenage boys in the 1950s and 60s, but it would be shameful for a middle-aged man, post-2000, to laud them with praise (save for perhaps reasons of nostalgia). Anderson's short works have often fallen prey to some of these faults. I've read The Enemy Stars, The High Crusade, Tau Zero, and There Will be Time. They're mostly short, underdeveloped, poorly characterized, simply written, and aspiring to a greatness never achieved. They're also suprisingly good for being short and dated. Poul Anderson has the unusual ability to strike at the heart of whatever matter he has chosen for his attention. He does the most with a minimum. Of the five Anderson books I've read now, People of the Wind is the only one in which he mastered his signature telling.

I've never experienced such thorough worldbuilding in such short a space. I like 500+ page tomes because you have ample room to develop the story. I can see from the Anderson presenting this title that modern writers are often wasteful. The long-length format releases them from having to be concise. Many novellas and older science fiction writers of 150-page paperbacks were no better. The paper was cheap, and so was the ink, and in the end all they needed to meet low expectations was a good pulp adventure. Anderson took his writing seriously though. He built up characters while he was building the world. His battle scenes doubled as world-building and tripled as hard science fiction. Dialogues and interaction were opportunities to illustrate the principles and consequences of terms such as statesmanship. Even his forays into the lascivious were serving a second role as he delved into the possibilities and limits of intercultural understanding. I was never bored by this world. I was satisfied with the story when it ended. I was entertained and impressed in the middle.

I still think the novella format inferior to the novel. A well-written full-length novel simply has more substance and can do more with style than a well-written novella. Still, Anderson was a master of economy here, and I have a newfound respect for the format and the author.

[Josh T · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took almost halfway in for me to get into it, for some reason. Probably because it's always hard getting into a new world with its own customs and culture etc. I found how he introduced the world of the Ythrie and the language and words used to be a bit disorienting until I got the hang of the alien words and such (which in the end I realize wasn't really all that hard, my brain was just being stubborn). The lack of Nicolas Van Rijn or David Falkayn was disappointing in the extreme as well. However this takes place long after their death, so that's to be expected. I MUST SAY, this was, in the end, a fantastic book. Below I describe events, and characters, and what I thought of them. It's essentially a non-chronological summary and opinion. I don't usually get this in depth, but this was a good book that packs a punch. Lots of depth to it for such a small book.

THERE BE SPOILS BELOW (I didn't want to hide the WHOLE review)

HUGE SPOILERS

REALLY MASSIVE SPOILERS

THE WHOLE STORY IS SPOILED BELOW

The book finally gets going around 40% of the way into it, when war becomes the main theme instead of world building the Ythrie people and Avalon. Like I said, he focused far too much on world building in the first half, for such a short novel, that you never had a whole lot of time for character and story. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book after that point. That said, he did indeed do well with the remaining space.

The death of Draun was a bit of a surprise, as I was expecting him and Christopher Holm, aka Arrinnian, to fight to the death over Drauns brutal rape of Eyath. Yet to contrast, Draun died an honorable death at war, flying to his sons rescue as the invading Terran Imperium troops shot his sons wing. They both die. It is sad. Yet this is odd because you hate Draun at the same time, for what he did to Eyath.

The character of Vodan, Eyath's mate, Eyath being the female Ythrie who was galemates (friends) to Christopher Holm, aka Arrinnian, died without too much note. We find that his ship went down on Avalon from space, by a description from Rochefort when he and Eyath were out walking and he inadvertantly, and unawares, tells her Vodan is dead, by merely describing the insignia on the ship he saw at sea. I felt we should have seen something more of the lead up to this death, maybe experienced it, but at the same time it worked the way Poul Anderson did it. Eyath runs away, and as mentioned, Draun finds her, brutally rapes her. Rape is still a common thing in society of Ythrie. It isn't exactly smiled upon, but it happens and is accepted, like slavery, we are told.

The character of Rochefort was interesting, because I wasn't sure if he was trying to seduce Tabitha Falkayn for real, or as a ploy. It turned out his emotions were true but that he would ultimately betray her and return to the Imperium. Alas she abandoned Rochefort for Christopher Holm, after Chris had to witness her falling in love with Rochefort, and after Phillippe Rochefort had betrayed her. That was interesting character building.

the character of Cajal (whose whole name is preposterously and annoyingly long), had no interest in the war, but he was a man of the Imperium, and he would do what he was ordered, including killing so many innocents and invading a planet that was not rightly theirs to invade. It was intriguing to see this flip side, to see an Admirals perspective. He ultimately believed in the Terran cause, but had no desire for blood to be spilled where it need not be. I found his character interesting in that regard. Usually the enemy is a blood thirsty man. You think of enemies taking over innocent worlds in conquest as akin to "evil" but Juan Cajal was not evil.

David Holm, Christophers father, was also an interesting character, because he bridged the people of Avalon. He mended their differences and made it so they cooperated. He made the world stronger in doing so. In settling their differences and living peaceably together, he showed humans and Ythrie could do so, contrary to the Terran Imperium's outlook of imperial conquest. He was responsible for setting up all the planetary defences that so very much took Juan Cajal by surprise! What a glorious moment of victory that was indeed.

Then alas, Avalon is invaded after the homeworld of the Ythrie gives up. Avalon does not. When they are invaded, it is the continent of Equatoria, a deadly continent with hell shrubs I believe they were called, which would give off a gas laced with absorbed heavy metals. So the plan was to leak information about this via TRUE traitors on Avalon. Then they would land, and become sick. It worked. Sadly Rochefort also betrayed the world and Tabitha whom he'd fallen in love with. He did it because he thought if the world fell quicker, by taking this empty continent (which he did not know had the hell shrub? bush?), it would save lives on Avalon. So with the best intentions, he betrayed the world and the woman he loved.

In the end, Avalon was granted its right to exist as Avalon, of humans and Ythrie alike. But other worlds of Ythrie were not so lucky. This was a fascinating tale of surprising depth when you sit down and write it out. In so small a book you have so many characters, and so much character development.

[Jim Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The People of the Wind is part of Poul Anderson’s vast future history, set in the intermediate time between the stories of Nicholas Van Rijn and David Falkyn and those of Domenic Flandry.

The planet Avalon is inhabited by two races, humans and the winged Ythri, who have formed a joint society. Some humans have even adopted Ythrian lifestyles — gone bird — taking Ythrian names, wearing mechanical wings, and becoming part of Ythrian social groups. But Avalon, technically part of the Ythrian Domain, sits near the border of the Terran Empire. When hostilities over the border break out, Avalon becomes a key target for Terra.

This novel is both a remarkable bit of world building and a well told adventure story. The main characters are well drawn, and as always Anderson’s prose is evocative. And some of the issues it raises around self determination and the importance of a person being able to define who they are still important today, in some ways Anderson himself didn’t foresee.

It was nominated for both a Nebula and a Hugo, losing both to Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old favourite of mine. It's been about ten years since I read it last as most of my library was in storage until recently.

What impressed me most about this book was the world building. Set, mostly, on the world of Avalon it had a dual culture.

About 60% of the population is humans, the rest are Ythri.

The Ythri are broadly similar to birds, although they bear their young alive and have jaws rather than beaks. Due to being winged pack carnivores their culture is markedly different from the humans.

Since the two races have lived side by side for centuries there's been a lot of cultural overlap. Which gives them a surprising strength when the Terran Empire decides to go to war with the Ythri Domain, which Avalon is a part of.

Anderson did an excellent job of creating the people and culture of Avalon, Domain and Empire.

Another thing I liked is that their were no villains in this piece. Certainly, there was a war. But that war was seen through the eyes of characters on both sides of the conflict, and none of them thought they were doing an evil thing.

SF fans are sure to love it. I believe that people who merely dabble in it will find People Of The Wind a good read as well.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two great empires, the Terran Empire of humans and the Ythrian Empire of bird-like people are at the precipice of war. Caught in between is the planet of Avalon where Humans and Ythrians have learned to live together. So much so that many of the humans there want to become more like the Ythrians, even going so far as to inject themselves with Ythrian DNA, evolving somewhat, into a hybrid species.

First published in 1973, this novel was nominated for the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Locus awards. However, it eventually lost to Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama and consequently is much less well known today. There is quite a bit of scientifically based world building here, especially in regard to the Ythrian species. In many ways this is a novel about race relations but unlike similar science fiction novels of the time, the author does a good job of presenting the issues from both sides. Interestingly, while this is a stand-alone novel, there is a connection to Poul Anderson’s Polestechnic books in that Avalon was originally populated by descendants of David Falkayn, the master trader of those books.

I do confess to struggling with this one. Anderson’s sparse style is not always easy reading and I found myself having to re-read often in order to ensure I was understanding the plot. There are a lot of characters as well which add to the complexity; understanding how they relate to one another is challenging. Nevertheless, the effort was worth it and prods me to tackle more of Poul Anderson’s work.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a 4 1/2 stars for a book that covers a lot of ground in a small space. A book from the 70s that anticipates a lot--modern machine-driven fabrication, and much else--that gives it a more contemporary feel than one would expect, and Anderson expresses it in a wonderful style that evokes the best of 70s era fantasy. There is a lot of sociology at work here, including the imperatives of an empire to engage in imperialist expansion, regardless of whether its officials are actually committed to it or not. And to the complexities of two species tryiing to find ways to live together while managing the even greater difficulty of trying to understand one another. And the struggle of a civilization to manage and show due respect to honor, as it understands it, at a time when doing so clumsily could result in their own annihilation. (I gather from his reputation that Anderson can be libertarian-leaning in some of his works, but what's presented here is more thoughtful, and also even-handed toward both sides in the central conflict--and toward the divisions within both sides.)

Anderson handles all of this well, though the short length of the novel does limit some of its potential. It suffers from a cast a bit too large for its size which makes it difficult to follow some of the plot threads, and if the reader isn't relentlessly careful, it's easy to slip by some very important developments without realizing their significance. (Which is why this gets four (and 1/2) stars instead of five.) But this is s rewarding novel nonetheless, and it left me wanting to track down the rest of his Technic HIstory novels and stories.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

The avian Ythri are an intelligent species with an aggressive past. Around the star Laura the blended settlement on planet Avalon has had human and Ythri living peaceably for centuries, to the extent of humans marrying into Ythri clans. These are not reproductive marriages. The Ythri have expanded to form a group of star settlements called the Domain, but Humanity feels they are encroaching on human space and are preparing for war. The Ythri are not without resources against the more powerful Humans however, and in the opening battles near Avalon, the humans get a nasty surprise. A suspicious Avalonian human commander has been preparing defenses for years and their planet will now be a tough nut to crack. The Terran forces however, are overwhelming so a ruse must be developed, and to that end their forces are lured to the uninhabited region called Equatoria where an invasion can be effected unnoticed. It is uninhabited for a reason though. Poul Anderson takes the unusual tack of showing humans in their true light. And it is not flattering. Worth a look.

[Christopher Schmehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started a wee bit slowly. Once I got familiar with the characters though, it was off for a wild ride. There were layers of realizations in this one.
On the colony world of Avalon, shared by both Terran settlers and Ythrian settlers, the inhabitants live in a blended society. The two races have their own separate establishments, Ythrians are bird-like raptors who fly more than walk and Terrans are pretty much as we humans are on the Earth of today. There is a generation of humans who have taken up the Ythrian ways, using anti-grav belts and rigs to fly. There is much closeness and dependency between the two races.
So, when the enormous Terran Empire declares that they are annexing the world in the interest of securing their borders the Avalonian governing council is the opposite of thrilled. They have been building up defenses for such an outcome, and they are not about to submit to anyone.
I highly recommend this book.

[Jan vanTilburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A David against Goliath story. In space.

Sort of ok. A planet who wants to be left in peace is attacked by ‘the Empire’ of Terra. A huge conglomerate of worlds. The Terra empire is by no means evil. They want to solve a border dispute and Avalon is in the way.

Avalon is peacefully inhabited by two species. Humans and Birdlike people.

Thru the eyes of the main players we follow this conflict, which escalates in war. We follow both sides. The little man and the big shots.

There is a space battle. Some ground skirmishes. And quite a lot of political maneuvering. In between all that there are romantic involvements. So something of everything I realize now.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable story with some great world-building of the society of Avalon. I liked how the decentralized structure of their civilization played into the plot. I wish we had seen more of the most interesting character, the Imperial officer Cajal. He’s deeply conflicted between his military duty and his moral and evil religious conviction to avoid as much death as possible. I found that conflict more compelling than some of the interpersonal conflicts happening on Avalon. It was strange how there was a dramatic scene involving a challenge to a duel, but then that plot line is cut off. Still a good read.

[Brad · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I'm visiting many of the classics, I'm coming across brilliant ideas and narratives, often the genesis of the best ideas used over and over again in science fiction. As I start reading each of these works, I worry that they will be too dated, but I'm almost always pleasantly surprised. The People of the Wind is the first that I have found the prose completely inaccessible, not in that it was complicated but moreso that it was just plain boring. The fascinating ideas were completely overpowered by the writing.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 (Good)

Notable Awards: Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1974 Nebula Award nominee, 1973

Poul Anderson’s delightful space opera chronicles the struggle between the growing Terran Empire and the Ythrian Domain (inhabited by birdlike beings). The main action occurs on the planet Avalon, a colony of Ythri but settled by BOTH humans [...]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

[James Rickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. If you like Poul Anderson and haven't read this one, it's well worth your time.

[L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Post-Falkayn fun with the bird people.

[Cameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on this because it seemed more intent on creating a mythical culture with all the bells and whistles than creating an interesting narrative.

[Francesco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Commento qui: https://leggendoeguardando.blogspot.c...

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poul Anderson is amazing. Here, he combines space opera combat with very intriguing characters with real conflicts, interests, and personalities. In a storyline that could be ripped from today’s headlines, the young people of Avalon are identifying as other species, while a group of religious anti-democratic invaders are attempting to overthrow their government through violence.

The similarities don’t go much further than that: the invaders are an over-civilized empire, although the people who identify with another species do have serious biological impediments against them. On Avalon, Terran humans and Ythrian bird-people have created a new culture at the edges of the Ythrian Domain, and the Terran Empire is frightened of Ythri’s reach. Neither the Terrans nor the Ythrians understand Avalon, however.

The space combat is semi-realistic, in the sense that at the high speeds of interstellar combat ships, inertia and acceleration mean combat lasts for weeks of maneuvering interspersed with short bursts of deadly fighting, and fills a good portion of the book. Most of it, however, are the humans who join the clans of Ythrian bird-people, using jet-packs to overcome the most obvious deficiency, but there are a lot more differences to overcome as well.

[Bill Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful short read - it helps me to remember why I love the work of Poul Anderson.

The story is about the Ythri, a population of human looking bird-men -- slight creatures with wings that enable them to fly.

The Ythrian Domain is the target of the Terran Empire. The Terran Empire wants to subjugate the Ythrian people and consume the domain to become part of the large Terran expanse.

And planet Avalon is part of the Ythrian Domain; and a place where humans and Ythrians had co-existed for centuries. It becomes the battleground, and a jewel that the Terrans want to acquire at any cost.

The Terrans threaten Avalon with utter domination and a war of Armageddon. But Avalon has prepared itself with traps and countermeasures to make it difficult for the Terrans. Knowing that this was written in the early seventies, I couldn't help but think this was a parallel to the United States presumption that attacking and dominating Vietnam would be an easy task. And the rhetoric from the Terrans prior to their attack certainly had some similarities.

I love this book; highly recommended. My second read of this.

[Old Man Aries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il tempo: un futuro lontanissimo, quando la stessa fantascienza sarà divenuta leggenda di ere remote. Il luogo: lo spazio intergalattico, dove si prepara la più feroce guerra dell'universo. I motivi: l'impero terrestre, colonialista ed espansionista, non sopporta la vicinanza del dominio di Ythri, una federazione di mondi con un sistema sociale molto prossimo all'anarchia. Gli Ythriani, antico popolo di uomini-uccello la cui storia si è già intrecciata con quella umana, non hanno la forza militare necessaria per respingere l'invasione terrestre, e devono arrendersi. Tutto fa credere che per la civiltà ythri sia la fine, ma c'è un pianeta che è capace di tenere in scacco l'immensa flotta imperiale: è il mondo di Avalon, l'unico nella galassia dove Ythriani e umani convivono in armonia. Questo romanzo è una fantasia epica nella miglior tradizione della space opera, ma è anche lo struggente ritratto di un mondo dove si cerca di costruire un modello di civiltà la cui parola d'ordine è felicità.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5 Stars)

Unremarkable. This book was fine; Poul Anderson is a good writer. But the characters in it, while more time were spent on them than in some other of his works I've read, were caricatures of stereotypes rather than anything that felt alive. The story itself was rather basic and uninteresting. The politics and war at the center of the plot was also uninteresting. The main alien species in the book were kind of interesting, and the somewhat depthful exploration of humans trying to be a part of that culture was fascinating (I wish there would've been more of this). But overall, this book was unremarkable. It seems like the story of a Catholic prude learning that sex is okay and purity is fake, but that doesn't seem to tie to the main plot in any way I can see. I don't know why this was nominated for a Hugo even though I am in general a fan of the author.

This was a mediocre book.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of a large number of S-F books I bought in the 1970's and am just now getting around to reading (more to come). This one is kind of difficult to get into, especially keeping track of who the characters are and what race they belong to (human, birdlike Ythri, some combinations). That said, it's another fine space war book, culture clashes galore, love among the ruins and racial disparities, crafty Avalonians (from planet Avalon, you'll figure it out), and a very satisfying ending. Enjoyable. My next Poul Anderson book is going to be "The Dancer from Atlantis," also in my collection, which won him the Hugo Award.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable story with some great world-building of the society of Avalon. I liked how the decentralized structure of their civilization played into the plot. I wish we had seen more of the most interesting character, the Imperial officer Cajal. He’s deeply conflicted between his military duty and his moral and religious conviction to avoid as much death as possible. I found that conflict more compelling than some of the interpersonal conflicts happening on Avalon. It was strange how there was a dramatic scene involving a challenge to a duel, but then that plot line is cut off. Still a good read.

[Matthew Reads Junk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could barely manage to finish it. I like Poul Anderson's work but this was borderline un-readable. A short novella clocking in at under 200 pages, this is a rare case of a work really needing to be fleshed out. You couldn't discern which character was which, POVs changed from paragraph to paragraph, and the writing was just not clear at all.

There were interesting ideas here, somewhere and more could have been done with the idea of humans co-opting alien culture and what not, but it was just too jumbled and rushed to make sense.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting is Anderson's Terran Empire after the exploits of Falkayn but before Flandry. This novel is about the subjugation of the Ythrian Domain by the Empire. However, the Ythrian-Human colony of Avalon refuses to submit. Anderson does a nice job sketching the society of this planet (it is a short novel), and this is the major attraction of the novel. This is an entertaining space opera with a serious edge. Amderson dedicated this book to Leigh Brackett and Edmond Hamilton--very appropriate.