Sign in with Facebook
109th out of 116 books
—
80 voters
Shield
Koskinen had returned to earth with a strange new "Shield" - a device which enclosed the wearer in a force shield which absorbed all energies below a certain level. Light could come through the Shield, but no weapon known to man could penetrate it Koskinen had developed the Shield in collaboration with the Martians. From the moment of his return to earth he was in deadly d...more
Paperback, 201 pages
Published
April 1982
by Berkley Science Fiction
(first published January 1st 1963)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
167)
Pete Koskinen returns to Earth from the first long-term expedition to Mars, where he communed with the martians and created a portable invulnerability shield. Now forces are out to get him, and the secret of the shield! Yup, it's mostly just pulpy old-school nonsense. A few chases, a few fights and a bit of romance. Scratch beneath the surface though, and there is some good work here. Anderson does some very nice world-building, believably positing a United States of America that has taken on th...more
I was really impressed with this book. It has everything in perfect measure - action, politics, romance, science - and the characterisation is superb. An intelligent, strong-willed, motivated woman who isn't an emotional deadzone? Written in the 60s? (it's more likely than you think!). Characters had their own motivations and goals that intersected, and I would love to read about some of the others that crossed paths with the protagonists - the Polish insurrectionist, the crime boss, the martian...more
Minor spoilers ahead: This is a prime example of what I mean when I say that Libertarianism will probably occur as a result of some technological breakthrough rather than as a result of activism or political action. I was pretty impressed with the overall pacing, story, hard scifi tech elements, and short philosophical diatribes. The female character is also pretty damn good for a scifi book. Will read more of Anderson as a result of this book.
If you read science fiction, drop what your reading and find this book.
If you read history or political science, drop what your reading and find this book.
It is amazing how close Anderson nailed our political climate today in a book written in 1955. The only real problem is that, we don't have the shield.
If you read history or political science, drop what your reading and find this book.
It is amazing how close Anderson nailed our political climate today in a book written in 1955. The only real problem is that, we don't have the shield.
Bit dated in setting but novel idea
Grade B. Also read 1983, grade A.
Apr 15, 2013
Gregory
marked it as to-read
Mar 27, 2013
Robert Garrard
added it
Mar 10, 2013
Martin Dimkovski
marked it as to-read
Mar 02, 2013
Jay Burton
added it
Feb 25, 2013
William Alan Ritch
marked it as to-read
Feb 20, 2013
Robert
marked it as to-read
Feb 15, 2013
Jim Miller
marked it as fiction-sci-fi-buy
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
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 a...more
More about Poul Anderson...
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 a...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
