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The Golden People
The planet was called Golden in honor of the planeteer whose ship had crashed there years before. It was an Earth-type world, with humanoid natives, and other creatures that were--something less.
Or maybe more, for almost all of the planet was covered by an invisible Field which blanked radar, damped the power of the Earthmen's stunners, immobilized their robots and caused watches to run backward. No machine or weapon more complicated than the lever or knife could work inside the Field.
Which meant that the Space Force had to revert to the primitive to explore the world of Golden. And obviously, someone or something hidden in the vast reaches of the planet had planned it that way. . .
Or maybe more, for almost all of the planet was covered by an invisible Field which blanked radar, damped the power of the Earthmen's stunners, immobilized their robots and caused watches to run backward. No machine or weapon more complicated than the lever or knife could work inside the Field.
Which meant that the Space Force had to revert to the primitive to explore the world of Golden. And obviously, someone or something hidden in the vast reaches of the planet had planned it that way. . .
270 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
3 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Fred Saberhagen
335 books496 followersFred Saberhagen was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his ''Beserker'' and Dracula stories.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 16, 2020
It’s been many years since I’ve read a Fred Saberhagen novel. He is, of course, known for his Berserker series as well as The Book of Swords series and many others. But when deciding to dip my toe back into his work, I thought I would begin with a stand-alone novel to get me started. This is actually his first published novel, from back in 1964, however I read the re-worked and expanded version published in 1984.
This has all the elements of traditional straight-forward science fiction: space exploration, Earth-type planet discovery, first contact, strange alien technology, human experimentation to make super-humans with “parapsych” talents, and more. There is also a touch of romance and plenty of sci-fi adventure.
Enjoyed it.
This has all the elements of traditional straight-forward science fiction: space exploration, Earth-type planet discovery, first contact, strange alien technology, human experimentation to make super-humans with “parapsych” talents, and more. There is also a touch of romance and plenty of sci-fi adventure.
Enjoyed it.
February 13, 2023
Saberhagen's first published novel. My edition is the first Baen paperback printing, from September 1984. There are a handful of typos, which is more than I'm used to in a book by a reputable publisher. This is a re-read for me, with my first reading taking place decades ago, and I don't recall thinking much of it then. I decided to give it a re-read in case it was more memorable this time.
Bottom line: it wasn't.
It is imaginative but somewhat unrealistic, even for science fiction, and I couldn't really connect with the characters, their motivations, or even the hand-waving exploration of their technology, certainly less so than in his best works, of which I've read dozens. Even the main character didn't feel fully realized, while the secondary characters felt like nothing more than caricatures in a book that never picked up any sense of urgency, possibly excepting one physical conflict near the end, but even that was unresolved so the remaining characters could plod on to the hinted-at finish.
Bottom line: it wasn't.
It is imaginative but somewhat unrealistic, even for science fiction, and I couldn't really connect with the characters, their motivations, or even the hand-waving exploration of their technology, certainly less so than in his best works, of which I've read dozens. Even the main character didn't feel fully realized, while the secondary characters felt like nothing more than caricatures in a book that never picked up any sense of urgency, possibly excepting one physical conflict near the end, but even that was unresolved so the remaining characters could plod on to the hinted-at finish.
May 18, 2022
It was a slow burn. The first 200 pages contained interesting world building and very little action. The climax was a little bit of a letdown. I wanted to know more about the final reveal. It is not one of Saberhagen’s better works.
There was enough in this story that kept me reading through to the end. Some of the technology was intriguing especially coming from the mid 1960s. What is eye-opening is the use of paper documents and newspapers in the future.
There was enough in this story that kept me reading through to the end. Some of the technology was intriguing especially coming from the mid 1960s. What is eye-opening is the use of paper documents and newspapers in the future.
May 12, 2020
It's rather heavy-handed with its theme of the dangers of superiority and power, but the book is entertaining enough along the way.
February 7, 2024
Engaging up til the last sentence. Pretty weird. Sci fi in aesthetics only, and even then, just barely. Clearly supposed to be about Nazis but its better if you ignore that.
April 14, 2024
Very atmospheric. At times, disturbing. Unfortunately, key items of mystique were never properly explored/concluded.
May 1, 2024
Hard DNF about halfway through, it's Saberhagen's first novel, and the lack of experience and development shows.
August 2, 2024
This felt more like a collection of loosely related short stories than a singular novel length story. The various abrupt story changes were very jarring.
Read
September 21, 2025Solid, well-structured sci-fi. Author did a great job creating a coherent world and story with a number of rather imaginative individual pieces. I liked it! Thanks Curry for the rec <3
March 12, 2015
'THEY AMENDED THE LAWS OF NATURE
PLANETEERS GO HOME!
The planet was called Golden in honor of the planeteer whose ship had crashed there years before. It was an Earth-type world, with humanoid natives, and other creatures that were--something less.
Or maybe more, for almost all of the planet was covered by an invisible Field which blanked radar, damped the power of the Earthmen's stunners, immobilized their robots and caused watches to run backward. No machine or weapon more complicated than the lever or knife could work inside the Field.
Which meant that the Space Force had to revert to the primitive to explore the world of Golden. And obviously, someone or something hidden in the vast reaches of the planet had planned it that way. . .'
Blurb from the M-103 1964 Ace Double paperback edition
One of Saberhagen's novels of Planeteers, a semi-military organisation who survey and assess newly discovered and developed planets. Their remit seems fairly wide and includes some enforcement duties.
The structure is somewhat awkward, since it is broken into three distinct time periods which stunts the flow of the narrative slightly.
The book starts in a children's home where Adam Mann gets into a fight protecting young Ray Kedro from bullies.
Ray, it turns out, is one of a hundred 'Jovian Children' who were the subject of eugenics experiments on Ganymede. The children have some ESP capabilities, and concerned authorities have taken them into care. Very soon, however, they are returned to Dr Nowell on Ganymede.
Much later, Adam, distraught at the death of his wife, joins the Planeteers and is teamed up with Boris Brazil, the hero of 'The Waters of Thought'.
Adam and Boris are posted to the planet Golden which is covered by a mysterious field beneath which nothing electronic or mechanically complex will function. There is one area where the field is absent, and humans have built a settlement here, trading with the local alien natives. The major predator is the 'geryon', a malformed beast with a long prehensile neck and disturbingly human features. They hunt in packs and torment their prey.
When Adam disobeys orders and tries to save a young native girl he fails and almost loses his own life.
The narrative jumps forward several years. Adam has resigned and become a trapper on Golden, selling furs to human tourists. Just then, one of the Jovian people, Merit, arrives with her non-Jovian husband and Ray Kedro. We learn that the one hundred have gained significant influence in human business and affairs.
Then, someone tries to kill Merit's husband. This, the secrets of the one hundred and the mystery of the aliens who built the forcefield all seem to be connected,.
It's a good read and one which hasn't dated too badly as long as one doesn't dig too deep into the scientific aspects (which are few).
In this and 'The Water of Thought' Saberhagen raises issues of colonialism and exploitation, making it clear that humans have processed every world they've found for their own benefit. It's a point made subtly but it comes across.
Humans, consequently, are faced with the possibility of being exploited themselves since the Jovian children (led by Ray Kedro) virtually control human society. It's possibly no coincidence that Saberhagen wrote Kedro as a blonde. Kedro develops a master-race fixation and sees the Jovian Children as a separate and superior race. It's fascinating that the idea of Homo Superior in this form i.e. evolved children being born to human parents in the space of a genration, was a product mainly of the 50s and 60s, a time when there was a wholesale change in the behaviour of young people in the wake of the Second World War, and an ongoing fear of nuclear destruction or radiation. 'The Midwich Cuckoos', 'The Chrysalids', Zenna Henderson's 'People' stories etc. all stoke the fuel of a mass paranoia particularly in the States, where paranoia is more or less compulsory, at least among Republicans.
PLANETEERS GO HOME!
The planet was called Golden in honor of the planeteer whose ship had crashed there years before. It was an Earth-type world, with humanoid natives, and other creatures that were--something less.
Or maybe more, for almost all of the planet was covered by an invisible Field which blanked radar, damped the power of the Earthmen's stunners, immobilized their robots and caused watches to run backward. No machine or weapon more complicated than the lever or knife could work inside the Field.
Which meant that the Space Force had to revert to the primitive to explore the world of Golden. And obviously, someone or something hidden in the vast reaches of the planet had planned it that way. . .'
Blurb from the M-103 1964 Ace Double paperback edition
One of Saberhagen's novels of Planeteers, a semi-military organisation who survey and assess newly discovered and developed planets. Their remit seems fairly wide and includes some enforcement duties.
The structure is somewhat awkward, since it is broken into three distinct time periods which stunts the flow of the narrative slightly.
The book starts in a children's home where Adam Mann gets into a fight protecting young Ray Kedro from bullies.
Ray, it turns out, is one of a hundred 'Jovian Children' who were the subject of eugenics experiments on Ganymede. The children have some ESP capabilities, and concerned authorities have taken them into care. Very soon, however, they are returned to Dr Nowell on Ganymede.
Much later, Adam, distraught at the death of his wife, joins the Planeteers and is teamed up with Boris Brazil, the hero of 'The Waters of Thought'.
Adam and Boris are posted to the planet Golden which is covered by a mysterious field beneath which nothing electronic or mechanically complex will function. There is one area where the field is absent, and humans have built a settlement here, trading with the local alien natives. The major predator is the 'geryon', a malformed beast with a long prehensile neck and disturbingly human features. They hunt in packs and torment their prey.
When Adam disobeys orders and tries to save a young native girl he fails and almost loses his own life.
The narrative jumps forward several years. Adam has resigned and become a trapper on Golden, selling furs to human tourists. Just then, one of the Jovian people, Merit, arrives with her non-Jovian husband and Ray Kedro. We learn that the one hundred have gained significant influence in human business and affairs.
Then, someone tries to kill Merit's husband. This, the secrets of the one hundred and the mystery of the aliens who built the forcefield all seem to be connected,.
It's a good read and one which hasn't dated too badly as long as one doesn't dig too deep into the scientific aspects (which are few).
In this and 'The Water of Thought' Saberhagen raises issues of colonialism and exploitation, making it clear that humans have processed every world they've found for their own benefit. It's a point made subtly but it comes across.
Humans, consequently, are faced with the possibility of being exploited themselves since the Jovian children (led by Ray Kedro) virtually control human society. It's possibly no coincidence that Saberhagen wrote Kedro as a blonde. Kedro develops a master-race fixation and sees the Jovian Children as a separate and superior race. It's fascinating that the idea of Homo Superior in this form i.e. evolved children being born to human parents in the space of a genration, was a product mainly of the 50s and 60s, a time when there was a wholesale change in the behaviour of young people in the wake of the Second World War, and an ongoing fear of nuclear destruction or radiation. 'The Midwich Cuckoos', 'The Chrysalids', Zenna Henderson's 'People' stories etc. all stoke the fuel of a mass paranoia particularly in the States, where paranoia is more or less compulsory, at least among Republicans.
November 22, 2015
Ok pulp.
A sci-fi fantasy novel, it uses "powers" as magical short cuts.
The main character is a likeable enough loner, he has believable motives throughout.
There are a few twists as the motivation of different characters are exposed.
Unfortunately the pace is a bit slow and there isn't much action in most of the book, it is left until the end for the pace to pick up and the action to happen, this makes for an unbalanced book, plodding along and then a sudden burst right at the end.
The magic powers and mysterious race make it hard to take the book seriously, they are too simplistic as plot devices and make the rest of the story feel contrived.
Standard Saberhagen fare, readable but forgettable.
A sci-fi fantasy novel, it uses "powers" as magical short cuts.
The main character is a likeable enough loner, he has believable motives throughout.
There are a few twists as the motivation of different characters are exposed.
Unfortunately the pace is a bit slow and there isn't much action in most of the book, it is left until the end for the pace to pick up and the action to happen, this makes for an unbalanced book, plodding along and then a sudden burst right at the end.
The magic powers and mysterious race make it hard to take the book seriously, they are too simplistic as plot devices and make the rest of the story feel contrived.
Standard Saberhagen fare, readable but forgettable.
March 7, 2014
Picked this up Tuesday as a diversion, and it didn't last long! Great page turner. Typical Saberhagen with an indomitable adventurer character at the heart of the story. Rage driven at times, Adam joins the Space Force and has various adventures before the beginning of the story links up with the end. This is an expansion of an earlier novella, and that shows. Still good fun.
May 5, 2014
If you are one of those who believe in psychic phenomena and live with your head in outer space you will enjoy this tale of both. I am sorry to say it has sat on my shelf for years-- and I just up & said-- let's give it a shot. The book is soooo much better than it's cover! It is also a warning about not messing with the gene pool too much-- sometimes it back fires!
December 28, 2007
read 07.30.85
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews