Deathworld 3

Deathworld #3

by Harry Harrison

The planet was called Felicity. The name was a joke...except for those compelled to live there. Inhabiting it were beings bred for thousands of years for a single purpose: to attack and destroy.

Jason knew this. But he also knew the planet on which he lived was moving towards certain disaster. And Felicity was the only spot in the universe where he and his companions could survive. He thought he had worked out a perfect plan. But what awaited him on Felicity went far beyond his wildest imagings...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Audiobook, Pulp

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, okay. This one is just fine if you want a bunch of horse-lords, an alien (read human) professional gambler, and a big hot mess of conflicting desires.

It really is more of the same of the Deathworld series in general, but this one just heads straight into warrior territory and that's FINE if that's all you want and/or expect.

Good points: the light tone is very familiar to fans of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series. Also, we get some good science tidbits thrown in for the fanbase.

Meh: It went straight into cliche territory but who cares as long as we get to beat some heads, right?

Final analysis:

It's ok, but nothing to write home about.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

We left off the last volume of the trilogy with Jason dinAlt managing to escape his doomed fate on the slave planet and returning to the Deathplanet Pyrrus with his lovely gal Meta. After returning, Jason calls a meeting of the city Pyrrans to tell them about a plan. There is a planet, Felicity, that is rich in heavy metals-- just like Pyrrus-- but with less of a flora and fauna problem. It does have its own problems, however; the rich ores are located on a steppe that is ruled by barbarian nomads. The last mining company that went there was wiped out by said barbarians and called it quits. Jason figures the hardy, warlike Pyrrans could give the nomads a run for the money and, using the last of his casino winnings, bought a ship to take them there. Unfortunately, only a few hundred decide to go...

OK, this is an old trope for sure-- conquering a barbarian planet with a handful of warriors-- but then again, it was first published in 1968. Deathworld 3 definitely has a Burroughs adventure type feel to it, with nail-biting situations and close escapes, but one laced with Harrison's quirky humor and cleaver one-liners. Harrison employs another old trope with the romance between Jason and Meta; Meta, the super strong warrior woman (and very beautiful of course as well), whose language does not even have 'love' in the vocabulary, of course falls for Jason. Jason, the (brace yourself here) strong, independent man who has bad dreams of wedding bells, falls for her also. Expect lots of cheeky interaction between these two here.

Harrison's humor is not for everyone for sure; I like it, which is why I liked this book and the series. Book one was about the planet Pyrrus and Jason's challenge to find out the secret behind the flora and fauna attacks on the city there. Book two was Jason's great escape from being marooned on a slaver planet. Book three is Jason's great adventure to relocate Pyrrans off planet before they finally get exterminated, only having to conquer the barbarian nomads first. All classic pulp space opera tropes, and Harrison does them well. These were never intended to be 'classics', but simply entertaining, and for that, they work. 3.5 for the series and for this installment, rounding down to 3 (primarily due to the cheesy romance between Jason and Meta).

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Deathworld trilogy is a series that needs to get more attention. The first and third books were amazing and while I thought that the second book wasn’t as good it was still solid.
This is classic adventure sci-fi at its best.

[Gert De Bie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Het laatste en het zwakste deel van de Deathworld-trilogie.

Waar Jason dinAlt zowel in boek 1 als in boek 2 tegen zijn eigen wil op een andere planeet terecht komt en daardoor redenen genoeg heeft om zich te manifesteren en te overleven, is dat in boek 3 niet het geval en dat werkt een pak minder goed.
Samen met zijn vrienden van Pyrrus, trekt hij naar een nog gewelddadigere planeet, om de op hun eigen planeet ten dode opgeschreven inwoners van Pyrrus een nieuw bestaan te gunnen. Wat volgt is avontuur, actie en heel wat militair geblaf. Dat is perfect aanvaardbaar als het om gegronde redenen gebeurt, maar hier is het uitgangspunt mijns inziens op los zand gebouwd.
Het slot krijgt nog een semi sociologische/filosofische onderbouw wat het alsnog aanvaardbaar maakt, maar meer dan dat is het niet.

[Петър Стойков · Rating 4 out of 5]

Истинското име на Чингис Хан е Темуджин, а "чингис" просто значи велик на старомонголски. Това дава на запознатия доволно количество информация за ставащото в Свят на смъртта III, дето варвари на коне от студената степ презират, обосновани от древните си песни, всички постоянни сгради и ги разрушават със стръв и кеф, живеейки в юрти и движейки се на бързоходни, войнствени орди.

Пирийските супермени отново възтържествуват над поредната смъртоносна планета, населена със смъртоносни хора, но най-вече отново възтържествува хитрината на главния герой и умението му да оцелява (и да изчака, жив, суперменските му приятели да го спасят... отново)

[Alexander Draganov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting third part of the series in which Jason tries to change the culture in a planet, populated by nomad warriors, similar to the ancient Mogols. However the book is a bit more monotonous than the first two and has some questionable moral lessons, which force me to lessen is mark to three stars (I rated the first two books with 4 stars).

[Tharindra Kaluthotaarachchi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Colonial tra$h!! Book one and two are lighthearted and funny, easy to read and well paced. This is just offensive.

[Simon Forward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars might be a little mean for this final escapade in the Deathworld series, but I got the sense that Harrison had run out of ideas. Which is a shame, because you'd honestly think there'd be greater scope for different hostile worlds out there waiting to be tamed.

This third tale seems to mistake bleak and inhospitable for drab. Once again, the threat is entirely human and we have tribal warriors modelled on the Mongol hordes, with their very own Khan, Temuchin, who has united quite a number of tribes to create an even more formidable force. As Pyrrus is doomed, Jason seeks to re-settle his pals here on the world of Felicity. But in order to do so, obviously, they have to conquer (or at least change the attitudes of) the aggressively xenophobic natives.

The cover blurb promises that what awaits him on Felicity 'went far beyond [Jason's] wildest imaginings' but it really doesn't. It's just a lot of musclebound blokes with spears and large riding beasts. As well as seeking to control the wild plains in the north, these nomadic warriors are at odds with the more permanent settlements of the south, who have certain technological advances at their disposal - gunpowder, for instance - rather too much like some of the factions in Deathworld 2. And Jason attempts to win through by encouraging all-out war (again). So this suffers from a touch of sameness, while being drearier. It's bloody and brutal and there's no mitigating humour. Similarly, Jason has gone from harsh realism to what seems like ruthless pragmatism and he doesn't possess any of, say, the Doctor's more charming qualities to render him at all sympathetic while perpetrating some fairly 'nasty but necessary' plans.

In true Harrison hero-fashion, Jason goes from peril to peril in the spirit of a Saturday serial and that's fine, but again he's bailed out too often by doses of luck and his 'good woman', Meta. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for females coming to the rescue, but it's not as though you'd ever get the sense that Harrison does this as a way of championing feminism. In a better, more entertaining tale it might be more forgivable as 'a product of its age'. But there's really not enough to redeem it here.

So Deathworld ends with Dullworld, which is not the nest conclusion, but perhaps explains why the series only amounted to three. Ideally you're better off going out on a high, but failing that I guess it's best to end things before they continue downhill

[Al "Tank" · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 3rd, and final, book in the series finds Jason dinAlt trying to save the Pyrrans from themselves. Things are growing worse on their home planet, but Jason has found a world called, "Felicity", which is anything but. Pyrrans are miners and Felicity has a good load of minerals that can be mined in the cold north part of the major continent.

Unfortunately, it also has a population that wants nothing to do with civilization and it's building. They spend their time fighting with each other -- and they're very good at it.

Can the Pyrrans overcome the obstacles under Jason's leadership? Or will they have to go home to eventual extinction?

I loved the first book of the series. Tolerated the second (still a good "read"). This third book makes up for the second and then some.

[Lacivard Mammadova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriyanı uşaqlarıma məsləhət siyahısına əlavə edirəm.
Obraz yaxşıdır, yaxşını-pisi ayırır. Məntiqli düşünür və dostlarını heç vaxt yarı yolda qoymur. Süjet yormur, daimi ölümlə nəticələnən davalar isə darıxmağa qoymur. Hələ bütün söhbət başqa planetdədir. Bəh!

[Ahimsa · Rating 2 out of 5]

By far the worst of the trilogy, in my eyes, but still classic Harrison.

[Gav451 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid conclusion to the trilogy. In my view the over simplified views of societies probably couldn't be stretched to other books without becoming tiresome, repetitive or trite. 3 was the right amount of books.

The society in this novel was interesting and the challenges Jason met felt weighty. He did not breeze through it like some ultra smart know it all and he even makes mistakes. A lot of this book is a tale of survival and there is a segment where it is completely that. It meant you could engage more quickly with the story in the book as it focussed on the individual as opposed to concepts.

Neither is the book over long. You are in, the tale is told, and you are out again. You could read one of these books like a palate cleanser. You can tell it is from an author from the pulp generation and it works all the better for that.

Its not perfect, the solution is too quick and not nuanced enough. The way he finds the solution too easy and he really should have done what he did before he even got the the planet. I think the book ends like a short story. The author went for the punchy ‘Ive tied off all the threads’ approach and it does not sit well with a planet sized issue.

Also there was one emotional issue the hero appears to resolve at the end of the book that had never been there before. It was an unnecessary sub plot and in fact diminished what had been a strong female character in the other books. A little bit of a nod to conservative religion I thought and one that was not needed. That part of the story was fine as it was.

Do not let that put you off. As with most Harry Harrison books I have read it was a fun, quick read. The series is worth a go.

[Jörg · Rating 2 out of 5]

For each volume of the Deathworld trilogy Harrison has devised a crucial societal twist. In the first volume, it's the importance of living in harmony with the environment, the second volume focuses on the importance of science for the progress of society. The final volume is the weakest in exploring its twist. Like a deus-ex-machina the twist is hinted at for the first time 15 pages before the end and revealed on the last two pages, abandoning completely chronological coherence.

The twist is the assimilation of cultures as a mean to peace and progress instead of battling them. The inspiration is the conquest of Rome by the Goths which gave up pillaging and settled for a life in luxury. Deathworld III emulates this solution. The uncompromising settlers from Pyrrus who fail to co-exist with the environment on their home planet, are led by Jason dinAlt to Felicity, a planet rich enough in minerals for a sustainable living. The problem: the northern plains are ravaged by warring nomads. Kill or be killed. While battling the barbarian tribes on their refuge planet Felicity turns out to be a too ambitious venture, supporting them in conquering the wealthy land south of the impassable mountains (sic - the Alps) succeeds in pulling them their teeth.

The revelation of the barbarians effeminacy almost relegated this book to one star. While in the personal relations between the Pyrrans only a few days could have been passed, this generation-spanning change of culture happened parallely. Wow, Rome can be build in a day! The weakest of the three volumes.

[Frank Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third time's the charm or saving the best for last, this story is in many ways the crescendo of the series. It is fist pumping action as usual but there are a few nicely added extras. The scheming is a bit less plain and the battles are on a grander scale this time.

Plus there's more tech in use which at times gives this more of a scifi feel, the previous two had achieved the genre only through the use of a space journey and alien menagerie. It was disappointing for me that the tech belonged to Jason and friends, I think it would have been a refreshing challenge to meet a more advanced civilisation on Deathworld 3.

Actually, the story itself comments on the fact that Jason's personal ethics have changed which is something I immediately noticed in Deathworld 2. The stories have gradually mixed a more authoritarian colonialism with that strange old timey sense of pseudo-compassionate morality. (I'll fight you for it but once you've been subdued and your core beliefs are fundamentally changed, I plan to live in harmony with your culture)

The characters seem a bit better developed in this one too, most notably Meta emerges as a strong character who doesn't bend to fit the story. She's a headstrong badass and a real tough cookie.

This seems to be the series finale although the Goodreads series lists books 4, 5 and 6 printed in other languages. Overall this was a fun series of oldschool, light scifi.

[Michael Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harry Harrison is very good at descriptions. I remember reading this as a teenager lying in bed on a hot summer morning. Harrison's description of the cold plateau actually made me feel cold - it was that good a description. This was a really good read.

[Nikola Tasev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the second one, not as good as the first one. Has some interesting ideas, good read if you want adventure and do not expect reasonably acting characters.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a quick sci-fi read. Some cool characters and an interesting story.

[Koen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doodsstrijd op Voorspoed, geschreven door Harry Harrison.

ISBN 90 290 0115 1
Vertaling door Walter B. Relsky IWACC
Onverkorte uitgave
Omslag Frans Erkelens
Copyright Nederlandse vertaling 1972 door Meulenhoff SF, nummer 55.
Copyright 1968 by Harry Harrison.

Start 19/8-2023
Finish 27/8-2023

Harry Harrison heeft weer uitgepakt met dit verhaal welke een vervolg is Doodsstrijd op Pyrrus. Jason dinAlt is wederom onze hoofdfiguur en er is veel strijd en slimheid nodig voor de Pyrranen om vaste voet op de planeet Voorspoed te krijgen.
Lekker recht-toe-recht-aan en dit avontuur welke geschreven is in 1968. De schrijfstijl van Harrison is vlot met hier en daar een komische noot en een hoop knokpartijen.
Je moet van dit soort avonturen houden en deze manier van schrijven en het verhaal, vind ik in ieder geval leuk.
Voor mij persoonlijk 3,5 sterren.

Hieronder een korte opgave van de karakters welke voorkomen in dit boek, waar ik er vast een aantal van vergeten ben te noteren.

Planeet Voorspoed, John & John Maatschappij voor Mijnbouw:
Wachtcommandant (Luitenant) Talenc.
Bevelhebber van de expeditie Bardory.
2e Luitenant Weiks, piloot van het ruimteschip.

Planeet Pyrrus, door de mensen gekoloniseerde planeet welke een zeer agressieve flora en fauna heeft:
Jason dinAlt, onze held en Terraan van geboorte.
Meta, ruimteschip piloot en partner van Jason
Brucco, dokter, onderzoeker en ecoloog.
Kerk, militair leider van de Pyrranen.
Rhes, leider van de Pyrranen.
Clon, niet zo’n heel erg slimme Pyrraan.
Teca, doctor.
Grif, negenjarige jongen.

Planeet Voorspoed, een van de planeten in het stelsel van 70 Ophiuchi B. 70 Ophiuchi B is een binair systeem op ongeveer 16,6 lichtjaar afstand van de aarde. Deze planeet is lang geleden gekoloniseerd door de mensheid en weer teruggevallen tot een eenvoudig beschavingsniveau.

Oorspronkelijke bewoners van Voorspoed:
Temuchin, leider van een van de stammen van de nomadische bevolking van Voorspoed.
Oraiel, een wat oudere jongleur en verhalenverteller.
Shanin van de Rattenstam.
Ahaukk, Kapitein van Temuchin.

[Connor Corbett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong end to the trilogy. A kind of messy and nonsense plot, which is completely overruled in the last 15 pages, Deathworld 3 proves that it really is all about the journey; not the destination.

Piggybacking off of the momentum the first book built up, Deathworld 3 is what the second book should have been. We have the original cast of characters, a much more interesting story, and some fun new challenges for Jason DinAlt.

I really enjoyed the way Jason and the Pyrrans embedded themselves in the barbaric society of Felicity. The progression of Jason's plan made for a really complaining read, which had me eagerly coming back to the book every day.

There were plenty of battles and struggles, which I think Harrison excells at writing. It's almost hard to read some of the trials Jason is out through; nearly meeting his end and struggling through to his last breath before eventual success or rescue.

Thankfully, the technical explanations of basic technologies were scaled back from the second book. There are still detailed accounts of various unfamiliar aspects of the Pyyran and Falicitian societies, but these feel natural in the text, and add to the world building.

I think this book could have easily been 100 pages longer, as it skips over some key events which would have been brilliant additions to the story. Part of the magic of these books is that they're quick, fun stories, so I get how Harrison had to pick and choose plot points to expand upon.

Without giving too much away, I'm quite happy with how the Pyrran's story is concluded; though it wasn't handled in the neatest fashion. Ontop of that, the conclusion of Jason's adventures even brought a tear to my eye.

An inconsistent trilogy, but one I had a lot of fun with. It's a quick read, and a must for any sci-fi fans out there.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books 1 and 2 were original worlds, book 3 could be subtitled Jason vs Attila the Hun. At least that is what the society he’s set up on the planet Felicity is. HH even acknowledges the Huns and Goths in the story as Temuchin (Atilla) bemoans his downfall. The book can almost be seen as a history lesson on how the Hunnic Empire collapsed.

That dosen’t mean it’s a boring book, far from it. It’s another Slippery Jim caper starring Jason instead of James. In this story we learn that Meta (Angelina’s doppleganger) also has 2 kids. This caper is to set up a mining site in the middle of the steppes occupied by the Huns. Needless to say 5 minutes after landing on the planet the plan is out the window and Jason is a prisoner of Temuchin. He then proceeds to win the day. Very much the standard model for an SSR book, and planetary adventures come to think of it.

Right towards the end of book 3 there is a line that I can’t decide if it’s genius or luck. On page 149:-

[Temuchin] ‘In winning I lost, There must be a word for this kind of happening.’
[Jason dinAlt] ‘There is. It was a pyrrhic victory.’

This encapsulates the main theme of the book, but also consider. In book 1 writtien in 1960 the original Deathworld planet in named Pyrrus and its inhabitants Pyrrans. They’ve come with Jason to Felicity to set up the mine, and bring about Temuchin’s downfall. The Pyrrans cause a pyrrhic victory. This book was written in 1968. Did HH deliberately set this up in 1960 to deliver a punchline 8 years later, or is it serendipity that I’m just reading more into?

[Rafal Jasinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trzecia część "Planety śmierci", mimo iż niesie w sobie, niepozwalający oderwać się od lektury, czynnik rozrywkowy i w warstwie odniesień do historii z czasów mongolskich podbojów wypada całkiem oryginalnie - a raczej musiała wypadać oryginalnie w okresie, kiedy książka ukazała się po raz pierwszy - opiera się jednak na szkielecie fabularnym, który jest wtórny w stosunku do poprzednich części.

Wiem, pisałem, że lubię repetycyjność elementów składowych w sequelach, ale nie rozciągam tej sympatii, kiedy w grę wchodzą kolejne tomy. Kreatywność Harrisona kończy się na wymyślaniu nowych światów - a w zasadzie, złożeniu ich z istniejących w popkulturze, czy jak w tym wypadku, w historii, puzzli. Potem zaś ciągnie linię fabularną, która w kluczowych punktach nie odbiega w najmniejszym stopniu od tej z poprzednich części. Jason przybywa na "planetę śmierci", by po początkowych niepowodzeniach móc prędko stać się panem sytuacji - choć pojawiają się niewielkie wyboje - i ostatecznie osiągnąć sukces, dzięki wszechstronnej wiedzy, pomysłowości i sprytowi.

To wciąż bardzo dobra dawka lekko strawnej fantastyki - z przebłyskami ciekawych refleksji odnośnie natury ludzkiej - a dodatkowo część, która stawia protagonistę w strefie cienia, gdy podejmować musi dyskusyjne moralnie wybory, w celu bezapelacyjnie wyższego dobra. Czytało się znakomicie, bez znużenia, ale też bez większego oczekiwania na niespodzianki, w czym Harrison do końca nie zawiódł.

[prcardi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Storyline: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 2/5

I would say that this is classic pulp science fiction except for the fact that I often thought I recognized some hints of a larger meta-narrative about the rise of the modern state, modernization theory, neocolonialism, the cyclic nature of development - something along those lines. After these moments of speculation, I would shake my head, clear it of any intelligent ideas, and say "Nah! It's too slapdash to have those kind of aims. I think, though, that Harrison did, but he just didn't have a handle on the terms, the mechanics, or the ways of making allegories, and so it came out as a simple-minded action-adventure with flickering moments of historical and sociological insight.

This was more Deathworld 2 than Deathworld 1 and settles for me what should have been obvious with the titles. These books are about the Deathworlds and not about the people, abilities and conditions that made the first so remarkable. The creative genius, the mad scientist brewing from disparate elements that was Harry Harrison of the first book, never makes a similar showing here, and what we have is a fairly fun, easy going, machismo battle story that includes all of the relevant players from the first without bringing any of their novelty with them. It really isn't a bad book, but it is a precipitate decline from the first two.

[Budge Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curious book - at face value another piece of pulp fiction featuring an action-packed battle for the resources of a potentially rich planet, our hero Jason leading the colonising or invading forces. This is an alien invasion with the aliens as the good guys. Might is right is the dominant philosophy on this planet as its various tribes struggle to remain autonomous and to protect their borders from incursion. Might is right, and we see the emergence of a local Genghis Khan, out to unite the tribes under his sole reign. He hasn't counted on Jason and his desire to fleece the planet.
There is an underlying theme about cultural change and the role of economics and technology in transforming planets and peoples. Underlying ... and understated. It's a bit simplistic, in fact, falling between two stools - on the one hand, the colonisers' moral quandary, on the other ... well, a thrill-packed, shoot-em-up, never mind the philosophy feel the firepower piece of juvenile pulp. Maybe I'm just trying to read too much sophistication into it?
I gave it three stars because I hope it is raising moral questions about the rights of indigenous peoples to resist invasion and colonisation ... although I suspect the somewhat open-ended conclusion is a bit of a cop out. Curious.

[Steven Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one I didn't like at all, in fact I barely remember it even though it was the most recent one I read. I read all three of these within a few months(I am terribly slow at reading due to being distracted easily)

Compared to the first two books the culture created on this new world is just nowhere near as interesting as the others and once again we're torn away from any kind of information on Pyrrus as if the author was eager to abandon this awesome world he created for some reason. I guess he had more interest in creating expansive new worlds, which I'm seeing in West Of Eden which so far is really really cool but for me it was just kind of a let down.

If you were hoping to any kind of interesting resolution to the issues on Pyrrus it's just kind of glossed over that they lost the war and thus have to find a new planet to live on which felt like such a shame to me.

Harry Harrison was clearly a talented writer and I'm eager to read more of his books but yeah unfortunately this series is pretty weak in my opinion. That said I would definitely be interested in reading the other stories...if they ever get translated in English, I don't think me learning Russian is on the cards otherwise.

[George Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 3rd and last book in the Deathworld series. The plan for the Pyrrans to make piece with the planet are failing. Jason is trying to convince the Pyrrans to move to another planet. A planet called Felicity that similar to world in Deathworld 2 is populated by humans but has decayed to barbarism.

The people on the world of Felicity remind me of Mongols in the way they are described. They are fierce warriors. Even though the Pyrrans are better fighters the tribes of Felicity can defeat the Pyrrans simply because they out number the Pyrrans.

The natives will not let the Pyrrans mine the planet of Felicity because one of there greatest taboos is establishing a cities and structures. Jason and his small band of Pyrrans are going to try change the civilization tribes of Felicity by joining there ranks.

The story is quite fun but is suffers the same problems as Deathworld 2. You are in the far future but stuck on a planet that has lost all its technology. It is a fun read if you liked the other books you will most likely like this one.

[Kevin Phyland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason dinAlt and his Pyrran comrades Rhes, Kerk and Meta have been inveigled into travelling to the inaptly named planet Felicity. A mining camp was brutally destroyed with personnel slaughtered and the Pyrrans are looking for a new challenge for their battle-hardened people. The planet has but one large continent near the northern pole and is divided by an enormous kilometres-high scarp. Above the scarp are the nomadic horse barbarians, modelled on the Mongols (their leader is even called Temuchin), who have feudal technology but are aware of things like gunpowder and guns. Jason penetrates the camp as a travelling troubadour, a jongleur, but makes some deadly enemies along the way. Temuchin forces an admission from Jason which leads to a raid on the lowlands below the scarp for weapons. Harry Harrison gives us a cracking adventure yarn, and for anybody familiar with the previous two novels, you know what you’ll be getting. A lot of action and fun, if slightly dated. It was serialized in Analog in 1968 as The Horse Barbarians.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably good that Harrison kept this a trilogy: the third book is the least interesting and feels like he's repeating himself a bit here. Like in the second, we get a society that Jason has to ingratiate himself with and steer in the "proper" direction for his own good. This time, he completely changes a culture so that the Pyrrans can take advantage of it for their own greedy needs.

Like all of his pulpy works, this was a quick and breezy read but you really wish he'd had more imagination with the situation. Why not skip out on the ho-hum human antagonists and create new and unique creatures for them to fight on another planet? Or with a message beyond "barbarians were jerks"? Maybe there's some type of planet where the creatures are a hive-mind and they have to decide if they want to disrupt their delicate balance? Though that is by no means a unique twist in the world of sci-fi, it would have been for this series. And the first one was so good. Oh well.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Deathworld Trilogy by Harry Harrison shows us there is no peace possible on the outerworlds. Whether it is the flora, the fauna, or the humanoid inhabitants, the urge is to kill. The situation is most extreme in Deathworld 1, in which the entire planet seems to unite to attack with cease the human inhabitants. In Deathworld 2 and Deathworld 3, the enemy are other humans who have become, over the generations, raging barbarians.

The hero of all three novels is Jason dinAlt, a consummate gambler, who has more lives than a cat. He manages to win through in the end, and the grotesquely misnamed planet, Felicity, perhaps now has a chance for peace. And Jason's Pyrran girlfriend, Meta, no mean warrior herself, links up with him in the beginnings of a life of wedded bliss.

[David B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason dinAlt and his merry band of Pyrran mercenaries decide to infiltrate and seize control of a resource rich world that is inhabited by barbarian hordes similar to Asia during the time of Genghis Khan. Thematically, this apology for unabashed colonialism is a far cry from the first book of the series, which wedded an environmental message to a thrilling story. Narratively, it is a step up from the unsatisfying second book. It provides an entertaining finale to the English language trilogy. Harry Harrison collaborated with two Russian authors to produce four more installments that have never been published in English. I would love to get a look at those.

https://thericochetreviewer.blogspot.com

[AJS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was the weakest of the three for two reasons: the Pyrrhan closing arc could have been its own more interesting thread, and I didn't quite see Jason's character arc growth to make this 3rd setting feel normal. There was a lot of time in between the novellas' writing and I assume the character evolved in Harrison's daily thoughts - and perhaps with the association of his thinking on his Stainless Steel Rat projects. Just didn't feel as self-contained with actions true to the protagonist. But still, enjoyable writing, classic challenges for the hero, and nice to see a simple closure.

(Though I have read there was a Russian collaboration, I read it is suspect and the later books have never been printed in English>)