Dangerous beasts, impossible weather, and political intrigue on the planet Fenris, a backwater planet with days that last a quarter of a year.
the position in my mind and then looked around at the crowd.
Among them were two men, both well dressed. One was tall and slender, with small hands and feet; the other was short and stout, with a scrubby gray-brown mustache. The slender one had a bulge under his left arm, and the short-and-stout job bulged over the right hip. The former was Steve Ravick, the boss of the Hunters' Co-operative, and his companion was the Honorable Morton Hallstock, mayor of Port Sandor and consequently the planetary government of Fenris.
They had held their respective positions for as long as I could remember anything at all. I could never remember an election in Port Sandor, or an election of officers in the Co-op. Ravick had a bunch of goons and triggermen--I could see a couple of them loitering in the background--who kept down opposition for him. So did Hallstock, only his wore badges and called themselves police.
Once in a while, Dad would write a blistering editorial about one or the other or both of t
What I like about 60s SF is that the authors were fascinated with all kind of unusual astronomical environments, e.g., the planet with a 100-day day. That, correct technology and a good adventure/detective story makes good, though not excellent, reading.
It looks like everybody's reviews hit the same four stars. I don't think Piper ever got the recognition he deserved while he was alive; of course is that's why so much of his work is in the public domain now. Which is kind of sad, but good for us! I remember reading this book in particular when I was about 12, and then was never able to find it again: I could remember everything about it except the title! Thanks to Manybooks for making so much forgotten sci-fi available to a new generation!
One of the few SciFi short story writers I haven't read, that I've sorely missed. A very good mix of depth, adventure, and storyline...really enjoyable for filling the moments between commute stops while going to work and back.
One of very few scifi books I'd be able to hand my children to ignite their interest in reading science fiction.
More about politics, in the end -- but the adventure bits are fun, and the narrator is one of those Heinlein type kids, smart and adventurous.
Basically a good pulp sci-fi book.
