Deathworld 3 ~Harry Harrison
–published 1968
–Dell Books
–188 pages
–3.75/5 stars
The Deathworld trilogy is a series of novels written by Harry Harrison in the 1960’s featuring gambler turned world-beater, Jason dinAlt. My first foray into the series was in 2006 when I read books one and two. I really wish that I had reviewed them at the time, especially because this is an entertaining science fiction adventure series by one of my favorite SF authors. The Deathworld books, particularly the first one, have been mentioned on several websites as a possible inspiration for James Cameron’s Avatar, and while I do not necessarily see a plagiaristic correlation between the two, I do consider Deathworld an example of how fantastic Avatar could have been if it only had a good story to accompany its visuals.
Deathworld 3 reminded me even more of the film, in a slightly different manner. After a three year absence, it was a distinct pleasure to return to Jason’s world.
In the first novel, Deathworld, Jason dinAlt takes the ultimate risk, accompanying the ambassador of Pyrrus back to his homeworld, the proclaimed deadliest planet in the universe. It turns out to be entirely true, for Pyrrus is a world in which every living thing is deadly and dangerous, from the vegetation to all other forms of life. There a small group of people are born and bred to fight, conditioned with lighting fast reflexes and programmed with the skills needed to survive. Jason dinAlt proceeds on a dangerous adventure to learn more about the planet in the hopes of helping the Pyrrans to avoid extinction. In the process he meets a girl, Meta, and by the end of the story a relationship has formed. Deathworld is an entertaining stand-alone novel that I highly recommend. 4.25/5 stars.
In Deathworld 3, Jason dinAlt convinces a group of Pyrrans, including his girlfriend Meta, to leave Pyrrus to settle a world tantalizingly called Felicity. This planet appears to be the only place where the Pyrrans can survive. Soon after arrival they come to realize the sinister lie that is Felicity, for on this world bands of nomadic tribes rule with barbaric cruelty, and they do not take kindly to the appearance of strangers. It is not long before dinAlt finds himself taken captive, and the adventure to conquer the inhospitable people of this world, while saving his own adopted people, is on.
Both Deathworld 2 and Deathworld 3 share a kinship with one of my favorite novels, A World Out of Time by Larry Niven. They are novels with the trappings of science fiction that also have a frontier aspect to them. The bulk of the story of Deathworld 3 revolves around Jason’s time with this traveling, savage people and in that it shares a kinship with stories like Robert E. Howard’s Conan tales. Like other characters in Harry Harrison novels, Jason dinAlt is a self-assured con man with an abundance of knowledge and a penchant for getting himself into trouble. He always manages to work his way out of trouble, but not before getting himself, and those with him, into a big mess.
There admittedly is a formula to many of these novels, and once you have experienced one, the ultimate outcome is rarely in doubt. It is the journey, however, that can be so entertaining, and Deathworld 3 does not disappoint in the entertainment department. It is a raucous SF adventure with a likable protagonist, a strong female companion, and enough unexpected turns in the story to keep things interesting.
Deathworld 3 turned out to be an even more interesting experience after my recent viewing of Avatar. The influence of the film could be felt in my examination of what was happening on Felicity. The Pyrrans have to relocate or die, and their genetic predisposition for surviving in a hostile world makes Felicity the only real choice for them to survive. But there is a large people group there who refuses to negotiate terms for sharing of the land, except for at the point of a sword. So what’s a guy to do? Infiltrate and destroy from within, of course. This book has a lot to say about the melding of cultures and the manipulation of cultures. While I am certainly not condemning the book, as I do think it is mostly innocent fun, looking at it through the evangelical eyes of Avatar, I did find it to be thought-provoking. Is manipulating the evolutionary plan of a culture, even if it causes their lives to improve, okay in another culture’s quest for survival? Do people in a dog-eat-dog world need to be shown a better way, even if you have to trick them into it? Of course the answer on the surface definitely seems to be “no”, but it is never always as simple as that.
Forty one years after its release, what might be considered a minor science fiction novel turns out to contain a lot of food for thought. And while making the little gray cells work, it also managed to put a smile on my face, particularly in the manner in which Harry Harrison ended the story. Closing the book on this trilogy has been a long time coming, but I am so glad that I finally got around to doing so.
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Of late I’ve been reading obviously well-loved books, this one being no exception. Despite being a little worn, this version of Deathworld 3 is particularly attractive to me because of the excellent John Berkey cover. I just love this space ship. Hopefully one day I will run across a more pristine copy in a used bookstore as this is one Berkey cover I plan to keep in the collection.
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This book is a selection for The Sci Fi Experience 2010, Mind Voyages (for the Nepturn Voyage), the 2010 42 Challenge, and the 2010 Reading Challenge (for the TBR category).
I really dig that Berkey spaceship as well. If I see a better copy of this book in any used bookstores I’ll let you know. The main character in this book series sounds a lot like the main character from the SSR books you love so much as well from the same author. Am I’m simplifying it too much to compare the two or they a lot more different than I realize?
Jeff: Cool, it will be great to have a second set of eyes looking for it. I’ve seen it a few times around town but the copies haven’t looked much better than the one I own. Jason dinAlt, Jim DiGriz (the stainless steel rat), and Brion Brandd, from Planet of the Damned and Planet of No Return are very similar characters in a lot of ways. It is very obvious when reading them that they are from the same author. Which is good, if you like Harrison’s characters. What is nice about the stories is that there are subtle differences in the level of humor, in their swagger, so to speak, and in the type of novels that they are which, for me, makes them a pleasure to read. Jim DiGriz is still my favorite character, but Jason dinAlt is a close second and I can imagine that had I grown up with this series instead of the Stainless Steel Rat then this blog might have a different title.
Probably the biggest difference between the Deathworld trilogy and the Stainless Steel Rat series is that this series is a bit more serious and less over-the-top than the SSR series. They are both characters who rely heavily on their wits and on outsmarting their opponents with complex schemes, but the Deathworld series, in my opinion, tends to be more about fighting some bigger problem…a planet, a people group…as opposed to the kind of one-on-one interplay that happens in the SSR books.
Interestingly, Harry Harrison features drug use a lot in his books. In Deathworld dinAlt seems to rely on painkillers when he gets beat down too much to keep him going. In SSR there is a lot of rampant substance use that is treated somewhat lightly, as if this was what Harrison thought the future would look like. In many ways, he is not off base. The drug use in these series tends to be about enhancing performance and increasing attention and stamina, and between Red Bull, energy drinks, and all the ED commercials it is actually pretty prophetic. There is much more of this in the SSR books and very little in the Deathworld books by comparison, but it is still a noticeable trope of the Harrison books that I have read.
The first appearance of “Deathworld” was as a novelette serialized in the January, February and March 1960 issues of Astounding Science Fiction. I remember (a little vaguely, I admit) when the January issue came in the mail and being knocked out by the great cover.
That cover may be one of the strongest pointers for those who wish to link written SF to the film Avatar. As you will se in my second (of 3) Avatar post, coming soon, I think too much is being made of the copy-cat nature of the film.
I’m sending a .pdf of the file of the original story, with that cover. Unfortunately it does not have the interior illustrations.
I have a SF Book Club edition of all three novels, slightly lengthened.
Richard: Oh, I totally agree. There seem to be an entire crowd of people who have a hard-on for ripping James Cameron. I’m an unabashed fan of the melodramatic Titanic, so I personally have never had anything against the guy. I enjoyed Avatar well enough and for lack of a better way to put it, the film does have a rather generic plot. We’ve seen it done many times before, so how could it be a rip-off of something else? How many SF films and television series over the last two decades have had blue aliens? A lot! There are books and films galore, in the SF genre and outside of it, that have the same basic message presented along similar lines. I think there is a segment of the SF crowd that looks for any opportunity to piss and moan and this is just the latest thing on their agenda.
Thanks for the pdf link, the cover is cool. I can certainly see how it would have been so eye-catching at the time. Deathworld is a story that I really enjoyed and I can see myself going back and reading it again at some point. I thought 2 and 3 were fun as well, just not quite as good as the first one.
I like the sound of Deathworld a little more than SSR now that you have elaborated on them more. While I enjoyed the first SSR novel I didn’t love it like you do. I might just need to try this series though as it sounds a little closer to what I may like more. Thanks again for the post if for no other reason than the Berkey cover.
Jeff: I would agree with you on that, I think you would probably like this one more, especially once he gets down on the planet. I have a used paperback that is in readable, but not pristine, shape if you ever want to borrow it (No worries about creasing the cover with this one. Ha!)
Thanks man. Hopefully I will get a chance to take you up on that one day. My TBR pile feels too overwhelming for me to take it on right now though.
No worries, just wanted you to know that it was there.
I remember buying that book new over forty years ago. I was mesmerized by the cover. My two science fiction reading buddies and I were going through the Bill, The Galactic Hero and Deathworld books. I can’t remember much about the stories now, but I remember how much we use to talk about these books and laugh at all the far out ideas. Did one of these books have something like bungee jumping in it? I remember years later when I first heard about bungee jumping that it reminded me of a SF story, and I think it was one of the Deathworld books.
Jim: Great to see you. I’ve been wondering where you were with all the Heinlein, Harrison, and Avatar talk going on over here.
It has been too long since I’ve read Deathworld 1 and 2 to remember anything resembling bungee jumping. In this book, however, the characters are lowered down a steep, high cliff on a rope made of vines that does snap back up to some degree when it is lowered down. The amount of the recoil is based on the weight of what is being lowered, so when they lower the animals that they are riding on there is a bungee-like effect. I imagine that is what you are referring to.
Okay Carl, you convinced me. I ordered the Deathworld trilogy today. Now, where does it go in my to be read bookshelf? Decisions, decisions.
Jim: wow, that depends on what is on the shelf! If you’ve seen Avatar then reading the first Deathworld might be a fun read on many levels right now.
I read Deathworld when it was serialized in Astounding and it made an impression that has lasted all my life. The first Harry Harrison story I can remember reading was “A Sense of Obligation”. It was also serialized in Analog as I recall. The first installment was all that I read since I did not at that time yet have a subscription. Just yesterday I finished the story which was published as “Planet of the Damned” and is available for free at Project Gutenburg. “A Sense of Obligation” had also made an indelible impression and I thought it was ironic to be finishing a story begun in 1961 in 2011. Needless to say, I’ve been a Harry Harrison fan ever since that first taste in gradeschool. It was good to see how well old Harry has held up over the years; his prose is still as taut and gripping as I remembered it.
That being said, I don’t think any of the sequels ever quite came up to the level of Deathworld and I would really like to see some film maker do it justice on the silver screen. Same for Jack Vance whom I discovered around the same time.
Thanks for the great comment! I love Harry Harrison and have since my childhood. Deathworld is a fantastic novel and one I look forward to reading again (and again). I too think it would be a great film if done by someone who had a passion for the book and wanted it to be done right. And I agree, I think his really good stuff has held up fantastically over the decades since it was first written.
Hi,
Just in case nobody knows, Harry Harrison wrote a final Deathworld story called “The Mothballed Spaceship” in about 1973 in an anthology to commemorate John W. Campbell’s reign at the SF magazine Astounding (Analog).
Cheers,
Kevin.