Review: The Deathworld Omnibus by Harry Harrison

Title: The Deathworld Omnibus
Author: Harry Harrison
Series: Deathworld #1-3
Pages: 512
ISBN: 9781473228375
Publisher: Gollancz
Published: March 1960
Genre: Science Fiction / Space Opera
Source: Purchased

The planet was called Pyrrus, a strange place where all the beasts, plants and natural elements were designed for one specific purpose: to destroy man.

The settlers there were supermen, twice as strong as ordinary men and with milli-second reflexes. They had to be. For their business was murder.

It was up to Jason dinAlt, interplanetary gambler, to discover why Pyrrus had become so hostile during man's brief habitation.

This omnibus contains all three novels in the Deathworld.

If you thought the Deathworld trilogy by Harry Harrison is a pulpy space western you wouldn’t be completely wrong. Take away the technology, the spaceships and the alien worlds and you have the makings of a pretty standard western filled with gambling, gunslinging and high-stakes adventure.

Transporting the familiar into a science fiction setting allows Harry Harrison to explore some much deeper issues while offering a fun, adventure filled read at surface level. Delving deeper you discover that Deathworld, Deathworld 2 and Deathworld 3 (you have to love those titles!) provides some serious food for thought. Deathworld deals with ecology and the constant struggle between humanity and the environment, Deathworld 2 delves into morality and ethics and Deathworld 3 takes a hard look at colonialism and subsummation of other cultures.

For something written in the sixties Deathworld holds up very well, and unlike other novels from the same period it’s refreshing to see female characters treated as equal or even superior to their male counterparts. The first book, Deathworld, is by far the most enjoyable tale included in the omnibus, with Deathworld 2 and Deathworld 3 only tangentially related to the first one. If you are looking for a fun adventure with some deeper meaning, then the Deathworld series might be worth looking into, even if it’s just for some analog tech nostalgia.

The Rating: 6.5/10 (Good)

Opening Lines: The Deathworld Omnibus

Some novels have the ability to draw you in from the start. A single line or paragraph can grab your attention in such a way that the novel just demands to be read. Opening Lines is a feature where I'll share some of the best opening lines that hooked me.

With a gentle sigh the service tube dropped a message capsule into the receiving cup. The attention bell chimed once and was silent. Jason dinAlt stared at the harmless capsule as though it were a ticking bomb.

The Deathworld Omnibus by Harry Harrison

The planet was called Pyrrus, a strange place where all the beasts, plants and natural elements were designed for one specific purpose: to destroy man. 

The settlers there were supermen, twice as strong as ordinary men and with milli-second reflexes. They had to be. For their business was murder. It was up to Jason dinAlt, interplanetary gambler, to discover why Pyrrus had become so hostile during man's brief habitation. 

This omnibus contains all three novels in the Deathworld trilogy.

The Science Fiction Invaders Book Tag

Any respectable reading challenge should have a book tag to go along with it. Introducing the Science Fiction Invaders Book Tag. Seven questions to get to know fellow science fiction fans and to bare your sci-fi soul to all. (If this is a total flop. Procrastination made me do it!)

1. Blast off:
Which book got you interested in or hooked you on science fiction?

Despite how problematic the author has become Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card was my gateway into science fiction. It's the one book I can still vividly remember reading as a teen and being blown away by the story. It inspired me to search out more stories like it, and I subsequently read the entire SFF section available in my small town library. Multiple times. 

2. Engage targeting systems:
What type of science fiction do you enjoy the most? Any specific tropes or sub-genre that makes something a must-read?

I've always been a huge fan of space opera. Give me galactic intrigue, huge spaceships and devastatingly powerful weapons and I'm as happy as can be.

3. Prime weapon systems:
What’s your favourite science fiction book series?

The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey is amazing, The Culture series by Iain M. Banks (which I still haven't had the heart to finish), Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds and The Polity novels by Neal Asher. I can't pick just one. They are all so good.

4. Disengage safeties:
What would you like to see more of in the genre?

More books focused on space exploration and encountering something alien and new. Something where we push our frontiers ever forward and outward just to see what wonders await. 

5. Weapons free:
What’s your favourite adaptation of a science fiction work?

The Expanse TV show has to be on the top of my list. I haven't watched the later series yet, but once I spotted the plumes from Enceladus in the intro, I knew we were in for something good.

6. Torpedoes away:
Share an unpopular opinion you have, which other sci-fi fans might judge you for.

Dune isn't that great. There, I said it.

7. Victory:
What’s the one sci-fi book you always recommend to someone? Why?

Another tough question. At the moment it has to be Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky has this ability to bring non-human intelligences to vibrant life on the page.

***

I challenge you, yes YOU, to complete the tag in any format you like and to tag two other science fiction lovers in your life to do the same! Share in the fun, and get to know a little bit more about each other.