Deathworld 2 (Deathworld #2) (1963)

by Harry Harrison

Jason dinAlt is kidnapped by a religious fanatic called Mikah, but before he can be delivered for "justice," they crash land on a planet where the inhabitants have divided themselves into tribes, each of which has ritualized a field of technology from their fallen civilization.

 

This story is a big disappointment after the stellar first installment.

 

Author Harry Harrison gets quite preachy and didactic here, and while I share his mistrust of those who claim moral authority over others, he doesn’t find an interesting way to make his point.

 

Harry Harrison

Instead, we are treated to lectures and harangues from Jason to which Mikah has no good answer because he’s just the cartoonish Straw Man in Harrison’s argument.

 

In addition, Jason displays a deep understanding of engineering principles that was not evident in the last book and which one wouldn’t expect to be among the skill set of a former professional gambler.

 

But worst of all, Meta, Kerk, and the rest of the Pyrrans are largely absent from the story.

 

"Planet of Death 2" (Polish)

They do finally show up toward the end, and that’s when things pick up, but it’s a bit of a slog to get to that point.

"The Second Planet of Death" (Czech)

"Appsala" (French)

"The Slave World" (German)

"Ethics Specialist" (Romanian)

"The World of Death Against Buccaneers" (Bulgarian)