O Pioneer! [Mass Market Paperback]

Frederik Pohl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1999

The overcrowded Earth isn't room enough for Evesham Giyt, a solitary and brilliant computer hacker who yearns for the long-gone frontiers of the past. Chasing stories of unspoiled beauty and endless possibility, he takes a leap across the stars to the rugged colony world of Tupelo and soon finds himself a respected member of the community and mayor of the colony's human population.

Humanity isn't the first race to colonize Tupelo: as mayor, Giyt is part of a council of races trying to peacefully coexist despite wildly disparate cultures and traditions. But as Giyt learns to like his alien neighbors, he begins to realize that his fellow humans may have other plans for Tupelo, plans that don't include peace but do include lots of dead aliens. It will be up to Giyt to crack the human conspiracy and carve out a future for all of Tupelo...before it gets him killed!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Evesham Giyt makes a living by poaching funds from the corporations he freelances for. One day, an ad for starting a new life on the colony world of Tupelo tempts him and his girlfriend, Rina, a former hooker, to leave Earth behind. Life on the planet, settled by five different alien species, with Giyt's colony located on an archipelago set amidst gigantic oceans, seems too good to be true, and Giyt can't believe it when he's elected mayor of the humans. But the tropical bliss is just a facade, and some judicious hacking reveals that the colony's books have been cooked. Giyt risks his life to uncover the truthAthe colony is the front for an American expansionist movementAand he and Rina live happily ever after. Pohl makes some sharp satirical points here, but overall this is uninspired, if cleanly told, fare from an author who for more than 40 years has generally been producing betterAsometimes much betterAwork.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Ace computer hacker Evesham Giyt immigrates to the planet Tupelo with his ex-hooker wife, Rina, and stumbles into the position of mayor of a colony that includes members of four other alien races in addition to humankind. His troubles begin when he discovers a conspiracy masterminded by a coterie of xenophobic humans intent on securing control of the planet. SF grand master Pohl (The Other End of Time, LJ 9/15/96) brings the high-action, no-frills appeal of pulp sf to his latest tongue-in-cheek satire of human foibles. A good selection for large sf collections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction (April 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812545443
• ISBN-13: 978-0812545449
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,182,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Predictable plot line + uninteresting characters = mediocre, April 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: O Pioneer (Hardcover)

Boring. This book is far oversold by the reviews above. The story is passable and the aliens are not at all compelling. Better than 80% of science fiction novels, but still only passable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth a look., April 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: O Pioneer! (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed this book. It appealed to my bizzare sense of humour. I agree with the previous review that the plot was a bit predictable, but I thought it had a couple of interesting twists. The characters were ok but not out of the ordinary. It was a bit difficult to get into at the start but I found that I was fairly involved at the end. I would advise anyone that it is definitely worth a look.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Cute - but Extremely Predictable, January 15, 2001

By 

Dr. Zoidberg (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: O Pioneer! (Mass Market Paperback)

"O Pioneer" tells the story of Evesham Giyt, a futuristic hacker, who decides to immigrate to the new frontier, a newly inhabited planet named Tupelo. One thing Evesham wasn't aware of when he came to the planet - it is NOT empty. The planet is already inhabited by 5 other sentient races, each with its own characteristics. In addition, it seems there is some kind of a conspiracy going on the planet, and there's no one able to stop it - except Evesham!
This is a real cute book. Very relaxing and enjoying. The aliens are really a delight to read about, so diverse - yet very consistent. But the bad thing about the story - it's very predictable from first to last page - there's no catch or anything. And the story gets a bit slow at times - which is annoying, since the book is very short anyway (~250 pages). Nevertheless, it's still worth a read to any sci-fi fan, if only for the aliens. One last comment, I am a Star Trek fan, and I'm really getting tired that all aliens there are nearly identical in appearance and behavior.. this book shows there are more possibilities to this often underexplored genre.