Salvage and Destroy (Daw science fiction) [Paperback]

Edward Llewellyn (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: DAW; 1ST edition (January 3, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886770092
• ISBN-13: 978-0886770099
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,430,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply a masterpiece: ambitious, well-written, and timely, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Salvage and Destroy (Daw science fiction) (Paperback)

Llewellyn has been severly overlooked by the science-fiction community, and I've never understood why. Like Heinlein, Azimov, and a number of other great authors, he has written a series of novels based on carefully thought-out future history, a history which is extremely conceivable. Most of these novels are set before, during, and at various periods after the mankind's numbers on Earth are severely cut-down due to unforseen side-effects of wonder-drugs and chemicals which render a huge portion of the world's population sterile. All of his books have great character development, compelling story-lines, and characters one can identify with.

Salvage and Destroy is set in the same future history, but the protagonist is an alien from a distant empire who is sent by his decaying and corrupt government to Earth in the late 20th Century to "Salvage" what he can from a world which seems poised on the brink of nuclear destruction, and to "Destroy" the satellite placed in the solar system lest humans find it and follow its broadcast trail to their own empire.

The story weaves together many complicated items extremely well... politics, ancient foes, and most especially what it means to be human, and what is the nature of God and the Universe.

There are few books I can recommend more than this one... my review here doesn't do it justice, and I regret that. But if you've stumbled acrosss this review, I implore you to order this book... if you like science-fiction, you'll like this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An old favorite, January 24, 2011

By 

Valerie Coskrey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Salvage and Destroy (Paperback)

I am rereading Search and Destroy and remembering why I have long thought of this book as excellent. Llewellyn deftly builds a universe and future history populated with interesting characters and faced with deep challenges, including self-discovery. With little overt violence, no explicit sex, and acceptable language, this book is suitable for YA who read at upper high school levels.

There is a running minor theme of sexuality in that the main character is an Ult who has, by choice, halted his life-cycle just short of puberty and thereby faces temptations like a young boy without the adult responses, but with mature understanding. Why? To become semi-immortal. Furthermore, his species can control their metamorphosis between growth states to become like other species, so he becomes, outwardly, a handsome human adult male so that he can blend-in with the human crew of the spaceship he takes to Earth and with the Earthlings when he gets there.