Customer Reviews

Three Worlds to Conquer

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Poul Anderson's science fiction adventure tale, Three Worlds to Conquer, is a remarkably exciting and engaging quick read. Three Worlds is a "loose" sequel to Anderson's short story, `Sam Hall' published in the August 1953 edition of Astounding Science fiction. Both cover some aspect of post-WWIII Earth.

The Jovian moon, Ganymede is an Earth mining colony settled by many political dissidents. The main character, Mark Fraser, contacts and communicates with an unusual looking alien named Theor who inhabits with his kin a solid layer of Jupiter (with plants, domesticated animals, cities, trees, volcanoes, barbarians, and oceans of various chemicals!).

Poul's description of the Nyarrans is particularly hilarious (how to confuse the reader with too many adjectives!). The closest visual approximation I could come with is a six-legged centaur with antennae and gills! The Nyarrans are also particularly interesting because they have three sexes (males, females, and demi-males -- all three are needed to have young) however, Poul Anderson does not explore this dynamic in much detail.

The novel concerns, on Ganymede, the arrival of the USS Vega spaceship and its commander, who seek to utilize the natural resources of the moon and its inhabitants to construct nuclear weapons to put down a pro-Democracy rebellion on Earth and reinstall a new dictator President. Mark Fraser leads an insurrection against the invasion.

Theor and his fellow Nyarrans, wage war against another group of invaders whose lands on Jupiter have been flooded. Here, Poul Anderson spins a simplistic survival tale in the best pulp tradition complete with vivid descriptions of battles with spears and axes. Theor treks across the surface(s) of Jupiter meeting other strange natives, gigantic beasts of various sorts, and even parachutes with large leaves! Until the very end of the story the only connection with the two concurrent parts of the novel is Fraser's communications with Theor, the Nyarr.

Anderson manages, in the end, to connect both stories nicely. As is the case with much early sci-fi, the female characters are short changed. Fraser's wife literally only speaks from the shadows! While Fraser and various other colonists are hiding in the border settlements the women (as a collective group) huddle with their children completely separately from the men! The main female character is a little more interesting -- and surprisingly, a chaste relationship is maintained! However, Poul Anderson has Lorraine perpetuate his own sexist beliefs: "But I'm a woman, and untrained for the work, and...I never will."

All in all, Three Worlds to Conquer is a delightful romp. I enjoyed the descriptions of life on Jupiter (however, scientifically incorrect they might be) and I genuinely cared for many of the characters. Obviously, in this day and age, a 142 page books hardly seem sufficient -- I definitely wanted the story to continue. However, despite its short length, Anderson manages to construct a well plotted novel with some vivid action, relatively engaging politics, and interesting characters (kind of). Definitely a worthwhile read!

I'm a well seasoned in reading Anderson novels, this being my fourteenth. It also happens to have become my favorite Anderson to-date! Tau Zero ranks a close number two and Brain Wave a respectable number three. Three Worlds to Conquer has an intrinsic "oldie" feel to it, perhaps because of its 143-page thickness, its nebulously painted cover or simply because the plot has certain Golden Age qualities to it. Regardless, I'm very fond of this novel as it exudes a certain sexy nostalgia for science and space exploration, something missing in modern science fiction.

Rear cover synopsis:
"JUPITER: where no human could live- but where men had strange allies... and stranger enemies! GANYMEDE: where human settlers lay helpless under the guns of a spaceship directed by a madman! EARTH: freed from a planet-wide tyranny, but facing total destruction for space!
The destiny of these worlds were strangely linked- and in the hands of a man sentenced to instant death!"

Excellent synopsis for a novel! It pulls no strings, doesn't promise anything it can't deliver and offers little hint as to the greater scope of the plot. I tend to read the synopsis AFTER I've read the book because I like to be surprised by the content of the novel... somethings the damn synopses give away everything or promise too much. To further expound:

Mark is a contact specialist of sorts who is in contact with an alien race on the surface (!) of Jupiter. Having created a new language between his own tongue and the aliens tongue, Mark is the best at what he does. He is also skeptical of the arrival of battleship USS Vega at the mining base of Ganymede. The admiral spins a lengthy story of how earth government (controlled by the almighty USA of course) had fallen to rebels. The battleship is on the moon for the sake of taking control of its mining facilities in order to process materials for nuclear weapons so that they can oust the rebels with brute strength. Lorraine is a collaborator with intentions of sabotaging the tyrannical hold the admiral holds over the colony. When Mark and Lorraine conspire together, plans for escape and control grow rapidly.

In a parallel plot, the alien in contact with Mark is named Theor. His Nyarr clan is becoming close to being invaded by the larger, more brutal and uncivilized Ulunt-Khazul clan. The communicator (a neutrino communicator beaming conversations up to Mark) fails to impress the heathens after Theor fails to contact Mark. Thus begins a sea-battle and land-battle amongst the two clans. When Theor is captured, his relationship with his "mind-brother" Mark will be called upon for the sake of both individuals.

I think Anderson had a great thing going with the Theor plot line and having a human plot in parallel to this only strengthened each plot.

Three Worlds to Conquers suffers from one early SF element which plagues other novels but leaves this book without damaging effects: that of the "I got a sudden idea" syndrome, where crafty plans for escape or retribution are fabricated from thin air, bless the ever-whimsical protagonist capable of this feat! One more minor quirks which you'll come across is the 1960s fixation on the infinite wonders of pharmacopoeia. There's always a pill that'll fix something (effects of gravity, banishment of fatigue, unexpression of emotion, etc.). One last irk is one exclusive to Anderson, himself: he loves to use archaic Middle English or Olde English words throughout his early novels be it in dialogue or narration. Here's a short list of annoying words: behoven, erstwhile, yonder, erelong, belike, lest, beset, nigh and (my favorite) thundersmitten.

If you can look past the points above and suspend whatever science knowledge you have about the atmosphere and surface of Jupiter, then you're in a for a excellent action-to-the-last-page novel,easily read in one or two days.

Science fiction is excellent entertainment and the plots have some times been predictors of events and technical advancements. Yet, in most cases the advance of science has rendered stories technically impossible and some of the "predicted" technical achievements are absurd in retrospect. When that occurs, the story must be read with a bit of a retro mindset where you must suspend your knowledge of the scientific truth. Also, you must rely on the excitement of the action to keep your mind on the edge of its' pedestal.
This book is one where you must do that; the direct action takes place on the surface and moons of Jupiter. Anderson has several species of intelligent beings living on the surface of Jupiter and there are human colonies in the cluster of moons and asteroids that orbit Jupiter. Mark Fraser is a human resident of the colonies and he is in communication contact with Theor, an intelligent being living on the surface of Jupiter. They communicate via a series of clicks and other sounds using a neutrino radio.
As always, Earth is undergoing a civil war and a powerful warship arrives at the colonies and the commander assumes control of the government. There is a revolt by the colonists that initially fails. On the surface of Jupiter, Theor's community is also under attack from other intelligent creatures and they too are initially defeated. Both sides must regroup and learn how to counterattack in order to drive away or destroy the invaders.
Mark and Theor are in regular contact and through all this, they are able to devise a way they can provide mutual assistance as they battle back against their foes. While science has rendered this plot largely impossible, Anderson does an excellent job in making the story believable if you accept the scientific knowledge of the time that it was written. I find it refreshing to occasionally go back and read science fiction of the forties and fifties. It is a lesson on how things change as well as just a simple and basic joy to read the works of the old masters of science fiction.