The Venom of Argus

The Expendables #4

by Richard Avery, Edmund Cooper

Argus looked good. The prospects for a settlement were excellent. So the crew of the star-ship Santa Maria was expecting a nice, relaxing holiday after facing the perils of Kratos, Tantalus, and Zelos. But their commander, James Conrad, knew better. A sixth sense--and bitter experience--warned him that Argus would have its own special brand of surprises. After their first encounter with the lethal vegetation they tried to be prepared--but nothing in the Expendables' extensive training could have readied them for the final deadly wonder Argus had in store.

Genres: Science Fiction

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Pseudonym of Edmund Cooper.

Librarians Note: This author should not be merged with the profile for Edmund Cooper. Books are listed in the Goodreads database by the name under which they were published, even if later reprinted under the author's real name.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edmund Cooper wrote this four volume series under the pseudonym Richard Avery. The science fiction he was writing under his own name at the time was more cerebral and subtle, serious studies of character and society, and The Expendables was an action/adventure series of swashbuckling derring-do, an updating of the more juvenile-oriented space opera pulp stories of earlier decades. Led by the heroic James Conrad, the beautiful Indira Smith, the brilliant Kurt Kwango, and a team of similarly diverse people and intelligent robots, they were a team of explorers sent to prepare the most challenging new planets for human colonization. Similar to the concept of The Dirty Dozen or The Suicide Squad, they faced situations where the odds were always stacked against them, the going was always rough, and the chances of success were low. Cooper made a heartfelt attempt to present a very diverse group of characters, and to make thematic points against and statements opposing racism, sexism, or ethnic discrimination, and it's unfortunately ironic that some modern readers see signs of these policies in the stories in the light of current sensitivities. They're captivating adventures, full of humor and adventure, better written than most similar titles of their time. The original U.S. Fawcett editions have lovely Ken Kelly covers than capture the action very well.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

From what I hear, this was the last in this 4 book series, which is too bad because it was certainly entertaining. Written in 1976, it would probably seem very politically incorrect for modern audiences, but it was not mean spirited.

James Conrad and his team of "Expendables" take on their fourth planet, Argus. They've had surprises on every other planet and this one proves to be no exception. Their job is to 'prove' the planet for human habitation. To do so, Conrad drives his group hard, and himself harder.

There are a number of adult themes and scenes in the book but I wouldn't call this a "men's adventure" series. Edmund Cooper is writing these under the Avery name and he's a very fine SF writer with a good grasp of SF themes.

I liked it quite a lot.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read. As much as the first three? No. Back on Terra, Conrad is regarded as a hero and we start strong with Conrad standing up to the corrupt Director of the ExPEND department. Because of Conrad's actions, the team has to blast off immediately to avoid a media fiasco.

From here the story reads like a cut and paste of the first three. Conrad throws his weight around and threatens the crew often, Kwango flaunts his intellect and baits Conrad with his 'uncle tom act', and Indira follows Conrad around like a love sick puppy occasionally trying to make him see reason. Mirlena is a new addition who at first seems to be destined to become Kwango's love interest but instead flaunts her tits constantly, calls Conrad a racist over and over, and tries to be the first casualty. The other three members? Why mention them? They are just not that memorable.

Finally the end of the book was unsatisfying and it felt rushed and incomplete. There was an issue that sprang up and I felt the consequences were overlooked and glossed over. Forgive and forget doesn't work in this type of situation.

Overall, it wasn't that great. Aside from the awesome Ken Kelly cover there isn't a lot to recommend.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick , short sci-fi...the 70's view is persistent in this book as the other three before it. This is not a hard science series, bit a good fun sci-fi romp....once past the obvious male dominated viewpoint. I first read this series when i was in highschool in the late 70's, and it still held up for a second reading 40 years later (again once past the prejudices of the 70's)

[Ian Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Venom of Argus” by Edmund Cooper (1976)

Overall Rating 6/10 – Weak Venom

Critique
Unfortunately, this “season finale” (the last of the four book series) was much of a let-down. The lack of imagination evident in the previous three novels seemed to drop off more steeply than a waterfall.

The storyline certainly lacked any lustre and the creatively required to “invent” a new planet was (it seems) already on a different planet when the author exercised his neural network.

Typically, the story unfolded in exactly the same way as the previous ones and although the ending was different, it was a wee bit sudden. It made me feel a bit like the author had simply “given up”.

A shame really, I enjoy his other works (all standalone novels) and it is a pity that this didn’t work out as well.

However, I am still glad I read it.

Plot
Captain James Conrad and his crew of “expendables” (skilled misfits & criminals who are “expendable”) are sent once again across the galaxy, this time to the planet of Argus, to determine if it is suitable for human colonisation. Here they meet multiple challenges they must overcome if they are to succeed. More importantly, are James Conrad (Captain) and his team going to be able to “prove” the planet for Terran occupation?

Writing Style
Easy to read and flowing style that is somewhere between High school essay writer and accomplished fiction writer. Nothing complex (like Dickens) and no excess use of names or words that bend the brain unnecessarily (Marion Zimmer Bradley). Pretty much “Tea Time” reading with a strong flavour of the 1970’s.

Point of View
Written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention)

[Allen McDonnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book four of four

I first enjoyed this novel as a young teen not long after it was published. Now almost exactly forty years later I discovered the entire four volume set available on Kindle and snapped them all up.

Sadly this turned out to be the final book in the series as not
long after it was published the author died at the relatively young age of 56. Of the four novels this is my least favourite as multiple members of the crew accuse one another of racism and other unpleasant interpersonal events take place. Despite these unpleasant aspects the planet Argus being explored is interesting and it seems to me that if the novel had been two or three chapters longer with the issues brought up being demonstrated to have been solved it would have made the novel more satisfying for my taste.

I have always wished that Cooper had written a fifth novel where our well known crew would have been sent to explore the world where a programming error led to the deaths of the entire crew sent to explore a different planet costing the lives of three former crew-mates of our main three cast members on the planet Janus. Their funerals and the circumstances that caused those deaths are the introduction to this book and would provide an ideal starting point for a novel. Exploring Janus as a final novel making their sacrifice pay dividends for humanity and the colonisation effort would have made for a much more satisfactory resolution for our three main characters who have continued working together through all the novels in the series.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last in the Expendables series starts with Conrad, the commander of the titular team, punching out an important politician because the guy's corruption got an Expendables team killed. But Conrad is too valuable to suffer consequences, so instead he and his own team are rushed off planet on a new mission--find out if a newly discovered planet is okay for colonization.

This section does help establish Conrad's character for anyone who might be new to the series, but otherwise doesn't affect the main plot. I have a feeling that there would have been further consequences had the series continued. All the same, it's a fun bit. Who doesn't enjoy reading about a corrupt politician being punched out?

When the team reaches the planet Argus, the place seems to at first be an Eden. There are edible plants and herbivores. There doesn't seem to be any carnivores or other dangerous fauna.

But the idyllic atmosphere doesn't last long. Soon, the team is taking casualties after encountering large carnivorous mushrooms that sprout tentacles to capture and kill prey. A tree the team designates a "Harpoon Tree" also likes meat and is also very aggressive in how it gets its meals. Most dangerous of all is a huge hoard of insects designated "piranha bugs."

And once the team starts to get a handle on these dangers, something even more deadly turns up and leads to several team members trying to murder one another...

This was a fun entry in a fun series. I wish there had been more.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book returns to the style of the first Expendables book with people versus planets ecology. And the native flora has the upper hand. There is more detail at the start than in book 2 and 3 about the Expendable program and the politics behind it. It also seems a more repetitive, like he’s running out of ideas for the stories. That probably explains why this is the last in the series. It’s still a good read, but it’s more dependent on having read at least 1 of the other books for context of the characters and situation. The behaviour of the women in the final scene of the book weren’t particularly credible, but I can’t say more without spoilers, and did detract significantly from the overall enjoyment of the rest of the book.

[Bohemian Book Lover · Rating 2 out of 5]

*This series kept me so invested that in order to complete it I had to do something I don't normally do: read
*E-books in full.
*Two e-books for that matter! Though this 4th installment had a different beginning than the first 3 books (an excellent start at that!), it gradually became dull & too repetitive once they landed on Argus. I actually hoped that, since this was the last book, at least one of the
*Veteran characters would be killed
*Off. Sadly the grande finale was surprisingly rushed
*And a terrible disappointment, especially since it ends on a high misogynist note.

[I.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The formula is in full effect at this point and it works relatively well. The main characters are established so more time is spent on action and setting up the weird alien world. Sure it’s pulp but I found this a fun and easy read. Too bad the series ended here it had a decent vibe going.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book marks the end of the series - I am not sure if it was planned to be, or circumstance made it so but still this is the last - a shame really as not only were they great fun there is a turning point here - where more mature subjects are looked at like the worth of human decisions over those of machine and the results of "pure logical" decisions can have. Do not get me wrong its still great fun with the excessive use of force both on the crew and the environment they are trying to tame. As I said in my review of the first book - a great find from second hand books.

[Nikolis Asimakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

And this was the last book of the series. It was slightly better than the rest (certainly better than the previous book) in the aspect that it showed more of a continuation to some of the subplots of the previous books. But not much. It is not as good as a final book of the series and it raises the question whether it would have a continuation. Unfortunately, that is now impossible. I will miss this series. It was exactly what I looked for in space sci-fi. It could be a bit less repetitive but they were so small that you paid no mind.

[M S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was much younger when I read this pulpy sci-fi pabulum. But I enjoyed it thoroughly. My guess is that it's probably the equivalent of reading a standard comic book in terms of depth.

[SciFiOne · Rating 4 out of 5]

1979 grade B-
1995 grade B-

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one ended abruptly; seems like the message was the series was not going to continue after this one.

[Jared Shurin]

Sort of a mass review for all four Expendables books. In the future, talented criminals (or "criminals") are chucked through space at FTL in order to test out new worlds for colonisation. The four book series by Avery (Cooper) follows the same core group as they try out one world after another.

They're not particularly science-y for science fiction, which is no bad thing - Avery never lets practicality stand in the way of a good carnivorous tree monster. The technology (robots, exos, laser rifles) is hand-wavily introduced, but largely exists for reader enjoyment. There are alien monsters and physical and mental challenges and enormous worms and space vikings and and and... basically, everything you might want.

Remarkably, after finishing all four, I'm still not sure if the series is more racist or misogynist, as it was really neck and neck all the way through. Our protagonist is a 'real bastard' (but good-hearted, as everyone keeps telling us), which somehow gives contextual permission for him to only refer to everyone by racist epithets, or yell at women to 'open their legs' about six times each book.

Rape and sexual violence are strewn throughout, all underpinned by a comprehensive vision of a near-distant future where women are still entirely subordinate to their male counterparts and exist solely for sexytimes. Politically, it is underpinned by a First World vs Third World mentality with all those needy countries reverting to terrorism and sabotage, as they "selfishly" judge their own pressing needs over that over the crippingly-expensive space programme. Fortunately, a coalition of white men are there to take care of our future.

There's something rather riveting about this car crash of a series, as noted by the fact that I did blitz through all four. However, as much as I love a good pulp adventure, the balance of "carnivorous space trees" and "frothing rhetoric" is far too weighted towards the latter.