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Humanx Commonwealth #11
Viaggio alla Città dei Morti
Sullo sfondo del Commonwealth Galattico l'umanità convive ormai pacificamente con molte altre razze e collabora attivamente all'esplorazione dei mondi o dei settori stellari meno conosciuti. E proprio nell'ambito di una di queste missioni che Etienne e Lyra Redowl scendono sul pianeta Horseye e, dopo mesi di quarantena, ricevono il permesso di iniziare il loro viaggio alla ricerca delle sorgenti del maestoso fiume Skar, lungo una vallata che si spinge a nord per quasi tredicimila chilometri. Abituati a esplorare mondi nuovi, i due coniugi sono interessati alle tre diverse culture aliene che si affacciano sulle rive del lunghissimo fiume, ma... Horseye è un mondo di classe Quattro B, sul quale si possono avere contatti limitati e ogni scambio tecnologico è ancora proibito, e ci sono alcune cose che la coppia ignora. Per esempio, che alle sorgenti dello Skar dovrebbe trovarsi la leggendaria Città dei Morti, con i suoi misteri impenetrabili e le sue sterminate ricchezze, e che le loro guide locali sono state fornite da qualcuno più interessato a usare i Redowl come cavie che come esploratori di una civiltà avanzata.
Copertina di Karel Thole
Copertina di Karel Thole
199 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
52 people are currently reading
525 people want to read
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
498 books2,033 followersBestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
August 7, 2021
Voyage to the City of the Dead is another action-packed science fiction adventure set on a very exotic alien planet that has three interesting and very different native civilizations. It's one of his Humanx Commonwealth books, but stands quite well on its own. The human protagonists are scientists, a married couple with problems of their own, and it's impossible not to cheer for them; the rich settings and unique worlds sometimes overshadow Foster's characters, but the Redowls hold their own. The ending isn't entirely satisfying, but it's a most enjoyable read.
November 25, 2015
This book contains a good, old-fashioned romp of an adventure story. It's the science fiction equivalent of the pith-helmeted explorer hacking his way through dense jungle to find the riches of the legendary lost city!
If you're after a deep, meaningful exploration of the darker recesses of the human condition, look elsewhere! If you want a futuristic Indiana Jones type tale with ray guns instead of bull whips, look no further! OK, so the two protagonists are a geologist and an anthropologist instead of archaeologists but it's close enough for government work.
The world-building is really rather interesting, too, with three intelligent races living on one planet with their societies separated by altitude and the biological adaptations they've evolved to survive at their respective heights.
Anyway, on to the next book in the series...
If you're after a deep, meaningful exploration of the darker recesses of the human condition, look elsewhere! If you want a futuristic Indiana Jones type tale with ray guns instead of bull whips, look no further! OK, so the two protagonists are a geologist and an anthropologist instead of archaeologists but it's close enough for government work.
The world-building is really rather interesting, too, with three intelligent races living on one planet with their societies separated by altitude and the biological adaptations they've evolved to survive at their respective heights.
Anyway, on to the next book in the series...
February 21, 2010
I don't think I've ever read a "perfect" Alan Dean Foster book... but there are enough of his books that I've enjoyed immensely that I'll give them 5 stars anyways.
This is another great Alan Dean Foster novel. Forget that the characters were a bit wooden, and forget that the ending was a bit abrupt and left perhaps some loose ends dangling. I judge this book by the fact that it kept me engrossed - Alan Dean Foster writes adventure stories that keep me flipping pages, and he knows to keep it slim enough that I'm always left wanting more when the book is over.
I really liked some of the ideas in this book, as well. The concept of three different sapient beings on a planet, separated not by political boundaries but by altitude, was really interesting, and Alan Dean Foster developed this world very satisfyingly. I was also fascinated with the hydrofoil boat - would have been simpler to give the characters a helicopter, but the boat really made the story!
If you've never read Alan Dean Foster before, then start with Midworld, then try Nor Crystal Tears (to get acquainted with Thranx), then immediately jump into this novel, Voyage to the City of the Dead. (Note: the Thranx only show up briefly in the beginning of this story, so you can skip the 2nd recommendation if you wish.)
This is another great Alan Dean Foster novel. Forget that the characters were a bit wooden, and forget that the ending was a bit abrupt and left perhaps some loose ends dangling. I judge this book by the fact that it kept me engrossed - Alan Dean Foster writes adventure stories that keep me flipping pages, and he knows to keep it slim enough that I'm always left wanting more when the book is over.
I really liked some of the ideas in this book, as well. The concept of three different sapient beings on a planet, separated not by political boundaries but by altitude, was really interesting, and Alan Dean Foster developed this world very satisfyingly. I was also fascinated with the hydrofoil boat - would have been simpler to give the characters a helicopter, but the boat really made the story!
If you've never read Alan Dean Foster before, then start with Midworld, then try Nor Crystal Tears (to get acquainted with Thranx), then immediately jump into this novel, Voyage to the City of the Dead. (Note: the Thranx only show up briefly in the beginning of this story, so you can skip the 2nd recommendation if you wish.)
July 23, 2012
Alan Dean Foster is the Prolific Whore of Science Fiction. (That's an unofficial title, by the way.) He 's also the Movie Tie-In King of Sci Fi (official title). It's not so much that he writes well as he simply writes a lot. And, actually, some of his stuff is well-written. "Voyage to the City of the Dead" is one of his so-so books. It's a quick, entertaining read that doesn't have an enormous amount of build-up, which is okay because it doesn't really go anywhere anyway. Some interesting hard science stuff and some plot twists that may surprise, but overall one for the recycle bin.
September 8, 2023
I'm working my way through all the standalone Commonwealth novels in chronological (in-universe) order.
This was a good solid read. I've read a few pretty negative reviews of this book. "Nothing much happens", etc.
Let's see. Married scientist couple explores a unique world with 3 very different native sentient species inhabiting different ecological zones of the planet, each with very different social systems. The wife studies aliens cultures, so there is a great commentary running throughout the book on this topic, the husband is a geologist with different interests. They are one of those couples that loves each other while bickering - the book explores this relationship as well. In the end they make a massive discovery. There is action and danger.
So yes - things do happen. A good novel set in an established universe, telling one of many tales that happen in that setting. Not everything has to some universe-threatening potential calamity. As far as writing quality - again - good. Narrative structure and flow -- also good. Much better than some of the plodding and poorly written depressing crap that is so popular now (see: 3 body problem).
Recommend this as a good SF adventure read.
This was a good solid read. I've read a few pretty negative reviews of this book. "Nothing much happens", etc.
Let's see. Married scientist couple explores a unique world with 3 very different native sentient species inhabiting different ecological zones of the planet, each with very different social systems. The wife studies aliens cultures, so there is a great commentary running throughout the book on this topic, the husband is a geologist with different interests. They are one of those couples that loves each other while bickering - the book explores this relationship as well. In the end they make a massive discovery. There is action and danger.
So yes - things do happen. A good novel set in an established universe, telling one of many tales that happen in that setting. Not everything has to some universe-threatening potential calamity. As far as writing quality - again - good. Narrative structure and flow -- also good. Much better than some of the plodding and poorly written depressing crap that is so popular now (see: 3 body problem).
Recommend this as a good SF adventure read.
November 3, 2025
I can’t say I liked this book, but I never thought about not finishing it hence three stars. It was an easy, breezy read because there was basically nothing to ponder or speculate about as you might in a serious “drama novel” or a mystery. There was no reason to put it down because it became too intense as a horror novel might. It reminded me of an old-fashioned comic book where our heroes are exploring something or someplace and this happens then this happens, then we’re finished with no dramatic reveal, nothing to stick with the reader or for a book club to discuss. If you’re just looking for a book to pass some time with, this should fit the bill.
July 20, 2025
Picked this up on a whim at Leakey's Bookshop in Inverness, Scotland, based on the cover and the description on the back alone. I had read one of Alan Dean Foster's books before: Splinter of the Mind's Eye, one of the first novels in the original Star Wars expanded universe following the release of the original film. It's notable for being written before the lore had really been fleshed out, making it feel like kind of its own thing separate from the canon.
This book has somewhat of a similar feel to what I recall about SotME - it's pulpy sci-fi adventure fun. I had no idea going in that this was part of a series/universe that Foster created (The Humanx Commonwealth), but it works perfectly well as a stand-alone. We follow a scientist couple on a river expedition on an exotic planet, encountering various creatures (of the sentient and non-sentient variety) and geographical oddities along the way. These seem to be Foster's main two interests - alien species and geography/geology, both of which he emphasizes via the scientific fields of choice for each of his protagonists. The former is nothing new for sci-fi, but the focus on geography/geology is kind of unique. I've read plenty of books with maps included in the front, but I don't think I've ever seen one that actually bothers to mark the elevation of geographical features!
The characters are nothing to write home about (although it is kind of an amusing choice for the heroes to be a bickering middle-aged couple rather than your standard young hot people you get in this genre). An effort is made to add some depth and complexity to the alien cultures we meet, but they still felt like caricatures to me at times. But there's plenty of tropey fun and excitement to be had.
This book has somewhat of a similar feel to what I recall about SotME - it's pulpy sci-fi adventure fun. I had no idea going in that this was part of a series/universe that Foster created (The Humanx Commonwealth), but it works perfectly well as a stand-alone. We follow a scientist couple on a river expedition on an exotic planet, encountering various creatures (of the sentient and non-sentient variety) and geographical oddities along the way. These seem to be Foster's main two interests - alien species and geography/geology, both of which he emphasizes via the scientific fields of choice for each of his protagonists. The former is nothing new for sci-fi, but the focus on geography/geology is kind of unique. I've read plenty of books with maps included in the front, but I don't think I've ever seen one that actually bothers to mark the elevation of geographical features!
The characters are nothing to write home about (although it is kind of an amusing choice for the heroes to be a bickering middle-aged couple rather than your standard young hot people you get in this genre). An effort is made to add some depth and complexity to the alien cultures we meet, but they still felt like caricatures to me at times. But there's plenty of tropey fun and excitement to be had.
May 24, 2024
After Cathalot and Nor Crystal Tears, I figured my time in the Humanx Commonwealth was about up...both those titles didn't land with me. Thankfully, I stuck with it for one more journey. I'm giving it 5 Stars like I did the excellent Icerigger Trilogy, but Voyage isn't as good as the three books with the Tran on Tran-ky-ky (I love to see a movie adaption). Anyway...
A great adventure with a married couple who having massive difficulties and spend a lot of time fighting set out to discover the origin of a river on a planet that only has a Humanx outpost. They take along a few local guides with motives of their own & head up river into literally non-stop adversity. The action never ends - there is nothing deep here - just a great yarn and exactly what I was in the mood to read (especially after reading Heinlein's A Stranger in a Strange Land, which I bailed on at 65%).
A lot of fun & few more crucial details about the overall Humanx Universe. Spoilers below:
A great adventure with a married couple who having massive difficulties and spend a lot of time fighting set out to discover the origin of a river on a planet that only has a Humanx outpost. They take along a few local guides with motives of their own & head up river into literally non-stop adversity. The action never ends - there is nothing deep here - just a great yarn and exactly what I was in the mood to read (especially after reading Heinlein's A Stranger in a Strange Land, which I bailed on at 65%).
A lot of fun & few more crucial details about the overall Humanx Universe. Spoilers below:
May 24, 2024
An adventure through different ecological levels in a gigantic alien river.
The setting is a gigantic alien river which has many different levels of climates and ecologies.
This makes for a lot of drama when you have 3 different types of intelligent races other than humans. Then you add the wild card of humans and thranx into the mix.
There is a funny & compelling interplay between husband and wife, which many of us can relate to.
It is a very entertaining and intellectual story.
The setting is a gigantic alien river which has many different levels of climates and ecologies.
This makes for a lot of drama when you have 3 different types of intelligent races other than humans. Then you add the wild card of humans and thranx into the mix.
There is a funny & compelling interplay between husband and wife, which many of us can relate to.
It is a very entertaining and intellectual story.
September 13, 2019
An entertaining read that kept me interested throughout. ADF created a believable and intriguing world with 3 different alien races inhabiting it. The voyage/exploratory excursion was great but I felt that it all ended a little quickly and not in a fully satisfying way. Also, the husband/wife team were a bit wooden. The way they interacted with each other wasn't done particularly well. Overall it was an enjoyable book from an author I always like. 3.75 stars.
March 18, 2020
Voyage to the City of the Dead follows a husband-wife team who are investigating the planet Horseye. The couple, with sentient alien species who join along the way, travel upstream to study the planet's populations and geology. The team faces danger from alien species, environmental exposure, and alien treachery in their quest to understand the planet.
May 14, 2024
Etienne Redowl, a geologist and his wife Lyra a xenologist get approval to explore the Skar river system. Their discoveries and interaction with the different cultures the encounter makes this another entertaining read by Alan Dean Foster.
Read
October 23, 2025Some spine creasing and edge wear. Front cover has a couple small surface tears. Back cover has some shelf rubbing. Light smugging on edges. No marks, and tight. Ships very quickly and packaged carefully!
September 18, 2019
a nice, if inconsequential bit of science fiction
December 17, 2021
Giving up on this one about halfway through. I usually love ADF novels but this one just didn't seem to have much going on and none of characters really grabbed me. I got bored and set it aside.
April 29, 2023
An amazing story rich in detail and imaginative societies. Loved it.
June 14, 2023
Old school fun
Read
April 6, 2024Solid Commonwealth offering from Foster. Not my favorite or my least favorite, but an enjoyable read. I read it when I was a younger man, and this was the first reread in some time.
March 24, 2025
The chronicles of a couple of researchers as they sail up a massive river, documenting the 3 races that live on Tsalamania. The book has a delightful twist at the end.
April 23, 2025
Old SciFi 1984. Read in 1985 and again 2025
March 1, 2017
Etienne and Lyra Redowl are the scientific team assigned to study the planet Horseye. The place has a fascinating river valley 12,000 kilometers long, 13,000 kilometers deep, and wider than the Amazon River. It is allegedly the home to three alien cultures. There are the Mai, humanoids whose religion is free market capitalism nearly run amok. Further upriver are the mole-nosed Tsla who are given to philosophy. And beyond that there are rumors of another physically large yet barbaric race. And at the source of the river? Some say an ancient city lies buried there.
Alas the Redowl's marriage is currently undergoing a rocky patch. The two must come to terms while following this river into darkness.
Exploration, science and adventure are what this novel is about.
It is very good, even though the final plot twist feels a bit tacked on.
February 21, 2025
If you’re looking for well-written and entertaining adventure sci-fi then look no further. ADF is obviously a prolific hero of the genre and this is my first ever book by him and it left me searching for more. I love the way he built the world, separating it out by biological make up and temperature and then ascending with the characters as they meet each new unique civilization. The only thing stopping me from giving this book 5 stars is a mildly unsatisfactory ending. It wasn’t bad, it just didn’t pop like the rest of the story. The characters were excellent, with plenty of twists and turns and really fun side characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this offering and look forward to reading more ADF soon.
April 9, 2013
It was really difficult to decide between giving 4 or 5 stars for this book. In the end I'll give it 4.45 stars, which narrowly rounds down to 4. This book has almost everything I love about books, a strange alien planet with interesting life forms, beautiful landscapes, relatable characters, adventure, and a surprising but satisfying ending.
So why not give it 5 stars? Well, the characters were often bickering instead of being sexy. I'm a sucker for a good romance. Although, the two married leads are interesting, who wants to spend a whole book with a couple in the midst an unending domestic dispute? I'm glad the ice between them melted a bit in the end, but it was too little, too late.
The book is good, but there are a couple other worlds in the Humanx Commonwealth I would prefer to visit even more. If this were my first Alan Dean Foster book I might rate it 5 stars. But in comparison to some of his other books, I can't justify rating it as high. I'm not in a very generous mood.
So why not give it 5 stars? Well, the characters were often bickering instead of being sexy. I'm a sucker for a good romance. Although, the two married leads are interesting, who wants to spend a whole book with a couple in the midst an unending domestic dispute? I'm glad the ice between them melted a bit in the end, but it was too little, too late.
The book is good, but there are a couple other worlds in the Humanx Commonwealth I would prefer to visit even more. If this were my first Alan Dean Foster book I might rate it 5 stars. But in comparison to some of his other books, I can't justify rating it as high. I'm not in a very generous mood.
December 19, 2014
Vamos a ir con 3 estrellas en esta ocasion. Les voy a explicar porque.
Es una historia clasica de ciencia ficcion. Tenemos colonizadores en un mundo que solo puede ser descripto como un enorme delta de islas en medio de un oceano donde conviven 3 especies inteligentes distintas, los Mai, los Tsla, y los Na. Cabe destacar que el rio principal causo tanta erosion que literalmente se encuentra en un valle rodeado de montañas de gran altura. Tambien cabe destacar que tienen prohibido intercambiar tecnologia con los nativos por no haber descubierto todavia la energia por vapor. Un marco digno de una buena historia de sci-fi. La trama del libro se basa en un matrimonio, un geologo y una xenologa, que se enbarcan en un viaje que los llevara a estudiar el origen del rio que atraviesa el delta y los distintos nativos que reciden sobre las orillas. Y como es de esperar no todo sale como planean. Con esto me refiero a peces gigantes que desean comerse el navio hasta aborigenes agresivos.
En verdad un clasico del genero aunque por partes me resulto muy conservador.
Es una historia clasica de ciencia ficcion. Tenemos colonizadores en un mundo que solo puede ser descripto como un enorme delta de islas en medio de un oceano donde conviven 3 especies inteligentes distintas, los Mai, los Tsla, y los Na. Cabe destacar que el rio principal causo tanta erosion que literalmente se encuentra en un valle rodeado de montañas de gran altura. Tambien cabe destacar que tienen prohibido intercambiar tecnologia con los nativos por no haber descubierto todavia la energia por vapor. Un marco digno de una buena historia de sci-fi. La trama del libro se basa en un matrimonio, un geologo y una xenologa, que se enbarcan en un viaje que los llevara a estudiar el origen del rio que atraviesa el delta y los distintos nativos que reciden sobre las orillas. Y como es de esperar no todo sale como planean. Con esto me refiero a peces gigantes que desean comerse el navio hasta aborigenes agresivos.
En verdad un clasico del genero aunque por partes me resulto muy conservador.
April 14, 2013
This book was given to me by a friend. I have mixed feelings about it, but mostly I am disappointed. I certainly hope there are other stories set in the same universe, because the author seems to have spent a lot of time developing it. I'd hate to see the setting wasted on just this story.
The book does entertain, and it did a good job keeping the interest level up. I do feel like it abused the chapter-end cliffhanger; to me, it's a sign that the author himself thinks the story isn't good enough that the readers will pick it up again tomorrow.
What I found most disappointing is that even though the ending was foreshadowed in the first chapter, it still felt like the end scene was tacked on with a deus ex machina. It could be that this genre just isn't for me. I may try another Alan Dean Foster book in the future, but for now I think I'll stick with more substantial stories.
The book does entertain, and it did a good job keeping the interest level up. I do feel like it abused the chapter-end cliffhanger; to me, it's a sign that the author himself thinks the story isn't good enough that the readers will pick it up again tomorrow.
What I found most disappointing is that even though the ending was foreshadowed in the first chapter, it still felt like the end scene was tacked on with a deus ex machina. It could be that this genre just isn't for me. I may try another Alan Dean Foster book in the future, but for now I think I'll stick with more substantial stories.
March 8, 2014
I usually give an author a couple tries before giving up on them (with a few exceptions–I’m looking at you, Proust). So even though I wasn’t enthralled by the Alan Dean Foster books I’d read before, I gave Voyage to the City of the Dead a shot. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to stick with my first verdict: this dude just isn’t for me. The plot could’ve been good, but I really, really couldn’t stand the characters. All of the remotely likeable ones died miserably or (spoilers) turned out to be villains or incorporeal beings in disguise. The protagonists who made it to the end were the most obnoxious of the initial set. Sorry, Alan! I tried.
May 30, 2017
1984 grade B-
1999 grade B
2017 grade A-
This book gets better each time I read it. The story is what I call a journey novel and is primarily about world and character building. Two scientists travel up a massive river in a high tech boat from below the equator and the ocean that covers the southern hemisphere to the very high north polar ice cap. Along the way they go through quite interesting trials and tribulations. The only real problem with the book is the end which needed just a little bit more. They went through all that trouble and, as near as I could tell, didn't even take their samples back with them. As a scientist, I found that hard to accept.
1999 grade B
2017 grade A-
This book gets better each time I read it. The story is what I call a journey novel and is primarily about world and character building. Two scientists travel up a massive river in a high tech boat from below the equator and the ocean that covers the southern hemisphere to the very high north polar ice cap. Along the way they go through quite interesting trials and tribulations. The only real problem with the book is the end which needed just a little bit more. They went through all that trouble and, as near as I could tell, didn't even take their samples back with them. As a scientist, I found that hard to accept.
March 23, 2013
I first read this years ago, and as i was listing my books on Goodreads, i thought i would read it again. I was not disapointed, it was as good as i remembered. Foster is very descriptive in his storytelling, with characters, technology and surrroundings being very easy for the reader to imagine. This story takes place in the 'Commonwealth' and tells of a journey along a mighty river and the adventures that take place on it. All in all, a very good read!
March 2, 2016
More like a 3.5. The epic discovery was one of my favorite parts, but it also does bug me as it feels like a deus ex machina for sure. I'd stick with a full 4 anyway, but the relationship between Lyra and Etienne took a while for me to get used to. It was rather annoying for quite a while there. Definitely my least favorite part. But still, I enjoyed this book and look forward to the rest of the Alan Dean Foster collection I inherited.
March 18, 2008
I had a lot of trouble staying interested in this one and hardly remember it. I don't know if that is because it was boring or I was going through caffine withdrawls and couldn't pay much attention to anything.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews