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Daedalus Mission #5
Balance of Power
"The fifth landing of the Daedalus mission."
173 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 2, 1979
About the author
Brian M. Stableford
859 books141 followersBrian Michael Stableford was a British science fiction writer who published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford. He also used the pseudonym Brian Craig for a couple of very early works, and again for a few more recent works. The pseudonym derives from the first names of himself and of a school friend from the 1960s, Craig A. Mackintosh, with whom he jointly published some very early work.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 28, 2020
Die Erde war lange mit sich selbst beschäftigt. Nun ist das Raumschiff Dädalus unterwegs, um verschiedene Kolonialplaneten zu besuchen. Der Auftrag ist, zu schauen, wieso diese Kolonien nicht richtig funktionieren, und ihnen wenn möglich zu helfen.
Eine durchaus originelle Plotidee. Leider interessieren den Autoren aber letztendlich andere Dinge als mich. Nämlich Geschichte und Politik. Ich freute mich hingegen auf die Begegnung mit den außerirdischen Eingeborenen des Delta-Kontinents. Diese stellen sich dann aber als sehr menschenähnlich und gänzlich uninteressant heraus. Ihre Theokraten verhalten sich dann sehr rational und besonnen, was mir nicht sonderlich glaubhaft erschien.
Der Hauptdarsteller, ein glatter Politiker, nervt mich mit seinen schlauen Reden auch etwas.
Dann war da ja noch eine Telepathin, die aber kaum eine Rolle spielt.
Insgesamt war es leider nur "OK"
Eine durchaus originelle Plotidee. Leider interessieren den Autoren aber letztendlich andere Dinge als mich. Nämlich Geschichte und Politik. Ich freute mich hingegen auf die Begegnung mit den außerirdischen Eingeborenen des Delta-Kontinents. Diese stellen sich dann aber als sehr menschenähnlich und gänzlich uninteressant heraus. Ihre Theokraten verhalten sich dann sehr rational und besonnen, was mir nicht sonderlich glaubhaft erschien.
Der Hauptdarsteller, ein glatter Politiker, nervt mich mit seinen schlauen Reden auch etwas.
Dann war da ja noch eine Telepathin, die aber kaum eine Rolle spielt.
Insgesamt war es leider nur "OK"
March 8, 2021
The fifth journey of the Daedalus takes the crew to the planet of Atticus. Here, one of the major continents has an intelligent alien life form, so the colonists take over the other continent. As one of the crew missions involves contact with extra-terrestrials, and the ship can only land and take off in one place, this involves a long sea journey on a wooden sailing ship for Alex and Mariel.
Even though Alex muses that this is like the voyage of Christopher Columbus, it turns out to be more like some of the Spanish conquistador expeditions, as the aliens turn out to be far more advanced than had been previously realised. Complicating this scenario are the children of a previous human voyager who live with and try to control the aliens, something that the alien leadership resents and would like to see change.
For once, Alex doesn't come into much harms way, apart from an attempted stabbing and being involved with a mutiny and a naval battle. His expertise in biology also doesn't play much part until a pandemic flares up later in the book. A lot of the work is down to empath Mariel, who has to forge a link with the aliens but is disappointed in not having first contact. In fact, many of the aliens speak English and it could be said that they have been contaminated by the intrusion of the humans. Having said that, the aliens were well on their way to creating an empire without any outside help, the human influence just pushed their development along a bit longer. The price of that empire building though might be a future conflict with the colonists, one which they would be hard pressed to win.
While this was still an entertaining story, it perhaps covered a few too many elements that had appeared in previous stories, such as the whole ruling family political aspects. Perhaps this is something that only really becomes apparent if you binge read these books though.
Even though Alex muses that this is like the voyage of Christopher Columbus, it turns out to be more like some of the Spanish conquistador expeditions, as the aliens turn out to be far more advanced than had been previously realised. Complicating this scenario are the children of a previous human voyager who live with and try to control the aliens, something that the alien leadership resents and would like to see change.
For once, Alex doesn't come into much harms way, apart from an attempted stabbing and being involved with a mutiny and a naval battle. His expertise in biology also doesn't play much part until a pandemic flares up later in the book. A lot of the work is down to empath Mariel, who has to forge a link with the aliens but is disappointed in not having first contact. In fact, many of the aliens speak English and it could be said that they have been contaminated by the intrusion of the humans. Having said that, the aliens were well on their way to creating an empire without any outside help, the human influence just pushed their development along a bit longer. The price of that empire building though might be a future conflict with the colonists, one which they would be hard pressed to win.
While this was still an entertaining story, it perhaps covered a few too many elements that had appeared in previous stories, such as the whole ruling family political aspects. Perhaps this is something that only really becomes apparent if you binge read these books though.
February 11, 2012
3 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
The Daedalus' mission is to re-contact Earth's exo-colonies and help solve their problems. On Attica, the colony is almost stable, but the Daedalus crew's support for an expedition to another continent raises problems.
Review
While the Daedalus series has had its ups and downs, this entry suggests that the original focus on big ideas (and reason I liked it) may have been more the exception than the rule. As SF adventure, it’s fine. But the main concept – that beneficiaries can outgrow the need for their benefactors – is hardly at the center of the story. ‘Filler’ describes the book pretty well.
Like the cover that barely relates to the plot, the book as a whole never really feels centered. It draws on two of the series’ key characters, but the rest are an afterthought. The base plot – visiting another continent by sailing ship – is barely justified. The aliens this time around, though nominally centered, are essentially humans with cat heads. They even (on their own planet) speak English most of the time. All around, the book feels more like a monologue than a story. While that’s been a bit of a feature so far, it’s exacerbated here.
Were this the only book in the series, it would be hard to recommend continuing; it’s just vanilla SFF with little to distinguish it. As the fifth in an inconsistent series, it certainly feels like Stableford either lost serious interest or ran of out big ideas he was willing to write about.
Summary
The Daedalus' mission is to re-contact Earth's exo-colonies and help solve their problems. On Attica, the colony is almost stable, but the Daedalus crew's support for an expedition to another continent raises problems.
Review
While the Daedalus series has had its ups and downs, this entry suggests that the original focus on big ideas (and reason I liked it) may have been more the exception than the rule. As SF adventure, it’s fine. But the main concept – that beneficiaries can outgrow the need for their benefactors – is hardly at the center of the story. ‘Filler’ describes the book pretty well.
Like the cover that barely relates to the plot, the book as a whole never really feels centered. It draws on two of the series’ key characters, but the rest are an afterthought. The base plot – visiting another continent by sailing ship – is barely justified. The aliens this time around, though nominally centered, are essentially humans with cat heads. They even (on their own planet) speak English most of the time. All around, the book feels more like a monologue than a story. While that’s been a bit of a feature so far, it’s exacerbated here.
Were this the only book in the series, it would be hard to recommend continuing; it’s just vanilla SFF with little to distinguish it. As the fifth in an inconsistent series, it certainly feels like Stableford either lost serious interest or ran of out big ideas he was willing to write about.
August 25, 2023
You arrive to make first contact with an alien species...only to find someone else got there first. What next?
The planet Attica has two continents, one settled by human colonists, another with an intelligent bipedal cat-like native species with a roughly bronze age level of technology. The colonists have mounted several failed expeditions, and Alexis has joined the fourth. Only it turns out the third expedition wasn't as unsuccessful as reported. Now Alexis must deal with a native empire on the cusp of an industrial revolution, poised to surpass and conquer the struggling human colony, and the human family among this alien empire who feel no connection to their own species.
The above is potentially an extremely interesting premise. It turns the whole first contact trope on its head, and the drama to be mined from the turncoat Verheyden family in an alien environment is off the charts. Unfortunately, it takes half the book to even get to the empire of Ak'lehr, and like all these Daedalus books, it's not a long one. Stableford blasts through the story at breakneck pace, leaving everyone at the level of caricature. Neither are the aliens very alien. The only real highlight is
The planet Attica has two continents, one settled by human colonists, another with an intelligent bipedal cat-like native species with a roughly bronze age level of technology. The colonists have mounted several failed expeditions, and Alexis has joined the fourth. Only it turns out the third expedition wasn't as unsuccessful as reported. Now Alexis must deal with a native empire on the cusp of an industrial revolution, poised to surpass and conquer the struggling human colony, and the human family among this alien empire who feel no connection to their own species.
The above is potentially an extremely interesting premise. It turns the whole first contact trope on its head, and the drama to be mined from the turncoat Verheyden family in an alien environment is off the charts. Unfortunately, it takes half the book to even get to the empire of Ak'lehr, and like all these Daedalus books, it's not a long one. Stableford blasts through the story at breakneck pace, leaving everyone at the level of caricature. Neither are the aliens very alien. The only real highlight is
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2017
Back in the 1970s the Hooded Swan series of books was one of my favourites, so when I came across the these Daedalus books in a second hand book shop I was happy to give them a try. Overall they are not as good, but I though the series started quite well. However, I am not so sure about this book.
When trying to get a point across the author has a tendency to repeat things, it might be in a slightly different way, but in the end it can make parts of the book a bit monotonous.
Also a feature of all of the Daedalus books is the constant internal dialogue Alex has with himself. I normally enjoy this until the introspection and philosophising begins to take over, when it can get tedious.
Probably the biggest problem with this book is none of the additional characters are likeable and to be honest the story is fairly depressing.
When trying to get a point across the author has a tendency to repeat things, it might be in a slightly different way, but in the end it can make parts of the book a bit monotonous.
Also a feature of all of the Daedalus books is the constant internal dialogue Alex has with himself. I normally enjoy this until the introspection and philosophising begins to take over, when it can get tedious.
Probably the biggest problem with this book is none of the additional characters are likeable and to be honest the story is fairly depressing.
August 2, 2008
One far flung planet, two continents. On the first: a human colony, finally being visited on a check-up from the UN survey team after well over a hundred years. The other, on the far side of a sea that has yet to be crossed, are the native people of the planet, with their own hopes and dreams that don't necessarily synch with the colonists.
Manifest Destiny, socio-religious political manoeuvring and plain old superstition combat the patient, yet persistent Daedalus scientists as they try to set the planet on a more stable course.
Manifest Destiny, socio-religious political manoeuvring and plain old superstition combat the patient, yet persistent Daedalus scientists as they try to set the planet on a more stable course.
October 31, 2026
Balance of Power takes our spaceship crew away from the cozy dome cities and throws 'em right into a wild, high-seas adventure on a planet called Attica. This 1979 fifth installment in the Daedalus Mission series finds the human colony doing okay on their own side of the fence, a continent named Lambda. But the real native, cat-headed alien folks live all the way across a massive, churning ocean on a continent called Delta, and the local humans keep vanishing whenever they try to sail over and say howdy. Our favorite ship biologist, Alex Alexander, and his psychic buddy Mariel Valory decide to hitch a ride on a big old wooden sailing ship to see if they can finally make peaceful contact with the neighbors. This book takes a mighty strange detour from the regular high-tech space trails, reading a whole lot more like an old-timey pirate story or a jungle adventure full of wooden decks and crashing waves. Once Alex and Mariel get marooned over on the alien side of the world, they find out that these cat-people aren't just wild critters—they’ve been swiping human technology to build a massive, unstable empire of their own, and they even speak English to boot! It's a bit of a slower, more conversational burn that spends less time on deep biological puzzles and a whole lot more time on philosophy, showing how folks who get a helping hand can outgrow their bosses.
October 5, 2024
As another review notes, this volume lacks the biological aspect that I enjoyed in previous episodes.
As a pro: The alien race is compared to large cats. I like cats. Well, animals in general are cool to me. I have a few live ones and stuffed ones too. As long as I can squish-hug them, I'm down.
This series was never going to win any awards, but I still enjoy it.
As a pro: The alien race is compared to large cats. I like cats. Well, animals in general are cool to me. I have a few live ones and stuffed ones too. As long as I can squish-hug them, I'm down.
This series was never going to win any awards, but I still enjoy it.
August 5, 2023
Daedalus mission: Part Five.
Daedalus is a starship from Earth visiting 6 planets to which colony ships were sent over 100 years ago. Their mission: find out the state of the colonies and help them if possible. Each novel in the series recounts the mission to one of the 6 planets. Each planet presents different problems and mysteries for the crew to solve.
Book 5 is another serviceable if unremarkable science fiction story. The Daedalus lands on planet 5 to discover that the original colonists are surviving but not thriving. They also learn that a small group of colonists built a wooden sailing ship and left on voyage across the ocean to make contact with a native intelligent species that lives there. The sailing ship never returned and their fate is unknown.
The Daedalus crew is required to make contact with all groups of colonists on the planet and to establish communication with indigenous intelligent species. The Daedalus only has enough resources for a single landing per planet and no one on the remote continent has radio, so some of the crew have to make an ocean voyage on another wooden ship, conveniently completed just before the arrival of the Daedalus.
So we've got a space crew sailing on the ocean, searches of unexplored lands for traces of the lost explorers, and attempts to contact a primitive but intelligent species of humanoids. As usual, things turn out to be complicated and the future of the planet hangs in the balance.
Daedalus is a starship from Earth visiting 6 planets to which colony ships were sent over 100 years ago. Their mission: find out the state of the colonies and help them if possible. Each novel in the series recounts the mission to one of the 6 planets. Each planet presents different problems and mysteries for the crew to solve.
Book 5 is another serviceable if unremarkable science fiction story. The Daedalus lands on planet 5 to discover that the original colonists are surviving but not thriving. They also learn that a small group of colonists built a wooden sailing ship and left on voyage across the ocean to make contact with a native intelligent species that lives there. The sailing ship never returned and their fate is unknown.
The Daedalus crew is required to make contact with all groups of colonists on the planet and to establish communication with indigenous intelligent species. The Daedalus only has enough resources for a single landing per planet and no one on the remote continent has radio, so some of the crew have to make an ocean voyage on another wooden ship, conveniently completed just before the arrival of the Daedalus.
So we've got a space crew sailing on the ocean, searches of unexplored lands for traces of the lost explorers, and attempts to contact a primitive but intelligent species of humanoids. As usual, things turn out to be complicated and the future of the planet hangs in the balance.
May 5, 2016
Slightly weaker than the other books in the Daedalus Mission series, mainly because the biological puzzle that is at the center of the other books in the series is missing here, making it into pretty much an action novel (although still an intelligent one and good fun).
May 8, 2015
1982 grade C
series book D5
series book D5
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews