Wiking, Band 2: Fernes Feuer

Gregor Man-trilógia #2

by Péter Zsoldos

Gregor Man bleibt zurück, als die "Wiking" vom Tau Ceti-Planeten zum Heimflug Richtung Erde startet. Nach den ungerheuren Strapazen seiner abenteuerlichen Reise durch den Kontinent einer lebensfreindlichen Welt geben ihm die Mediziner der Expedition keine Chance die Beschwernisse der Beschleunigung zu überleben.

Die nächste Expedition, die "Wiking II", wird erst in etwa 30 Jahren eintreffen. Gregor Man will die Zeit nutzen und mit seinem Wissen die Entwicklung der Eingeborenenzivilisation behutsam so beeinflussen, das sie die Fehler und Katastrophen vermeidet, die die Frühgeschichte der Erde kennzeichnen.

Doch je mehr er eingreift, um das Positive zu sichern, desto tiefer verstrickt er sich in Zwänge, die er nicht zu beeinflussen vermag. Immer deutlicher muß er erkennen, daß er durch sein Tun die verhängnisvollen Entwicklungen, die er zu vermeiden trachtete, nur beschleunigt, und - obwohl er alles genau voraussieht - nichts ändern kann an der schicksalhaften Zwangsläufigkeit der Geschichte dieser Welt.

Als nach mehr als drei Jahrzehnten die zweite "Wiking"-Expedition eintrifft, scheint die Rettung nahe. Doch das Schlimmste steht noch bevor.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

704 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Won the ESFS award for his novel "A Feladat" in 1972. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Péter_Zs... for more info.

Reviews

[Dániel Darabos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Feladat this one is also set on a pre-historic planet with a crash-landed space ship. It was also the recurring fantasy of my childhood so I can understand Peter Zsoldos writing more than one book on the subject. (Who am I kidding — it is still my recurring fantasy.) This book is less focused on personal morality and rather deals with matters involving civilizations.

I have read it many years ago, but will try to recall a short plot summary.


This time the crew survives the emergency landing but they are split up. The protagonist ends up alone and has to do some adventuring before reaching civilization. He meets the rest of the crew in a city-state set in a bay. Their goal is then to fix up their space ship with the help of the good people of this bronze-age settlement. Much of the book deals with using space-age knowledge to speed up the scientific progress of this civilization while also dealing with internal and external politics, trade, wars and disease. All very entertaining and a boy-scout's dream.

There are moral questions interwoven into all of this. Is it right to play god to these people? Is it right to kill the opposition for the good of the city? Is it right to patronize this civilization to the detriment of others? What do they want to leave behind when the space ship is ready to launch again? Many of these questions can be seen to parallel the history of colonization on Earth.

[David Koblos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction meets science fiction. The initial idea of putting a 25th century space traveler into the bronze age Mediterranean world is quite daring in and of itself. Note, that up until the end the world remains a distant planet, no relation to our actual past is revealed, only a close resemblance, which includes the smallest detail. However, apart from this major annoyance, the book is quite well written, exciting and entertaining.

[Tomika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minden idők legjobb magyar író által írt könyve: remek trilógia egy középkori társadalomról, egy idegen bolygón!!

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and fun classic science fiction with more than a drop of humour.