World without Stars

by Poul Anderson

A normal man would have lain down and died, but to Hugh Valland the task before him seemed simple enough. It was necessary to organize a revolution by a group of primitives against their telepathic overlords; build with the help of those same primitives a spaceship virtually from scratch; contact, via that spaceship, a third group of aliens, and enlist their aid in returning home across the galactic abyss. At worst it would take a lifetime...and Valland's one true love, Mary O'Meara was waiting.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

150 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Pseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.

Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]

Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.


Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of Poul Anderson (he has happy endings and I'm a sucker for them), when I ran across this book for a good price (it might even have been free at the time), I picked it up. So you can imagine that I was a little disappointed in it by the 3-star rating.

The book reads almost like a short story, certain details missing that would add to it, but at the same time do not really detract from the story. And while Hugh Valland is the main protagonist, there are other characters involved, including the narrator who is responsible for most of the content of the book from "logs." And because the story is such as it is, to provide a synopsis here would spoil it, and I don't like to do that.

The story moves along at a decent clip, but the first part is entirely too vague for me. I could not get a picture of anyone or anything, and it throttled my potential enjoyment. When the humans come in, they are also similarly vague with Hugh being the lone exception. And perhaps this is the first sign of a flaw in this book. Hugh comes across as "too perfect" to be believable. He exists not only as the deus ex machine but also as an anachronism to a time before technology ruled the worlds of the people in this story (with the exception of the aliens who are far more primitive). With the "flawed" main character, the rest of the book just doesn't really hold up for me. I care, but not enough. And when the happy ending arrives, it comes too quickly and is telegraphed.

All that being said, this is not a bad story. It's just not a great or even very good story. Again, I like Poul Anderson's works a lot, but not this one. It's just okay, and even Anderson fans won't miss out by skipping it.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of my favorite sci-fi authors credit Poul Anderson as their inspiration. I had no idea where to start, so I started with this one. It was fun. A nice short story with some interesting ideas. Obviously a fair bit of it is dated, but I was still a little surprised with how much of the scientific ideas are probably more or less relevant (according to my limited knowledge of science). In particular, I like that the author tried to come up with a setting that was different than any other sci-fi I've read: a place between galaxies. There were also some interesting anthropological efforts, at figuring out the culture of a group of psychic creatures that have slowly evolved for tens of millions of years and how that would affect their perspective of themselves. There were definitely some gaps in terms of plot and character development so I wouldn't credit this book as an example of excellent writing. But there were good ideas and some fun action and I enjoyed reading it. I'd say the book was more like a mash-up of good ideas and sequences, but with the connecting threads running pretty loose. Still, I'll find something else by Poul Anderson and keep reading to see what I think.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Earth’s no place for a live man to live any more.”

Published in 1961 before we launched a man into space, let alone walked on the moon (not to mention a couple years before Star Trek debuted), this story of extra-galactic exploration holds up well. Hardly hard SF as humanoid aliens abound, Anderson respects science enough to at least address faster-than-light travel, etc.

‘At least, there was no conscious hatred. Down underneath, I don’t know. We threatened their whole existence. You see, they were gods.’

Ahead of his time in hinting at social and sexual trends a half century away, Anderson nevertheless writes an all-male adventure story related as much to war as space exploration. The climax is telegraphed sufficiently that it will not surprise many readers.

“Don’t be romantic. You haven’t got the face for it. The object of the game is to stay alive, and get back our people and our stuff.

Anachronisms abound. Cigars and pipes portrayed as normal. Patriotism assumed, hardly the case in anything of this century. Microelectronics not conceived of.

“When free folk know what freedom costs and how to meet that cost, they are hard indeed to overcome.”

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short novel (150 pages) by one of my favorite science fiction authors, Poul Anderson (1926-2001). I enjoyed his writing style which could be very descriptive. In his SF, he always put in some hard science. Moreover, he had a knowledge of history which he used in some of his stories. I particularly liked his Technic civilization series, which included his Flandry stories. This one, from 1967, does not fit in that series-or any series I think. The story involves a spacecraft reaching a planet of a stellar system between galaxies. Hence, it's "the world without stars." The Earthmen find it to be a peaceful world, the primitive native aliens actually friendly. But they also find out they have "ancient gods" who are very real...

[George K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Κόσμος δίχως άστρα", εκδόσεις Locus 7.

Βαθμολογία: 7/10

Ο Άντερσον είναι ένας πολύ γνωστός συγγραφέας βιβλίων φαντασίας και επιστημονικής φαντασίας, με αρκετά από τα βιβλία του να θεωρούνται πλέον κλασικά στο είδος τους. Tau Zero, The Broken Sword, Three Hearts and Three Lions, The High Crusade και πάει λέγοντας. Πέρα από δυο μικρές νουβέλες και κάποια διηγήματα, αυτό είναι το μοναδικό του μυθιστόρημα που κυκλοφορεί στα ελληνικά. Άγνωστο γιατί είναι το μοναδικό και γιατί επιλέχτηκε το συγκεκριμένο, που δεν είναι και από τα καλύτερα έργα του.

Βρισκόμαστε πολλά χρονιά μπροστά στο μέλλον, η αθανασία είναι πλέον γεγονός, και τα διαγαλαξιακά ταξίδια παιχνιδάκι, με τους ανθρώπους να γνωρίζουν νέους πολιτισμούς και να συνάπτουν σχέσεις με αυτούς, με σκοπό την ανταλλαγή προϊόντων και γνώσεων. Σ'ένα τέτοιο ταξίδι το διαστημόπλοιο στο οποίο επιβαίνει ο αφηγητής της ιστορίας και οι συνάδελφοί του θα πέσει σ'έναν πλανήτη, όπου ο πολιτισμός βρίσκεται πολλά χρόνια πίσω, με τα ανώτερα όντα του πλανήτη να είναι χωρισμένα σε δυο αντίπαλες ομάδες και να μάχονται μεταξύ τους. Οι πρωταγωνιστές μας θα βρεθούν στην μέση της διαμάχης και θα πρέπει να βγάλουν μια άκρη μπας και ξεφύγουν...

Η αλήθεια είναι ότι υπήρχε πολύ υλικό μέσα σε λιγότερες από διακόσιες σελίδες, ο χώρος αυτός όμως δεν επαρκούσε για την καλύτερη δυνατή εκμετάλλευση του. Θα χρειάζονταν τουλάχιστον οι διπλάσιες σελίδες για να αναπτυχθούν καλύτερα οι ενδιαφέρουσες ιδέες του συγγραφέα και να είναι πιο στέρεη η κοσμοπλασία του. Στο βιβλίο συναντάμε αναφορές που άπτονται της φυσικής και της διαστημικής τεχνολογίας, όπως και της φιλοσοφίας. Και, βέβαια, δεν λείπουν οι σκηνές δράσης και οι όμορφες περιγραφές του πλανήτη και των κατοίκων του. Η γραφή είναι σίγουρα αρκετά καλή και ευκολοδιάβαστη, αν και μερικά σημεία στην αρχή με το τεχνολογικό μπλα μπλα με κούρασαν λίγο.

Γενικά είναι ένα ευχάριστο μυθιστόρημα επιστημονικής φαντασίας, που γέρνει λίγο προς το παλπ, που με την κοσμοπλασία και την δράση του θα ψυχαγωγήσει για ένα απόγευμα τον επίδοξο αναγνώστη. Απλά δεν εκμεταλλεύεται στο έπακρο το διαθέσιμο υλικό, δεν γίνεται μεγάλη εκβάθυνση σε κάποιες βασικές ιδέες και στους χαρακτήρες, δεν ξεφεύγει από το επίπεδο των καλών παλπ μυθιστορημάτων του είδους. Πάντως πέρασα καλά και μπορώ να φανταστώ πως θα είναι τα αριστουργήματά του.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining space opera listening 🤔🎵😯🌐😮

This kindle novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account a stand alone book.

They have traveled light years into space to a planet 🌐 in the middle of nowhere. They work at communicating with the natives. It does not go well but they continue to work at it.

I would recommend this novella to readers of space opera adventure novels. 2024

I have listened to a number of novels by Poul Anderson and enjoyed most. Happy reading and have fun 😜.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A keeper, which surprised me. Focusing on style, it's a remarkably short book, which makes it even more powerful. I loved the Hugh Valland character and suspected that he was living for ideals, which makes it even more powerful when you reach the end.

More than that, and something that comes out in other of my reviews, is that I like books that hew toward Hemingway. There's a sparseness about the language and the story itself which is very appealing. It helps suspend disbelief. Most books come across as formulaic and overly descriptive. Not this one. It's economy of line, of design, that you see in a really beautiful car or at least a product that aspires to that.

Perhaps I just resent the poor teaching of the classics and over-slow learning styles of US high school, the slow pace and pedantic nature of it all, and this is the antidote.

Not a five, but it stays on the overburdened shelf.

[Charl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poul Anderson has always been one of my favorite authors. World Without Stars simply reinforces that. Published in 1975, it's not the least bit dated, and it's an excellent read.

I consider a good book one that engages my interest from start to finish. This is a good book.

I consider a great book one that pulls you in, and never jogs your immersion in the slightest. Poul builds a totally believable world and cultures, something he's always excellent at. This is a great book.

And I consider an awesome book one that forces you to pause after you finish it, either because you're going "Wow!", or because you need to wait for your vision to clear. The last two lines make this an awesome book.

If you like Science Fiction, read this book.

[astaliegurec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poul Anderson's 1967 novel "World Without Stars" is an OK book. It's an interesting story and decently written (perhaps a bit shallow). Unfortunately, Anderson doesn't use his first person voice very well. The point of view occasionally switches between two characters who both use first person. There just aren't enough cues in his writing to easily notice the change of character. So, it's confusing when it happens. If you've got a couple of hours to fill, the book does the job. But, it's not award winning material. I'm rating it at an OK 3 stars out of 5.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know, this was a little too short. I felt like there was an interesting idea here, but he pretty much just got right to the point and then skipped over large portions. It felt more like an outline than a story in some places. And the whole bit with the dude's girlfriend I saw coming from miles away.

[Krem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish it... It has some interesting ideas, but is very boring to read and feels like a waste of time that could be used reading something better.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story could stand to be about 3 times as long as it is. There were lots of important plot point that were glossed over in a sentence. The story was told from the point of view of the captain but the real main character is Valland. The "twist" with him was very predictable. I liked the premise of the story but there were so many missed opportunities to elaborate on things.

[Jim Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have fond memories of reading this book during my jr. high school days. I loved the Michael Whelan cover. Unfortunately it did not hold up to a 're-reading. I thought Anderson did not develop the characters as well as he did in his others books.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one would have been brilliant if it had been about three times as long. As it is, it is a good read that just has too much packed into too small a space.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I’ve mentioned in earlier reviews, Poul Anderson was a gifted Science Fiction writer who was decades before his time (this story was first published in 1967 and re-published in 2014). His ability to come up with new ideas, as well as new twists on old ideas, made his stories quite unique.

Let’s hit the problems first, this story was written fifty-two years ago and, like many others of its age, is totally without any female characters. In fact, the only woman repeated referenced lives billions of years away and we know little about her. Also, unlike many of Anderson’s other stories, this story has little hard science. On first glance it seems more it belongs in the space war genre which is not a group of books that I read or enjoy.

Okay, with the disclaimers now in place, let us look at what makes this story, and its author, so unique and worth reading.

The spacemen (emphasis on men) in the book work for a corporation rather than for a government, country, or planet. This is one of the few early science fiction works that forecast the privatization of space flight. The human characters have achieved immortality. Not only is this also a rather unique concept for the era it was written but Anderson goes beyond the basic concept by anticipating how immortality would be a burden as well as a blessing. He touches on the problem of the apathy that would develop when humans could put off chores not only to tomorrow but to next century. He also forecasts that overload of memories, built up over thousands of year of existence, could cause serious psychological problems.

Without giving away too much of the storyline, let me focus for a moment on the issue of the oppression of a “lesser species” by a stronger one. Human history is full of the more technologically advanced and better armed civilizations stealing the land and resources of a weaker group and enslaving the survivors. The question Anderson raises is what, if anything, put an end to this history. Why did the white nations stop enslaving members of those of color? Why did war change from putting captives into slavery into releasing POWs at the end of the conflict? And, as this book addresses, what would happen if that evolution of thought and morality did not occur? Additionally, with the inevitability of first contact, what will keep us from repeating the mistakes of the past or, conversely, a more advanced civilization treating us as we have treated those we have conquered?

Anderson has taken what could be a simple, swashbuckling story and turned into into a subtle lesson of human history and immoral behaviour. While I do not believe that World Without Stars is one of Poul Anderson’s top stories, it definitely shows his genius and presents concepts to the reader to consider that go way beyond those in the actual story line.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poul Anderson has always been my favorite science fiction writer, partly for his tendency to make his main characters so resonant with my personality and culture. He knows how to write heroic bard-warrior types with whom you feel you could comfortably steer a starship through an asteroid belt, or hoist flagons of ale with in a medieval tavern. He does occasionally deviate from the pattern: for instance, Dominic Flandry, who is a more refined, upper-social-crust version of that type of hero; or Nick van Rijn, who could be a prototype of a cutthroat Hanseatic trader crossed with a Dutch master. But Anderson's pattern is clear as you read enough of his books, and the pattern greatly appeals to me—these characters all love life, and they love experiencing all the universe has to offer, even when the experiences are temporarily uncomfortable or threatening.

The other thing I love about his writing comes from the fact that I have played and refereed science fiction role-playing games since the mid 1970s, and I always have striven to create worlds for my players that are alien and interesting but scientifically realistic. Anderson does the same, and he finds ways to explain the physical characteristics of his worlds in scientific terms while also allowing you to experience them tactilely through his characters. He'll set up conversations where one person is explaining to another the atmospheric composition, the star type, the average density of the planet which affects its gravity, why a world doesn't have a magnetic field or why it is tidally locked to its sun. I love all those geeky details, and to me they set his stories apart from anybody else's. He is at his best here with the dark, warm, steamy environment of the unnamed world on which this book plays out.

World Without Stars follows the usual Anderson pattern, with the heroic warrior-bard hero and the very alien world and the very alien race that inhabits it. He skillfully uses those details to weave a compelling and gripping story which has plenty of drama, conflicting personalities and motivations, and word pictures painted so skillfully that it feels like you're watching a movie as you read the book. He demonstrates that antagonists, even deadly ones, have realistic motivations and are not evil just for the sake of it—they’re just looking out for their best interests as they see them. This book almost seems formulaic when you compare it to his other works, but it's a bit of a disservice to use that word because the story is so well-crafted. It's so typical of his excellent stories that, formulaic or not, it's still a joy to read.

I'll say no more in order to avoid spoilers about the plot, except to say that the plot twist at the end is predictable but no less satisfying when you finally get to it.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tripulação de uma nave de transporte comercial que segue em direcção a uma civilização recém-descoberta no espaço intergaláctico despenha-se num planeta desconhecido, não identificado na sua rota. As hipóteses de salvação são mínimas, é preciso reconstruir um dos salva-vidas para que um dos tripulantes siga até ao planeta de destino e monte uma missão de salvação. Tempo não é problema, os humanos deste futuro são praticamente imortais graças ao progresso da medicina, mas os tripulantes precisam de mão de obra para os ajudar a reparar a nave.

O contato com os indígenas do planeta é inevitável. Seres bípedes inteligentes de aspeto vagamente marsupial, estão divididos em duas grandes facções. Uma, mais selvagem, de tribos livres no hinterland planetário, e outra, com uma civilização de construtores navais que domina as zonas costeiras. Há uma outra espécie inteligente no planeta, anfíbios descritos com aspeto similar a golfinhos com poderes telepáticos, fundadores de uma civilização milenar que fez evoluir por indução mental a outra espécie inteligente do planeta, utilizando-os como os utensílios que a sua morfologia não permite usar. São deuses para os civilizados, e demónios para os selvagens. Esta civilização é estática, teme a mudança, e decide manter cativos os tripulantes da nave acidentada. Estes percebem que a sua única opção é acicatar uma guerra civil que mantenha os seres dominados por telepatas à distância. Tudo isto num planeta de um sistema solar no espaço intergaláctico, sob um céu onde raras estrelas se vêem.

O que segura este livro é a história de Valland, um vagabundo do espaço que se contenta em vaguear pelos sistemas trabalhando a bordo das naves comerciais. Tudo o que quer é regressar ao planeta Terra de vez em quando, ostensivamente para visitar a sua esposa, à qual é tremendamente fiel num futuro onde a fluidez de relações é a norma. Um imortal antiquado, mantém bem vivas as memórias do passado terrestre antes da imortalidade e expansão espacial, com forte pendor para cantar velhas canções do século XX. A sua personalidade gregária e sentido histórico serão o elemento que serve de fio condutor a esta história.

Mundo Sem Estrela é uma típica obra de aventuras pulp, vinda dos tempos em que a FC se podia permitir voos especulativos imaginários sem grande preocupação de fiabilidade científica. Abundam planetas habitados, todos com atmosfera compatível com os humanos, cheios de vida nativa inteligente, a humanidade tornou-se imortal graças a um soro, e deixa de temer as vastidões do espaço-tempo intergaláctico. Uma leitura divertida para quem conhece o estilo da FC clássica.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic SF, and also pretty good. I'm sure I read it in my teens/20's, and the ideas are still interesting, though the limits of publishing at the time required "short" books by today's standards, so it's not as fully developed as it might be. The scale is there, the galactic civilizations hinted at, the big question of how to deal with advanced and radically different civilizations colonizing and interacting with indigenous populations a major theme. Same questions we've had to deal with since well before recorded history, and continue today, presented in a Science Fiction format, something like a thought experiment about how to handle them. Poul Anderson is the Master....

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fun book! I liked the aliens and their designs (at least how they looked in my head lol!) The foil between the Valland and Rorn worked well too. I enjoyed the dichotomy between the Azkashi and Niao as well, how they viewed each other and the galaxy. it was cool how the Ai Chun were gods to the Niao and demons to the Azkashi. My favorite character was definitely Valland and his music and romantic ways. I love how he showed love persists even over thousands of years. He kinda reminded me of Kinger from TADC in a way, but maybe just because I'm currently obsessed with that lol

[Riccardo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A differenza di altri libri del buon Poul, ho trovato questo molto insoddisfacente. Vengono introdotte moltissime idee interessanti (il vaccino contro i ricordi, l'alterazione della memoria tramite RNA, l'estremo interesse verso le differenti culture aliene) senza che nessuna di esse abbia una qualche influenza concreta sulla storia o venga approfondita oltre il semplice fatto di esserci. Blando. Un vero peccato. Almeno si legge in fretta...

[Tom King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poul Anderson Always Satisfies

I'm fond of Anderson. First off he's a conservative and his worlds have skin on them. They are always well thought out. There's none of the Star Trekian socialist economics. He doesn't shovel out civilizations based on wishful thinking. He's a satisfying blend of historian, musician, poet and physicist. One of the best world-builders in the business.

[John Stults · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good

A good hard sci fi novel, presents several interesting ideas. Immortality a culture on a planet around a red dwarf that develops with very limited technology but uses mind control. Or at least emotional control, does show a culture that has stagnated after being 9n top for a very long time. Interesting ideas a fun easy read. I highly recommend.

[Carol Chihara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story - not so great ending

The story line was good but it ended kind of like a mediocre sci fi movie -- has to end but we can just stop it here. Unless he plans a sequel I don't recommend it.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one a long time ago and don't remember too much of the plot, except that it's set on a world around a star that is outside any galaxy and a spaceship of earthmen crashed on it. And there was a race of natives who found them incomprehensible.

[JohnnyV]

I found the story a good read but not worked out enough it could have been loads more
Now it all feels a bit rushed especially when You reach halway... Just like the writer had this on his desk and wanted to finish it fast to start on another idea... A pitty as it was (is) a good story...

[Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gli avrei dato qualcosa di più se solo fosse stato un po' più lungo.

[Jeffrey Doten · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did read it all, I sort of drifted around it. Not as plot driven as some of his other stuff but interesting . The ‘Hero’ Hugh Valland isn’t really hero, that’s more just back of the book pitch.

[Phillip Cushman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A free book, I believe. Written long ago but very good sci-fi.

[Steve Mahomet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a rough time with this. A shipwreck story with a somewhat interesting interaction with the locals. A quick read for a weekend day.

[Suze Geuke · Rating 1 out of 5]

gematigd spannend, stompzinnig heldhaftig en in den treure patriarchaal. en ook nog eens slecht vertaald.
duuuuuuuus.
did not age well.