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Psychotechnic League #6
The Peregrine
Out at the edge of the known. They called themselves The Nomads. Unplanned by-products of the chaotic explosion of mankind into space, they had evolved for themselves a way of life similar to that of the gypsies of ancient Earth - except that their gypsy wagons were mighty starships, each a self-contained world that housed a clan of many thousands. It was a hard life, but the only one the nomads knew, or wanted. But someone, or something, did not want them to have it; one by one the nomad starships were disappearing without a trace - and it fell to Joachim, Captain of the Starship Peregrine, to find out why...
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
4 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
Poul Anderson
1,621 books1,106 followersPseudonym 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 16, 2025
Star Ways was the first adult science fiction novel that Anderson wrote, though it's now listed loosely as the sixth book in his psychotechnic league series. It's a fun stand-alone space opera about gigantic starships, man-made worlds called Nomads, peopled by space gypsies who never stop pioneering and expanding. Joachim is the captain of The Peregrine, and it's up to him to find out why the ships have begun to disappear. It was published in hardback by Avalon in 1956 with an Ed Emshwiller cover and had been somewhat heavily edited in ways that Anderson disliked. Ace published it as half of one of their classic Doubles the next year, with a different, better Emshwiller cover, bound with Kenneth Bulmer's City Under the Sea. They reprinted it in 1963 as a single volume, with the same cover and the same edits. Finally, in 1978, they restored the text to Anderson's original, added a Michael Whelan cover (though it's not among his best), and re-released it with a new title, The Peregrine. (Which annoyed many people including me who bought it under the impression that it was a new novel, not something that they already owned.) In his introduction to the new edition Anderson explains that they retitled it so as to not have it confused with Star Wars, but they could have acknowledged the re-titling on the cover. Oh well, maybe I'll get over some day... In the meantime, in any packaging, it's not a bad space adventure.
October 23, 2014
I listened to this as part of A Galaxy Trilogy: Star Ways, Druid's World and The Day the World Stopped. I'm going to review each book individually & put a link to the review in the overall trilogy. My overall review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
Take a space opera & add some really thoughtful themes to get this story. Spacefaring gypsies meet an alien civilization that offers us utopia, but on their terms. Pretty well done, but a bit dated overall. I would have given it 4 stars if it hadn't been & he'd developed the theme a bit more. Quite an interesting one.
This book was also titled "Star Ways".
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
Take a space opera & add some really thoughtful themes to get this story. Spacefaring gypsies meet an alien civilization that offers us utopia, but on their terms. Pretty well done, but a bit dated overall. I would have given it 4 stars if it hadn't been & he'd developed the theme a bit more. Quite an interesting one.
This book was also titled "Star Ways".
August 19, 2014
A great book it is not, but the story was interesting and well told. It was one of Anderson's first novels, and the style feels a bit more clipped and the characters a bit shallower than his later work. On the other hand, it's fun seeing the embryonic version of some of the themes he would later return to in a more sophisticated way. We have the tension between struggle and peaceful existence. We have the interstellar merchants. We have the tottering galactic confederacies. We have some of the somberness about life that Anderson so often exhibits.
The book has some flaws.
The economics in the novel make no sense. It's hard to imagine interstellar starships selling home made handicrafts. Hard to understand just what goods are valuable enough to justify a huge starship to move them from planet to planet.
The book has some flaws.
The economics in the novel make no sense. It's hard to imagine interstellar starships selling home made handicrafts. Hard to understand just what goods are valuable enough to justify a huge starship to move them from planet to planet.
September 13, 2022
Ok before I actually review Poul Anderson’s The Peregrine let’s have some background: this book was originally published in 1956 as Star Ways but was retitled when rereleased in 1978 so it would not be confused with some movie. I read the 78 edition which features a funktastic cover by Michael Whelan-careful study of which has caused me to conclude this book should really be called The Aubergine. Have a good laugh at that cover and let’s review the book, remembering that I hate eggplant. Wow! The Peregrine is typical SF of its’ day. I can usually read such fiction for what it is, and remember that it is a child of its’ time. But I find the idea of an advanced human spacefaring culture in which women have no input and cannot make any big decisions both ludicrous and offensive. You gotta be kidding me. The book lost two stars for that. I know Anderson is one of the grandfathers of SF, I know this is one of his earliest works, and I know from other reading that he does get “better” but this stuff still grinds my gears.
April 29, 2020
This book hasn’t aged particularly well, but the story itself was mildly entertaining.
August 29, 2023
The Peregrine (Book 4 in the Psychotechnic League series. aka Star Ways)
by Poul Anderson
1978 Grade B
2023 Grade A
Where book 1 of this future history series is in the near future and now suffers from events that did not happen syndrome, this book is far enough from earth and the present that there were no content problems that way at all. In fact, the characters in the book have never seen earth and it is almost impossible to identify the League at all.
The first half of the book is all character, culture, and world building. In fact it is a little slow but very well done and enjoyable. The largest action area comes early in the second half. That is catastrophic and long and leaves the people fixing things before a battle. I had some trouble suspending my disbelief there but overcame it. After the battle there is some more culture building. The end again has an action peak in the resolution of the story. The last couple of pages are a bit tragic but not unexpected.
Obviously, I enjoyed the book much more this time since I graded it an A instead of a B. Recommended if you like the story type listed above.
by Poul Anderson
1978 Grade B
2023 Grade A
Where book 1 of this future history series is in the near future and now suffers from events that did not happen syndrome, this book is far enough from earth and the present that there were no content problems that way at all. In fact, the characters in the book have never seen earth and it is almost impossible to identify the League at all.
The first half of the book is all character, culture, and world building. In fact it is a little slow but very well done and enjoyable. The largest action area comes early in the second half. That is catastrophic and long and leaves the people fixing things before a battle. I had some trouble suspending my disbelief there but overcame it. After the battle there is some more culture building. The end again has an action peak in the resolution of the story. The last couple of pages are a bit tragic but not unexpected.
Obviously, I enjoyed the book much more this time since I graded it an A instead of a B. Recommended if you like the story type listed above.
July 24, 2012
Probably one of Anderson's weakest books in the Flandry universe. Reads like Bertram but without the humor. Doesn't go anywhere and just kind of peters out towards the end. Great author, mediocre book.
January 14, 2017
This science fiction book was a fast read (though I didn't read it particularly quickly). It had a reasonably interesting story line. No characters were very fully developed. It was entertaining, but not great literature.
November 29, 2021
It is the distant future, and humanity has scattered to the stars. Spacefaring human civilization is currently focused in one of two groups, the Solarian Union, which is focused on mental development and social stability (helped by their troubleshooting Coordinators), and the Nomads, eternal wanderers who are constantly on the lookout for new worlds to see and trades to make. Individual planets, of course, have their own cultures. Other intelligent life exists, but is not particularly hostile due to the immense distances involved. (There is no faster-than-light communication.)
Peregrine Joachim Henry, a Nomad captain, has noticed a worrying trend. Ships are disappearing in the Great Cross sector, which has been little explored. Now admittedly, ships disappear all the time due to mechanical failure, mutiny and hazardous space objects, but this set of disappearances is statistically improbable. More interestingly, while Nomad ships, those of some friendly aliens, and other small traders have vanished, no Solarian Union ships, civilian or military, have done so. Joachim suspects a hostile force of unknown origin is responsible. Thus, he’s given permission to take his ship, the Peregrine, and her crew on an investigatory mission.
One of the crew, Sean, has fallen in love with an alien woman named Ilaloa, who has some telepathic abilities, and she is also taken along despite not being of the Nomad culture.
Also along for the ride is Trevelyan Micah, a Coordinator agent (“Cordy”) as despite no Union ships going missing, the Solarians have also figured out something is going on. He manages to get aboard the Peregrine by openly being a Cordy. Joachim doesn’t fully trust him, but could use his skills.
And so the ship and its inhabitants sail into the Great Cross sector, looking for clues. Will they succeed in unraveling the mystery of the missing ships, or is this all a trap set by the unknown civilization?
This was Poul Anderson’s third-written novel, under the title of “Star Ways.” It was optioned by a publisher that sat on it for a few years, then released and offered to a different publisher which heavily edited it for length and (for the time) eroticism to print in 1956. For the 1978 edition, Mr. Anderson was allowed to make some changes, but since he’d long lost the original manuscript, mostly kept it as was. The name was also changed to avoid confusion with the Star Wars franchise.
Though the human characters have some culture clash between the “law and order” Coordinator and the “freedom to leave is vital” Nomads, each acknowledges that the other has some good points. And both realize that a third viewpoint, tempting as it is, is not compatible with human civilization.
There’s a certain amount of muted sexism. Nomad women don’t have the vote, but do have property rights and a considerable amount of freedom to choose who or if they will marry. That said, Sean’s sister-in-law Nicki is considered kind of out there with her independent ways.
It’s hard to write about the philosophical themes without discussing spoilers, so I will just say that philosophy is important here. Content note: The downsides of colonialism are touched on but not fully explored.
This is early Anderson, and somewhat mangled, so not the best example of his work. But it does fit in to his future history so will need to be engaged at some point if you’re reading through that.
Peregrine Joachim Henry, a Nomad captain, has noticed a worrying trend. Ships are disappearing in the Great Cross sector, which has been little explored. Now admittedly, ships disappear all the time due to mechanical failure, mutiny and hazardous space objects, but this set of disappearances is statistically improbable. More interestingly, while Nomad ships, those of some friendly aliens, and other small traders have vanished, no Solarian Union ships, civilian or military, have done so. Joachim suspects a hostile force of unknown origin is responsible. Thus, he’s given permission to take his ship, the Peregrine, and her crew on an investigatory mission.
One of the crew, Sean, has fallen in love with an alien woman named Ilaloa, who has some telepathic abilities, and she is also taken along despite not being of the Nomad culture.
Also along for the ride is Trevelyan Micah, a Coordinator agent (“Cordy”) as despite no Union ships going missing, the Solarians have also figured out something is going on. He manages to get aboard the Peregrine by openly being a Cordy. Joachim doesn’t fully trust him, but could use his skills.
And so the ship and its inhabitants sail into the Great Cross sector, looking for clues. Will they succeed in unraveling the mystery of the missing ships, or is this all a trap set by the unknown civilization?
This was Poul Anderson’s third-written novel, under the title of “Star Ways.” It was optioned by a publisher that sat on it for a few years, then released and offered to a different publisher which heavily edited it for length and (for the time) eroticism to print in 1956. For the 1978 edition, Mr. Anderson was allowed to make some changes, but since he’d long lost the original manuscript, mostly kept it as was. The name was also changed to avoid confusion with the Star Wars franchise.
Though the human characters have some culture clash between the “law and order” Coordinator and the “freedom to leave is vital” Nomads, each acknowledges that the other has some good points. And both realize that a third viewpoint, tempting as it is, is not compatible with human civilization.
There’s a certain amount of muted sexism. Nomad women don’t have the vote, but do have property rights and a considerable amount of freedom to choose who or if they will marry. That said, Sean’s sister-in-law Nicki is considered kind of out there with her independent ways.
It’s hard to write about the philosophical themes without discussing spoilers, so I will just say that philosophy is important here. Content note: The downsides of colonialism are touched on but not fully explored.
This is early Anderson, and somewhat mangled, so not the best example of his work. But it does fit in to his future history so will need to be engaged at some point if you’re reading through that.
July 21, 2022
This book is some old-school sci fi from the 1950's. There is a good bit of world-building to explain the various factions of space-faring humanity as mankind spreads out across the cosmos in the distant future. Central to the plot are the Nomads, a loose confederation of extended clans that roam about in their starships, trading with the inhabited planets and performing work for hire. All the Nomad ships gather periodically at a secret planet called Rendezvous to discuss matters of common intesrest. The book starts with such a gathering, where dark news is shared about Nomad ships mysteriously disappearing in a little known region of space. One ship, the Peregrine, is dispatched to investigate. The captain of the Peregrine joins forces with an operative of the Coordination service from Earth, and together they investigate and uncover a menace that threatens not only the Nomads, but all of humankind... Yes, this is science fiction from an earlier age when women characters were window dressing and the men were rugged and decisive and hairy-chested and wore....kilts? And, um...berets? Hold on, what? Did "Rob Roy" somehow get mashed up with "Battle Beyond The Stars"? Four out of five stars.
June 10, 2021
On its own, I would have given Star Ways four stars, but it earned one extra from me for not feeling dated although it was published in 1956. I purchased my first edition copy recently from a thrift store for $1.50. I expected to get a good laugh; old sci fi can be amusing when a futuristic civilization has technology that is less advanced than what we have today. Instead, I discovered a compelling story with endearing characters. The fictional technology was described in such a way, that it doesn't sound silly by today's standards. My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough, it's a quick read of 143 pages. Hopefully there is a sequel or two floating around out there somewhere.
September 15, 2022
This book is hard to discuss without spoilers, as the best part is near the end. At this point some interesting issues about conflicting cultures and discussed, with major consequences for some of the characters. The story puts an interesting spin on themes in more famous science fiction works like Le Guin’s the Word for World is Forest and James Cameron’s Avatar film. I wish this part of the book had been expanded to more fully explore the cultural conflict. Apparently some of Anderson’s original manuscript was cut due to page limit constraints.
August 7, 2023
This book is hard to discuss without spoilers, as the best part is near the end. At this point some interesting issues about conflicting cultures and discussed, with major consequences for some of the characters. The story puts an interesting spin on themes in more famous science fiction works like Le Guin’s the Word for World is Forest and James Cameron’s Avatar film. I wish this part of the book had been expanded to more fully explore the cultural conflict. Apparently some of Anderson’s original manuscript was cut due to page limit constraints.
May 30, 2025
It's good, this novel won me over. I'm a fan of Poul Anderson. More excellence straight out of the 1950s.
In a world where humanity has colonized several planets, on the edge of the unknown live the Nomads, humans who don't live on planets, but in spaceships. On top of that, there are also alien planets, and Joachim is an endearing character, and a good captain 😃. The ending is beautiful, simply beautiful. Not good, not bad, but simply beautiful.
I have other works by this author to discover.
In a world where humanity has colonized several planets, on the edge of the unknown live the Nomads, humans who don't live on planets, but in spaceships. On top of that, there are also alien planets, and Joachim is an endearing character, and a good captain 😃. The ending is beautiful, simply beautiful. Not good, not bad, but simply beautiful.
I have other works by this author to discover.
December 7, 2023
The general idea of this story had potential, but I couldn't really identify with the characters. They were too gruff and the one woman character was entirely too one-dimensional.
Note: I'm not sure whether it was really the narrator that gave me a bad impression. Perhaps if I had read this story in print, I would have had a more favorable impression.
I am considering reading this story again in print.
Note: I'm not sure whether it was really the narrator that gave me a bad impression. Perhaps if I had read this story in print, I would have had a more favorable impression.
I am considering reading this story again in print.
January 27, 2020
2.75/5 (Average)
Poul Anderson’s third novel contains a few glimmers of his later slick storytelling but lacks developed ideas and convincing characters. This is not entirely Anderson’s fault, as he points out in the introduction to a later edition [...]
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
Poul Anderson’s third novel contains a few glimmers of his later slick storytelling but lacks developed ideas and convincing characters. This is not entirely Anderson’s fault, as he points out in the introduction to a later edition [...]
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
June 11, 2019
A great read I always enjoyed Poul Anderson
December 15, 2021
4 out of 5
March 12, 2017
3-1/2 stars
This is quite a decent book, despite the age (1956). As others have pointed out, it is not great literature. However it does have more depth than one would expect from an adventure-style classic SF novel. There are thoughtful ponderings about society and where it might be going, and how different societies might interact and evolve.
An enjoyable read from the early days of an extremely talented author.
This is quite a decent book, despite the age (1956). As others have pointed out, it is not great literature. However it does have more depth than one would expect from an adventure-style classic SF novel. There are thoughtful ponderings about society and where it might be going, and how different societies might interact and evolve.
An enjoyable read from the early days of an extremely talented author.
June 6, 2017
Un roman plus profond et plus intéressant qu'il n'y paraît. J'ai beaucoup aimé.
https://leschroniquesduchroniqueur.wo...
https://leschroniquesduchroniqueur.wo...
August 23, 2010
A science fiction book of the 50's, the original title Star Ways was rereleased as The Peregrine in the 70's to avoid confusion with the release of the movie "Star Wars." I think, Poul, you got the better title after all.
April 23, 2008
Interesting tale of a star system and the traders and a conflict between the mechanical and biological worlds.
July 29, 2008
The first Polesotechnic League future history.
February 6, 2014
Not bad, not great - a fun, quick sci fi read. It's the first Anderson I actually have read, and it definitely makes me want to read more of his work.
March 22, 2016
Imagine a young adult sci-fi yarn written in the early 50's - mildly entertaining, but a bit trite.
October 2, 2016
Crummy e-book
One of Poul's earliest and worth preserving for that alone but to charge $10.00 for this very poorly edited copy of an old 150 pg novella is outrageous.
One of Poul's earliest and worth preserving for that alone but to charge $10.00 for this very poorly edited copy of an old 150 pg novella is outrageous.
September 18, 2022
-Gregory Kerkman
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews