К звёздам!

To the Stars #1-3

by Harry Harrison

Мир будущего это не всегда райские кущи и общение с прекраснодушными небожителями. Он может быть жесток и бесчеловечен, как в трилогии Гарри Гаррисона "К звездам!". Но, как в любом мире, он тоже не без добрых людей. И не без мужественных и справедливых.
Ян Кулозик - представитель высшего класса, таких, как он, положено ублажать, в отличие от серого большинства, людей, назначение которых обслуживать земную элиту. И жить бы Яну бездумно, если бы ему не открылась вся несправедливость происходящего. Ян выбирает сопротивление. И ни ссылка на каторжную планету, ни долгие скитания среди звезд не поколебали его уверенности в правильности выбранного пути.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space Opera

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Ralph Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever think about how, instead of the existence of extraterrestrial beings out in space, it was actually humans? Though not written to be a heartwarming story, that is how Harry Harrison wrote To The Stars Trilogy.

Hundreds of years to the future, the dystopian world--including the space, apparently--are now only governed by one group of people. These people are only powerful because they are rich. As Earth’s natural resources depleted, humankind decided to colonize other planets. The resources, however, are hogged by the rich; the poor have to either live from the scraps or survive through the harsh conditions of the newly-inhabited planets.

We follow the story from the protagonist Jan Kulozik, an engineer, so he is one of the privileged elites that gets to live comfortably. Unfortunately, after his run-in with a group of spies which made him caught by the authorities, he is exiled to another planet. This planet is built around agriculturally. They are to produce crops to supply food for Earth and the other planets. Not long after that, the people fight back the government, but without future plans. Apparently, they were too used to living in their own colony, that they cannot stand with each other. So, in the end, to each their own, which means each colony will have their own government body.

The takeaway from this is that, while it is better for society to live within their own kind, it is important to know that when there is a threat that affects the world, humankind will always thrive together.

[Jennifer Sigman · Rating 1 out of 5]

White boy saves the universe, and has sex with the best of the available women all at the same time. Yeah no.

[Mark Pasquini · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trio of stories which carries the protagonist from wealth in a socialist world of oligarchs and peasants, to slavery on a world controlled by Earth and in revolt, ending in the freeing of the galaxy. Anti-communist, -socialist story which has many surprising parallels to today. Gov't storage of all conversations, secret wiretaps, driverless cars, etc. Interesting read. Recommended.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated and uneven, but compelling at times.

[Bent Andreassen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 plus all in all. Consists of:
Homeworld - 4 1/2 stars
Wheelworld - 4 pluss stars
Starworld - 4 stars
Very good, quite political, fast moving and entertaining.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty classic Harrison.

[Phillip Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this three part story about Jan Kulozik who finds his way from Earth to across the galaxy and back. It was fun, it was adventurous, it had action, it had espionage but the final battle for it all just left me feeling a bit hollow. The book leads to this epic confrontation but in the end it's a bit of the red ink being spilled and all too convenient things. I don't wish to go into detail as I do not want to spoil anything for anyone. It's a good series of books just felt a bit let down by the ending but not enough that I hated it.

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This longish, but unmemorable, science fiction trilogy was read during a school break during the winter of 1983/84.

[Jeff Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

First part (Homeworld) is really great. The second two books are solid, but not as good as the first.

[Wampuscat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Est read in 1989 - Library Omnibus edition

[Michael Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems I'd read the first two books of the volume separately in years past. The third was not quite so good as it predecessors.