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Future History of the Polesotechnic League
The Trouble Twisters
David Falkayn -- Few indeed had won their Master Merchant's certificate as young as he, let alone become confidential associates of an uncrowned prince like Nicholas van Rijn, or ruled entire planets. But with an alien posse riding hot on his heels, even Falkayn can't feel completely at ease...In his magnificent Future History of mankind's second great age, Poul Anderson has conjured up a universe too immense for even the human race to despoil. Across the grand expanse of space roams the Polesotechnic League, a band of merchant princes from every inhabited planet, in search of adventure and riches beyond the wildest dreams of our earthbound time!· The Three-Cornered Wheel · nv Analog Oct ’63· A Sun Invisible · nv Analog Apr ’66· The Trouble Twisters [“Trader Team”] · na Analog Jul ’65
190 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
8 people are currently reading
576 people want to read
About the author
Poul Anderson
1,613 books1,094 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 - 30 of 35 reviews
December 13, 2016
Trouble Twisters reads like an Ursula K. LeGuin Hainish Cycle book, and I mean that as the most sincere compliment, especially in terms of the xenobiological detail.
The Polesotechnic League stories of Anderson are closely distinguished with his Pyschotechnic League alternate future history. Like Heinlein, Anderson has created, amidst episodic short stories intermittently woven together, a future history of mankind. Here, unlike the Psychotechnic League stories, Anderson reveals his more mature Libertarian views and instead of espousing centrist world government ideals, Anderson makes as his hero the merchant adventurer.
The European Hanseatic League is a precursor and template for Anderson’s Polesotechnic League, and the decentralized government and mercantile / guild priorities amongst far reaching star travel is romanticized. Protagonist David Falkayn is first an apprentice and then a journeyman and finally a very young (the youngest ever) master merchant in the league and the reader is introduced to the wily old merchant adventurer ideal Nickolas van Rijn.
A must read for Anderson fans.
The Polesotechnic League stories of Anderson are closely distinguished with his Pyschotechnic League alternate future history. Like Heinlein, Anderson has created, amidst episodic short stories intermittently woven together, a future history of mankind. Here, unlike the Psychotechnic League stories, Anderson reveals his more mature Libertarian views and instead of espousing centrist world government ideals, Anderson makes as his hero the merchant adventurer.
The European Hanseatic League is a precursor and template for Anderson’s Polesotechnic League, and the decentralized government and mercantile / guild priorities amongst far reaching star travel is romanticized. Protagonist David Falkayn is first an apprentice and then a journeyman and finally a very young (the youngest ever) master merchant in the league and the reader is introduced to the wily old merchant adventurer ideal Nickolas van Rijn.
A must read for Anderson fans.
August 27, 2025
A trip with Mr Peabody in the sci-fi wayback machine to a story that did NOT age well!
“Meet David Falkayn, sharpest young trader in the Polesotechnic League and susceptible only to the lithe curves of unwary space girls.” An apprentice interplanetary trader looking to advance his career, the heft of his purse, and the number of notches on the belt recording his sexual conquests. THE TROUBLE TWISTERS languished unread on my bookshelf for the better part of fifty years and … sigh … I really should have left it there to slowly disintegrate to powder.
THE TROUBLE TWISTERS is self-contradictory. It’s a collection of informative and interesting side-bar style essays on science, interstellar travel, astronomy, physics, and math together with rather modern outlooks on the nonsense known as organized religion. But those essays are couched in a story that is misogynistic to a ridiculous degree and focused on distinctly macho male attitudes towards sex. Sadly its protagonist earthlings also exhibit a profoundly capitalist, self-entitled distinctly Wild West American cultural attitude towards extraterrestrials and planets other than earth (for purposes of thematic analysis, these aliens would be considered as “indigenous” or “colonials”).
On those destructive, colonial attitudes, for example:
“… they’d have to increase their numbers, and enlarge their industrial base, and get control of every man-useful planet in this neighbourhood. But eventually; for power, and glory, and upset of the hated merchants, and advancement of a Way of Life – war … The time to squelch them was now. A good healthy licking would discredit the landholders …”
On the (hopefully long outdated) puerile attitudes toward women and sex:
“Three in a ship, I think, is enough … You, the Master merchant, trained in culture comparisons and swogglehorning. A planetologist and a xenobiologist. They should be nonhumans. Different talents, you see, also not so much nerve-scratching when cooped together. Nicer to have a lovingly girl along, I know, but when you get back again, ha, ha! – you make up good. Or even before. You got just invited to my next little orgy, boy, if you take the job.”
And on religion:
“Only a moron or a tourist would generalize about an entire planet from a single culture. But you could usually figure that the most advanced people on a world had at least one of the more sophisticated theologies. And Katandara’s was astoundingly crude … ever since primordial Fire and Ice happened to get together and condense into the universe, … there were vaguely personified demons, powers, call them what you will; and they were forever trying to restore chaos. Their modus operandi was to cause disasters. They could only be held at bay through magic … and magicians weren’t uniformly good, either. You never knew if somebody hadn’t been corrupted and was lending his abilities to the service of Destruction.” (sure sounds like the clergy and administration of modern day religions to me!!)
There are lots and lots of great golden age sci-fi novels out there that can be read like timeless classics. Go find one and give THE TROUBLE TWISTERS a pass!
Paul Weiss
“Meet David Falkayn, sharpest young trader in the Polesotechnic League and susceptible only to the lithe curves of unwary space girls.” An apprentice interplanetary trader looking to advance his career, the heft of his purse, and the number of notches on the belt recording his sexual conquests. THE TROUBLE TWISTERS languished unread on my bookshelf for the better part of fifty years and … sigh … I really should have left it there to slowly disintegrate to powder.
THE TROUBLE TWISTERS is self-contradictory. It’s a collection of informative and interesting side-bar style essays on science, interstellar travel, astronomy, physics, and math together with rather modern outlooks on the nonsense known as organized religion. But those essays are couched in a story that is misogynistic to a ridiculous degree and focused on distinctly macho male attitudes towards sex. Sadly its protagonist earthlings also exhibit a profoundly capitalist, self-entitled distinctly Wild West American cultural attitude towards extraterrestrials and planets other than earth (for purposes of thematic analysis, these aliens would be considered as “indigenous” or “colonials”).
On those destructive, colonial attitudes, for example:
“… they’d have to increase their numbers, and enlarge their industrial base, and get control of every man-useful planet in this neighbourhood. But eventually; for power, and glory, and upset of the hated merchants, and advancement of a Way of Life – war … The time to squelch them was now. A good healthy licking would discredit the landholders …”
On the (hopefully long outdated) puerile attitudes toward women and sex:
“Three in a ship, I think, is enough … You, the Master merchant, trained in culture comparisons and swogglehorning. A planetologist and a xenobiologist. They should be nonhumans. Different talents, you see, also not so much nerve-scratching when cooped together. Nicer to have a lovingly girl along, I know, but when you get back again, ha, ha! – you make up good. Or even before. You got just invited to my next little orgy, boy, if you take the job.”
And on religion:
“Only a moron or a tourist would generalize about an entire planet from a single culture. But you could usually figure that the most advanced people on a world had at least one of the more sophisticated theologies. And Katandara’s was astoundingly crude … ever since primordial Fire and Ice happened to get together and condense into the universe, … there were vaguely personified demons, powers, call them what you will; and they were forever trying to restore chaos. Their modus operandi was to cause disasters. They could only be held at bay through magic … and magicians weren’t uniformly good, either. You never knew if somebody hadn’t been corrupted and was lending his abilities to the service of Destruction.” (sure sounds like the clergy and administration of modern day religions to me!!)
There are lots and lots of great golden age sci-fi novels out there that can be read like timeless classics. Go find one and give THE TROUBLE TWISTERS a pass!
Paul Weiss
August 1, 2020
The adventures of young David Falkayn, interstellar trade representative for the Polesotechnic League of interstellar merchants. Anderson's vast trove of Technic stories present some richly imagined worlds with truly intriguing sociological and anthropological dynamics, but are generally littered with the colloquialisms, sexist attitudes and occasional slapdashery you might expect from pulp stories of the time.
The general formula for these stories is Falkayn (or van Rijn, etc) arriving on a less advanced, conservative world and upsetting the status quo in some way that both benefits the populace (but not generally the rulers) as well as the financial prospects for the League. It's interesting to note that the lines of conflict in Anderson's Technic stories are not drawn by species, i.e. humans and each other species for themselves. Rather, his mercantile league is composed of a great multitude of species, as are rival empires which often include some humans as well. It would be interesting to read more of the origin, history and inner functioning of this League, but those subjects aren't really addressed in these stories.
The Three-Cornered Wheel (3.0) - Falkayn's ship is stranded on a backwater world, ruled by theocracy, and he must challenge one of their fundamental religious taboos in order to have a chance of escaping.
A Sun Invisible (3.0) - Falkayn must outmaneuver an alien empire, driven by a group of human idealogues, and give them a lesson in the benefits of peace through interstellar trade instead of war. He employs his astronomical skills to solve the mystery of the location of the alien home star system and thus give the league the upper hand.
The Trouble Twisters (4.0) - One of Anderson's better Technic stories, with a richly imagined alien world in the midst of a culture clash. Falkayn and crew make first contact on a pre-industrial world where human colonists, lost generations ago, have become a kind of subjugated warrior clan. They unwittingly get involved in a struggle between an oppressive and conservative empire, a weaker but more open kingdom, and the native humans with their own desires for independence. Anderson makes an intriguing anthropological supposition that the lack of change from day/night and seasonal cycles on the empire's side of the planet is responsible for their societal stagnation. Falkyan attempts to coerce peace, not just for its own sake, but as you would expect, also to ensure the establishment of a lucrative interstellar trade route.
The general formula for these stories is Falkayn (or van Rijn, etc) arriving on a less advanced, conservative world and upsetting the status quo in some way that both benefits the populace (but not generally the rulers) as well as the financial prospects for the League. It's interesting to note that the lines of conflict in Anderson's Technic stories are not drawn by species, i.e. humans and each other species for themselves. Rather, his mercantile league is composed of a great multitude of species, as are rival empires which often include some humans as well. It would be interesting to read more of the origin, history and inner functioning of this League, but those subjects aren't really addressed in these stories.
The Three-Cornered Wheel (3.0) - Falkayn's ship is stranded on a backwater world, ruled by theocracy, and he must challenge one of their fundamental religious taboos in order to have a chance of escaping.
A Sun Invisible (3.0) - Falkayn must outmaneuver an alien empire, driven by a group of human idealogues, and give them a lesson in the benefits of peace through interstellar trade instead of war. He employs his astronomical skills to solve the mystery of the location of the alien home star system and thus give the league the upper hand.
The Trouble Twisters (4.0) - One of Anderson's better Technic stories, with a richly imagined alien world in the midst of a culture clash. Falkayn and crew make first contact on a pre-industrial world where human colonists, lost generations ago, have become a kind of subjugated warrior clan. They unwittingly get involved in a struggle between an oppressive and conservative empire, a weaker but more open kingdom, and the native humans with their own desires for independence. Anderson makes an intriguing anthropological supposition that the lack of change from day/night and seasonal cycles on the empire's side of the planet is responsible for their societal stagnation. Falkyan attempts to coerce peace, not just for its own sake, but as you would expect, also to ensure the establishment of a lucrative interstellar trade route.
April 30, 2022
Do Humans really understand Aliens?
Follow the merchant/adventurers cope with strange superstitions from unforgiving Aliens in this three story collection.
David Falkayn must find how to move heavy equipment with no power source.
Wheels seems obvious, but to the locals it is sacrilegious!
To stop interstellar war David needs to locate a hidden planet.
He does this with the simple seduction of an enemy princess . . .
How does he liberate castaway humans who are now armed mercenaries for alien rulers?
Find out in these three entertaining tales of good old fashioned space travel.
Enjoy.
Follow the merchant/adventurers cope with strange superstitions from unforgiving Aliens in this three story collection.
David Falkayn must find how to move heavy equipment with no power source.
Wheels seems obvious, but to the locals it is sacrilegious!
To stop interstellar war David needs to locate a hidden planet.
He does this with the simple seduction of an enemy princess . . .
How does he liberate castaway humans who are now armed mercenaries for alien rulers?
Find out in these three entertaining tales of good old fashioned space travel.
Enjoy.
March 30, 2008
You should be careful of re-reading books you really liked as a teenager, because you might find that they do not hold up when you are older. You might even be embarrassed by what you used to think of as “good.” One volume in the docket, guilty as charged: The Trouble Twisters, by Poul Anderson. This is a collection of stories he wrote about his Polesotechnic League, and specifically about Nicholas van Rijn and his protégé David Falkayn. It comes after Trader to the Stars, where we first meet Nicholas van Rijn.
Please understand, I really like(d) Poul Anderson’s writing. Generally, I’ve found that he had a (relatively) deft touch with cultural detail, and a firm grasp on story-telling. But this set of stories did not age well at all. Whether it was the constant smoking on the part of the main characters, or the rather blatant sexism and aliens-as-racial-stand-ins, or simply the cheerfully cutthroat capitalism – I ended up having a hard time working my way through books that I thought were just grand adventure yarns as a teenager.
While some people might say I'm overreacting, I want to forestall this by pointing out that past "great works" may be flawed and those flaws might not become apparent until much later. Judged by the standards of the time it was published, The Trouble Twisters is remarkable in some ways: the character of Chee Lan, a member of a cat-like alien species where the females seem to be dominant, or the recognition that aliens have good reasons to not always trust humans, or simply the attention to detail in Anderson's stories. But it is precisely those virtues that make the flaws stand out even more strongly.
If you are looking for a decent older SF adventure yarn, and are not looking at the sub-text too closely, then The Trouble Twisters is a decent read. But don't go peeking too deeply into the book - you might end up being disappointed.
Please understand, I really like(d) Poul Anderson’s writing. Generally, I’ve found that he had a (relatively) deft touch with cultural detail, and a firm grasp on story-telling. But this set of stories did not age well at all. Whether it was the constant smoking on the part of the main characters, or the rather blatant sexism and aliens-as-racial-stand-ins, or simply the cheerfully cutthroat capitalism – I ended up having a hard time working my way through books that I thought were just grand adventure yarns as a teenager.
While some people might say I'm overreacting, I want to forestall this by pointing out that past "great works" may be flawed and those flaws might not become apparent until much later. Judged by the standards of the time it was published, The Trouble Twisters is remarkable in some ways: the character of Chee Lan, a member of a cat-like alien species where the females seem to be dominant, or the recognition that aliens have good reasons to not always trust humans, or simply the attention to detail in Anderson's stories. But it is precisely those virtues that make the flaws stand out even more strongly.
If you are looking for a decent older SF adventure yarn, and are not looking at the sub-text too closely, then The Trouble Twisters is a decent read. But don't go peeking too deeply into the book - you might end up being disappointed.
January 2, 2019
Een boek met een aantal losse, op zich zelf staande verhalen. De enige overeenkomst die ze hebben is dat de hoofdrol in alle verhalen worst gespeeld door David Falkayn.
Eigenlijk alleen het eerste verhaal, het driekantige wiel, was iets wat me een beetje aansprak. In dit verhaal moet David proberen een oplossing te vinden voor het probleem dat een reserve-onderdeel van het ruimteschip op ongeveer 1000 kilometer afstand van het gestrande schip ligt. Probleem is, dat het geloof van de mensen op de planeet cirkels (en afgeleide) verbiedt. Het lukt de jonge David uiteindelijk door te komen met een driekantig wiel.
De overige verhalen zijn naar mijn idee veel minder. Zeer gedateerde science-fiction.
Eigenlijk alleen het eerste verhaal, het driekantige wiel, was iets wat me een beetje aansprak. In dit verhaal moet David proberen een oplossing te vinden voor het probleem dat een reserve-onderdeel van het ruimteschip op ongeveer 1000 kilometer afstand van het gestrande schip ligt. Probleem is, dat het geloof van de mensen op de planeet cirkels (en afgeleide) verbiedt. Het lukt de jonge David uiteindelijk door te komen met een driekantig wiel.
De overige verhalen zijn naar mijn idee veel minder. Zeer gedateerde science-fiction.
April 1, 2022
[3 star=I liked it, probably won't read again]
The Trouble Twisters is a set of three merchant adventures where David Falkyn solves inter-species conundrum to establish trade routes. In the first one he and his associates have to use mathematics to subvert society; and in the last one, I really got a kick out of the side bar where on the side, the primitive native trades furs with a computer for odds tables on a local game of chance ... the irony is the negotiation in the absence of the computer's masters is superb example of unintended consequences.
Basically, if you like plot it's a decent book.
The Trouble Twisters is a set of three merchant adventures where David Falkyn solves inter-species conundrum to establish trade routes. In the first one he and his associates have to use mathematics to subvert society; and in the last one, I really got a kick out of the side bar where on the side, the primitive native trades furs with a computer for odds tables on a local game of chance ... the irony is the negotiation in the absence of the computer's masters is superb example of unintended consequences.
Basically, if you like plot it's a decent book.
February 7, 2016
Good SiFi story. Anderson's stories are always good quick reads. Recommended
March 5, 2023
I read some other reviews, who critiqued the book a bit.
I think that people need to try to think like people in the time some books are written. But there is more. I have a whole lot of other books from Anderson, and what I notice about the Falkayn/Van Rijn stories compared to much of his other work, is that these stories are a bit over the top. All main characters are a bit caricatures.
Look at Adzel, a crocodile like alien who is a Buddhist. Definitely made for effect and contrast. Chee Lan, a dog like alien, female, with a sharp tongue. And Falkayn has a nobility background, but might look a little bit like a yokel. Van Rijn himself (descriptions of him are more found in other books) seems to clothe himself like a cross between a 17th century ships captain and a resident of Indonesia with a sarong.
So, one should not read these stories for the pure SF content, but for amusement too. Big parts of it are cloak and dagger, and action. Maybe Anderson wrote these stories qs a kind of outlet, to be able to concentrate in his other works on more realistic stories, backgrounds and people.
I think that people need to try to think like people in the time some books are written. But there is more. I have a whole lot of other books from Anderson, and what I notice about the Falkayn/Van Rijn stories compared to much of his other work, is that these stories are a bit over the top. All main characters are a bit caricatures.
Look at Adzel, a crocodile like alien who is a Buddhist. Definitely made for effect and contrast. Chee Lan, a dog like alien, female, with a sharp tongue. And Falkayn has a nobility background, but might look a little bit like a yokel. Van Rijn himself (descriptions of him are more found in other books) seems to clothe himself like a cross between a 17th century ships captain and a resident of Indonesia with a sarong.
So, one should not read these stories for the pure SF content, but for amusement too. Big parts of it are cloak and dagger, and action. Maybe Anderson wrote these stories qs a kind of outlet, to be able to concentrate in his other works on more realistic stories, backgrounds and people.
August 26, 2023
I have to say, David Falakyn is no Nicholas van Rijn... I'm a bit sad he seems to be home enjoying his retirement instead of having more adventures for me to read.
This is not really a novel, but 3 novellas that document David's rise from Journeyman trader to his first big mission. The first story was the best of the 3 (it involved the good guys figuring out how to move spare parts for repairs 1000 kms across medeval level roads with no wheels. Wheels were against the planet's religion). The other two were not particiular interesting or clever.. and in fact the 3rd one was kinda a mess.. the crew (which changed every story other than David), got involved in a three way war and each was captured by different factions.
I think if the crew in the last story stuck together additional stories about them might be decent, but David himself just isn't very interesting, just a generic young, ambitious guy trying to make his fortune. And of course he's good at everything. This was not nearly as good as the other League books, but not terrible.
This is not really a novel, but 3 novellas that document David's rise from Journeyman trader to his first big mission. The first story was the best of the 3 (it involved the good guys figuring out how to move spare parts for repairs 1000 kms across medeval level roads with no wheels. Wheels were against the planet's religion). The other two were not particiular interesting or clever.. and in fact the 3rd one was kinda a mess.. the crew (which changed every story other than David), got involved in a three way war and each was captured by different factions.
I think if the crew in the last story stuck together additional stories about them might be decent, but David himself just isn't very interesting, just a generic young, ambitious guy trying to make his fortune. And of course he's good at everything. This was not nearly as good as the other League books, but not terrible.
July 21, 2018
1 verhaal bestaande uit meerdere afazonderlijke avonturen met dezelfde hoofdpersoon. Zij volgen min of meer hetzelfde stramien: in de toekomst bepaalt de handel (winst) de verkenning van de ruimte. Planeten met leven zijn er genoeg, die ontdekken, er (handels)contacten mee aanknopen voor de concurrentie er weet van heeft is de kunst om winst te maken. De afgevaardigde van de handelsfederatie vindt zo'n planeeet en komt er in zware moeilijkheden die hij moet oplossen om 1) te overleven en 2) winst te maken voor de maatschappij.
Anderson plaatst de held telkens voor andere onvoorziene, ongewone en niet eerder tegengekomen problemen en laat hem daar een technisch al dan niet moeilijke maar steeds ingenieuze en onvoorspelbare oplossing voor vinden.
Samen met de aktie, psychologie, humor en een vleugje romantiek is dit Anderson op zijn best.
Anderson plaatst de held telkens voor andere onvoorziene, ongewone en niet eerder tegengekomen problemen en laat hem daar een technisch al dan niet moeilijke maar steeds ingenieuze en onvoorspelbare oplossing voor vinden.
Samen met de aktie, psychologie, humor en een vleugje romantiek is dit Anderson op zijn best.
March 28, 2021
Three tales of David Falkayn, a trader in the Polysotechnic League who comes up against several distinctly backward if far flung civilisations while trying to trade his wares. This book had been on my shelf forever and it was a good read although the rapid fire world-building and dated alien culture choices were a bit of a chore. I enjoyed the 'Three Cornered Wheel' the most, a story that pivots on a theological diktat that butts heads with a geometric problem Falkayn and his buddies have to solve. Anderson does write about science and tech brilliantly (this is a book from the 60s) but Falkyan is a bit of an empty vessel and unfortunately his more interesting mentor, Schuster, is jettisoned after the first tale.
May 16, 2018
I don't know why I forced myself to read this as long as I did. It's all the parts of sci Fi that I don't like rolled up into a big tedious mess. Quick story outline up to where I gave up. Space adventure book, done . There are aliens in this book and they don't look like humans and they are described in great detail, yawn #1. The writing style is all cheeky hero saves the day by outwitting the bad guys and seducing the women, yawn #2. I know there's an era thing going on, doesn't mean I have to enjoy it though. And the third yawn might be for trying too hard to be funny. Not even the cover can save this one, it's off to the charity shop.
June 16, 2020
David Falkayn is one of Poul Anderson's merchant heroes, a worthy protege for the great Nicholas Van Rijn. Three stories share this book, each one moving the Falkayn character a step closer to greatness. They are marvellously fun stories.
June 1, 2017
More adventures of the Falkayn/Adzel/Chee Lan trio.
August 4, 2018
The good old stuff.
December 22, 2021
4.5 out of 5
December 24, 2021
-Gregory Kerkman
Read
October 23, 2025David Falkayn's adventures on the planets Ivanhoe, Vanessa, and Chakora help earn him his Master Merchant's certificate
August 11, 2024
Capitalism will unite the galaxies!
October 30, 2025
"You got just invited to my next little orgy, boy, if you take the job."
...
I dislike Poul Anderson as a writer. I'll never understand why so many other authors (including some talented ones) praised him so much. I only read this to give context to Brian Edwards' glorious wraparound cover art.
This is part of Anderson's "Polesotechnic League" series. The three episodes in this volume feature David Falkayn. He's 17 in the first story, 20 in the second, and an unspecified age in the third. I don't like him, especially for his James Bond-like attitude towards women (why don't these characters ever get STDs?).
...
"The Three-Cornered Wheel" (1963)
5/10
The problem raised in this one had potential, but the story isn't very good. The solution was too mathematical for me, so I have no clue how the wagon ultimately looked. Circles are strictly forbidden, yet Schuster is allowed to smoke his cigars, which, when viewed from head-on, are circles... Speaking of cigars, smoking is mentioned remarkably often in all three stories.
...
"A Sun Invisible" (1966?)
4/10
Uninteresting. I don't fully understand what the situation was. Anderson has some of the vaguest prose I've ever encountered.
...
"The Trouble Twisters" (1965?)
4/10
A perfect example of Anderson's muddled writing. I don't know who many of the characters were, nor do I understand the nature of their problems. Adzel had the potential to be a likable character, but out of the three merchants, he got the least amount of focus.
...
"Judas, what a radium-plated opportunity an explorer had!" (p. 62)
-
"Judas!" (p. 76)
-
"Holy...hyper...Judas!" (p. 80)
-
"Judas!" (p. 89)
-
"Judas!" (p. 94)
-
"Judas on Pluto!" (p. 104)
-
"Judas on a crutch!" (p. 119)
-
"Judas on Mercury! Yes!" (p. 180)
-
"Judas in a nova burst!" (p. 190)
...
aloft: 5
murk: 4
acrid: 3
gloom: 9
wary: 4
taut: 3
gleam: 9
whirl: 8
loom (verb): 3
here and there: 2
lope: 3
feeble: ?
glimmer: ?
...
On multiple occasions, the author wrote follow-up sentences that used a word's wrong form or tense.
Typos:
"a!xle" (axle)
-
"canster" (canister)
-
"zandra" (zandara)
-
"... an Old Japanese lapout." (layout)
-
"Her job wasn't easy, the way he lolled in redhead's arms." (... in the redhead's arms)
-
"The blond grabbed him arms and Stepha wet her rag." (his arms)
...
Anderson (or his editor) uses the British spelling of "storey," but the American spelling is used once. It just stood out:
"four storeys high"
-
"third-storey"
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"several stories high" (p. 166)
-
"two storeys down" (p. 178)
...
...
I dislike Poul Anderson as a writer. I'll never understand why so many other authors (including some talented ones) praised him so much. I only read this to give context to Brian Edwards' glorious wraparound cover art.
This is part of Anderson's "Polesotechnic League" series. The three episodes in this volume feature David Falkayn. He's 17 in the first story, 20 in the second, and an unspecified age in the third. I don't like him, especially for his James Bond-like attitude towards women (why don't these characters ever get STDs?).
...
"The Three-Cornered Wheel" (1963)
5/10
The problem raised in this one had potential, but the story isn't very good. The solution was too mathematical for me, so I have no clue how the wagon ultimately looked. Circles are strictly forbidden, yet Schuster is allowed to smoke his cigars, which, when viewed from head-on, are circles... Speaking of cigars, smoking is mentioned remarkably often in all three stories.
...
"A Sun Invisible" (1966?)
4/10
Uninteresting. I don't fully understand what the situation was. Anderson has some of the vaguest prose I've ever encountered.
...
"The Trouble Twisters" (1965?)
4/10
A perfect example of Anderson's muddled writing. I don't know who many of the characters were, nor do I understand the nature of their problems. Adzel had the potential to be a likable character, but out of the three merchants, he got the least amount of focus.
...
"Judas, what a radium-plated opportunity an explorer had!" (p. 62)
-
"Judas!" (p. 76)
-
"Holy...hyper...Judas!" (p. 80)
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"Judas!" (p. 89)
-
"Judas!" (p. 94)
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"Judas on Pluto!" (p. 104)
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"Judas on a crutch!" (p. 119)
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"Judas on Mercury! Yes!" (p. 180)
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"Judas in a nova burst!" (p. 190)
...
aloft: 5
murk: 4
acrid: 3
gloom: 9
wary: 4
taut: 3
gleam: 9
whirl: 8
loom (verb): 3
here and there: 2
lope: 3
feeble: ?
glimmer: ?
...
On multiple occasions, the author wrote follow-up sentences that used a word's wrong form or tense.
Typos:
"a!xle" (axle)
-
"canster" (canister)
-
"zandra" (zandara)
-
"... an Old Japanese lapout." (layout)
-
"Her job wasn't easy, the way he lolled in redhead's arms." (... in the redhead's arms)
-
"The blond grabbed him arms and Stepha wet her rag." (his arms)
...
Anderson (or his editor) uses the British spelling of "storey," but the American spelling is used once. It just stood out:
"four storeys high"
-
"third-storey"
-
"several stories high" (p. 166)
-
"two storeys down" (p. 178)
...
August 7, 2016
I'd rate this, for what is is, around 3.5 to 3.8 out of 5.
The first story was a bit silly. enjoyable in the end but probably my least favorite so far. The whole civilization without the wheel idea seems a bit preposterous, but thats what science fictions about some times.
The second story in this book was probably my favorite.
the last and longest story drug on a bit in the middle. I found it hard to get into with so many weird names of people, races, clans, cities, etc. BUT once I got into that last story I really enjoyed it and during the last 40 pages couldnt put the book down for a second.
I must say I rather prefer the Nicholas Van Rijn stories. His humor really adds to things, him being such a ridiculous character. David Falkayn on the other hand was entertaining in his own way. He kind of reminds me of Captain Kirk. These stories often have a very ... Star Trek TOS feel to them.
The first story was a bit silly. enjoyable in the end but probably my least favorite so far. The whole civilization without the wheel idea seems a bit preposterous, but thats what science fictions about some times.
The second story in this book was probably my favorite.
the last and longest story drug on a bit in the middle. I found it hard to get into with so many weird names of people, races, clans, cities, etc. BUT once I got into that last story I really enjoyed it and during the last 40 pages couldnt put the book down for a second.
I must say I rather prefer the Nicholas Van Rijn stories. His humor really adds to things, him being such a ridiculous character. David Falkayn on the other hand was entertaining in his own way. He kind of reminds me of Captain Kirk. These stories often have a very ... Star Trek TOS feel to them.
June 21, 2019
Okay, it is official I really do like David Falkayn much better as a character than Nicholas van Rijn. I also love his ship Muddlin' Through and his partners Adzel and Chee. This first book that introduces them has three stories/adventures/planets and each was enjoyable. I liked this book so much that I own three copies.
September 17, 2014
Really enjoyed this. World building, problem solving, characters you care about (including aliens). Excellent!
BTW - the pathetically childish cover shown above does a massive dis-service to this book. Luckily, it isn't the cover on my copy.
BTW - the pathetically childish cover shown above does a massive dis-service to this book. Luckily, it isn't the cover on my copy.
July 4, 2015
This is a fun book - Three long short stories with a common thread. And real math/science in the solution to the problems posed in each story.
I read it a long time ago, and pick it up from time to time for "something light."
I read it a long time ago, and pick it up from time to time for "something light."
January 30, 2011
Grade B+. Book B3.
February 16, 2012
I love the style of this book, its reminicent of Neil Gaiman's Stardust but more subtle and quirky in a different way :)
April 5, 2012
The futher adventures of Falkyn. Good.
May 6, 2012
Good read - well crafted as you would expect from Anderson - Merchant adventurers
July 4, 2013
I read this as a youngster. I believe I enjoyed it more way back in the last century.
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