Name: Deathworld.
Author: Harry Harrison.
Narrator: Gregg Margarite.
Producer/Distributor: LibriVox.
Jason dinAlt is a professional gambler with a knack for winning. This is due to a special skill that he has. Due to his skill not always working, he may not always win. However, he wins often enough to satisfy his means. He’s approached by the representative of a shadowy planetary government. This representative knows all about him and his abilities. The government official offers dinAlt an interesting and profitable proposition. The representative wants Jason to gamble on behalf of his government. For accepting this proposition, dinAlt will be paid handsomely. The wily gambler quickly agrees and puts his skill to the test. One thing leads to another and Jason dinAlt winds up heading to the representative’s government’s planet to escape from a certain beating. As it turns out, dinAlt gets out of the frying pan only to end up in the fire. Pyrrus, the official’s world, is the deadliest planet to be colonized by humanity. If the violent weather and active tectonics don’t get him, the heavy gravity, much heavier than even dinAlt is used to, and the abundant predators just might. As if all of that isn’t difficult enough to deal with, dinAlt must deal with a hostile and mistrustful splinter group of colonists. With no real friend to watch his back, can dinAlt succeed in his quest to learn all about Pyrrus?
More importantly, will Pyrrus allow dinAlt to survive long enough to learn? Or, as it has done to others, will the planet chew dinAlt up and spit him out?
Oh man, was this ever an excellent read! I truly enjoyed this story from start to finish. Once I began reading it, I couldn’t put it down until I got to the end. From word one, I was just so very totally hooked. Having read one of Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat books, I knew exactly what I was getting when I downloaded this from archive.org. What I mean by that is this: I knew that I was getting a book by an author that definitely knew how to spin a good yarn. I knew that the plot would be good escapism and something to definitely sink my figurative teeth into. That was certainly true in this case. I was riveted to my seat until the very end. Harrison was especially smart with how he chose to end this book. He left himself wiggle room. What I mean by that is that this story is complete in and of itself. However, he ended it in such a way that more stories featuring Jason dinAlt can happen. From what little I found out about this from the description on archive.org, this was written originally in 1955 and was part of a series of stories featuring this character. I am definitely glad for that as Jason just really seemed to come to life for me. In my mind, that’s a true sign that the story has been good. When you don’t want the story to end because you have totally identified with the character and want to see what happens next, you know that the author has done his or her job well indeed.
Would I reread this again? Absolutely! Would I recommend this book to others? I would do so without any hesitation. I mean, I love science fiction and always have. Heck, I love any story that grabs hold of you after hooking you from word one and keeps you riveted to your chair without letting go of your attention until it’s finished and all the questions it makes you ask have gotten answered. This story definitely does all of that for me. Will I make a point of looking for more books featuring Jason dinAlt? You can bet your bottom dollar that I so very most definitely will do just that! Finding more books with dinAlt in them, will I tear through them as quickly and as eagerly as I did _ Deathworld? Yes, beyond any shadow of a doubt, I will do just that! Would I read absolutely anything by this author? Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand million times yes! How about recommending this author to others? Would I do that? I most definitely would recommend this author to others! Even if all I had ever read was _The _Stainless _Steel _Rat, I would recommend Harry Harrison to others! That’s just how so much I have loved what I have read from him!
