A classic tale of SF adventure and aliens. Some allusions to the main characters' previous short story adventures. . .

But it opens with Captain David Falkayn, merchant explorer working for Nicholas van Rijn, going to a company called Serendipity that can hook up concepts and yield connections. There, their machinery comes up with a rogue world, not attached to a planet, about to pass by a blue giant and so warm up -- and then cool down as it goes back into interstellar space. This would enable the mass transmutation of elements, since you could build up your process as it cooled, and so dissipate the heat that made it unworkable.

The owners of the company, strange to the Moon and reclusive, want to talk to him. He agrees -- and does not return. His ship mates, the cat- Chee Lan and the Buddhist dragon- Adzel, are stymied in every effort, even though the messages from him are not his style at all. So they contact van Rijn.

The rest of the story involves security sophonts from primitive cultures with fierce honor codes, abducted children, kidnapping, hidding on a planet, space chases, much discussion about how biology affects xenopsychology, and much more. Great fun.

Even if the characters don't know why the dinosaurs became extinct. 0:)moderately-old-books of-aliens poul-anderson ...more6 s Jim1,220 73

This story, first published in 1969, is fairly standard stuff by Poul Anderson (1926-2001). Which means that I enjoy it. I first started reading Anderson as a kid, so reading this author is a kind of comfort food for me. It's an adventure story featuring handsome athletic hero David Falkayne. And, as in the best of Anderson, there is some interesting world-building. I think that's what I most about Anderson--his descriptions of alien worlds, such as the "rogue" planet that Falkayne sets out on a mission to explore in this story.
This story is either 3rd or 4th in Anderson's Future History, the first part of which concerns the Age of the Polesotechnic League. This is a time when libertarian ideals seem to have been achieved, as merchants (exemplified by Nicholas Van Rijn) lead the way in exploring (and exploiting) other planets, beyond the control of any government or laws. As Falkayne explains the purpose of the League, "It organizes cooperative, mutual-benefit activities, and it mediates competition that might otherwise become literally cutthroat." This age leads to the age of the Galactic Imperium and the series that features the dashing James Bond- Imperial operative Dominic Flandry.4 s Josh T286

For what this novel aims at being I give it a 4.5/5 for an entertaining adventure. The previous books were loaded to the brim with alien words and so much vernacular that they took longer to read. This books narrative was much smoother a read. The characters have also grown on me finally. This was a true adventure story. It doesnt try to be something which it is not.

I enjoyed the mystery of Satan, the planet. I also thoroughly enjoyed the slow reveal of the Dathynans, what they were, how they came to be, and the facinating descriptions of ruins from times past.

This is a late 1960s adventure story. Before you get upset by it not being what you expected, remember that. It has elements of adventure very much Star Trek the original series. Sometimes corny, sometimes a trifle far fetched in one aspect or another. It simply aims to be a neat adventure tale. It isn't always fast paced either, but that doesnt matter. I was frankly hooked from the beginning so the slower bits didn't bother me.

Don't expect a literary masterpiece. be prepared for Van Rijns weird dialogue from time to time. Prepare for far fetched odd plots (which I frankly enjoyed). This book is about the story, the universe, the science fiction, and the science itself. This book doesnt focus hugely on character development, but there are characters, they are explored and extrapolated upon, but not remotely to the lengths one would see in something more... literary. But then, his isn't literature, it's science fiction.

I d it because it was just a fun little tale of adventure which entertained me the whole time.4 s Elfbiter48 23

Somewhat datedscience-fiction speculative-fiction3 s Mark Muckerman455 27

I'm a bit conflicted on this one. Poul Anderson is a legend of the golden age of sci-fi fiction, and Satan's World is a great example of the classic sci-fi paperback circa 1965-75. If you know that's what you're getting, and you the genre of the time, then it's a 3 star read.

However, I found this particular story slow and confusing to develop, and hard to get into for the first 70+ pages (and to be 1/3 of the way into a book before it really gets interesting does not instill confidence). Once in the "second act" the story was better, including character interaction, plot progression and a more identifiable villain.

Overall, I think this story suffers from limitations in character, insufficient and unclear plot development, and the overuse of futurisic dialog vernacular. Introdution of future terminology is part of a good sci-fi story, but in this work it's overdone and creates confusion rather than curiousity.2 s LordSlaw496

A decent space-opera adventure story with some hard sci-fi concepts in the mix. A bit muddled in its first third, with the goals of the protagonists not always clear; interrupted occasionally by too-long talking-head expository passages; and a bit flat in its last pages with long stretches of xenobiology and xenopsychology that read overgeneralized lectures; Satan's World is nonetheless a decently entertaining and diverting read with some nice passages of action and adventure, such as an assault on a fortified compound and an exploration of a rogue planet. It is very cool, too, that of the four main protagonists, two are very different types of non-humans. The book ultimately was up-and-down for me: very gripping in sections, a bit boring in others, but overall a decent effort by Mr Anderson and worth at least one read for the good stuff that is in there.2 s L'amaca di Euterpe179 9

Mi sono trovata fra le mani un vero gioiellino, io che di fantascienza ne so poco, quando ho cominciato a leggere questo romanzo da cui ho fatto davvero difficoltà a staccarmi.
179 pagine per un'avventura con la A maiuscola dove le razze vengono descritte in modo verosimile; dove uno stile narrativo alterna dati scentificamente credibili (non chiedetemi di verificarli però) a momenti che strappano una risata, a un turbinio di eventi e combattimenti verbali e no, per rimanere inquadrati nello stile sci-fi in piena regola.
Poul Anderson ci regala un romanzo che fa anche riflettere sull'uso delle informazioni e chi ne fa scorta (fatto che alla fine degli anni '60 aveva già fatto partire le prime paranoie, ma che ora nel XXI secolo certe paure diventano quasi profezie), sull'evoluzione delle specie, sulle Leghe intese come assembramento di esseri spinti da uno stesso principio, sul concetto di "dominazione" dei popoli in senso pacifico.
Conquista, diverte, affascina e fa riflettere.
Consigliatissimo.fantastico sci-fi1 Sarah B1,046 17

So I was not impressed with this story at all. If anything reading it was actually putting me to sleep so I guess it was the opposite of exciting. And to be truthful it was the cover that attracted me to pick this up to read. That cover image just looks so fascinating doesn't it?

So the back cover of the paperback actually doesn't give much about the plot at all, which I find odd. But this is a brief description of what this book is about (spoiler free).

So there is this human man named Falkayn and his is quite famous. He is part of the Polesotechnic League, a group of space traders. He is on Earth's moon (Luna) when he goes to meet up with the Serendipity. The Serendipity is this very neutral group that trades information and its mostly done by computer. And if you have the right information to trade the computer may tell you something very valuable! And so Falkayn goes there....

But then things go horribly wrong!

(And yes he gets some info which leads to Satan's World)

There are other neat characters in here Adzel who sometimes is described as a "weird dragon" or as a "cross between a centaur and a crocodile" and there is Chee Lan who is said to be monkey- (simian)..

And there are spaceships, battles, people outwitting others and all sorts of stuff....

But...

Its all written in this weird way? Many of the dialogue came off weird. Its hard to explain. Its sort of how Master Yoda talks with the backwards sentence structure? Well there is lots of that in here especially from Adzel and Chee Len. And the characters would go on these long angry tirades, especially Chee Len. All of that just slows down the plot. There is actually lots of stuff in here that slows the plot down.

The whole story seems to move super slow and I certainly felt very distant from the characters and the action. The book was actually putting me to sleep. By the end I just didn't care what was going to happen at all.

I didn't relate to any of the characters at all.

The viewpoint kept shifting too from character to character. It would have been better if the author had stuck with only one character. And no actual thrills or suspense even when there was danger.

I realize this is a popular author but I am unsure if over the long decades of reading science fiction if I had ever read any other books by him. I had started reading back in 6th grade so.... That was a long time ago! classic science-fiction1 Chris4 Read

Capitalistic rocket cowboys, speculative behavioral evolution, a cult built around a search engine, a moral compass in the shape of a talking cat with a jet pack, and a lingering ticklish hope for a future where humanity gets Out There. Innocently silly and more than a little flawed, but with the cajones to spend pages describing dying suns burning out over alien wastelands.

"You spun him one synthetic yarn."1 ????????? ????????75 9

???? ?? ????? ????? ??????? ?????, ????? ???????? ????? ??????? ... ? ??????????? ???????, ?? ?? ???????? ??? ?? ???????? ????? ????????????, ?? ????? ???????? ??????? ... ????? ???? ? ????? ??? ???? ???? ? ???? ??????????? ... 1 James Rickett35 1 follower

Near the end of the Van Rijn/Falkayn cycle, and a good read.1 L.364 7

Awesome continuation of the adventures of Van Rijn and Falkayn. Good if you science in your fiction...1 Paul Wakelam67

Unbridled capitalism wins , but the character of Nicholas van Rijn makes it marvellous. Favourite scene involves the government agent expecting Nicholas to gloat.1 Marsha Valance3,840 57

A novel of Nicholas van Rijn and the Polesotechnic League. A Science Fiction Book Club selection.action-adventure business-fiction science-fiction ...more1 Martyn VaughanAuthor 11 books7

This is one of Anderson's long "Technic Civilisation" series. It is set in the early days before Flandry and the Terran Empire. The plot revolves around a rogue planet which is making a close pass of a Blue Giant star and is being thawed out in the process. Its human and friendly alien discoverers name it "Satan". For reason which are not entirely clear, this world will become a very valuable piece of real estate. The protagonists are two friendly aliens, loveable rogue Nicholas van Riyn and his sidekick Falkayn. They discover that an unfriendly alien race has also discovered Satan and have set up a spy network on the moon. After some cops and robbers stuff, the aliens are finally tracked to their home planet where it is discovered that they domesticated some human children and made them into spies in their plan to conquer the neighbouring culture.
There are no great concepts in this yarn, which is stuffed with Anderson's love of astronomical details such as the spectrum of the Blue star and the gravitational potential of the aliens' planet. Nothing spectacular but ideal for a long train journey. Kevin Phyland845 3

While on a break on Luna David Falkyn visits Serendipity Inc. (SI), a data trading company, on the off-chance something interesting might pop up. It does. A rogue planet (which he calls Satan), a sunless wanderer in interstellar space, is about to go close enough to Beta Crucis to start thawing, releasing rare and sought after elements. But the news is so good that SI itself breaks protocol and their reputation for impartiality and kidnap Falkyn. His partners Adzel, a huge dragon- Wodenite, and Chee-Lan, a smaller furry alien, get nervous when Falkyn fails to show up and then declares his undying love for an SI manager! Their boss, Nicholas Van Rijn is called in and an illegal rescue is performed. The police arrest Adzel but Van Rijn uses some blackmail to get him freed and they all depart for Satan. Meanwhile Falkyn has been intercepted by an alien fleet led by an SI manager and a minotaur- alien Shenn (think Klingons) called Gahood. Falkyn is forced to go into Satan’s atmosphere in an attempt to thwart the Shenn’s fleet and find out just what the Shenn interest is. What he finds out shocks him in this entertaining Poul Anderson novel.1 Jürgen Defurne47

Fine space opera material for a couple of relaxing evenings. Van Rijn is a larger than life character (from his descriptions it seems he looks some of the portraits of the Dutch commanders of the golden age, but he also wears a sarong). The trio Falkayn/Chee/Adzel is also nice (I think I have a personal preference for Chee).

All books of Anderson are well written, this one is no exception, and that also makes them always a joy to read.

A bit of suspension of disbelief is necessary, especially when he is talking about mutation and evolution. After reading Darwin's "The evolution of species" and publications of Stephen J. Gould, one never looks in the same way at SF-writers who want to use evolution as explanation for their plots.

The weird thing is that some of his older Flandry work does not have this flaw. Maybe he needed sometimes to pad his stories. Brian D.4

Ive never read any of Poul's Polesotechnic books before so I was jumping into the middle of a story. It had some interesting concepts especially with Serendipity Inc. However, it was slow to get going, partly confusing with characters that a reader would need to read earlier books. The main plot failed to grab me as it was wrapped up with a rescue of the characters and a quick synopsis of the villains of the story who did not appear to be all that villainous or threatening. If I find other books, Ill be sure to check them out, but as for Satan's World 2/5 Larry Wegman363 1 follower

Science Fiction Novel about the dispute over an unattached planet (not in orbit around a star). The author knows his science pretty well, and the title planet has some similarities to Dante's version of Hell, but the protagonists get out of scrapes by the use of questionable logic.
science-fiction Shane Eric49

The first 1/3rd of the book was a mess and a large portion of the rest has aged poorly. Van Rijn's dialogue is obnoxious and distracting.

I did enjoy several of the concepts and plot points. The alien species in this book are creative. Gr1972732

4 out of 5conspiracy mystery sci-fi ...more ????? ???????Author 2 books296

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???? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ???????????? ?????? ??-??????? ????????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ???????????? ?? ??????? ?????????????? ??????? ? ????????, ?????? (???-?????) ???? ???? ??????? ?????? ? ?????????? ? ???????. ???? ? ???? ???-???????? ????????? "?????? ??????????" ????? ?? ?? ??????????, ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ???????? ?? ?????????? - ???????? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ?? "?????????????" ?????? ??????? ? ???????? ???????? ??? ????? ??, ????? ? ???? ?????????? ????? ??? ?????? ??????????, ??????? ?? ?????, ?? ??????? ?? ??????????, ?? ???????? ??? ????? ??????????? ?????????.

?? ?????? - ????? ??? ?? ?????????? ??? ??? ?? ??????????? ?? ?????? ??????, ???????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?????????? ??? ?????? - ???? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? "??????????"... Ryan1,216 11

So I found this book by a famous sci-fi writer that I have never read before and thought it might be a cool read. I was wrong. I hate to put down a book before finishing it and really struggle to keep with it. But this time I failed. Every part I read wasn't just inane, it was flat out boring. I just couldn't handle it, and finally had to give up. In all fairness to the author, he wrote about 150 books, and some of those might be good. I will try again, but not with this one.junk David490 8

Decent adventure story. Not as much puzzle solving as I expected from van Rijn. Interesting idea on an alien species spying on humans. But my recollection of it is already getting fuzzy after just a few weeks, so it doesn't seem as if it's that memorable.science-fiction CharlesAuthor 41 books269

An excellent book by Anderson. One of his earlier ones.science-fiction SciFiOne2,015 32

Grade B+. Book B4. Foxtower515 8

Good! entertainment Kenneth Flusche1,040 8

Good SF not the ending I expected but the world of the late 60's is different from the 50's funney how SF is set in the future but hates and fears are set in the present. Genna848 5

It's funny, I'm always so incredibly impressed by Mr. Anderson's fantasy, but I always find his science-fiction to be rather dull and difficult to focus on. Karen-Leigh2,218 15

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