Category: scifi 1950-1970

The High Crusade by Poul Anderson

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The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
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In the year of grace 1345, as Sir Roger Baron de Tourneville is gathering an army to join King Edward III in the war against France, a most astonishing event occurs: a huge silver ship descends through the sky and lands in a pasture beside the little village of Ansby in northeastern Lincolnshire. The Wersgorix, whose scouting ship it is, are quite expert at taking over planets, and having determined from orbit that this one was suitable, they initiate standard world-conquering procedure. Ah, but this time it’s no mere primitives the Wersgorix seek to enslave—they’ve launched their invasion against free Englishmen! In the end, only one alien is left alive—and Sir Roger’s grand vision is born. He intends for the creature to fly the ship first to France to aid his King, then on to the Holy Land to vanquish the infidel. Unfortunately, he has not allowed for the treachery of the alien pilot, who instead takes the craft to his home planet, where, he thinks, these upstart barbarians will have no choice but to surrender. But that knavish alien little understands the indomitable will and clever resourcefulness of Englishmen, no matter how great the odds against them…

Hoka! Hoka! Hoka! by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson

Hoka! Hoka! Hoka! by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson
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THE HOKAS ARE BACK IN THIS CLASSIC OF HUMOROUS SF FROM POUL ANDERSON AND GORDON R. DICKSON.

The Interbeing League had been formed to make contact with new intelligent races in the galaxy and offer them membership. But when the League encountered the Hokas, furry creatures strongly resembling the teddy bears of Earth, the League’s agent, Alexander Jones, could have been excused for wishing he had a simpler assignment than making sense out of the Hokas—such as singlehandedly stopping an interstellar war.

Not that the fuzzy aliens were unfriendly. In fact, they loved everything about humans, and adopted various Terram cultures wholesale and in every little detail—but with a bit of confusion about the differences between fact and fiction. So, if the Hokas suddenly started outing out the parts in a rip-roaring, shoot-em-up western, or brought to life the London of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a pip-puffing, deerstalker-wearing Hoka, or suddenly decided to fly the Jolly Roger and lead a life of adventure and piracy on the high seas, mate—well, that was to be expected. And as the Hokas threw themselves wholeheartedly into progressively wilder worlds from Terran history and fiction, Jones could be excused for feeling that his grip on reality was hanging by a single, thin, increasingly frayed thread.

At the publisher’s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Praise for the Hokas stories:

“You aren’t apt to find a more gleeful book of S.F.”—The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

“. . . the funniest s-f ever written.”—A Reader’s Guide to Science Fiction

 

The Right to Arm Bears

The Right to Arm Bears
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2 novels and a short storie : Spacial Delivery, Spacepaw, “The Law-Twister Shorty collected in one omnibus

HUMANS OR HEMNOIDS:
AN UNBEARABLE CHOICE!

Planet Dilbia is in a crucial location for both humans and their adversaries, the Hemnoids. Therefore making friends with the Dilbians and establishing a human presence there is of the utmost importance, which may be a problem, since the bearlike Dilbians; stand some nine feet tall, and have a high regard for physical prowess. They’re not impressed by human technology, either. A real man, er, bear doesn’t need machines to do his work for him.

But Dilbians are impressed by sharp thinking, and some have expressed a grudging admiration for the logical (and usually sneaky) mental maneuvers that the human “shorties” have used to get themselves out of desperate jams. Just maybe that old human craftiness will win over the Dilbians; to the human side. If not, we lose a nexus, and the Dilbians will learn just how unbearable Hemnoids can be….

Dorsai! (Childe Cycle Book 1)

Dorsai! (Childe Cycle Book 1)
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Donal Graeme set out to re-shape the galaxy, but first he must tear it apart. Donal Graeme, Dorsai of the Dorsai, was the final link in a long genetic train, the ultimate soldier, whose breadth of vision made him a master of space war and strategy – and something even greater. He was the focus of centuries of evolution, the culmination of planned development, and through him a new force made itself felt. Dorsai were renowned throughout the galaxy as the finest soldiers ever born, trained from birth to fight and win, no matter what the odds. With Donal at their head they embarked upon the final, impossible venture: they set out to unify the splintered worlds of Mankind.

 

audiobook here

Federation series by H. Beam Piper (Terro-Human Future History) 1961-1981

Federation series by H. Beam Piper (Terro-Human Future History) 1961-1981
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First novel :

“Four-Day Planet” . . . where the killing heat of a thousand-hour “day” drives men underground, and the glorious hundred-hour sunset is followed by a thousand-hour night so cold that only an Extreme Environment Suit can preserve the life of anyone caught outside. Fenris isn’t a hell planet, but it’s nobody’s bargain. With 2,000-hour days and an 8,000-hour year, it alternates blazing heat with killing cold. A planet like that tends to breed a special kind of person: tough enough to stay alive and smart enough to make the best of it. When that kind of person discovers he’s being cheated of wealth he’s risked his life for, that kind of planet is ripe for revolution.

Also 2 short stories collection in the same universe

Paratime Police: Complete Sci-Fi Series

Paratime Police: Complete Sci-Fi Series
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The last novel of this serie has been expanded into another serie from 2000 to 2016 by John F. Carr available here

 

H. Beam Piper’s ‘Paratime Police: Complete Sci-Fi Series’ delves into the riveting exploits of an advanced civilization adept in paratime travel across parallel universes. Within these alternate realities lie the means to replenish their own depleted Earth through trade of unique resources. The series weaves intricate narratives of espionage, control, and the moral high wire walked by the titular Paratime Police, guardians of this precarious status quo. Piper’s prose is rich with speculative imagination, which is grounded within the framework of mid-20th century science fiction aesthetics and philosophies, carving a niche that resonates with aficionados of the genre’s classic era.

Henry Beam Piper’s background as a self-taught polymath, with an insatiable curiosity for history and science, deeply informs the textured world-building of the Paratime series. His foresight in conceptualizing multiverse theory predates its popularity in contemporary science fiction. Piper’s Paratime Police operate under a complex socio-political structure that echoes Cold War tensions, providing a lens for interpreting the nuanced interplay between power, ethics, and the responsibility that comes with technological advancement.

‘Readers seeking a blend of science fiction with historical depth and philosophical underpinnings will find ‘Paratime Police: Complete Sci-Fi Series’ a treasure trove. Piper’s visionary work invites enthusiasts to ponder the ramifications of unchecked innovation while being immersed in tales of suspense and cosmic intrigue. This compilation not only commemorates Piper’s legacy but also serves as a perfect introduction to his thought-provoking explorations of time and reality.

Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (Kalvan series)

Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (Kalvan series)
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Written by H. Beam Piper; it is part of his Paratime series of stories, the first novel  published in 1965 was expanded by John F. Carr from 2000 to 2016 to form the Kalvan series

It recounts the adventures of a Pennsylvania state trooper who is accidentally transported to a more backward parallel universe. It was published posthumously, making it Piper’s final science fiction novel.

The Paratime Police patrol the vast number of alternate time-dimensions. Their aim is to keep the existence of the alternate Earths a secret and prevent these Earths from mixing and destroying each other.

But the Time Police make mistakes sometimes, and they make a big one when a seemingly ordinary Pennsylvania State Trooper named Calvin Morrison is accidentally transported to a more backward parallel universe. Morrison is soon being hailed as Lord Kalvan and is masterminding a campaign that could blow the whole Paratime secret sky-high!

The Dumarest Saga

The Dumarest Saga
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Written from 1967 to 1986 by E.C. Tubb with a last book  published in 2008 2 year before the death of the author

The Dumarest saga was one of the inspiration for the Traveller (role-playing game)

Each story is a self-contained adventure, but throughout the series, Earl Dumarest, the protagonist, searches for clues to the location of his home world, Earth.

The stories are set in a far future galactic culture that is fragmented and without any central government. Dumarest was born on Earth, but had stowed away on a spaceship when he was a young boy and was caught. Although a stowaway discovered on a spaceship was typically ejected to space, the captain took pity on the boy and allowed him to work and travel on the ship. When the story opens in The Winds of Gath, Dumarest has traveled so long and so far that he does not know how to return to his home planet and no-one has ever heard of it, other than as a myth or legend.

This is the tale of Earl Dumarest. Space-wanderer, gladiator-for-hire, seeker of Man’s forgotten home.

Dumarest’s search begins on the ghost-world of Gath, where he becomes unwilling champion of the Matriarch of Kund, and must undergo a fight-to-the-death at stormtime.

Victory could give Dumarest his first clue to the whereabouts of the planet he fled from as a child – an obscure world scarred by ancient wars, which lies countless light years from the thickly populated centre of the galaxy; a world no-one else in the inhabited universe believed exists.

Earth, the birthplace of Man.

 

Child of the Sun: Leigh Brackett SF Boxed Set (Illustrated):

Child of the Sun: Leigh Brackett SF Boxed Set (Illustrated):
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Discover the golden age of science fiction with some of the best stories of intergalactic battles, space adventures and alien contact in this Leigh Brackett collection of selected planet stories:
Black Amazon of Mars
Child of the Sun
Citadel of Lost Ships
Enchantress of Venus
Last Call From Sector 9G
Outpost on Io
Queen of the Martian Catacombs
Shannach
Terror Out of Space
The Beast-Jewel of Mars
The Blue Behemoth
The Dragon-Queen of Jupiter
The Jewel of Bas
The Stellar Legion
The Vanishing Venusians
Thralls of the Endless Night

Envoy to New Worlds (Retief Book 1)

Envoy to New Worlds (Retief Book 1)
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The authorized history of the frontier worlds of the 29th century is readily available to anyone who cares to pore through the official files of the Terrestrial Diplomatic Corps.

For serious students of history, however, it would be well to read between the lines of what has been set down for posterity. The records, for example, fail to grasp the full significance of the work done by a career diplomat named Jame Retief, in his efforts to alleviate strife on the emerging planets of our galaxy.

Contained here are several accounts of Retief’s contribution to the peace of the universe—written in the hope that the injustice committed by the history books will thus be rectified.