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Poul Anderson

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The Enemy Stars Kindle Edition

by Poul Anderson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 88 ratings

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Four explorers from different backgrounds are marooned in space—and must unite to escape their floating prison—in this novel by a Nebula Award winner.

In the twenty-third century, when humankind has spread itself throughout the cosmos, with many intergalactic colonies teetering on the brink of open revolt against the hated ruling Protectorate, a team of four is transported by a miraculous technology onto the deep-space vessel Southern Cross. Hailing from vastly different backgrounds, philosophies, and worlds, Ryerson, Nakamura, Sverdlov, and Maclaren have been entrusted to explore a long-dead star located light-years beyond where humanity has previously traveled. But venturing too close to the target proves disastrous when the black sun’s magnetic field permanently obliterates their only means of returning home. Suddenly, four strangers, two hailing from a privileged Earth and two from oppressed galactic colonies, must put aside their differences and work together to somehow find a way out of an impossible situation before time runs out, or die together at the farthest edge of a cold and merciless universe.

A remarkably thoughtful and profoundly moving novel of survival in the darkest reaches of outer space, The Enemy Stars is a work of great power and insight by multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner Poul Anderson, one of the legendary greats of golden-age science fiction.

Print length

156 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Publication date

December 30, 2014
File size

3662 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A serious, occasionally grave, but ultimately enriching philosophical story about what it really means to be human . . . Anderson deftly matches white-knuckle suspense with introspective moments. . . . Poignant . . . Often exhilarating, The Enemy Stars is a fine example of early hard SF that manages to incorporate humanist themes with equal success. The climactic surprise is dang swell, too.” —SFReviews.net

“One of science fiction’s most influential and prolific writers . . . Anderson’s appetite for colossal themes was remarkable, even by the grandiloquent standards of his trade.” —The Daily Telegraph

About the Author

“A serious, occasionally grave, but ultimately enriching philosophical story about what it really means to be human . . . Anderson deftly matches white-knuckle suspense with introspective moments. . . . Poignant . . . Often exhilarating, The Enemy Stars is a fine example of early hard SF that manages to incorporate humanist themes with equal success. The climactic surprise is dang swell, too.” —SFReviews.net

“One of science fiction’s most influential and prolific writers . . . Anderson’s appetite for colossal themes was remarkable, even by the grandiloquent standards of his trade.” —The Daily Telegraph

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00PI181J8
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (December 30, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 30, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3662 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 156 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,117,651 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,510 in Hard Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #5,419 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)
- #6,140 in First Contact Science Fiction eBooks

Customer Reviews:
4.0 88 ratings

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Poul Anderson

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"Poul Anderson (1926-2001) grew up bilingual in a Danish American family. After discovering science fiction fandom and earning a physics degree at the University of Minnesota, he found writing science fiction more satisfactory. Admired for his ""hard"" science fiction, mysteries, historical novels, and ""fantasy with rivets,"" he also excelled in humor. He was the guest of honor at the 1959 World Science Fiction Convention and at many similar events, including the 1998 Contact Japan 3 and the 1999 Strannik Conference in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Besides winning the Hugo and Nebula Awards, he has received the Gandalf, Seiun, and Strannik, or ""Wanderer,"" Awards. A founder of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, he became a Grand Master, and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

In 1952 he met Karen Kruse; they married in Berkeley, California, where their daughter, Astrid, was born, and they later lived in Orinda, California. Astrid and her husband, science fiction author Greg Bear, now live with their family outside Seattle."

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4 out of 5

88 global ratings

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Michael G Kurilla

Stranded in space around a dead star

Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2018

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Poul Anderson's The Enemy Stars is a bit of a rarity in 1950's sci-fi in that it combines several novel sci-fi concepts along with a moderate degree of character background and development. Four men of very different backgrounds are selected for a special mission to explore a dead star. Two of the men are from the outer colonies that are smoldering with revolt, while the two from Earth comprise very different classes. After their ship becomes disabled and unable to communicate their situation, they must work together to make it home. Each in their own way, makes (or tries to make) the ultimate sacrifice. At the same time, back on Earth, an old man with his daughter-in-law offer contrasting views on the nature of exploration.

Anderson's tale is unique in the focus on character development as each crew member goes through introspective growth. At the same time, Anderson's science is first rate, compelling, and easily merged into the story without overwhelming the overall flow. Finally the little twist at the end with the aliens was recognition of the unexpected outcome that can arise when pushing the envelop.

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Indiana Reviewer

I thought I had read all of Poul Anderson's novels

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2011

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This one was never in our public library, and since it was written in 1958, it was probably out of print in the paperback version when I started reading science fiction.

I learned of its existence recently when I was reading a list of what Anderson regarded as his 5 best books. I knew the other four were wonderful, so it stood to reason a fifth one which I had never heard of was worth tracking down.

Perhaps the reason this book wasn't more popular is on account of how the author began by introducing four very interesting characters as the crew of the Southern Cross, but then went on to put them all into a nearly impossible situation. The jacket of the hardcover version broadly hints that some of crewmen wouldn't be returning home, so my mood was quite downbeat at the beginning of this small book.

All the dreaded tragedies do eventually happen, but the theme of the book is that the heroism of all concerned made the sacrifices worthwhile.

For me it's a keeper.

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Jamie

A quick read, but it doesn't draw you in.

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2020

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The Enemy Stars (Kindle Edition) by Poul Anderson

A quick read, but it doesn't draw you in.

Not sure why, but this read was pretty much "meh" for me. Maybe it was the flat characters that never seemed human enough. Maybe it was the technology as described for getting to and from the star they were researching. That also didn't hold up. Perhaps it was the meandering plot that pretty much just went from here to there, but so what? Moving on.

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Chris

Minamlistic and bleak early Anderson still shines

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2014

Four crewmen on an exploratory spaceship hundreds of lightyears from Earth find themselves in peril when the ship is heavily damaged. Without hope for rescue, it's up to them to make the repairs needed in order to return to Earth, though the ship's food stocks are running pretty low. Isolation and starvation take their toll, but the crew soldier on, fueled by hope and determination.

The novel is pretty bleak for a '50s SF story about overcoming obstacles through feats of engineering, and it has an ideal blend of hard science and humanist themes. It may sound like a space opera, but the story is really about how the four crew cope with the greater situation at hand. Not Anderson's best, but still a very good read. If you don't mind a somewhat stark read, look into it.

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D. F. Martin

Well crafted tale...

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2017

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Deft prose with a look into the souls of hardened men. The female character stands in sharp relief to the quiet men of the story. Both genders speak truth but the reader must decide which is correct, or none at all.

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David Brockert

sad story of four men

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2008

"The Enemy Stars" by Poul Anderson, © 1958, new material © 1979.

This is a sad story of four men who try to study the stars from up close. They are recruited and sent, by way of matter transfer, to a ship near the star. They make some choices and have to adapt and persevere because the choices put them in danger.
The fellows are a disparate lot, one rich, one poor, but educated, one ornery and mad, and one sad and reconciled to his fate. These four come together and find out how to live and work together, which is just the first challenge they have.
They try to approach the dead star they are studying and it damages the ship. They try to fix it and lose the first man. They try something else that sort of works and crash land on a planet, losing the second person. The one fellow says the sea does not forgive mistakes and it is the same out here. This could be a simile for life in general.

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Johnsz

Great Book

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2016

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I've always loved this book. I also love Poul Anderson who I consider one of the all time greatest Science Fiction writers!

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mcewin

It's not a BEM carrying a ravaged female

Reviewed in Canada on June 18, 2017

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I bougt this ppk many years ago off a book rack in Sequoia National Park, along with his Start Fox. In both cases I was intrigued by the cover (not the one shown here), and a reading of the first page or so. Never finished either, and I think I must have sold both when I left university. Having come across Star Fox at the local shop, read it & loved it as 'hard' scifi in the Heinlein tradition, I was anxious to see if Enemy Stars came up to the same standard. It does, and the interplay of real human personalities faced with a situation to be met by application of technology is in the best tradition of the genre. I've added several other Poul Anderson novels to my reading, and everyone is a winner.

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