Big Planet

Jack Vance

1952

Big Planet is outside the jurisdiction of Earth and so became the home of a multitude of different people who all had their own ideas of how to live. However, anarchy is the rule in all put the most local of places and many people would like to see things change.

One such person is Charley Lysidder, the Bajarnum of Beaujolais. With his off-world contacts he intends to unite Big Planet under the jackboots of his soldiers armed with Terran technologies bought with the bodies of the youth of the planet.

Now Earth has to take notice as more and more people complain about what's going on but the Bajarnum has taken precautions and the inner secrets of Terra have been bought by his agents. The Terran agents all disappeared into the vast depths of Big Planet, never to be seen again!

The mission led by Claude Glystra was determined to be different. But things get off to a bad start when their starship is sabotaged as it starts it's landing. Most of the Commission survived the crash, but it's soon apparent that they have an enormous task on their hands; the Earth Enclave is 40,000 miles away and no-one has any idea of what they face. The forces of the Bajarnum certainly, but unexpected adversaries in their own ranks also cause confusion and doubt.

As the miles behind mount up but the ones in front don't seem to be going down, the spirits of the Commission weaken as members fall victim to Big Planet or lose their will to continue.

Can even Glystra's willpower get the Commission to it's destination, or will this Commission be lost in the wilds as well?

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This is another entry in the Gollancz Classic Science Fiction series

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