Ace Books, 1980. Mass market paperback original novel. Post-apocalyptic science fiction. There were three printings with identical cover design: 1980, 1983, and 1986.

The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Anvil, Christopher

Science Fiction

Ace Books, 1980. Mass market paperback original novel. Post-apocalyptic science fiction.

Pandora's planet

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Interstellar Patrol

A new omnibus anthology chronicles the adventures of a starship crew trapped on a planet populated by battling gangs, surviving by pretending to be the Royal Legions from a distant world pursuing a powerful villain hiding on the planet, but their plans go awry when the real Royal flagship shows up. Original.

Baen

The crew of the ship were marooned on a planet with no ship repair facilities, where the well-meaning schemes of social engineers had created a nightmare of battling gangs. They had their own invention with them-an emotional amplifier, which could cause anyone to feel a heightened emotion, but this wasn't useful at first. If they heightened the locals' sense of pride, they took pride in becoming better criminals. So they pretended to be the Royal Legions, sent by a distant star kingdom in pursuit of an all-powerful villain who was hiding on the planet. Things were going better than they could have hoped, and the planet was rapidly becoming civilized . . . and then the real Royal flagship showed up. They thought they were doomed-but instead they were told they had shown just the type of initiative and intelligence that the new arrivals were looking for. So they were inducted into the Interstellar Patrol. And that was just the beginning. . . .

Vaughan Roberts and his two companions had been trapped on a crime-ridden, chaotic planet until they bamboozled the population with a gigantic hoax-which brought them to the attention of the Interstellar Patrol, who were looking for a few good con men, capable of ingenious improvisation and adept at playing dirty tricks on the bad guys. The new recruits acquited themselves admirably, so they naturally were given more tough nuts to crack, including:ú Flummoxing an alien empire which has taken a number of human prisoners as reconnaisance for an invasion. This has a personal aspect, since the prisoners are from the planet which Roberts tricked into reforming. . . .ú Stopping a plan by not-so-good Samaritans who are pretending to cure a planetary plague-which they introduced to the planet-with a "miracle" drug which creates an addiction to the same drug, which the schemers will be glad to continue supplying for ever-increasing sums . . .ú Not only rescuing some Patrol personnel taken hostage by fanatics who plan to execute them one at a time until their leader is released, but convincing other fanatics throughout the galaxy that the consequences of threatening anyone in the Patrol are too terrible even to think about. . . .ú Making sure that the rightful heir to a planet's throne escapes from captivity and overthrows the usurper. This time there's a complication: Roberts may be falling for the ruler's beautiful sister. . . . And much more. . . .

Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity

A collection of short novels and stories recounts the saga of the human war with the Outs, alien creatures possessing unique mental powers that they use to make humans see illusions and force them to obey them, after the humans discover and learn how to exploit their weakness.

The Trouble with Aliens

United States

A new omnibus anthology continues the adventures of a starship crew trapped on a planet populated by battling gangs, as they take on a series of difficult and dangerous assignments as members of the Interstellar Patrol, in a volume that contains the novel Warlord's World, along with other short novels and stories from the same series. Reprint.

Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity (Federation of Man)

Humans—there’s no understanding them, and no dealing with them either. Or even their planet. Pity the poor aliens, whose shape-changing ability should let them take over the planet Earth before the humans even know they’re there—if it weren’t for all that omnipresent pollution. Or consider another set of invaders, from a planet where the weather is always mild and the changing of the seasons is hardly noticeable. They land in force and their weapons are more powerful than those of the primitive humans—but they’ve never before had to deal with below-zero temperatures, flash floods or tornados—not to mention volcanoes. Then there were the aliens who noticed how belligerent humans were, and gave them the “gift” of TV-like devices which would show anything anywhere on Earth, which was sure to lead to war. Imagine how surprised the aliens were when the humans took the gadgets apart, improved them, and started spying on everything the aliens were up to, all over the galaxy. Humans don’t make sense, they don’t fight fair, and they’re making aliens throughout interstellar space think seriously about pulling up stakes and moving to another galaxy!

The Trouble with Humans (5) (Complete Christopher Anvil)

1. The trade paperback edition of Anvil's Interstellar Patrol (04/03), was a Locus best seller, and has a sell through of 72% from April 2003 to date. 2. Like Keith Laumer, Anvil has a rare ability to combine fast-moving adventure with humor, deftly skewering the bureaucratic mind, whether human or alien. 3. Anyone who likes sardonic space adventure with a dash of satire will enjoy Christopher Anvil, such as readers of Eric Flint, Lois McMaster Bujold and Keith Laumer. 4. New York Times best-selling author David Weber calls Anvil's SF "a delightful pleasure," and adds, "I'm delighted that someone is making Christopher Anvil's work available once again...I've always loved Anvil's , ah, peculiar sense of humor." 5. Advertising in Locus, more Humans on the space frontiers may have enough problems with befuddled bureaucrats, rules that don’t fit the realities of very dangerous situations, and general rear-echelon incompetence without bringing in unfriendly aliens, but it’s that kind of universe. On the other hand, as master satirist Christopher Anvil makes clear, the aliens are anything but omnipotent and have plenty of problems of their own. Here for the first time the stories and short novels of the war with the Outs are collected into a novel-length chronicle. The Outs had mental powers they could use to make humans see illusions and convince them to change sides. Obviously, they were unbeatable—until some troublesome humans found their Achille’s heel. These and other stories of human/alien conflict fill this large volume by the master of wryly sardonic science fiction adventure.

The Trouble with Aliens (4) (Complete Christopher Anvil)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Anvil, Christopher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Anvil, Christopher

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Anvil, Christopher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun

The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun

Pandora's planet

Interstellar Patrol

Interstellar Patrol

Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity

The Trouble with Aliens

Interstellar Patrol II: The Federation of Humanity (Federation of Man)

The Trouble with Humans (5) (Complete Christopher Anvil)

The Trouble with Aliens (4) (Complete Christopher Anvil)