Through-out the course of this book I was thinking of giving it 2 stars. Till the last 20 pages are so. That so rarely happens in bookreading, that the end somehow pulls it all together? That's what we all hope for when reading a book that drags, we stick with it, and so often we are never rewarded for our readers diligence.Greedy resource seeking humans land on another planet, and get to work in leaching all the natural resources from it. The planet they land on, is comparable to a Rainforest, there are different levels, each with their own variety of predators. Most of the "human" life there has never been to the higher or lower levels, and if they have, so few have come back alive that they avoid them.Except Born, he's a little mad and reckless, and tends to travel farther from the Home tree and deeper into the levels then the others. Along with is trusty furcot, a sentient, six legged, creature that has a symbiotic relationship with a human (all have one), Born finds a destroyed skimmer, along with two living inhabitants.He takes them back to his Home tree, and they learn about the local flora/fauna as it repeatedly tries to kill them. Once at the Home tree they make their plans to return to their own central spaceship. Born and his alpha Male competition Losting go along with him.It's a familiar premise, high tech humans who are helpless in the wild, but still manage to deride their "primitive" native guides, are fragile, needy, and argumentative. The guides are not very communicative, which makes their actions all the more primitive seeming. Along with a manipulative greedy company, that tries the "we'll trade you these cheap beads for your land and livehood" trick on said uncivilized humans.And at this point, the unexpected happens. This movie is reminiscent of Avatar, but instead of banding together animals and natives into an all out war, with wooden spears against automatic riffles and lasers. Born smiles, nods, and.....And it is awesome, and got this book to 3 stars.
I really enjoyed this book. The story follows a native named Born. Born and his people live on a world that is overrun with vegetation and crazy predators and animals. Always feeling like an outsider, Born struggles to find acceptance, respect, and even admiration among his people. After seeing a 'blue demon' crashing from the sky, Born explores the object and saves two humans from a flying carnivore. The plot line continues as Born brings the humans back to his 'Home Tree' and then journeys to take them to their station. This book has some clear similarities with the movie 'Avatar' including a 'Home Tree', native humanoids with symbiotic relationships with the surrounding vegetation, and a human corporation bent on destroying the planet at all costs for money. I enjoyed the writer's style. The language was great and he gave just enough details so that I could understand the plot and envision the planet and its inhabitants but not too much to bore me. The plot line was fairly predictable but the implementation was always surprising. I would recommend it to any sci-fi fans.
What do You think about Midworld (1983)?
Awesome book! I first read "Alien" before I saw the movie because I wanted to desensitize myself for what I heard was in it. Then I came across "Midworld." Now I love novels that surprise me with a revelation that sneaks up on the reader even though the clues were there. "The Mote In God's Eye" did that, as I related when I reviewed that book.This one delivered a SURPRISE (all caps here). I won't spoil it for anyone who has not read it.More recently, I saw the movie "Avatar" and realized that Mr. Foster was robbed! The parallels between "Avatar" and "Midworld" are many and obvious. Anyone who reads or has read the book will, I think, be in the same camp.
—Kathryn Flatt
3.5 to 4.0 stars. Another quality science fiction novel by Alan Dean Foster. This story (Book 1 of the Humanx Commonwealth series) takes place on an unnamed world where descendants of a earlier colony ship have evolved into a very symbiotic relationship with the world around them and there existence is disrupted by another ship's arrival to exploit the planet for commercial gain. I thought the story was very well written, fast-paced and I thought the world-building was superb. A quality SF story and one I recommend.SIDE NOTE: If the plot sounds a lot like the movie Avatar, it is because there are some "striking" similarities. First, the world is almost completely jungle with violent plant and animal life. Second, the inhabitants worship the jungle/planet. Third, the arrival of human commercial interest to exploit the planet. There is also at least 4, 5 and 6 but I do not want to give away any spoilers.
—Stephen
Este livro é como um cobertor verde fagocitando o leitor.Um planeta-floresta cercado de vegetação tão densa que é dividido em cinco camadas, os humanos vivendo na terceira, fugindo das criaturas aladas do céu e protegidos dos pântanos taciturnos da última camada.Estes "humanos" são seres que evoluíram na primeira expedição ao planeta, vivendo em uma harmonia tão extrema com a natureza que acabam formando uma forma de simbiose com o verde.Outro ponto interessante são os "furcots", e a forma que o autor demonstra como a convivência de animais com humanos não deveria ser Dono-Pet, mas tão somente criaturas de espécies diferentes dividindo uma mesma casa.Não esperava muito deste livro antigo de sci-fi, me surpreendeu 200%, incrível ser tão pouco comentado dentre os apreciadores do gênero.Muitos o comparam com o filme "Avatar", existem algumas similaridades, mas nada que indique qualquer forma de plágio.Recomendado para amantes dos animais e da natureza, com pitadas de jetpacks.
—Geison Pulga
