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'''''Deathworld''''' (first novel published in 1960) is a series of three novels and a short story by the American science fiction author HarryHarrison. The novels are set in the distant future. The hero, Jason [=dinAlt=], is a ProfessionalGambler who possesses erratic PsychicPowers which he uses to cheat at casinos (he justifies that the casinos stack the odds in their favor anyway, he's just making it fair). While on a gambling trip to the casino on the planet Cassylia, he is approached by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who is the ambassador and de-facto leader of colonists on planet Pyrrus). Kerk wants Jason to turn a large sum of money (27 million credits) into an immense sum (3 billion credits) by gambling at the government-run casino. Using his weak MindOverMatter abilities, he is able to turn the dice just the right way and win over 3 billion credits. Kerk and Jason manage to get off the planet just in time, despite the officials' efforts to take back the money. Being intrigued by Kerk's description of his homeplanet as the [[{{Deathworld}} deadliest world ever colonized]], Jason decides to follow Kerk.
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'''''Deathworld''''' (first novel published in 1960) is a series of three novels and a short story by the American science fiction author HarryHarrison. The novels are set in the distant future. The hero, Jason [=dinAlt=], is a ProfessionalGambler who possesses erratic PsychicPowers which he uses to cheat at casinos (he justifies that the casinos stack the odds in their favor anyway, he's just making it fair). While on a gambling trip to the casino on the planet Cassylia, he is approached by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who is the ambassador and de-facto leader of colonists on planet Pyrrus). Kerk wants Jason to turn a large sum of money (27 million credits) into an immense sum (3 billion credits) by gambling at the government-run casino. Using his weak MindOverMatter abilities, he is able to turn the dice just the right way and win over 3 billion credits. Kerk and Jason manage to get off the planet just in time, despite the officials' efforts to take back the money. Being intrigued by Kerk's description of his homeplanet as the [[{{Deathworld}} deadliest world ever colonized]], Jason decides to follow Kerk.
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'''''Deathworld''''' (first novel published in 1960) is a series of three novels and a short story by the American science fiction author HarryHarrison. The novels are set in the distant future. The hero, Jason [=dinAlt=], is a ProfessionalGambler who possesses erratic PsychicPowers which he uses to cheat at casinos (he justifies that the casinos stack the odds in their favor anyway, he's just making it fair). While on a gambling trip to the casino on the planet Cassylia, he is approached by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who is the ambassador and de-facto leader of colonists on planet Pyrrus). Kerk wants Jason to turn a large sum of money (27 million credits) into an immense sum by gambling at the government-run casino. Using his weak MindOverMatter abilities, he is able to turn the dice just the right way and win over 3 billion credits. Kerk and Jason manage to get off the planet just in time, despite the officials' efforts to take back the money. Being intrigued by Kerk's description of his homeplanet as the [[{{Deathworld}} deadliest world ever colonized]], Jason decides to follow Kerk.
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'''''Deathworld''''' (first novel published in 1960) is a series of three novels and a short story by the American science fiction author HarryHarrison. The novels are set in the distant future. The hero, Jason [=dinAlt=], is a ProfessionalGambler who possesses erratic PsychicPowers which he uses to cheat at casinos (he justifies that the casinos stack the odds in their favor anyway, he's just making it fair). While on a gambling trip to the casino on the planet Cassylia, he is approached by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who is the ambassador and de-facto leader of colonists on planet Pyrrus). Kerk wants Jason to turn a large sum of money (27 million credits) into an immense sum (3 billion credits) by gambling at the government-run casino. Using his weak MindOverMatter abilities, he is able to turn the dice just the right way and win over 3 billion credits. Kerk and Jason manage to get off the planet just in time, despite the officials' efforts to take back the money. Being intrigued by Kerk's description of his homeplanet as the [[{{Deathworld}} deadliest world ever colonized]], Jason decides to follow Kerk.
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'''''Deathworld''''' (first novel published in 1960) is a series of three novels and a short story by the American science fiction author HarryHarrison. The novels are set in the distant future. The hero, Jason [=dinAlt=], is a professional gambler who possesses erratic PsychicPowers which he uses to cheat at casinos (he justifies that the casinos stack the odds in their favor anyway, he's just making it fair). While on a gambling trip to the casino on the planet Cassylia, he is approached by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who is the ambassador and de-factor leader of colonists on planet Pyrrus). Kerk wants Jason to turn a large sum of money (27 million credits) into an immense sum by gambling at the government-run casino. Using his weak MindOverMatter abilities, he is able to turn the dice just the right way and win over 3 billion credits. Kerk and Jason manage to get off the planet just in time, despite the officials' efforts to take back the money. Being intrigued by Kerk's description of his homeplanet as the [[{{Deathworld}} deadliest world ever colonized]], Jason decides to follow Kerk.
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'''''Deathworld''''' (first novel published in 1960) is a series of three novels and a short story by the American science fiction author HarryHarrison. The novels are set in the distant future. The hero, Jason [=dinAlt=], is a professional gambler ProfessionalGambler who possesses erratic PsychicPowers which he uses to cheat at casinos (he justifies that the casinos stack the odds in their favor anyway, he's just making it fair). While on a gambling trip to the casino on the planet Cassylia, he is approached by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who is the ambassador and de-factor de-facto leader of colonists on planet Pyrrus). Kerk wants Jason to turn a large sum of money (27 million credits) into an immense sum by gambling at the government-run casino. Using his weak MindOverMatter abilities, he is able to turn the dice just the right way and win over 3 billion credits. Kerk and Jason manage to get off the planet just in time, despite the officials' efforts to take back the money. Being intrigued by Kerk's description of his homeplanet as the [[{{Deathworld}} deadliest world ever colonized]], Jason decides to follow Kerk.
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[[quoteright:220:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-Deathworld_1989.jpg]]
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from Harry Harrison
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* SelfDestructMechanism: In ''The Mothballed Spaceship'', the protagonists are trying to reactivate a derelict battleship that has been set to self-destruct to prevent it falling into the hands of anyone who doesn't have the correct codeword. Just in time they discover what the codeword is; [[ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish a simple five-letter word]] in [[UsefulNotes/EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage Esperanto]] -- "Haltu" or, "Stop".
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from Harry Harrison
* AntiAdvice: At the end of ''Deathworld 2'', Jason tells former barbarian Ijale that her life in civilization will go reasonably well as long as she sticks with Mikah, listens carefully to what he tells her and then does the exact opposite.
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* {{Deathworld}}: Possibly the TropeNamer, as the novel predates ''{{Dune}}''.
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* {{Deathworld}}: Possibly DeathWorld: The planet Pyrrus has very harsh environmental characteristics: twice earth gravity, very high tectonic activity, a 42° axial tilt, and the TropeNamer, as occasional 30-meter tides. Life could only survive by cooperating temporarily during crises, so every single living thing (plant, animal, microbe...) is psychic. Not just that, but the novel predates ''{{Dune}}''.high radioactivity causes them to mutate and evolve very rapidly. When humanity settles on the planet, they accidentally piss off the local wildlife during an earthquake, causing every living thing to treat humanity as a continuous "natural disaster", driven by one mutual psychic mandate: "KILL THE ENEMY!". By the start of the story, the escalating war has remade everything into dedicated living war machines (tree roots are now venom fanged CombatTentacles, etc.).
* EscapePod: In ''Deathworld'', Jason runs from {{Heavyworlder}} Kerk who, in the grip of irrational rage, is about to ''literally'' tear him apart unless he gets off the ship. The escape pod he uses to get away is designed to be idiot proof: initially it declines to do anything but the safest, gentlest maneuvers, making long-term survival against the ship's guns problematical.
* EscapePod: In ''Deathworld'', Jason runs from {{Heavyworlder}} Kerk who, in the grip of irrational rage, is about to ''literally'' tear him apart unless he gets off the ship. The escape pod he uses to get away is designed to be idiot proof: initially it declines to do anything but the safest, gentlest maneuvers, making long-term survival against the ship's guns problematical.
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* GardenOfEvil: In ''Deathworld'', due to a misunderstanding, the very peculiar wildlife on the planet has altered itself to wage war against humanity, changing to the point where even every blade of grass has a venomous claw dangling from it.
* GeniusLoci: In the novel ''Deathworld'', the planet Pyrrus has very harsh environmental characteristics; life could only survive by cooperating temporarily during crises, so every single living thing (plant, animal, microbe...) is psychic and part of a planet-wide group mind.
* GeniusLoci: In the novel ''Deathworld'', the planet Pyrrus has very harsh environmental characteristics; life could only survive by cooperating temporarily during crises, so every single living thing (plant, animal, microbe...) is psychic and part of a planet-wide group mind.
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* LostColony: Tens of thousands of worlds were settled during the days of the [[TheEmpire Old Empire]]. After its collapse, many were forgotten and have degraded to barbarism. Some were re-discovered since then. Two such worlds are the settings of the second the third novels.
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* YouNoTakeCandle: The barbarian slavers and slaves in the second novel talk in degraded Esperanto, which gets translated for the readers in this manner. After killing Ch'aka and taking his place, he meets a more educated man but tries to maintain the ruse. The man quickly tells him to drop the act and just talk normally.
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* WeWillUseCreditsInTheFuture
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* WeWillUseCreditsInTheFutureWeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture
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* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: In the second novel, Jason crash-lands on a regressed LostColony and is enslaved by a barbarian named Chaka who literally keeps all his slaves on a leash. He kills Chaka at night and tells all the slaves they're free. The slaves calmly look at him and tell him something like "We serve you now, Chaka". So not only does he inherit Chaka's slaves and territory but also his name.
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* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: In the second novel, Jason crash-lands on a regressed LostColony and is enslaved by a barbarian named Chaka Ch'aka who literally keeps all his slaves on a leash. He kills Chaka at night Ch'aka and tells all the slaves they're free. The slaves calmly look at him and tell him something like "We serve you now, Chaka". Ch'aka". So not only does he inherit Chaka's Ch'aka's slaves and territory but also his name.
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** Interestingly, the legality and morality of some of the charges against Jason doesn't bother Mikah. It also bothers him little that Jason was tried and sentenced (to death, in some cases) in absentia. Mikah's main goal is to further the political agenda of the Truth Party.
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''Deathworld 2'' (AKA ''The Ethical Engineer'', 1964) has Jason, who has become a full-fledged Pyrran, be abducted by a self-righteous man who wants to bring him to justice for his various crimes (apparently, gambling is a crime for him). Jason forces a crash-landing on a LostColony, where humans have regressed to barbarism in some areas and Medieval city-states in others. What remains of technology has been split up among the various clans, each one guarding its knowledge from the others, resulting in MedievalStasis. Jason uses his knowledge to trade for protection from one of the clans. He then finds another clan that has knowledge of electricity and convinces its rules to start a campaign to conquer the others in order to bring all technology together, hopefully re-starting progress. He also creates a primitive radio-transmitter in order to signal any passing ship. By the end of the novel, Jason is stabbed by a sword and is dying from infection. Meta arrives on the Pyrran ship after tracking the "ethical engineer"'s flight path and detecting Jason's signal. She uses advanced medicine to save him. Jason, his captor, and the local woman Jason gets close to (much to Meta's chagrin) leave aboard Meta's ship. The "engineer" once again attempts to force Jason to come with him. Realizing there's no other way, Jason kills him.
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''Deathworld 2'' (AKA ''The Ethical Engineer'', 1964) has Jason, who has become a full-fledged Pyrran, be abducted by a self-righteous man named Mikah Samon who wants to bring him to justice for his various crimes (apparently, gambling is a crime for him). Jason forces a crash-landing on a LostColony, where humans have regressed to barbarism in some areas and Medieval city-states in others. What remains of technology has been split up among the various clans, each one guarding its knowledge from the others, resulting in MedievalStasis. Jason uses his knowledge to trade for protection from one of the clans. He then finds another clan that has knowledge of electricity and convinces its rules to start a campaign to conquer the others in order to bring all technology together, hopefully re-starting progress. He also creates a primitive radio-transmitter in order to signal any passing ship. By the end of the novel, Jason is stabbed by a sword and is dying from infection. Meta arrives on the Pyrran ship after tracking the "ethical engineer"'s Mikah's flight path and detecting Jason's signal. She uses advanced medicine to save him. Jason, his captor, and the local woman Jason gets close to (much to Meta's chagrin) leave aboard Meta's ship. The "engineer" Mikah once again attempts to force Jason to come with him. Realizing there's no other way, Jason kills him.
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* HolierThanThou: The titular "ethical engineer" in the second novel abducts Jason from Pyrrus in order to bring him back to Cassylia to stand trial for his crimes and be executed (even though nothing Jason has done warrants capital punishment). It's not that the guy wants to punish Jason. It's just that the casino that Jason has won 3 million credits from has decided to make him a poster boy to show people that anyone can win at their casino. The guy hopes that by having a public trial and execution, the casino will not be able to get away with such behavior. Even while Jason saves his life numerous times, the guy keeps spouting moral rules and how fallen Jason is. In the end, [[spoiler:this gets the guy killed]].
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* HolierThanThou: The titular "ethical engineer" Mikah Samon in the second novel abducts Jason from Pyrrus in order to bring him back to Cassylia to stand trial for his crimes and be executed (even though nothing Jason has done warrants capital punishment).punishment, at least on Cassylia). It's not that the guy wants to punish Jason. It's just that the casino that Jason has won 3 million billion credits from has decided to make him a poster boy to show people that anyone can win at their casino. The guy hopes that by having a public trial and execution, the casino (and the government that supports it) will not be able to get away with such behavior. Even while Jason saves his life numerous times, the guy keeps spouting moral rules and how fallen Jason is. In the end, [[spoiler:this gets the guy Mikah killed]].
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* ImmortalityInducer: Dr. Theodore Solvitz has developed a serum that makes a person immortal. This is what has allowed him to survive for thousands of years. Riverd Bervick and the Special Corps have managed to obtain the formula and synthesize the serum. Those who choose to work for them are given the serum as an incentive. [[spoiler:Kerk]] becomes one of them. Solvitz has also synthesized an airborne version and uses it to make [[spoiler:Jason and Meta]] immortal, although, as it turns out, [[spoiler:Jason was already immortal by way of his real parents]]. ImmortalProcreationClause is not in effect, although the serum's effects are not transmitted to the offspring.
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* ImmortalityInducer: Dr. Theodore Solvitz has developed a serum that makes a person immortal. This is what has allowed him to survive for thousands of years. Riverd Bervick and the Special Corps have managed to obtain the formula and synthesize the serum. Those who choose to work for them are given the serum as an incentive. [[spoiler:Kerk]] becomes one of them.them, and [[spoiler:Rhes]] has been one for a while now. Solvitz has also synthesized an airborne version and uses it to make [[spoiler:Jason and Meta]] immortal, although, as it turns out, [[spoiler:Jason was already immortal by way of his real parents]]. ImmortalProcreationClause is not in effect, although the serum's effects are not transmitted to the offspring.
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'''''Deathworld''''' (first novel published in 1960) is a series of three novels and a short story by the American science fiction author HarryHarrison. The novels are set in the distant future. The hero, Jason [=dinAlt=], is a professional gambler who possesses erratic PsychicPowers which he uses to cheat at casinos (he justifies that the casinos stack the odds in their favor anyway, he's just making it fair). While on a gambling trip to the casino on the planet Cassylia, he is approached by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who is the ambassador and de-factor leader of colonists on planet Pyrrus). Kerk wants Jason to turn a large sum of money into an immense sum by gambling at the government-run casino. Using his weak MindOverMatter abilities, he is able to turn the dice just the right way and win over 3 million. Kerk and Jason manage to get off the planet just in time, despite the officials' efforts to take back the money. Being intrigued by Kerk's description of his homeplanet as the [[{{Deathworld}} deadliest world ever colonized]], Jason decides to follow Kerk.
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'''''Deathworld''''' (first novel published in 1960) is a series of three novels and a short story by the American science fiction author HarryHarrison. The novels are set in the distant future. The hero, Jason [=dinAlt=], is a professional gambler who possesses erratic PsychicPowers which he uses to cheat at casinos (he justifies that the casinos stack the odds in their favor anyway, he's just making it fair). While on a gambling trip to the casino on the planet Cassylia, he is approached by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who is the ambassador and de-factor leader of colonists on planet Pyrrus). Kerk wants Jason to turn a large sum of money (27 million credits) into an immense sum by gambling at the government-run casino. Using his weak MindOverMatter abilities, he is able to turn the dice just the right way and win over 3 million.billion credits. Kerk and Jason manage to get off the planet just in time, despite the officials' efforts to take back the money. Being intrigued by Kerk's description of his homeplanet as the [[{{Deathworld}} deadliest world ever colonized]], Jason decides to follow Kerk.
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* WeWillUseCreditsInTheFuture
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** Kerk's grubber counterpart also fits the part.
* BadassGrandpa: Kerk is one of the oldest Pyrrans in the world. Like all Pyrrans, he is a crack shot and can easily kill anyone in hand-to-hand combat. The leader of the grubbers is also this trope. Neither of them are stated to be actual grandfathers, as all of Kerk's children are dead.
* BadassGrandpa: Kerk is one of the oldest Pyrrans in the world. Like all Pyrrans, he is a crack shot and can easily kill anyone in hand-to-hand combat. The leader of the grubbers is also this trope. Neither of them are stated to be actual grandfathers, as all of Kerk's children are dead.
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** Rhes, Kerk's grubber counterpart counterpart, also fits the part.
* BadassGrandpa: Kerk is one of the oldest Pyrrans in the world. Like all Pyrrans, he is a crack shot and can easily kill anyone in hand-to-hand combat.The Rhes, the leader of the grubbers grubbers, is also this trope. Neither of them are stated to be actual grandfathers, as all of Kerk's children are dead.
* BadassGrandpa: Kerk is one of the oldest Pyrrans in the world. Like all Pyrrans, he is a crack shot and can easily kill anyone in hand-to-hand combat.
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* AbsentAliens: While Jason suspects that the native life on Pyrrus is following psychic commands of intelligent beings, this turns out to be not the case. No actual aliens are mentioned in the original series. Averted in the unofficial sequels.
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** Also, psi-transmitters and psi-receivers are used for instantaneous communication over any distance. Only a few things are known to block psi-signals.
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* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: The code to deactivate the mothballed battleship's defense systems in the short story turns out to be "haltu" (Esperanto for "stop").
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* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Kerk Pyrrus, the leader of the city-dwelling Pyrrans is definitely the biggest and strongest of them. Having been offworld, he also serves as the ambassador of Pyrrus and has learned to keep his temper in check (most of the time). At the end of the third novel, he personally challenges Temujin (who himself fits this trope) to a duel and kills him with his bare hands.
** When stressed, Kerk tends to play with a metal pipe. Said playing involves bending and unbending it with ease.
** Kerk's grubber counterpart also fits the part.
* BadassGrandpa: Kerk is one of the oldest Pyrrans in the world. Like all Pyrrans, he is a crack shot and can easily kill anyone in hand-to-hand combat. The leader of the grubbers is also this trope. Neither of them are stated to be actual grandfathers, as all of Kerk's children are dead.
** When stressed, Kerk tends to play with a metal pipe. Said playing involves bending and unbending it with ease.
** Kerk's grubber counterpart also fits the part.
* BadassGrandpa: Kerk is one of the oldest Pyrrans in the world. Like all Pyrrans, he is a crack shot and can easily kill anyone in hand-to-hand combat. The leader of the grubbers is also this trope. Neither of them are stated to be actual grandfathers, as all of Kerk's children are dead.
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* ProfessionalGambler: Jason is this at the start of the first novel but stops after moving to Pyrrus. He is extremely successful due to his weak MindOverMatter powers, allowing him to adjust the path of thrown dice and, occasionally, even affect the roulette wheel. He also knows to quit while he's ahead, as most casinos don't look too kindly at a player who is on a big winning streak. This is why he is approached by Kerk Pyrrus in the first place.
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Pyrrus's gravity is double that of normal, its extreme axial tilt results in severe weather. It's also very tectonically active, with frequent volcanic erruptions and earthquakes. Two Earth-sized moons create enormous tides (sometimes even flooding active volcanoes, which makes the weather even worse). Many stars in the vicinity have gone supernova, and many planets are too radioactive to settle. Pyrrus is the only planet only ''mildly'' radioactive, and the Pyrrans' main export is radioactive ore.
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Pyrrus's gravity is double that of normal, its extreme axial tilt results in severe weather. It's also very tectonically active, with frequent volcanic erruptions and earthquakes. Two Earth-sized large moons create enormous tides (sometimes even flooding active volcanoes, which makes the weather even worse). Many stars in the vicinity have gone supernova, and many planets are too radioactive to settle. Pyrrus is the only planet only ''mildly'' radioactive, and the Pyrrans' main export is radioactive ore.
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* BlackBox: The LostColony humans in the second novel have a guild-like clan structure, where each clan jealously guards the secret of a specific technology or science. They barely understand how it all works and only maintain and do things by rote. Jason decides to break the status quo and re-introduce progress. At first, he starts helping the clan responsible for obtaining crude oil and producing petroleum by taking one of the primitive automobiles made by a neighboring clan and carefully taking it apart to learn how it runs. As told by Jason, no one in the galaxy at large actually knows how an internal combustion engine works, as nobody has used them for millennia. After bypassing the traps set by the car-manufacturing clan, he figures out how the engine runs and makes his own copy. He later joins the electricity-making clan and helps them conquer the others, introducing a series of inventions (e.g. an electric stove, a primitive radio-transmitter, a steam catapult).
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* HolierThanThou: The titular "ethical engineer" in the second novel abducts Jason from Pyrrus in order to bring him back to Cassylia to stand trial for his crimes and be executed (even though nothing Jason has done warrants capital punishment). It's not that the guy wants to punish Jason. It's just that the casino that Jason has won 3 million credits from has decided to make him a poster boy to show people that anyone can win at their casino. The guy hopes that by having a public trial and execution, the casino will not be able to get away with such behavior. Even while Jason saves his life numerous times, the guy keeps spouting moral rules and how fallen Jason is. In the end, [[spoiler:this gets the guy killed]].
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* NeckSnap: Being {{Heavy Worlder}}s, the Pyrrans are strong enough to easily snap an off-worlder's neck, not to mention other bones. In the first book, a security guard at the casino is about to grab Jason for having a lucky streak (although Jason is using MindOverMatter to load the dice). Kerk calmly walks up through the crowd and snaps the guard's hand reaching for the gun like a twig.
* PapaWolf: After Kerk's only surviving son makes a HeroicSacrifice to save Jason (who was told to stay inside) during a breach of the Perimeter, Kerk nearly kills Jason then and there, giving him one chance to get off the planet before strangling him. Naturally, Jason stays.
* PapaWolf: After Kerk's only surviving son makes a HeroicSacrifice to save Jason (who was told to stay inside) during a breach of the Perimeter, Kerk nearly kills Jason then and there, giving him one chance to get off the planet before strangling him. Naturally, Jason stays.
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* WanderingMinstrel: Jason pretends to be one on Felicity in order to infiltrate the nomads. This also allows him to study the local customs and the reasons for their hatred for permanent settlements.
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* StarfishAliens: The aliens from the sixth novel are very different from humans and feel right at home in the molten core of a planet.
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* AttackAttackAttack: All native lifeforms on Pyrrus are dedicated to destroying humans (specifically, those living in the city), throwing themselves at them without regard for personal safety.
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* ClingyJealousGirl: "jealous", yes; "clingy", no. Jason is the one who pursues Meta, and she's initially reluctant to resume their romance on Pyrrus. Once she does, though, she warns him that she'll shoot down any woman she catches with Jason.
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* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: A variation. Since all life on Pyrrus is psychic, anything that humans think has an effect on it. Since all junkmen train from childhood to kill native life and develop an intense hatred for it, that life does everything it can to eliminate them. By contrast, the grubbers try to live in harmony with Pyrran nature (as much as it is possible on this planet), only killing for food or in self-defense (with no malice in their thoughts), and are thus treated no differently than animals or plants.
* ClingyJealousGirl:"jealous", "Jealous", yes; "clingy", no. Jason is the one who pursues Meta, and she's initially reluctant to resume their romance on Pyrrus. Once she does, though, she warns him that she'll shoot down any woman she catches with Jason.
* ClingyJealousGirl:
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* SomeKindOfForcefield: Some Pyrran animals have started to evolve abilities mimicking technology. A survivor of the destruction of the Perimeter remembers how a friend of his shot a creature, only for the bullet to stop near the animal and shoot back, killing the shooter. This is a clear indicator that some other force other than nature has taken over the evolution of the Pyrran creatures.
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* CoolShip: ''Argo'', the recovered ancient Imperial battleship from the short story. After using it to defeat the armada, the Pyrrans get to keep it. Jason decides that the ship's original name ''Nedetruebla'' ("indestructible" in Esperanto) is too ridiculous.
* ImmortalityInducer: Dr. Theodore Solvitz has developed a serum that makes a person immortal. This is what has allowed him to survive for thousands of years. Riverd Bervick and the Special Corps have managed to obtain the formula and synthesize the serum. Those who choose to work for them are given the serum as an incentive. [[spoiler:Kerk]] becomes one of them. Solvitz has also synthesized an airborne version and uses it to make [[spoiler:Jason and Meta]] immortal, although, as it turns out, [[spoiler:Jason was already immortal by way of his real parents]].
* ImmortalityInducer: Dr. Theodore Solvitz has developed a serum that makes a person immortal. This is what has allowed him to survive for thousands of years. Riverd Bervick and the Special Corps have managed to obtain the formula and synthesize the serum. Those who choose to work for them are given the serum as an incentive. [[spoiler:Kerk]] becomes one of them. Solvitz has also synthesized an airborne version and uses it to make [[spoiler:Jason and Meta]] immortal, although, as it turns out, [[spoiler:Jason was already immortal by way of his real parents]].
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* CoolShip: ''Argo'', the recovered ancient Imperial battleship from the short story. After using it to defeat the armada, the Pyrrans get to keep it. Jason decides that the ship's original name ''Nedetruebla'' ("indestructible" in Esperanto) is too ridiculous.
ridiculous. Others are obtained later, mostly as prizes after defeating Henry Morgan's pirates. Even a few alien ships are obtained at several points. [[spoiler:Most of them, even the ''Argo'', are destroyed by the treacherous rulers in the sixth novel]].
* {{Crossover}}: With Harrison's own ''TheStainlessSteelRat'' series, although the connection is shaky. Both 'verses share a similar background: a vast [[TheEmpire Empire]] collapses, leaving many [[LostColony Lost Colonies]] and a single unifying language. Also, the Special Corps is present in both 'verses with Inskipp at the helm. However, a key difference involves the existence of Earth as a major power in the ''Deathworld'' 'verse and the fact that Earth has been destroyed millennia before the events of ''The Stainless Steel Rat''. While some fans try to reconcile that by claiming that ''Deathworld'' takes place earlier than ''The Stainless Steel Rat'', one novel in the latter series clearly states that Earth was destroyed by He long before the Martian colonists started spreading to the stars (to the point where most can't even recall the name of the planet, thinking it was called "Dirt" or something).
* ImmortalityInducer: Dr. Theodore Solvitz has developed a serum that makes a person immortal. This is what has allowed him to survive for thousands of years. Riverd Bervick and the Special Corps have managed to obtain the formula and synthesize the serum. Those who choose to work for them are given the serum as an incentive. [[spoiler:Kerk]] becomes one of them. Solvitz has also synthesized an airborne version and uses it to make [[spoiler:Jason and Meta]] immortal, although, as it turns out, [[spoiler:Jason was already immortal by way of his real parents]]. ImmortalProcreationClause is not in effect, although the serum's effects are not transmitted to the offspring.
* {{Crossover}}: With Harrison's own ''TheStainlessSteelRat'' series, although the connection is shaky. Both 'verses share a similar background: a vast [[TheEmpire Empire]] collapses, leaving many [[LostColony Lost Colonies]] and a single unifying language. Also, the Special Corps is present in both 'verses with Inskipp at the helm. However, a key difference involves the existence of Earth as a major power in the ''Deathworld'' 'verse and the fact that Earth has been destroyed millennia before the events of ''The Stainless Steel Rat''. While some fans try to reconcile that by claiming that ''Deathworld'' takes place earlier than ''The Stainless Steel Rat'', one novel in the latter series clearly states that Earth was destroyed by He long before the Martian colonists started spreading to the stars (to the point where most can't even recall the name of the planet, thinking it was called "Dirt" or something).
* ImmortalityInducer: Dr. Theodore Solvitz has developed a serum that makes a person immortal. This is what has allowed him to survive for thousands of years. Riverd Bervick and the Special Corps have managed to obtain the formula and synthesize the serum. Those who choose to work for them are given the serum as an incentive. [[spoiler:Kerk]] becomes one of them. Solvitz has also synthesized an airborne version and uses it to make [[spoiler:Jason and Meta]] immortal, although, as it turns out, [[spoiler:Jason was already immortal by way of his real parents]]. ImmortalProcreationClause is not in effect, although the serum's effects are not transmitted to the offspring.
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* MeaningfulName: After Jason is sent on a quest to recover the golden ship, he gets into his library and discovers clear parallels between this and the myth of the Argonauts. He immediately recognizes that his own name and the name of their ship come straight from the story. It becomes clear that someone is manipulating events to match the myth.
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The second part (called ''In the Path of the Gods'') involves Jason being called to his father's deathbed on him homeworld of Porgorstorsaand and being told that he was adopted. He is actually the prince of a planet deep in the Galactic Core, whose father was overthrown by his own brother. Trying to keep the infant prince alive, Jason's real father gave him up to a traveler who used strange interdimentional tunnels to go from world to world. That man was Jason's adopted father. Jason uses one of the tunnels to go to his real homeworld and finds his father alive and well. His uncle sends Jason on a quest to deliver him the golden skin of a strange ship from another planet in the Core before he releases Jason's father (DoesThatRemindYouOfAnything). Jason and the Pyrrans then embark on a journey mirroring the myth of the Argonauts (even the names of the hero and the ship match), which Jason soon realizes (and suspects that the MadScientist is responsible) and tries to change the outcome. They succeed and manage to rescue Jason's father. Putting Jason's father and uncle on the golden ship (which shields them and allows them to leave the planet), they take off, but the uncle then impales his head on a spike aboard the ship almost on command. Shortly after, another ship approaches, and the pilot introduces herself as Jason's real mother.
to:
The second part (called ''In the Path of the Gods'') involves Jason being called to his father's deathbed on him homeworld of Porgorstorsaand and being told that he was adopted. He is actually the prince of a planet deep in the Galactic Core, whose father was overthrown by his own brother. Trying to keep the infant prince alive, Jason's real father gave him up to a traveler who used strange interdimentional tunnels to go from world to world. That man was Jason's adopted father. Jason uses one of the tunnels to go to his real homeworld and finds his father alive and well. His uncle sends Jason on a quest to deliver him the golden skin of a strange ship from another planet in the Core before he releases Jason's father (DoesThatRemindYouOfAnything).(DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything). Jason and the Pyrrans then embark on a journey mirroring the myth of the Argonauts (even the names of the hero and the ship match), which Jason soon realizes (and suspects that the MadScientist is responsible) and tries to change the outcome. They succeed and manage to rescue Jason's father. Putting Jason's father and uncle on the golden ship (which shields them and allows them to leave the planet), they take off, but the uncle then impales his head on a spike aboard the ship almost on command. Shortly after, another ship approaches, and the pilot introduces herself as Jason's real mother.
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* CoolShip: ''Argo'', the recovered ancient Imperial battleship from the short story. After using it to defeat the armada, the Pyrrans get to keep it. Jason decides that the ship's original name ''Nedetruebla'' ("indestructible" in Esperanto) is too ridiculous.
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* PsychicPowers: Several other characters are introduced who possess even greater powers than Jason. One of them is Jason's own cousin from the Core worlds. The other is a girl whose family is killed by Henry Morgan's pirates. There's also the daughter of one of the "talkers", who was born blind and deaf ([[spoiler:the aliens from the sixth novel heal her]]) but possesses great psi-powers.
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There are also four follow-up novels which may or may not have been authorized by Harrison. While the author's name is prominently featured on the covers, it's likely that the co-authors did the lion's share of the writing (possibly, all of it). None of the follow-up novels were published in English.
to:
There are also four follow-up novels which may or may not have been authorized by Harrison. While the author's name is prominently featured on the covers, it's likely that the co-authors did the lion's share of the writing (possibly, all of it). None of the follow-up novels were published in English.
English.
Changed line(s) 25,26 (click to see context) from:
The second part involves Jason being called to his father's deathbed on him homeworld of Porgorstorsaand and being told that he was adopted. He is actually the prince of a planet deep in the Galactic Core, whose father was overthrown by his own brother. Trying to keep the infant prince alive, Jason's real father gave him up to a traveler who used strange interdimentional tunnels to go from world to world. That man was Jason's adopted father. Jason uses one of the tunnels to go to his real homeworld and finds his father alive and well. His uncle sends Jason on a quest to deliver him the golden skin of a strange ship from another planet in the Core before he releases Jason's father (DoesThatRemindYouOfAnything). Jason and the Pyrrans then embark on a journey mirroring the myth of the Argonauts (even the names of the hero and the ship match), which Jason soon realizes (and suspects that the MadScientist is responsible) and tries to change the outcome. They succeed and manage to rescue Jason's father. Putting Jason's father and uncle on the golden ship (which shields them and allows them to leave the planet), they take off, but the uncle then impales his head on a spike aboard the ship almost on command. Shortly after, another ship approaches, and the pilot introduces herself as Jason's real mother.
to:
The second part (called ''In the Path of the Gods'') involves Jason being called to his father's deathbed on him homeworld of Porgorstorsaand and being told that he was adopted. He is actually the prince of a planet deep in the Galactic Core, whose father was overthrown by his own brother. Trying to keep the infant prince alive, Jason's real father gave him up to a traveler who used strange interdimentional tunnels to go from world to world. That man was Jason's adopted father. Jason uses one of the tunnels to go to his real homeworld and finds his father alive and well. His uncle sends Jason on a quest to deliver him the golden skin of a strange ship from another planet in the Core before he releases Jason's father (DoesThatRemindYouOfAnything). Jason and the Pyrrans then embark on a journey mirroring the myth of the Argonauts (even the names of the hero and the ship match), which Jason soon realizes (and suspects that the MadScientist is responsible) and tries to change the outcome. They succeed and manage to rescue Jason's father. Putting Jason's father and uncle on the golden ship (which shields them and allows them to leave the planet), they take off, but the uncle then impales his head on a spike aboard the ship almost on command. Shortly after, another ship approaches, and the pilot introduces herself as Jason's real mother.
* ClingyJealousGirl: "jealous", yes; "clingy", no. Jason is the one who pursues Meta, and she's initially reluctant to resume their romance on Pyrrus. Once she does, though, she warns him that she'll shoot down any woman she catches with Jason.
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* CameBackWrong: Dr. Theodore Solvitz after his trip in another universe. Also, [[spoiler:Trow]].
* ImmortalityInducer: Dr. Theodore Solvitz has developed a serum that makes a person immortal. This is what has allowed him to survive for thousands of years. Riverd Bervick and the Special Corps have managed to obtain the formula and synthesize the serum. Those who choose to work for them are given the serum as an incentive. [[spoiler:Kerk]] becomes one of them. Solvitz has also synthesized an airborne version and uses it to make [[spoiler:Jason and Meta]] immortal, although, as it turns out, [[spoiler:Jason was already immortal by way of his real parents]].
* MadScientist: Doctor Theodore Solvitz was a well-known scientist on Old Earth thousands of years before the events of the series. After obtaining some sort of secret knowledge, he used it to leave the galaxy (and, as it turned out, the universe). Now he's back, but it appears he CameBackWrong.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Solvitz's androids are remarkably lifelike, to the point where most can't even tell the difference. One of them tries to rape Meta, and she immediately tears it apart with her bare hands. Jason also nearly sleeps with a gynoid, but Meta shows up and blasts its head off.
* ImmortalityInducer: Dr. Theodore Solvitz has developed a serum that makes a person immortal. This is what has allowed him to survive for thousands of years. Riverd Bervick and the Special Corps have managed to obtain the formula and synthesize the serum. Those who choose to work for them are given the serum as an incentive. [[spoiler:Kerk]] becomes one of them. Solvitz has also synthesized an airborne version and uses it to make [[spoiler:Jason and Meta]] immortal, although, as it turns out, [[spoiler:Jason was already immortal by way of his real parents]].
* MadScientist: Doctor Theodore Solvitz was a well-known scientist on Old Earth thousands of years before the events of the series. After obtaining some sort of secret knowledge, he used it to leave the galaxy (and, as it turned out, the universe). Now he's back, but it appears he CameBackWrong.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Solvitz's androids are remarkably lifelike, to the point where most can't even tell the difference. One of them tries to rape Meta, and she immediately tears it apart with her bare hands. Jason also nearly sleeps with a gynoid, but Meta shows up and blasts its head off.
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* EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage: Harrison's love for the language is evident in the fact that he puts it into many of his "distant future" sci-fi stories. In-universe, it the language of the [[TheEmpire Old Empire]] and the lingua franca on most worlds.
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* ActionGirl: Meta, being a native-born Pyrran, is definitely no housewife. She's as deadly a shot as any Pyrran and can easily kill any non-Pyrran in hand-to-hand combat.
* BerserkButton: Don't ever tell a Pyrran that he or she is losing, or mention the declining population of the city, or even say the word "grubber". This is likely to be the last thing you say. Jason makes that mistake and is nearly killed by Kerk, but the leader of the junkmen has been offworld and knows how to keep his temper in check. Before telling the same thing to Meta, Jason asks her to unload her gun. As soon as he speaks the words, he sees her furiously pressing the trigger on her gun in his direction.
* BerserkButton: Don't ever tell a Pyrran that he or she is losing, or mention the declining population of the city, or even say the word "grubber". This is likely to be the last thing you say. Jason makes that mistake and is nearly killed by Kerk, but the leader of the junkmen has been offworld and knows how to keep his temper in check. Before telling the same thing to Meta, Jason asks her to unload her gun. As soon as he speaks the words, he sees her furiously pressing the trigger on her gun in his direction.
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* TheHorde: The Mongol-inspired barbarians on Felicity fear permanent structures and destroy them on sight (as they do with the mining rig set up by the first re-settlers). In fact, the leader who gathers the clans together is named after GenghisKhan (born Temujin). After being tricked into conquering the lowland farmers, the nomads settle down, just like the Mongols eventually settled down after conquering China and forming the Yuan Dynasty (although it was Genghis Khan's grandson). Temujin is smart enough to realize that their nomadic way of life is over, but he's powerless to stop it.
* HotMom: Meta tells Jason in the first novel that she had two children before they met. One of them died. This is the [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment last we hear of this]]. Then again, Pyrrans aren't big on familial ties. Of course, it's likely she had them when she was very young.
* HotMom: Meta tells Jason in the first novel that she had two children before they met. One of them died. This is the [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment last we hear of this]]. Then again, Pyrrans aren't big on familial ties. Of course, it's likely she had them when she was very young.
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* PyrrhicVictory: The life on the aptly-named planet Pyrrus is such that, no matter what the Pyrrans do, they're just delaying the inevitable.
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* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: In the second novel, Jason crash-lands on a regressed LostColony and is enslaved by a barbarian named Chaka who literally keeps all his slaves on a leash. He kills Chaka at night and tells all the slaves they're free. The slaves calmly look at him and tell him something like "We serve you now, Chaka". So not only does he inherit Chaka's slaves and territory but also his name.
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'''''Deathworld''''' (first novel published in 1960) is a series of three novels and a short story by the American science fiction author HarryHarrison. The novels are set in the distant future. The hero, Jason [=dinAlt=], is a professional gambler who possesses erratic PsychicPowers which he uses to cheat at casinos (he justifies that the casinos stack the odds in their favor anyway, he's just making it fair). While on a gambling trip to the casino on the planet Cassylia, he is approached by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who is the ambassador and de-factor leader of colonists on planet Pyrrus). Kerk wants Jason to turn a large sum of money into an immense sum by gambling at the government-run casino. Using his weak MindOverMatter abilities, he is able to turn the dice just the right way and win over 3 million. Kerk and Jason manage to get off the planet just in time, despite the officials' efforts to take back the money. Being intrigued by Kerk's description of his homeplanet as the [[{{Deathworld}} deadliest world ever colonized]], Jason decides to follow Kerk.
Pyrrus's gravity is double that of normal, its extreme axial tilt results in severe weather. It's also very tectonically active, with frequent volcanic erruptions and earthquakes. Two Earth-sized moons create enormous tides (sometimes even flooding active volcanoes, which makes the weather even worse). Many stars in the vicinity have gone supernova, and many planets are too radioactive to settle. Pyrrus is the only planet only ''mildly'' radioactive, and the Pyrrans' main export is radioactive ore.
All native life is predatory, capable of killing any human without warning. Large animals can crush vehicles, while small ones are invariably venomous. All plants are carnivorous. Even microorganisms act like acid to insufficiently-protected tissue. Natural selection is so feverish, that the speed of evolution is taken UpToEleven, so much that all Pyrrans returning home (even after a few days) have to be re-trained to survive.
The settlers are engaged in a constant fight for survival. Despite generations of acclimation and TheSpartanWay (actually, the Pyrran training is even harsher), humans are losing. The population is in a steady decline, although mentioning the fact triggers a BerserkButton and usually results in the person being shot by the trigger-happy Pyrrans. There is only city on the planet, called the Perimeter, as it is surrounded by high walls with [[KillItWithFire flamethrowers]] constantly keeping the flora and fauna away. Any victory is a literal PyrrhicVictory.
Jason finds out that there are two groups of people living on the planet: the "junkmen", or city-folk, and the "grubbers", who live on a farm far from the city in harmony with nature. While the junkmen are under constant attack by the wildlife, the grubbers are able to live in relative peace thanks to their "talkers", people who can telepathically communicate with animals and domesticate them. He finds out that, a long time ago, native life wasn't so hostile to humans, but a natural disaster has forced the animals to run straight into the path of the city-dwellers, who shot at them with guns. Since all life on the planet is psychic, humans in the city were immediately classified as a natural threat, with the overriding directive for all animals and plants being "KILL THE ENEMY!". The high radiation on the planet results in constant mutations, all of which are geared to killing humans. Not only that, but the junkmen's thoughts are focused on killing, which only feeds the flora and fauna's desire to kill them. The grubbers only kill in self-defense and for food, just like animals, and are thus treated the same as other animals.
Jason proposes that the two groups begin to take steps to coexist, such as allowing grubbers access to other worlds and having junkmen learn and teach each other grubbers' methods. Eventually, the city will be overrun, but the children of junkmen and grubbers will be one people again, living in harmony with nature. Those junkmen who cannot adapt can instead become "professional pioneers", colonizing other worlds too harsh to settle by humans on less hostile worlds.
''Deathworld 2'' (AKA ''The Ethical Engineer'', 1964) has Jason, who has become a full-fledged Pyrran, be abducted by a self-righteous man who wants to bring him to justice for his various crimes (apparently, gambling is a crime for him). Jason forces a crash-landing on a LostColony, where humans have regressed to barbarism in some areas and Medieval city-states in others. What remains of technology has been split up among the various clans, each one guarding its knowledge from the others, resulting in MedievalStasis. Jason uses his knowledge to trade for protection from one of the clans. He then finds another clan that has knowledge of electricity and convinces its rules to start a campaign to conquer the others in order to bring all technology together, hopefully re-starting progress. He also creates a primitive radio-transmitter in order to signal any passing ship. By the end of the novel, Jason is stabbed by a sword and is dying from infection. Meta arrives on the Pyrran ship after tracking the "ethical engineer"'s flight path and detecting Jason's signal. She uses advanced medicine to save him. Jason, his captor, and the local woman Jason gets close to (much to Meta's chagrin) leave aboard Meta's ship. The "engineer" once again attempts to force Jason to come with him. Realizing there's no other way, Jason kills him.
''Deathworld 3'' (AKA ''The Horse Barbarians'', 1968) has Jason inviting Pyrrans on their first "professional pioneer" adventure. The planet Felicity is rich in mineral ores but attempts as re-settling it (it's also a LostColony) were foiled by the local nomadic clans, who despise any permanent structure with religious fervor. The nomads are heavily reminiscent of the [[TheHorde Mongols]] before their invasion of China. The clans are joined by a charismatic and powerful leader named [[GenghisKhan Temujin]] to fight off the invaders. Jason and the Pyrrans pretend to be yet another clan with Kerk as the chief of the clan and Jason as a WanderingMinstrel who married into it (Jason, try as he might, doesn't look like a Pyrran). However, Temujin unmasks Jason and throws him into a pit. Jason survives the fall and finds a passageway through cliffs to the coastal lowlands (which are normally inaccessible to the nomads living on the plateau). There he finds a whole other culture of farmers with primitive firearms. Jason comes back to Temujin, pretending to be a demon, and offers him the chance to conquer the rest of the continent. Meanwhile, the Pyrrans receive a distress call from Pyrrus and rush back home, leaving Jason. Unfortunately, they're too late, and the city is overrun by the animals and plants with few survivors beyond those living among the grubbers. After helping with relief efforts, they rush back to Felicity. Jason leads the horde through the cliffs onto the unsuspecting farmers, whom Temujin conquers with ease. However, the chief is smart enough to realize that this conquest has done to his people what the conquest of China has done to the Mongols. The nomads have tasted the comfortable life of the farmers and have settled down. The nomadic way of life is no more. For this, Temujin puts Jason into a prison, believing that the demon can't be killed by any weapon. Kerk arrives, frees Jason, and kills Temujin in a duel.
''The Mothballed Spaceship'' (1973) is a short story written in the same 'verse. A hostile armada is on its way to Earth. The Earth government contacts the Pyrrans and asks them to reactivate an ancient [[TheEmpire Imperial]] battleship that was mothballed after the First Galactic War, which is cheaper than building a fleet from scratch. Unfortunately, the ship's defense systems are programmed to destroy any object approaching it. Since no one knows the code to deactivate the defenses, Jason and Kerk must use other means of getting aboard with only weeks until the armada arrives to Earth. Jason and Kerk direct a swarm of meteors past the ship in order to trigger its defenses, while approaching on small rocks in order to get past the cannons' firing arcs. Once they get aboard, Kerk dispatches the onboard defense systems, which try to fight off the intruders. However, when they get to the control center, the ship initiates a self-destruct sequence to keep it out of enemy hands. Jason and Kerk are unable to stop the countdown. It's Meta who saves the day, figuring out the correct code just in time, as Jason has told her that it would have to be something simple and straightforward (just like the mind of an Imperial soldier). Meta realizes that the word is "haltu" ([[EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage Esperanto]] for "stop").
There are also four follow-up novels which may or may not have been authorized by Harrison. While the author's name is prominently featured on the covers, it's likely that the co-authors did the lion's share of the writing (possibly, all of it). None of the follow-up novels were published in English.
'''Co-authored by Ant Skalandis:'''
''Return to Deathworld'' (1998). The novel is split into two parts. The first part has a strange rogue planetoid being detected on the way to a densely-populated star cluster. People looking at the planetoid or even a recording of it experience intense unnatural fear. The collective governing body of the cluster asks the Pyrrans to investigate the planetoid and, if necessary, destroy it with their CoolShip (they kept the battleship from the short story, renaming it ''Argo''). As it turns out, the cluster's representative knows exactly who the planetoid belongs to - a MadScientist who fled to another universe with different physical laws (e.g. the value of ''π'' is exactly 2) and has come back with dangerous knowledge and hell-bent on revenge. While investigating, the scientist captures Jason and Meta and tries to get them to join him in exchange for immortality. They manage to escape with help from Kerk and the others and destroy the planetoid, but Jason doesn't think they've seen the last of the villain.
The second part involves Jason being called to his father's deathbed on him homeworld of Porgorstorsaand and being told that he was adopted. He is actually the prince of a planet deep in the Galactic Core, whose father was overthrown by his own brother. Trying to keep the infant prince alive, Jason's real father gave him up to a traveler who used strange interdimentional tunnels to go from world to world. That man was Jason's adopted father. Jason uses one of the tunnels to go to his real homeworld and finds his father alive and well. His uncle sends Jason on a quest to deliver him the golden skin of a strange ship from another planet in the Core before he releases Jason's father (DoesThatRemindYouOfAnything). Jason and the Pyrrans then embark on a journey mirroring the myth of the Argonauts (even the names of the hero and the ship match), which Jason soon realizes (and suspects that the MadScientist is responsible) and tries to change the outcome. They succeed and manage to rescue Jason's father. Putting Jason's father and uncle on the golden ship (which shields them and allows them to leave the planet), they take off, but the uncle then impales his head on a spike aboard the ship almost on command. Shortly after, another ship approaches, and the pilot introduces herself as Jason's real mother.
''Deathworld vs. Filibusters'' (1998) involves the remains of the armada from the short story turn to piracy under the leadership of Captain Henry Morgan. The Cassylian casino is robbed by the pirates for a sum even larger than Jason won from them. They ask Jason to help them get their money back. Morgan is onto him, however, and captures Jason and Meta, taking them to a cloaked planet, which is home to the pirates. Jason realizes that the only way to defeat and capture Morgan is to lead him to Pyrrus for an UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny with the fearcest warriors in the galaxy. Naturally, the Pyrrans win and claim Morgan's flagship (after killing him) as their prize.
''The Creatures from Hell'' (1999) has strange eruptions occur on a semi-backwater planet with strange creatures appearing out of the lava. The authorities call the Pyrrans for help. However, it turns out that the creatures are not the only threat on that planet to the heroes, with the authorities harboring a deadly secret.
'''Co-authored by MikhailAkhmanov:'''
''Enemies in Reason'' (AKA ''Deathworld 7'', 2001) has the Roog civilization set their sights on Pyrrus, intending to conquer it. In order to study the Pyrrans, they kidnap one of them. By sheer chance, they capture Jason instead of Kerk, who tries to convince the captors that they're much better off trading instead of making war.
----
!!The novels feature the following tropes:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Original Novels and Short Story]]
* {{Deathworld}}: Possibly the TropeNamer, as the novel predates ''{{Dune}}''.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: And how! If it's not the huge tides, active volcanoes, earthquakes, or radiation, it's all the animals and plants. Humans are not meant to live on this world.
* HandCannon: The junkmen use powerful handguns kept in a holster on the upper arm with a chip inserted in the gun hand that senses certain muscles for tension. The gun then jumps out into the hand and immediately fires (the gun has no trigger guard), before returning to the holster using a cord. All this can take less than a second.
* HeavyWorlder: Since the gravity on Pyrrus is twice that of normal, all Pyrrans are big, strong, and fast. Jason, being an offworlder has become more muscular over the years of living there, but he's still a wimp compared to native-born Pyrrans.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: The Pyrrans (junkmen and grubbers alike) are very good at shooting things. The junkmen train from childhood with their {{Hand Cannon}}s, while the low-tech grubbers use wrist-mounted crossbows.
* MindOverMatter: Jason is such a good gambler because he can slightly move the dice (and even a roulette wheel) with his mind. It's a fairly weak and fickle ability, though.
* PsychicPowers: Jason has low-level psi-powers and is able to sense and, to a degree, communicate with the Pyrran lifeforms. The grubbers have the "talkers", who communicate and tame animals, and "quakemen" who can predict natural disasters. All native life on Pyrrus is also psychic to a degree.
* TriggerHappy: All junkmen are this out of necessity. They train for a very young age to shoot without thinking, as their very survival depends on this. They're deadly accurate, able to hit an insect from many yards away.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Co-Authored Sequels]]
[[/folder]]
Pyrrus's gravity is double that of normal, its extreme axial tilt results in severe weather. It's also very tectonically active, with frequent volcanic erruptions and earthquakes. Two Earth-sized moons create enormous tides (sometimes even flooding active volcanoes, which makes the weather even worse). Many stars in the vicinity have gone supernova, and many planets are too radioactive to settle. Pyrrus is the only planet only ''mildly'' radioactive, and the Pyrrans' main export is radioactive ore.
All native life is predatory, capable of killing any human without warning. Large animals can crush vehicles, while small ones are invariably venomous. All plants are carnivorous. Even microorganisms act like acid to insufficiently-protected tissue. Natural selection is so feverish, that the speed of evolution is taken UpToEleven, so much that all Pyrrans returning home (even after a few days) have to be re-trained to survive.
The settlers are engaged in a constant fight for survival. Despite generations of acclimation and TheSpartanWay (actually, the Pyrran training is even harsher), humans are losing. The population is in a steady decline, although mentioning the fact triggers a BerserkButton and usually results in the person being shot by the trigger-happy Pyrrans. There is only city on the planet, called the Perimeter, as it is surrounded by high walls with [[KillItWithFire flamethrowers]] constantly keeping the flora and fauna away. Any victory is a literal PyrrhicVictory.
Jason finds out that there are two groups of people living on the planet: the "junkmen", or city-folk, and the "grubbers", who live on a farm far from the city in harmony with nature. While the junkmen are under constant attack by the wildlife, the grubbers are able to live in relative peace thanks to their "talkers", people who can telepathically communicate with animals and domesticate them. He finds out that, a long time ago, native life wasn't so hostile to humans, but a natural disaster has forced the animals to run straight into the path of the city-dwellers, who shot at them with guns. Since all life on the planet is psychic, humans in the city were immediately classified as a natural threat, with the overriding directive for all animals and plants being "KILL THE ENEMY!". The high radiation on the planet results in constant mutations, all of which are geared to killing humans. Not only that, but the junkmen's thoughts are focused on killing, which only feeds the flora and fauna's desire to kill them. The grubbers only kill in self-defense and for food, just like animals, and are thus treated the same as other animals.
Jason proposes that the two groups begin to take steps to coexist, such as allowing grubbers access to other worlds and having junkmen learn and teach each other grubbers' methods. Eventually, the city will be overrun, but the children of junkmen and grubbers will be one people again, living in harmony with nature. Those junkmen who cannot adapt can instead become "professional pioneers", colonizing other worlds too harsh to settle by humans on less hostile worlds.
''Deathworld 2'' (AKA ''The Ethical Engineer'', 1964) has Jason, who has become a full-fledged Pyrran, be abducted by a self-righteous man who wants to bring him to justice for his various crimes (apparently, gambling is a crime for him). Jason forces a crash-landing on a LostColony, where humans have regressed to barbarism in some areas and Medieval city-states in others. What remains of technology has been split up among the various clans, each one guarding its knowledge from the others, resulting in MedievalStasis. Jason uses his knowledge to trade for protection from one of the clans. He then finds another clan that has knowledge of electricity and convinces its rules to start a campaign to conquer the others in order to bring all technology together, hopefully re-starting progress. He also creates a primitive radio-transmitter in order to signal any passing ship. By the end of the novel, Jason is stabbed by a sword and is dying from infection. Meta arrives on the Pyrran ship after tracking the "ethical engineer"'s flight path and detecting Jason's signal. She uses advanced medicine to save him. Jason, his captor, and the local woman Jason gets close to (much to Meta's chagrin) leave aboard Meta's ship. The "engineer" once again attempts to force Jason to come with him. Realizing there's no other way, Jason kills him.
''Deathworld 3'' (AKA ''The Horse Barbarians'', 1968) has Jason inviting Pyrrans on their first "professional pioneer" adventure. The planet Felicity is rich in mineral ores but attempts as re-settling it (it's also a LostColony) were foiled by the local nomadic clans, who despise any permanent structure with religious fervor. The nomads are heavily reminiscent of the [[TheHorde Mongols]] before their invasion of China. The clans are joined by a charismatic and powerful leader named [[GenghisKhan Temujin]] to fight off the invaders. Jason and the Pyrrans pretend to be yet another clan with Kerk as the chief of the clan and Jason as a WanderingMinstrel who married into it (Jason, try as he might, doesn't look like a Pyrran). However, Temujin unmasks Jason and throws him into a pit. Jason survives the fall and finds a passageway through cliffs to the coastal lowlands (which are normally inaccessible to the nomads living on the plateau). There he finds a whole other culture of farmers with primitive firearms. Jason comes back to Temujin, pretending to be a demon, and offers him the chance to conquer the rest of the continent. Meanwhile, the Pyrrans receive a distress call from Pyrrus and rush back home, leaving Jason. Unfortunately, they're too late, and the city is overrun by the animals and plants with few survivors beyond those living among the grubbers. After helping with relief efforts, they rush back to Felicity. Jason leads the horde through the cliffs onto the unsuspecting farmers, whom Temujin conquers with ease. However, the chief is smart enough to realize that this conquest has done to his people what the conquest of China has done to the Mongols. The nomads have tasted the comfortable life of the farmers and have settled down. The nomadic way of life is no more. For this, Temujin puts Jason into a prison, believing that the demon can't be killed by any weapon. Kerk arrives, frees Jason, and kills Temujin in a duel.
''The Mothballed Spaceship'' (1973) is a short story written in the same 'verse. A hostile armada is on its way to Earth. The Earth government contacts the Pyrrans and asks them to reactivate an ancient [[TheEmpire Imperial]] battleship that was mothballed after the First Galactic War, which is cheaper than building a fleet from scratch. Unfortunately, the ship's defense systems are programmed to destroy any object approaching it. Since no one knows the code to deactivate the defenses, Jason and Kerk must use other means of getting aboard with only weeks until the armada arrives to Earth. Jason and Kerk direct a swarm of meteors past the ship in order to trigger its defenses, while approaching on small rocks in order to get past the cannons' firing arcs. Once they get aboard, Kerk dispatches the onboard defense systems, which try to fight off the intruders. However, when they get to the control center, the ship initiates a self-destruct sequence to keep it out of enemy hands. Jason and Kerk are unable to stop the countdown. It's Meta who saves the day, figuring out the correct code just in time, as Jason has told her that it would have to be something simple and straightforward (just like the mind of an Imperial soldier). Meta realizes that the word is "haltu" ([[EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage Esperanto]] for "stop").
There are also four follow-up novels which may or may not have been authorized by Harrison. While the author's name is prominently featured on the covers, it's likely that the co-authors did the lion's share of the writing (possibly, all of it). None of the follow-up novels were published in English.
'''Co-authored by Ant Skalandis:'''
''Return to Deathworld'' (1998). The novel is split into two parts. The first part has a strange rogue planetoid being detected on the way to a densely-populated star cluster. People looking at the planetoid or even a recording of it experience intense unnatural fear. The collective governing body of the cluster asks the Pyrrans to investigate the planetoid and, if necessary, destroy it with their CoolShip (they kept the battleship from the short story, renaming it ''Argo''). As it turns out, the cluster's representative knows exactly who the planetoid belongs to - a MadScientist who fled to another universe with different physical laws (e.g. the value of ''π'' is exactly 2) and has come back with dangerous knowledge and hell-bent on revenge. While investigating, the scientist captures Jason and Meta and tries to get them to join him in exchange for immortality. They manage to escape with help from Kerk and the others and destroy the planetoid, but Jason doesn't think they've seen the last of the villain.
The second part involves Jason being called to his father's deathbed on him homeworld of Porgorstorsaand and being told that he was adopted. He is actually the prince of a planet deep in the Galactic Core, whose father was overthrown by his own brother. Trying to keep the infant prince alive, Jason's real father gave him up to a traveler who used strange interdimentional tunnels to go from world to world. That man was Jason's adopted father. Jason uses one of the tunnels to go to his real homeworld and finds his father alive and well. His uncle sends Jason on a quest to deliver him the golden skin of a strange ship from another planet in the Core before he releases Jason's father (DoesThatRemindYouOfAnything). Jason and the Pyrrans then embark on a journey mirroring the myth of the Argonauts (even the names of the hero and the ship match), which Jason soon realizes (and suspects that the MadScientist is responsible) and tries to change the outcome. They succeed and manage to rescue Jason's father. Putting Jason's father and uncle on the golden ship (which shields them and allows them to leave the planet), they take off, but the uncle then impales his head on a spike aboard the ship almost on command. Shortly after, another ship approaches, and the pilot introduces herself as Jason's real mother.
''Deathworld vs. Filibusters'' (1998) involves the remains of the armada from the short story turn to piracy under the leadership of Captain Henry Morgan. The Cassylian casino is robbed by the pirates for a sum even larger than Jason won from them. They ask Jason to help them get their money back. Morgan is onto him, however, and captures Jason and Meta, taking them to a cloaked planet, which is home to the pirates. Jason realizes that the only way to defeat and capture Morgan is to lead him to Pyrrus for an UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny with the fearcest warriors in the galaxy. Naturally, the Pyrrans win and claim Morgan's flagship (after killing him) as their prize.
''The Creatures from Hell'' (1999) has strange eruptions occur on a semi-backwater planet with strange creatures appearing out of the lava. The authorities call the Pyrrans for help. However, it turns out that the creatures are not the only threat on that planet to the heroes, with the authorities harboring a deadly secret.
'''Co-authored by MikhailAkhmanov:'''
''Enemies in Reason'' (AKA ''Deathworld 7'', 2001) has the Roog civilization set their sights on Pyrrus, intending to conquer it. In order to study the Pyrrans, they kidnap one of them. By sheer chance, they capture Jason instead of Kerk, who tries to convince the captors that they're much better off trading instead of making war.
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!!The novels feature the following tropes:
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[[folder:Original Novels and Short Story]]
* {{Deathworld}}: Possibly the TropeNamer, as the novel predates ''{{Dune}}''.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: And how! If it's not the huge tides, active volcanoes, earthquakes, or radiation, it's all the animals and plants. Humans are not meant to live on this world.
* HandCannon: The junkmen use powerful handguns kept in a holster on the upper arm with a chip inserted in the gun hand that senses certain muscles for tension. The gun then jumps out into the hand and immediately fires (the gun has no trigger guard), before returning to the holster using a cord. All this can take less than a second.
* HeavyWorlder: Since the gravity on Pyrrus is twice that of normal, all Pyrrans are big, strong, and fast. Jason, being an offworlder has become more muscular over the years of living there, but he's still a wimp compared to native-born Pyrrans.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: The Pyrrans (junkmen and grubbers alike) are very good at shooting things. The junkmen train from childhood with their {{Hand Cannon}}s, while the low-tech grubbers use wrist-mounted crossbows.
* MindOverMatter: Jason is such a good gambler because he can slightly move the dice (and even a roulette wheel) with his mind. It's a fairly weak and fickle ability, though.
* PsychicPowers: Jason has low-level psi-powers and is able to sense and, to a degree, communicate with the Pyrran lifeforms. The grubbers have the "talkers", who communicate and tame animals, and "quakemen" who can predict natural disasters. All native life on Pyrrus is also psychic to a degree.
* TriggerHappy: All junkmen are this out of necessity. They train for a very young age to shoot without thinking, as their very survival depends on this. They're deadly accurate, able to hit an insect from many yards away.
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[[folder:Co-Authored Sequels]]
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