Status
Available
Collections
Publication
New York : Berkley Books, 1983.
Description
The Green Odyssey has been called "rollicking science-fiction adventure," "uproarious," "swashbuckling," and "sheer fun," and described by science-fiction critic Sam Moskowitz as "filled with engaging humor." The adventure begins when Alan Green arranges passage on a "wind roller," a sailing vessel of the plains, by dazzling the captain with a financial scheme that offers rich profits to overcome his reluctance to help a fugitive. Setting "sale" with the captain, Green thinks he's escaped from his dominating wife--but he's wrong. Throw in pirates, floating islands, and a black cat-goddess with a taste for beer, picked up after shipwreck on one of the wandering Islands of the Xurdimur, and you have the recipe for science-fantasy adventure as irresistible as Riverworld itself. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member HiramHolliday
My first Philip José Farmer book. I liked it, considering it was written 56 years ago. It is more fantasy as SciFi and hter are e lot of nice concepts used. Writing style (when you can judge that in a translation) is nice. I was eager to finish the book, so it wasn't boring.
LibraryThing member Carl_Alves
The Green Odyssey is a bit of a mixed bag. At times, it’s a fun adventure story set on a different planet, but with the sensibilities of a swashbuckling pirate novel. On the other hand, the writing was lacking for the most part and the characterization was pretty weak.
Alan Green is an Earth man
There were some fun action adventure elements to the novel, filled with cannibals, escapes from difficult situations, floating islands, rocket ships, etc. It’s written at a good pace and for the most part is a fun novel. The quality of the writing is a bit underwhelming, but the world building is very strong. So, in the end, it was a decent novel, but not one that stands out.
Carl Alves – author of Reconquest Mother Earth
Alan Green is an Earth man
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who found his way onto a distant planet that is about the 15th century equivalent of Earth in terms of technology and culture. When he learns that astronauts from Earth have landed on the planet and have been taken prisoner, he sees this as an opportunity to get off the planet. Alan is a really poor character. He’s hard to like because he has no problem abandoning his wife and child to leave the planet. His attitude toward his family and also the people of the planet make him not particularly likeable. I never found myself rooting for Alan.There were some fun action adventure elements to the novel, filled with cannibals, escapes from difficult situations, floating islands, rocket ships, etc. It’s written at a good pace and for the most part is a fun novel. The quality of the writing is a bit underwhelming, but the world building is very strong. So, in the end, it was a decent novel, but not one that stands out.
Carl Alves – author of Reconquest Mother Earth
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LibraryThing member pgiunta
After crash landing on a primitive and barbaric planet, Earth astronaut Alan Green becomes a slave to the Duke of Tropat and paramour to the duke's termagant wife, all while married to a gorgeous slave woman named Amra. Green has one daughter with Amra, but her other three children are each from
When Green learns that two Earthmen recently landed near the distant city of Estorya and were taken prisoner as "demons," he strikes a deal with a trader, Miran, to hide aboard his ship on his next voyage across the vast, grassy plain of Xurdimur. For on this world, boats travel not only by sea, but also over land using a series of large wheels.
It is Green's plan to free the imprisoned Earthmen before they are executed during an upcoming festival, then return with them to Earth aboard their ship.
After a perilous escape from the duke and duchess, Green disguises himself as a monk and boards Miran's ship—only to be confronted by Amra and her children, who he had planned to leave behind for they would never be able to adapt to life on Earth.
During their trek across Xurdimur, Miran cleverly evades an attack by pirates, but a day or two later, his ship collides with one of the fabled roaming islands that levitate across the plains of their own volition. Many of Miran's crew are killed in the crash. Most of the survivors are slaughtered shortly after by the savage cannibals inhabiting the island. Although wounded, Green evades capture, but is separated from Amra and the children. He soon learns that they were imprisoned by the natives.
No sooner does he rescue them than Green encounters a disheveled Miran who also survived the collision. In the middle of the night, they manage to steal a smaller boat from the island and continue across the plain to Estorya. Will Green be able to liberate his fellow Earthmen before Miran betrays him to the authorities? Will their ship be undamaged and able to depart this godforsaken world and if so, will there be enough room for Amra and the children?
The Green Odyssey was Philip José Farmer's first novel-length publication and is more fantasy-adventure than science fiction. While the setting has a few unique elements, the characters are two-dimensional. Overall, the story is reminiscent of the Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs and seemed to be a precursor to Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure series in which an Earth astronaut named Adam Reith crash lands on a barbaric alien world named Tschai and after acquiring several companions, ventures off across the planet to find the means to return to Earth.
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different "owners" who bought and sold her over the years.When Green learns that two Earthmen recently landed near the distant city of Estorya and were taken prisoner as "demons," he strikes a deal with a trader, Miran, to hide aboard his ship on his next voyage across the vast, grassy plain of Xurdimur. For on this world, boats travel not only by sea, but also over land using a series of large wheels.
It is Green's plan to free the imprisoned Earthmen before they are executed during an upcoming festival, then return with them to Earth aboard their ship.
After a perilous escape from the duke and duchess, Green disguises himself as a monk and boards Miran's ship—only to be confronted by Amra and her children, who he had planned to leave behind for they would never be able to adapt to life on Earth.
During their trek across Xurdimur, Miran cleverly evades an attack by pirates, but a day or two later, his ship collides with one of the fabled roaming islands that levitate across the plains of their own volition. Many of Miran's crew are killed in the crash. Most of the survivors are slaughtered shortly after by the savage cannibals inhabiting the island. Although wounded, Green evades capture, but is separated from Amra and the children. He soon learns that they were imprisoned by the natives.
No sooner does he rescue them than Green encounters a disheveled Miran who also survived the collision. In the middle of the night, they manage to steal a smaller boat from the island and continue across the plain to Estorya. Will Green be able to liberate his fellow Earthmen before Miran betrays him to the authorities? Will their ship be undamaged and able to depart this godforsaken world and if so, will there be enough room for Amra and the children?
The Green Odyssey was Philip José Farmer's first novel-length publication and is more fantasy-adventure than science fiction. While the setting has a few unique elements, the characters are two-dimensional. Overall, the story is reminiscent of the Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs and seemed to be a precursor to Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure series in which an Earth astronaut named Adam Reith crash lands on a barbaric alien world named Tschai and after acquiring several companions, ventures off across the planet to find the means to return to Earth.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1957
Physical description
215 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
0425061590 / 9780425061596
Local notes
"Berkley science fiction"--Cover. | Artist information taken from Internet Speculative Database:http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?26075
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Pages
215