sdlotu
12/6/2022
This is a novel-length expansion of the original short story "Nightmare Planet". They both share large amounts of exact text, and the plot is the same, but with much more detaila and adventures in the novel version.
A desolate planet is seeded by automated space ships for eventual colonization, but the animals to be seeded are forgotten, and when the humans arrive, the world is populated by massive plants and gigantic insects, but nothing else. The humans are quickly overhwelmed by the insect giants,and though not exterminated, over generations regress into abject primitivism, poverty, ignorance, and desperate survival. Then a hero arises to change everything. The story follows from there. The reader can see how it may have inspired the gigantic monster/creature movies so common in the 1950s.
The are some obvious evolutionary and biological problems with the world as described by Leinster, for although there have been monster sized creatures even in Earth's distant past, not all insects grew to enormous size, unlike in this story. In addition, plants have also grown enormous, which would seem inconsistent with a world of massive predators and grazers that constantly dine on these plants. They would have had no chance to grow when they were constantly consumed,
But this is a small issue in the context of the story. This novel is about how one person discovers new ideas, new attitutes and new technolgy to change their place in the world and their future as well.
Written to the high standards one can expect from Leinster, and worth the time for those who enjoy his style and story choices.