Flandry of Terra, by Poul Anderson

Pages: 291

All three of the stories in Flandry of Terra showcase Anderson's trademark setting: a technologically primitive planet in a highly advanced interstellar empire. Dominic Flandry, agent of the Terran Empire, operates within the limits imposed by the local technology, relying on his ingenuity to survive. As always, the inhabitants of Anderson's backwater planets are neither barbaric nor uneducated; they are sophisticated and intelligent--they just happen to live in a "rural" part of the galaxy.

I also noticed that Anderson loves to throw Indonesian cultural references into his stories. Most of the people and places in The Plague of Masters have Indonesian names, because the planet (Unan Besar) was colonized by Indonesians from the planet of New Djawa. But besides Indonesian names and a few references to gamelan, batik, and other Indonesian art forms, didn't notice the culture being particularly Indonesian. It's a Western culture dressed up with Indonesian trappings. Still, I appreciate the effort. Most writers don't even try to write from anything other than an American perspective.

• The Game of Glory: Flandry roots out a Merseian plot to arm a local rebellion on the water planet of Nyanza.


• A Message in Secret: Stuck on a backwards planet and running from the local authorities, Flandry needs to find a way to get a message to the Emperium.


• The Plague of Masters: Flandry foments revolution on a planet whose inhabitants need regular doses of medication to prevent the native microbes from killing them--medication which the ruling class sells at exorbitant rates.