The colony planets have rebelled, and the leaders of Earth are trying to
regain their hold over them. Jan returns to Earth in a rebel ship, and is the
only survivor when it is attacked by security forces. He goes to ground,
becoming involved again with the underground resistance movement, but this
time he seems to have an ally in the head of the security forces. But can the
man be trusted? Jan needs his help to overthrow what remains of the
governments of Earth, so that he can free the proles.
New York: Bantam, June 1981, 198pp., ISBN: 0-553-14647-5, pbk. Cover: Bob Larkin. Reprinted July 1981; September 1981; April 1983; October 1984 (ISBN: 0-553-20780-6, Cover: Frank Morris).
London: Granada, October 1981, 208pp., ISBN: 0-586-05053-1, pbk. Cover: Peter Gudynas. Reprinted 1982; 1986; 1988 - all with Gudynas cover.
in: To The Stars. New York: Doubleday (Book Club), May 1981, p.305-471, hbk. Jacket: Clyde Caldwell
as: Sterrenwereld. Haarlem: Rostrum, 1981, ISBN: 90-328-0231-3, pbk. Translated by Kees Van Toorn. Cover: Robin Hidden. [Dutch]
as: Sternwelt. Munich: Heyne, 1982, 207pp., ISBN: 3-453-30838-7, pbk. Translated by Thomas Schluck. Cover: Eddie Jones [German]
as: Steerenwereld, in: Wereldcyclus Trilogie. Haarlem, Rostrum, 1982, 541pp., ISBN: 90-3280-212-7. Translated by Kees van Toorn. [Dutch].
in: To The Stars. New York: Bantam, March 1987, ISBN: 0-553-26453-2, pbk. Cover: Frank Morris.
London: Severn House, November 1988, 208pp., ISBN: 0-7278-1682-9, hbk.
as: Sternwelt, in: Zu Den Sternen. Munich: Heyne, 1990, 605pp., ISBN: 3-453-04277-8. Cover: Barclay Shaw. Illustrated by Giuseppe Festino. [German]
(To the Stars). Moscow: (Eksmo), 2000, 592pp., ISBN: 5-04-001522-4. [Russian]
Analog, 4th January 1982, p.135. Review by Tom Easton.
"In some ways, Starworld is good, a pleasure, a satisfying
conclusion. ... But the book is also a disappointment. Harrison gave us a
pawn, turned him into a man-who-can, and now returns him to his earlier
status. In Starworld, Kulozik is once more pushed by others, unable
to control his destiny in any way. Those who - like me - looked for some
apotheosis of heroism will not be satisfied. Yet, I must grant Harrison
that what he does does have a validity well beyond that of expectation.
I've commented before on how the monolithic, in-loco-parentis state may
foster adolescent thought and behaviour. We may have that here again, with
the added thought that when one returns to the home of adolescence, one
also returns to the behaviours that were appropriate there."
To the Stars Trilogy