(Found) colonists where planet tries to kill them

[llaterza]

I am trying to find a book I read in the 70's that was about colonists where the planet is trying to kill them.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Probably half the SF from that era. Any details that might help? Was it a newer book, or old when you read it? Cover, characters, anything?

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Deathworld Trilogy by Harry Harrison
Deathworld - Wikipedia

 

[Dave]

I was also going to say Deathworld or one of the two sequels.

 

[llaterza]

It's not Deathworld. I remember that they had weapons (guns in particular) that were strapped on their wrists and would jump into their hands with a quick flex or thought. I remember the protagonist lands on the world and is sent to grade school because he is behind all of the children who are being trained of what to be afraid of. I remember almost all of the animals, flowers or fauna is dangerous and deadly to the humans.

 

[Vladd67]

It's not Deathworld. I remember that they had weapons (guns in particular) that were strapped on their wrists and would jump into their hands with a quick flex or thought. I remember the protagonist lands on the world and is sent to grade school because he is behind all of the children who are being trained of what to be afraid of. I remember almost all of the animals, flowers or fauna is dangerous and deadly to the humans.

If this isn’t Deathworld it sounds very, very similar.

 

[Matteo]

There's also a little-known Robert Silverberg called Planet of Death (late 60's I think).

 

[chrispenycate]

Joining in (late) - I would have spotted Harrison's 'Deathworld' just from the reflex-activated guns strapped to their wrists, if not Jason dinAlt's need for bringing up to lethal speed on planetfall on Pyrrus.

It must be over fifty years ago I first read it, and images remain - the stingwing perching on his arm rather than being properly homicidal, vegetation and animal life cooperating to annihilate the invaders. Probably the first Harry Harrison I met.

And available for free download from Project Gutenberg, so probably not adequately copyrighted.

 

[ezra abrams]

It's not Deathworld. I remember that they had weapons (guns in particular) that were strapped on their wrists and would jump into their hands with a quick flex or thought. I remember the protagonist lands on the world and is sent to grade school because he is behind all of the children who are being trained of what to be afraid of. I remember almost all of the animals, flowers or fauna is dangerous and deadly to the humans.

this is, exactly, deathworld

 

[Dave]

...available for free download from Project Gutenberg, so probably not adequately copyrighted.

I naively didn't think that possible - someone might copy an entire book and change some names - but in this case the OP said that it was "read in the 70's," and so that cannot be the reason for the similarity.

 

[PaulMmn]

There's a Flinx novel with Flinx on the Deathworld... "Flinx Midworld." Many of the same nasty plants...

 

[Happy Joe]

...Pretty sure that I read Harrison's; Deathworld, in the 1960's...
Yep!... copyright 1960...

Enjoy!

 

[Dave]

Project Gutenberg wasn't around in the 1970's (at least not in this parallel universe) so cut and paste plagiarism wasn't possible yet (unless you know different.)

 

[Happy Joe]

Oooo! we are talking about plagiarism now... sorry I thought we were talking about the age of Harrison's Deathworld; re: possible reading dates... My bad...

Enjoy!

 

[PaulMmn]

I searched for >Midworld vs Deathworld< and a slew of "similar books" popped up from the GoodReads page. There was one missing, however-- books about The Diamond Contessa by Kenneth Bulmer. Not in every story, but there was The Green-- a big, bad jungle that was almost impossible to survive. The Contessa had a coliseum where they'd pit someone she didn't like against a tiny sprig of The Green. When The Green won, they'd send in a haz-mat team with sprays of acid / plant killer to kill the sprig before it took over.

 

[PaulMmn]

There's a Flinx novel with Flinx on the Deathworld... "Flinx Midworld." Many of the same nasty plants...

The premise of the jungle on MidWorld was someone different than on DeathWorld. The MidWorld jungle had telepathic features...

 

[Bick]

There's a Flinx novel with Flinx on the Deathworld... "Flinx Midworld." Many of the same nasty plants...

You've actually mixed up two books here. There's Midworld (1975) which doesn't contain Pip and Flinx and also Mid-Flinx (1995) which does. The book could being sought would have to be Midworld to be the right era, but the characters crash land there and no one goes to grade school, so this cannot be it.

While the OP says its not Deathworld... it definitely is Deathworld. The guns on the arm, the grade school, the era. It has to be.

 

[PaulMmn]

You've actually mixed up two books here. There's Midworld (1975) which doesn't contain Pip and Flinx and also Mid-Flinx (1995) which does. The book could being sought would have to be Midworld to be the right era, but the characters crash land there and no one goes to grade school, so this cannot be it.

While the OP says its not Deathworld... it definitely is Deathworld. The guns on the arm, the grade school, the era. It has to be.

Well, actually, there are 3 books at issue here-- well, 5. The Deathworld Trilogy, Midworld, and Mid-Flinx. I was referring to Mid-Flinx. But Midworld and Deathworld are 2 similar, yet distinct, planets. MidWorld has a psychic component-- the jungle/planet is sentient on some base level.

 

[Bick]

Well, actually, there are 3 books at issue here-- well, 5. The Deathworld Trilogy, Midworld, and Mid-Flinx. I was referring to Mid-Flinx. But Midworld and Deathworld are 2 similar, yet distinct, planets. MidWorld has a psychic component-- the jungle/planet is sentient on some base level.

There’s only 1 book the OP is looking for though - Deathworld. (Only the first Deathworld is on a jungle world).