West of the Sun

There was some very fine writing in this novel at times, yet on the whole it seemed to be disjointed. In actuality it is made up of what amounts to three novellas. The first interstellar exploration team of four men and two women. That is how many survived the trip, there was a Captain that apparently died on take-off from Earth.

The survivors learn that there are many species that have the potential to harm and or kill them. They soon befriend one of the hairy giants and then meet a village of pygmies. The first part of the novel deals with the landing and the acclimation of the crew to their new world. They are here for good as their rocket crashed. It is the second part which is a year later and the last part ten years later where the confusion comes in. The author has names for many people and the creatures of the planet. It tends to be confusing, because there is so many names.

On the whole it was a decent story, once you get past the confusing names and the story jumps. I give it a solid three and that is for the writing.