DEATHWORLD centers on Jason dinAlt, a professional gambler who uses his somewhat erratic psionic abilities to tip the odds in his favor. He is challenged by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who turns out to be the ambassador from the planet Pyrrus) to turn a large amount of money into an immense sum by gambling at a government-run casino. He succeeds and survives the planetary government's desperate efforts to steal back the money. In a fit of ennui, he decides to accompany Kerk to his home, despite being warned that it is the deadliest world ever colonized by humans...DEATHWORLD! DEATHWORLD is one of the classics of the Golden Age of science fiction, born in the pages of Astounding Science Fiction under the editorship of John W. Campbell, Jr.

On the planet Pyrrus, human colonists have fought a centuries-old war with the native life forms. These life forms adapt to human tactics and technology, evolving new species so rapidly that natives returning from even brief trips off planet must be carried in protective armor canisters from their ship to the safe buildings, where they will learn of the latest deadly threats. "The Ethical Engineer" is the second volume in the DEATHWORLD series. It was originally published as a two-part serial in ANALOG magazine in 1963.

Collected here are twelve of Harrison's best, including "Space Rats of the CCC, " probably the greatest space opera ever written, slightly tongue-in-cheek; "At Last, the True Story of Frankenstein, " in which our favorite monster gets new life - but whose life is it?; "Bill, The Galactic Hero's Happy Holiday, " in which our favorite drunkard enlistee is kidnapped by the evil Chingers and hypnotized into believing he's a general; and nine more classics ranging across time and space!

"[...] He saw suddenly-with terrible clarity-that to be a Winner was to be absolutely nothing. Like being the best flea, among all the fleas on a single dog. What was Anvhar after all? An ice-locked planet, inhabited by a few million human fleas, unknown and unconsidered by the rest of the galaxy. There was nothing here worth fighting for, the wars after the Breakdown had left them untouched. The Anvharian had always taken pride in this-as if being so unimportant that no one else even wanted to come near you, could possibly be a source of pride. All the worlds of man grew, fought, won, [...]."