Kill or be killed! The trilogy is one of Harrison's best 'machinegun typewriter' books by far. The opening premise of the first novel is that 'Deathworld' is a jungle planet teeming with life that evolves with a speed and ferocity unlike any other planet in the universe. To survive for even a moment on the surface you must be superbly trained and superbly armed and prepared to kill hordes of clever and supremely deadly predators. And then you need to figure out how to get work done in the meanwhile! And obviously, people with the skills needed to survive on Deathworld might find work elsewhere ... in sequels perhaps. Terrific non-stop action. Grab this one, it's a True Si-Fi Classic. Composed before the PC era of Mr Harrison (when no one dies and all 'good people', fight for 'equality and social justice', it concerns the ultimate expression of darwinism on a planatary scale. A race of people whose homeland is literlary evolving to kill them, will of need themselves evolve to become the most leathal race of men in the galaxy.(Ok, so Dune was first!) Sarcasm, wit and action, ballanced with just the right level of homocidal ferver and hair splitting suspence! A true 70s must read! This book is a classic -- the main character, Jason dinAlt, is a gambler and a scoundrel, with an ability to influence luck in his favor. He's recruited to help raise money for the inhabitants of Pyrrus, and has to follow the girl sent to arrange the deal to see the place for himself. I refer to Deathworld and the others in the triology everytime someone asks me to recommend a SF classic. Imagine a planet where the grass has curved, needle sharp tips, you sit on a rock and the lichen tries to get you, all the animals have one thing in common - kill the human invaders. Imagine that to survive you need to attend a pre-school for colonists and your survival skills never extend beyond 'first grade'. This is Deathworld. If you never read another SF, at least read his finest - Deathworld.