This isn't a terrible story. In fact I think it a very entertaining tale. I try to read an old Anderson novel or short story collection almost every year. I skipped last year. I enjoyed Poul Anderson's stories quite a bit in my teens and 20's, but all these years later these stories really show their age. Quite common to most older science fiction of course. But really, how severe was the nicotine addiction of these authors? They have the scientists filling and lighting up their pipes on the moon of Jupiter. Really? Really? Their future is now past in many cases. Not so really with this one but the writing style lets you know you are in the past despite the planetary exploration and exploitation going on. That's the same as it ever was. The United States has had a revolution and Civil War again - which may not be so far fetched - and there are other goings on far out in the solar system where the mining colony on Ganymede soon has trouble and the native inhabitants are embroiled in a war ... due to climate change! Hah. Not a bad story but this is not great literature. Just some entertaining fluff that I passed some time with. The war planetside was pretty hard to follow.

First published in serial form in IF magazine in 1964 it came out almost immediately in paperback. My later 1968 paperback edition has a rather cool cover by Jack Gaughan. ( )

Weer eens een ouderwets, en gedateerd ScienceFiction verhaal. Toch kon het vandaag geschreven zijn.

Ik vraag me af wat de 3e wereld was die we konden verwachten naar aanleiding van de titel. Er wordt alleen maar gesproken over Jupiter en Ganymedes.

Valt verder weinig over te zeggen ( )

Mark Fraser returns to Ganymede after a long sidetrip to take care of a mining issue on Io. Upon his approach to Ganymede, he notices the USS Vega docked within the moon's airspace and wonders what a battleship is doing this far away from Earth. He learns from a friend at Space Traffic Control that some insurgents back on Earth have overthrown the government with the hope of restoring order and that the Vega is here supposedly on a peace-keeping mission. The ship's presence concerns him, and while taking some time to ponder the ship's true intentions, he contacts his friend Theor, a Nyaraan on the planet Jupiter who's culture is going through a trying time of its own.

For Theor, his people are facing the threat of war from the Ulunt-Khazul, a combative tribe filled with the desire to expand their own territory no matter the cost. It's up to Theor to try to negotiate with the Ulunt-Khazul, and his one hope is The Oracle, as his people like to call Mark Fraser. A bodyless voice coming from a small box might instill terror or awe in Theor's enemies, but things go awry when Mark fails to keep an appointed call, and all-out invasion begins in Theor's homeland.

I enjoyed both intertwined stories of "Three Worlds To Conquer", though I enjoyed Fraser's battle with the the Vega a more intriguing story for my tastes. it's almost non-stop action as he battles his way against the so-called peacekeepers from the Vega. Theor's tale was good, especially when painting a picture of the Jovian landscapes, ammonia-filled seas and wondrous and frightening creatures inhabiting Jupiter. I became somewhat bored, though, reading through the dialogues of Theor and the others on Jupiter; it seemed almost too formal, too colonial British and not terribly exciting. But following Theor across the planet as he escapes a deadly skirmish with the Ulunt-Khazul makes for some good reading.

Fans of science fiction tinged with a bit of fantasy will definitely enjoy this one. ( )