Midworld

Midworld by Alan Dean Foster (c) 1973

What a pleasant surprise!

Skimming through the book before buying it, a feeling of caution overcame me. Long paragraphs of exposition. Could be a danger sign. Not much in the way of dialogue. However, the book seemed short and the premise intriguing. I bit.

Did I mention it was a pleasant surprise?

Though I don’t recall it ever actually mentioned by name in the book, Midworld is a planet whose every literal square inch is covered with trees and vegetation. It’s a rain-forest world. Seven-hundred foot trees blanketing the surface create seven levels of biological activity. And what activity! It’s a wonder anything could survive long enough to procreate, let alone eat, with the diversity of predators, plant and animal, that make their living in the branches of the forest of Midworld.

A couple hundred years ago a lost colonial ship crashed on the planet, and a few remnants managed to survive and eke out an existence in level three. After a few generations they revert to primitive status, and live in symbiotic harmony with what they call the Home tree. They call the treetops “Upper Hell” because of the flying nasties that can pick you off in a flash; the call the ground “Lower Hell” because of the terrible creatures that live in the mud and slime.

Born the hunter is our main character, a little crazy by the rest of the tribe’s standards, but a brave and skillful hunter. On a return solo expedition he is amazed to witness the crash landing of an alien spacecraft, a “demon” in his worldview. He returns to the Home tree, a war party is assembled, and they set off to investigate the intruder.

Two “modern” humans are the occupants of the spacecraft, and are rescued by Born, taken back to the Home tree, and learn of the dangerous realities of living on this planet. We are told that an illegal station has been set up on Midworld in an attempt to exploit the world’s natural resources, particularly a chemical extract that causes longevity. The two survivors convince Born to lead them back to their station, and the hunter is not only accompanied by his rival, but also by each one’s “furcot”, a giant hairy beast that pairs up with a human for the duration of their lives. The expedition takes them down to Lower Hell and up to the Hell of the treetops, and into the heart of the invader’s nest.

Though the climax at the alien station doesn’t bring much surprises, it’s told well. The pages turned. When it was over, I realized that had there been another book in the series, I’d have hunted it out for a read.

I was truly surprised how much I enjoyed Midworld. Foster kept the exposition interesting, the suspense heavy, the fear of quick death on every page. The cliché of the wise aboriginal is there, yes, but the modern humans provided a decent counterweight, and not all proved to be e-evil. And, not everyone survives who you think would survive.

An entertaining read. Grade: A.