The Starchild Trilogy is a series of three science fiction novels written by

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

and

Jack Williamson John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of t ...

. In the future depicted in this series, mankind is ruled by a brutal

totalitarian government Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

known as the ''Plan of Man'', enforced by a computerized

surveillance state Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by local and federal governments or governmental organizatio ...

. The books in the series were: *''

The Reefs of Space ''The Reefs of Space'' is a dystopian science fiction novel by American writers Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson, published in 1964. It is part of the Starchild Trilogy, the other books in the series being '' Starchild'' (1965) and '' Rogue Star' ...

'' (1964) *'' Starchild'' (1965) *'' Rogue Star'' (1969) An omnibus edition titled ''The Starchild Trilogy'' was first published in 1980.

Reception

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), John ...

praised ''The Reefs of Space'' as "a most rewarding piece of science fiction . . . full of inventions ndthe constant generation of science-fiction ideas and science-fiction characters." However, he criticized its ending as "anticlimactic" and for its failure to resolve themes involving several prominent characters."Galaxy Bookshelf," ''Galaxy'', February 1965, pp.158-59.

References

Book series introduced in 1964 Science fiction novel trilogies 1960s science fiction novels Collaborative book series Literary trilogies Novels by Frederik Pohl Novels by Jack Williamson {{1980s-sf-novel-stub