AustLit

Grimes is given a seemingly straightforward the assignment by Survey Service command to ferry a Mr Adam from Lindisfarne Base (Earth) to Delacron. However, he soon discovers that this is no ordinary passenger. Mr Adam is an advanced robot that has been manufactured by the Federation for the sole purpose of stirring up revolt among the robots on a planet that happens to be in the Federation’s bad books. Unaware of these plans or Mr Adam's purpose Grimes invites it to the control room to observe the ship's departure, and later to his cabin for drinks and a yarn. It's a simple act of kindness that inadvertently leads to mutiny.

After landing safely on an unexplored planet the 53 surviving crew members of the Lode Star find themselves trapped when their space ship's atomic reactors explode. It is then that they are forced to confront not only their immediate survival but the long-term future of their new civilisation. Fundamental objectives like food, clothing and shelter become scarce, while relationships between men and women are made on grounds other than love. Complicating matters is the fact that the men outnumber the women. And then they encounter the planet's original inhabitants... a species which wants to 'scientifically' examine these newcomers.

Kinsolving's Planet on the rim of space where the fabric of time and is stretched almost to bursting. Should John Grimes be surprised to meet...Sherlock Holmes? Lady Chatterly? Tarzan and Jane? A. Bertram Chandler??

'"Giant Killer" is a closed universe story wherein the characters (or at least some of them) do not realize that their environment constitutes only a small, confined space. It is arguably his finest work of science fiction'. (Isaac Asimov, ctd. www.bertramchandler.com)