Brion Brandd is the superhuman champion of the Twenties, a competition of 20
tasks, both physical and cerebral. He also works for the Cultural
Relationships Foundation, a private body which exists to 'promote peace and
ensure the sovereign welfare of independent planets. His task in this story is
two avert war between two planets which orbit the same sun: one is a highly
developed culture, the other, on the planet Dis, is a barbaric one. The Disans
have only one desire: to kill. Brandd must find out why. Brion Brandd also
features in a sequel, Planet of No Return.
Dedication: For my mother and father - Ria and Leo Harrison
as: Sense of Obligation, in: Analog, September, October and November 1961. Illustrated by Henry Van Dongen. The September issue also has a cover for the story by Van Dongen.
as: Sense of Obligation, in: Analog (UK), January, February and March 1962. Illustrated by Henry von Dongen.
New York: Bantam, January 1962, 135pp., pbk. First appearance in book form. Reprinted February 1968; February 1971 (ISBN: 0-553-05769-0).
Montreal: Bantam Books, 1962, 135pp., pbk.
as: Il Planeta Dei Dannati. Milan: Ponzoni Editore, 15th November 1963. Translated by Graziano Ricci. [Italian]
as: Retter Einer Welt. Munich: Heyne, 1965, 158pp. Translated by Wulf H. Bergner. [German]
as: Sense of Obligation. London: Dobson, April 1967, 135pp., ISBN: 0-234-77011-2, hbk. Jacket: Richard Weaver.
Tokyo: Hayakawa, November 1974, 198pp. Translated by Hisashi Asakura. [Japanese]
London: Futura, April 1976, 169pp., ISBN: 0-8600-7855-8, pbk. Reprinted June 1977; 1980, 1984, 1984; 23rd May 1991.
as: Planeet Der Verdoemden, in: De Stalen Rat Redt de Wereld, and, Planeet der Verdoemden. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1976, 308pp., ISBN: 90-290-0814-8. Also contains The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World. Cover: Chris Foss. Translted by Lennaert van Thyn and Walter B. Relsky. [Dutch]
Tokyo: Hayakawa, 15th June 1978, 276pp. Translated by Hisashi Asakura. Cover and illustrations: Sumio Tsunoda. [Japanese]
as: Retter Einer Welt. Munich: Erich Pabel, May 1980, 160pp. Translated by Wulf H. Bergner. [German]
New York: Tor, December 1981, 256pp., ISBN: 4852-1, pbk. Cover: Tom Kidd. Reprinted 1982 (ISBN: 48565, Cover: Kidd); 1983; September 1987 (ISBN: 53978-8); October 1993 (ISBN: 0-8125-3507-3).
as: Parte Prima, in: Il Planeta Dei Dannati. Milan: Editrice Nord, 1983, 270pp., ISBN: 88-429-0354-X, hbk. Translated by Roberta Rambelli. Also contains Planet of No Return. [Italian]
in: Der Planeten-Retter. Munich: Bastei-Lubbe, 1986, 316pp., pbk. Translated by Wulf H. Bergner. Also contains Planet of No Return. Cover: James Gurney. [German]
as: Planetata na Prokalnatite. Bulgaria: Bard, 1995. Translated by Peter Hristov. [Bulgarian]
as: Planeta Zatracených. Brno: Návrat, 1997, 180pp., ISBN: 80-7174-711-4. Translated by Šárka Bartesová. Cover: Eddie Jones. [Czech]
Analog, July 1962, p.167. Review by P. Schuyler Miller.
"Violence piles on violence in as bloody and gutsy a yarn as we've had in a
long time, and at the same time the picture of the extraordinary symbiotic
relationships which the Disians have developed with the native life forms
is rounded out. The author has done a masterful job of weaving the two
threads of development together, and hanging the solution of the plot on a
scientific puzzle: who and what are the magter? ... Top stuff, as you know
if you read the original. The paperback expands, rounds out, and makes the
book even better."
Amazing Stories, June 1962, p. 140. Review by S.E. Cotts.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction #133, June 1962.
p.87-88. Review by Alfred Bester.
Brion Brandd Series