A Planet Called Treason
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| Author | Orson Scott Card |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
| Released | 1979 |
| Media Type | Print ( ) |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-312-61395-4 |
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| St Martins; Reissue edition (March 1990) | |
| Author | Orson Scott Card |
|---|---|
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
| Released | 1988 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-312-92109-8 |
A Planet Called Treason, a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card, was originally published in 1979 by St Martin's Press and Dell Publishing Co. After being heavily revised, the book was republished in 1988 under the title Treason by St. Martin's Press.
The premise for this work of science fiction is a metal poor planet to which the anti-democratic ancestors of the inhabitants were banished from a space-faring Republic. Through the ages, the descendants of each of the banished members (mostly scientists) formed nations which warred and allied with one another to gain an advantage over their rivals. Since Treason (the name of the planet) is devoid of metals the nations were forced to trade for it with teleportation devices known as the Ambassadors left by their off-planet jailers. A condition of their sentence on the planet was that they must stay until they could produce a starship to take them off planet.
The main character in the book is Lanik Mueller, heir to the Mueller family kingdom. The Muellers, through generations of eugenics and genetic engineering, have the ability to heal at an accelerated speed and regrow body parts naturally. The dark side to the Mueller nations is that they trade organs and body parts for iron and other metals. The organs are harvested from radical regeneratives, people whose bodies can't distinguish between a healthy and injured body part and grow extra appendages as well as organs of the opposite sex.
After discovering that Lanik is a radical regenerative, Lanik's father essentially banishes him from the kingdom. This banishment comes in the form of sending him as an emissary/spy to the Nkumai, a rival nation, thus getting him out of the eye of the Mueller public, eliminating the need to send him to the pens with the other radical regeneratives. Due to his radical regenerative body Lanik has grown breasts, making him look like a woman. Using this subterfuge, he poses as an ambassador from the matriarchal nation Bird in order to discover what the Nkumai are trading in exchange for metals. Their abundance of iron has allowed them to dominate the region militarily.
This mission is only the beginning of the adventure for Lanik, who discovers the secrets of the most powerful nations and at the same time gains additional abilities to save his people and determine the fate of his planet.
[edit] Important characters
- Lanik Mueller - main character, heir to the throne of Mueller
- Arwin Mueller - Lanik's father, king of Mueller
- Dinte Mueller - Lanik's brother, later discovered to be an "illuder"
- Ruva (Mueller) - Arwin's wife
- Saranna (Mueller) - Lanik's love
- Mwabao Mawa (Nkumai) - ruler of the Nkumai, later found to be an "illuder"
- Helmut (Schwartz) - Lanik's friend
- Glain (Britton) - a man Lanik lives with for about a year
- Vran (Britton) - Glain's wife
- Lord Barton (Britton) - a Lord in Britton
- Percy Barton (Britton) - Lord Barton's "son", actually an "illuder"
[edit] Regions of the planet
Lanik travels to many of the regions of the planet Treason throughout the book, and discovers that those residing in different regions have different powers or capabilities. He first passes through the land of the Ku Kuei while on his way to Nkumai, learning that they can control the flow of time in a bubble extending out from themselves. When he comes to the land of Schwartz, he discovers that the people there are able to form rock to their will, as well as take energy from the sun. Lanik learns both of these skills and uses them to kill the "illuders" from Anderson. The illuders, as Lanik calls them, have the ability to appear to be anything they wish, clouding the minds of those around them to their will.
The regions of Treason are named after each of the banished inhabitants. The occupationals of the founders are listed (where known). The regions are (alphabetically): Allison (theology), Anderson (leader of the rebellion), Arvea, Bird (socialite), Boccini, Brian, Britton (historian), Cramer, Da Silva, Cummings, Dark, Drew (Dream interpretation), Duan, Dyal, Epson, Garvin, Gill, Goldstein, Grant, Hanks (psychology), Helper, Hess, Holt, Hooker, Hunter, Huntington, Israel, Jones, Ku Kuei, Lardner, Leishman, Ling, Mancowicz, Martin, McRae, Moatfort, Mueller (geneticist), Nkumai (theoretical physicist), Olaen, Phillips, Porter, Robles, Rogers, Ryan, Schmidt, Schwartz (geologist), Sill, Singer, Stanley, Stradling, Tan'ani, Tellerman (actor), The League, Underwood (botanist), Van Horn, Wankier, Williams, Wizer, Wong, Wood and Wynn.
