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The mission of the scientific recontact ship ”Daedalus” was to go out there and find out what happened. And, if necessary, help out the colonists should their developing worlds have taken warped paths.

The FLORIANS is the story of the first flight of the ”Daedalus” and its crew of seven. It launches a new series by the author of the novels of Star-pilot Grainger, space adventures with a difference that have achieved high praise.

On the world of the Florians, they did indeed find a planet in trouble – except that the inhabitants refused to admit it.

Cover by Michael Whelan

Published in 1976 by DAW.

The mission of the scientific recontact ship Deadalus was to go out there and discover what happened and to help the colonists if their developing worlds were in difficulties.

This is the account of the first flight of the Deadalus and its crew of seven. On the world of the Florians they did indeed find a planet in trouble but the inhabitants refused to admit it.

Cover by Terry Oakes.

Published in 1978 by Hamlyn.
ISBN:0-600-33668-9

Review by Ian Braidwood

Cast of Characters:
Alexis Alexander, Cpt Peter Rolving, Linda Beck, Karen Karelia, Nathan Parrick, Conrad Silvian, Marial Valory, Viana Calmont, Ewan Rondo, Edward Buckland, Ruth Alcor, Vern Harwin, Joe Saconne, Arne Jason, Carl Vulgan, Paul Ellerich.

The first of a series of six novels, which take co-adaptation as a theme and follows the crew of the Daedalus on their mission to make contact with colonies, which left Earth between one and two hundred years previously.

The story starts with meeting between Alexis Alexander and his estranged son, Peter. The younger man is Neo-Christian and a One-Worlder, so deeply antithetical to his father's ambitions. There is some discussion of the political situation on Earth and the Neo-Christian policy of non-aggression - which I find rather appealing - before the spaceship leaves on its mission.

On Floria, the crew of the Daedalus are warmly welcomed and their arrival is treated as an excuse for a party. The colony appears to be a roaring success: the people are so fit and healthy that it raises Alexis' suspicions.

The celebrations don't last unfortunately, competing factions within the Florian hierarchy muscle in to monopolise and restrict the access of the crew.

The authorities on Floria have tried to restrict human evil by restricting access to knowledge about things like guns. Also, they are concerned that Daedalus is the vanguard for a new wave of immigration from Earth.

Alex is kidnapped, but is helped to escape; taking the chance to take a close look at the flora and fauna. Here he makes the discovery upon which the plot turns.

Inevitably, there are going to be comparisons with the Grainger books and I have read suggestions that Brian was trying to repeat the success of that series. This may indeed be the reason for recapitulating the six novel format, but in terms of content the Daedalus books are a definite progression. These books are far more closely linked than the Hooded Swan novels, which have little in common with each other beyond the crew.