This Means War!

An expedition returns from the Third Planet badly depleted, carrying a report no one expected. What should have been another controlled operation ended in disaster, and the surviving officer must explain how a world they thought they understood suddenly became deadly. As his account unfolds, the disturbing truth emerges. Something has changed on the Third Planet. Encounters that once followed familiar patterns are producing different results, and every response exposes weaknesses in assumptions that once seemed certain. The inhabitants are learning quickly and demonstrating abilities that could transform a manageable problem into a serious threat. An advantage once considered permanent may be disappearing faster than anyone imagined. Understanding what happened creates an urgent problem. If conditions continue to change, the next expedition may face an enemy better prepared than the last. Waiting carries its own danger. The question becomes what they are prepared to do before the balance shifts permanently. A. Bertram Chandler gives “This Means War!” a steadily tightening sense of danger, revealing its threat piece by piece as confidence gives way to alarm. Experienced men discover that the rules they relied upon may no longer apply—and their next decision could determine far more than another mission. A. Bertram Chandler was a British-born Australian science fiction writer whose stories appeared in magazines including Astounding Science Fiction and Analog. He became best known for his extensive John Grimes series, combining interstellar adventure with the traditions of life at sea. Chandler spent many years as a merchant marine officer, experience that gave his spacefaring fiction a strong sense of command and responsibility. “This Means War!” draws on those strengths, placing men in a rapidly changing situation where understanding the danger may come only moments before they must decide what to do.