Sentenced to Prism

Humanx Commonwealth #12

by Alan Dean Foster

The company had a big problem, it was illegally exploiting a fabulously rich planet maned Prism, a world where even the tiniest creatures were living jewels. But somehow, all contact had been lost with the scientist of the survey team. The Company didn't want to draw attention to itself by sending in a rescue mission so they assigned Evan Orgell, a self-confident problem-solver, to investigate. He was smart, he was good. He was backed up by the Commonwealth' s best equipment. What could possibly go wrong?

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure, Space Opera, Aliens

273 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 12, 1985

About the author

Bestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.

Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.

Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.

Reviews

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It is one of my favorites.
I went to a book signing for Alan Dean Foster a number of years ago. I know that you are supposed to buy their new book and have them sign it. Instead I went there with a very beat up copy of this book and embarrassingly handed it to him and asked him if he would please sign this book for me. He got a huge smile and told me how happy he was that I had brought that book in for him to sign. He said he could see that I loved that book. It is so beat up and I would love to read it again but I will have to buy a new copy.

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing he noticed was that despite the extraordinary clarity and intensity of the sunlight, it was difficult to isolate individual growths. Not only because the Prismatic flora grew in nonsymmetrical fractal shapes, but also because so many of them were highly reflective. While much of the reflectivity was a natural consequence of the silicate composition of the growths, some of it was intentional. Reflectivity can become an efficient defense against predators. It’s hard to attack something when all you see is what it reflects. The research complex had been constructed in the middle of a forest of warped mirrors.

I have to say, this was a pleasant little surprise. Prism is a world with predominantly silicate-based fauna and flora (as opposed to carbon-based).

While silicon-based life isn’t an entirely foreign concept in Science Fiction, I don’t believe I know of any other novel that goes into the same amount of detail pertaining a world where this might be the case, as does Prism. How would these forms evolve? Who would be predator? Who would be prey? Where would they get their energy from? Etc.

The possibilities were endless and unnerving.

The story is told from the point of view of a troubleshooter who is sent to Prism to investigate an isolated research station that has ceased all communication. This is never a good sign in Science Fiction, and as you might expect, the first half of the novel does read a bit like a horror novel.

Despite his self-assurances, he found that his stomach was turning. He was convinced he’d already seen everything the planetary lifeforms could do to a human body.
He was wrong.

But, as you should expect (being a reader of genre fiction), things are not what they seem, and as our protagonist sets off following an emergency beacon the novel turns into an exploratory adventure dealing with engineering challenges, a hostile environment, and the differences between Silicate life and Carbon life.

He makes some friends (and enemies) along the way, and in the end, there is a bit of a (not particularly unexpected) twist to wrap things up.

If something could exist entirely in fractal space, it was conceivable it had defensive weaponry which could function in fractal space. [He] had no desire to test the effectiveness of something he couldn’t see.

I suppose the biggest challenge here is visualization. The world is so foreign and often so bizarre that it just really is difficult to imagine it. It’s a quick read, though, so there aren’t any big info-dumps to bog you down.

“Chaos. From what bud could such a horror spring? Randomness come to life. It is everything and yet it is nothing.”

And there it is. All in all, a fun and satisfying yarn that straddles the line between unease and wonder rather successfully. As a bonus: it also features some of the coolest aliens I've read in a while.

A solid 4.

A man in six pieces, waiting for somebody to put him back together again. It was neat enough to be disturbing.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no prison or jail in this book. The title is a pun. I love bad puns so this book had me onside from page one.

In this novel, Alan Dean Foster is entering horror territory. It's not like he doesn't know the terrain; he did write the first three Alien novelisations after all. What makes this science fiction/horror novel unique (in my reading experience anyway) is that it manages to be scary at the other end of the visible spectrum.

What unifies virtually all horror stories? That's right; the dark. It affects us on a visceral level; what is lurking in the shadows just outside of our ability to see it? Fear of the dark is fear of the unknown and there's very little that's more scary than that.

In this novel, however, the action takes place on a planet called Prism, where the majority of life, both plant and animal, is silicon based. (In case you didn't know, all life on Earth is carbon based, as far as I'm aware; I'm not a molecular biologist.) Due to this, most of the life and terrain on Prism is crystalline in nature; the refractions and reflections making virtually every surface almost blinding to the human eye... and more than a little surreal.

The story isn't as original as the setting (a human research base has been established on Prism but we've now lost all contact with them and an investigative/rescue mission has been mounted) but it's still a joy to lose oneself in this unique world. It's a bit like Alice's Adventures In Wonderland crossed with Aliens... but the main protagonist isn't Alice or Ripley... It's Carter Burke. Yup.

My only real criticism of the book is that there is a long section of the book where the main protagonist is searching for a survivor, in which our hero seems to lack any sense of urgency. At one point, he even decides to have a nap for an hour! I would have thought he'd have been in a bit more of a hurry, under the circumstances, but maybe that's just me...

All in all, a really fun read. Man, I've only got one book in the Humanx Commonwealth series to go now! Oh, well... Onward!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Foster's finest science fiction novels. It's set within the framework of his Humanx Commonwealth universe, but is completely stand-alone. It's set on a planet filled with creatures that are silica-based, and they are some of his most clever and interesting alien creations. The pacing is a little bit odd, but it's basically a rescue story featuring Evan Orgell, a competent man who would be right at home in a Heinlein book. He has to solve the mystery not only of the planet, but also his mission, and the book is a very ingenious one.

[P.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for me. I love engineering/tech heroes, for obvious reason (I'm an engineer IRL). I've read this book multiple times. The creatures and ecosystem of Prism are brilliant and intriguing.

I love the silicon based life forms and their approach to function. If only modifying our own bodies was that simple. Also, Foster's handling of the main character's neurosis and conditioning was really well done. The main characters reactions to things were very plausible, especially transition from the phase 1 of his life to phase 2. Although, towards the end I'd expect the main character to be a little more believing.

I've read this at least 4 times over the years and I know I'll read it again. It's one of my treasures.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never having read any of the Humanx Commonwealth stories but having determined that this was a stand-alone tale, I decided that it would give me a toe-test into that universe without commiting me to read the next in a very long sequence and so on and I'm very glad I did so.

Prism is a planet with a uniquely crystaline enviroment and which supports both silicon and carbon-based life forms and when the company loses communications with its research group on the planet, they send in their best troubleshooter - Evan Orgell. That said, he soon finds out that Prism is a very dangerous place to be, even when equipped with the best and toughest enviroment suit the Commonwealth can produce. When that suit succumbs to the local flora/fauna, he finds himself exposed to the hostile environment and fighting for his survival without any protection other than his wits and the help of an unexpectedly sentient native lifeform called A Surface of Fine Azure-Tinted Reflection With Pyroxin Dendritic Inclusions (or Azure for short).

What follows is a fine tale of survival where Evan is forced to learn new ways, overcoming his prejudices and assumptions. He's also still of a mind to find out exactly what happened to the research group and what the company were doing on Prism. This is science fiction at its best - where the expected norms of physics and life are turned upside down and sideways.

[Tomoko · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read this book a dozen years ago, my favorite thing and lasting impression was Prism itself, a planet with life-forms based on silicon instead of carbon. It took me years to find the book again based on such scant information, but thanks to the internet and a blogger who cataloged his favorite sci-fi novels, I was able to read it again. While that was certainly a nostalgic trip, I feel like it stood up well to my, now adult, expectations. It's no wonder the silicon-based world stuck so well in my young teen-aged brain, the world is incredibly well developed and described, and sounds absolutely stunning. If it were ever adapted to film I feel like it could easily rival the visuals of Avatar. The characters are great - I especially love the indigenous Prism folk and their interactions with our main character. Although it's a straightforward plot-line told from a singular point of view, the story itself is a lot deeper than simply surviving on a potentially hostile alien world, touching on sense of self and others, and heavily exploring ethics via a familiar planetary exploitation theme (I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of the novels that inspired James Cameron in the first place).
I loved it then and I love it now...I'm curious to see whether my feelings change another ten years from now.

[Forrest Norvell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, Alan Dean Foster, you're so entertainingly daffy.

I first read this as a teen who was a huge fan of Foster's Flinx books, and only now as an adult can I see and appreciate the pulpy tradition of adventure sf that Foster works / worked within. The protagonist is a Space Yuppie brought to question his company's / society's values through environmental trials and the intervention of friendly Space Muppets, and the story is a stock adventure yarn that would have seemed completely familiar to any reader of Astounding or Galaxy in the 1950s. I had forgotten, however, how fond I am of Foster's galactic Commonwealth (which is basically Space Postcolonial British Commonwealth) and its Unified Church (Space Anglicans / Space Episcopalians at their most ecumenical and fussily bureaucratic), and while I wouldn't exactly call this hard sf (the description of fractal surfaces as being invisible to human eyes because they fall between the second and third dimensions is especially head-scratching for even mildly mathematically-inclined readers), there are enough fillips of charming, otherworldly xenobiological detail to raise it above the usual Del Rey standards for the era.

[Malgorzata Wilk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my comfort reads. I don't remember how many times I have read it. It's a great story about first contact and how our conceptions about life, the universe and everything else may not be the only ones and not necessarilly correct. There may be others who view it differently. It's a book about tollerance, about deceiving appearances and friendship. I particularly like the gentle humour that Foster writes into the storyline and generally his writing style. Even after so many years it's still so refreshing. And the story unfolds unexpectedly before us.

[Steven Odhner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm only writing a review to complain about one thing. This book tries to hook the reader in by starting in the middle of a crisis and then going into a flashback. One problem... the book never catches up to itself. The scene on the cover is the one I'm referring to. The main character has fallen, and he can't get up. But as the story progresses, the suit he's in is disabled and destroyed rendering the opening scene impossible. It seems odd that the editor didn't catch that one.

[Wynand Schoonbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read and re-read Sentenced to Prism a few times over the years. It is one of my childhood favorites. It's a quick and easy read with fascinating aliens and a diverse & interesting alien ecology. 5 stars!

[Barbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read books from ADF you can visualize the world he has so carefully described to you. Makes you feel that he has been there and invited you to look through a photo album. I can't get enough of his books.

[CasualDebris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / 5

From Casual Debris.

As a pre-teen in the mid-1980s, I read a modest of amount of science fiction, and for a few years enjoyed the campy works of Alan Dean Foster. I read about thirty of his books published in the 1970s up until about 1990, including a number of the novelizations. The books are quick reads and I found them to be colourfully imaginative, though many I found, even at that time, to be quite dull (Cachalot and Voyage to the City of the Dead come to mind). Eventually I abandoned his works for more complex books, and soon stopped reading science fiction novels, aside from a book or two a year. Then a couple of weeks ago I was rummaging through my parents' basement and came across a number of his, and other science fiction authors', books. And reminiscing, I thought why not.

I picked up Sentenced to Prism, which, though I've owned for many years (bought for $2.25 at the local secondhand bookshop that no longer exists, so the markings on the first page inform me), I have never read. Perhaps it was the glaring yellow cover that kept it at bay, or most likely I got tired of Foster's books before I got around to this one. Proof of the latter are the handful more paperbacks of his I came across, which I've never opened up.

What I found with Sentenced to Prism was a pleasant surprise: an enjoyable novel despite the light writing, two-dimensional characters, and seemingly lack of depth. The novel deals with an arrogant company research man named Evan Orgell who is sent to a newly discovered planet, Prism, to uncover the fate of a research team which has stopped communicating with home base. Orgell soon learns what a unique planet this is, and, following many unusual dangers, meets up with some native species with whom he forms an alliance. More than the plot, and certainly more that the non-character of Orgell, who we follow throughout the bulk of the story (aside from a couple of glaring point of view shifts), what makes the read a compelling one is the planet and its various life forms. Foster has the reputation for creating interesting worlds and species, but I don't recall his work ever being this imaginative and immersive.

In addition to the interesting world is the late development of some thematic links, which help to elevate the book in the last few chapters from being a simple plotted fare developed only for Foster's imaginings to a narrative that contains, though simplistically, a point. The notions of "Associatives," of community and collaboration, is brought full circle when Orgell and his new friends encounter an unusual, chaotic creature that has its own interpretation of what a community ought to be, and what it can achieve. Furthermore, the idea of the alien Associative challenges Orgell in his own understanding of the purpose of community. The novel fails in that Orgell is so under-developed (we are told endlessly that he is selfish and arrogant, yet since the moment he lands on the planet he appears to be selfless and to understand the importance of team-work in the face of survival), that there is no real transformation from human-thinking to embracing another culture. This is no Dances with Wolves, or say, Toy Story. It is instead a contrived novel that is oddly a pleasure to read.

[Karen Manning · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love his writing. Very nice strange new world to explore.

[SciFiOne · Rating 5 out of 5]

1986 grade A
2001 grade A
2022 Grade A-

This is basically a survival story. The story actually starts with chapter two. The rather obnoxious protagonist is briefed about a mission to find out what happened to the survey station and team on the recently discovered planet "Prism" which has crystalline life. He is fitted with the newest, toughest, and best armored survival suit and sent off. Eventually the suit is damaged and he has to survive on his own. That much was predictable and the cause of my disbelief that he could survive the unfriendly life when the suit could not. After that the story gets incredibly better! Foster has created amazing alien life forms that mimic every other life form I know but with wonderful differences. Everything is resolved by the end of the story and there was no reason for the disbelief.

Based on my notes from the first readings, I skipped chapter one, which causes the next 70 pages to be a sort of flashback. I skimmed it later and could not see that is is necessary for the story. It is probably there to lock in readers. I did skip to the ends of a few paragraphs throughout the book, but that is trivial. The prose if easy and fast reading. The story is exciting. The characters are interesting and develop wonderfully. The world building is awesome.

Recommended, with or without chapter one.

[Hwango · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the Alan Dean Foster books that I decided to read again to see how it matched up with my memories of first reading them when I was young. Some of them were more disappointing than others, but this one stood out.

The book starts off with its protagonist trapped and hopeless, then goes into a flashback of how he got to be in that situation. By the time the story catches up with 'the present,' it doesn't match the text from the beginning - aspects of his situation are slightly different, and he's able to escape from his confinement with little difficulty. He still has problems, of course, but the discrepancies were very jarring.

Was this poor editing, or did Foster try to draw the reader into the story and then cheat his way out of the corner he'd backed himself into, hoping no one would notice? Neither one is excusable to me.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you don't like sci-fi you won't like this one, but for sci-fi it wasn't bad. Alan Dean Foster's descriptions of the planet get a bit verbose after a while, but that is part of the genre.

[Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evan Orgell is a fixer for his company: he gets sent in to Deal With Things when they go wrong. And now they've got a planet that they're trying to illegally open up for exploitation that's gone out of contact, so they send Orgell in, equipped with the latest in survival suit technology. What he finds is beyond his imagination and that of the designers of his oh so marvellous suit.

I first read this as a teenager, finding it in the local library, when I was hoovering up whatever sci-fi they had. I loved it for the imagination and cool aliens. Rereading it, I find it a bit clunky, and I'm less taken with the protagonist, but the alien world of Prism is still a magnificent creation. Full of silicon-based life forms, some of the descriptions fall into full-blown horror, as almost everything he meets wants his tasty, tasty rare earth minerals. Orgell is described as an arrogant generalist, very intelligent and able to integrate lots of new knowledge. This is undermined by his actions in the book, where he does display the described arrogance, but less of the intelligence.

The central theme of the book is our over-reliance on technology. That is Orgell's early undoing, that he assumes that his suit will be able to overcome anything that the alien world can throw at it. He obviously learns this isn't true, but he unlearns this reliance on technology surprisingly quickly. There's also discussion about exploitation of natural resources and new lands - bringing to mind how colonisation fared in our world, from the arrival of Europeans in the New World, to the 19th century European empires that decimated cultures around the world.

There's a lot packed into a book of under 300 pages and while the writing can be a bit clunky, and the protagonist irritating, the plot is sound, the worldbuilding is great and the ecosystem of Prism very neatly thought out.

[Drew Grgich · Rating 5 out of 5]

First - one star of this rating is easily due to nostalgia. This was one of the first "harder" science fiction books I read. It is not really hard sci-fi - more like gentle medium - but it is definitely not a simple lasers and spaceships sci-fi tale.

The story is straight forward. A freelance explorer/problem solved who lives life on a planet where humans are protected 24x7 in exosuits of one kind or another is tasked with finding out what happened to an exploration team on a strange new world - Prism. Prism is planet where life is a curious mix of carbon-based and silicon-based lifeforms. It is not a spoiler to reveal that the main character's exosuit fails completely within hours of landing on the planet - this is revealed in a "flash forward" at the opening of the novel. From there, our hero must make his way in a world where he is completely at the mercy of the alien creatures around him - - where even the smallest organism would love nothing more than to leach the minerals from his body.

Clever from the first page to the last, you'll encounter things here you have never dreamt of and will see solutions to problems made in ways that are - pun intended - organic to the story and the rules the author puts forward.

A quick entertaining read that fans of Foster & sci-fi in general should not miss. I would KILL to see the adult Pixar or quality 3-D animation of this book!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

ADF flexing his incredible world-building skills. My fav is still Icerigger's frozen Tran-ky-ky, but Prism is excellent...as is mostly the case, the human characters are a bit on the thin side & I would have liked to have read a better conclusion for Evan and Martine (can't believe I'm typing this...but a nod to a romantic future might have cool). The aliens were truly unique - sun absorbing and born into highly specialized traits...a nice read having just finished Voyage to the City of the Dead.
One small item felt like a plot hole or a missed opportunity. We learn that Martine had been modified by Azure's Associates and had the ability to fire lasers from her hand. When the duplicitous evil company captures and imprisons them - her abilities aren't used or even mentioned. It's possible I missed it...if not, it seemed like a mistake. Also, the whole tale wraps up with the Commonwealth Church there and others to ensure that Prism won't be exploited, etc. Just a bit tidy for my liking, but all ADF's Humanx stories seem to end on a positive note - or at least hopeful.

[Joshua Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foster is one of my favorite authors, in large part because of books like this. The book is about a man who is sent to Prism to investigate the problems an outpost is having. Prism is potentially a very profitable, but is very hard to work on, planet. The fact they have to keep what it is and where it is secret makes it all the more hard (partly because they are operating on a gray area legally, partly to stop competition).
To that end he is given the best mech/survival suit that money can buy. He does not know a lot about the situation, but he is a jack of all trades and is being sent because no one really knows what is going on. He is sure he can figure it out without too many problems.

I won't spoil more, the book is one of the best optimistic (without stopping being realistic) exportation books I have read. Prism is a fully realized world with it's own way of doing things and it's own life.

www.JoshuaLawrencePike.com

[Scoats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Alan Dean Foster novel. In some ways ADF reminds me of Michael Crichton. Both wrote of richly detailed places that existed only in their imaginations. Both put a lot science into their science fiction. Unlike Crichton, Foster is a great writer and his characters are interesting.

I usually write the date that I finish a book on the first page. This one had no such notation. After reading it for a while, I realized that I had read it before, probably about 15 to 18 years ago. I had forgotten almost everything about it, plus it is a great book, so I kept on going. This copy now has "03/2015" on the first page.

New bucket list item for when I finish the Read All The Books We Own Project: Read all the Alan Dean Foster books. ADF has (had?) a great imagination. I have read three or four of his books, and they all take place in the same universe. I will be interesting to see how it ended up fitting together.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun little sci fi tale of a very confident man on an alien planet.
I was really unsure of what route this would take. When he first met Azure the little crystaline alien I was curious about how the author would work them in. I loved the plot device of "of you've just got a thing we can talk with, don't worry". The associative was pretty wild. The idea that they were separate beings, but that new ones could just be made (like the laser one) was very interesting. I wondered how many were natural and how many were designed. The end plot point of "Look there's out ship; oh wait it's the enemy with a sticker" was really a weird way to end the book. It felt so obvious, but perhaps for 1985 it wasn't. I would have preferred our main character learned a little humility and many questioned things, but oh well. Would love to see some chracter art from this book.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Dean Foster never disappoints. This is an excellent read, and it still holds up today. The story itself takes on many different aspects of science fiction (i.e. horror, adventure, intelligent alien life), but it all feels fresh and new, even years later.

I actually sent Foster an email (he has a public email address on his website, if anyone is curious) about the novel, how much I appreciated it, and how it has inspired my own writing. He responded with some very kind words, and he encouraged me to keep writing! Overall, great book, by a great man.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that was an enjoyable read. No surprise there as Foster is a reliable storyteller with far more hits than misses.

It was almost as if I were reading it for the first time. It had been so long since I last read it that I forgot major plot points. Like huge ones, so it was fun to experience them all over again.

If you have appreciated Foster’s other stand alone Humanx Commonwealth books I think you’ll like this one too.

[Andy2302 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beat up paperback was donated and almost recycled when I noticed it was a First Edition from 1985. Plus I was curious about the author. ~ The story is about a one man rescue party gone wrong. On a planet built on silicone rather than carbon. I was hooked from the start. Real Sci-fi full of unheard of beings doing cool stuff. The ending was no surprise but the journey was fun. No fluff 273 pages.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Except for a few minor continuity issues, I loved this book! I’d never read anything by this author before, but my boyfriend gave me this book for Christmas thinking that I would like it. He was right. The author has created a really fascinating and unique world. I could barely put the book down as I had to know what happened next. Very easy to read.

[Kevin Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

How could a book with an intelligent talking glass caterpillar friend and other similar aliens get anything but 5 stars. I really enjoyed it. Reminds of the first books that Heinlein wrote for teens. He wrote for teens not down to teens.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Million Prismatic Stars!

Sentenced to Prism is a great story, filled with descriptions you won’t believe, characters both fearsome and interesting, and adventure, adventure, adventure!

[SOTERO RIVERA · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's one of my all-time favorite sci-fi books.

Awesome story with great characters, both human and non-human.
ADF is a great world builder who infuses interesting and entertaining ideas to his stories.
I highly recommend this book.