Uller Uprising - Pure Military Science Fiction

 Uller Uprising was the perfect book to read after Downward to the Earth because it is it's opposite. As Downward to the Earth was post-colonial, personal, peaceful, and open-minded, Uller Uprising was unapologetically colonial, violent, and paranoid. It was a very strange reading experience. 

Downward to the Earth is definitely a product of the late sixties early seventies. It questioned Western European ideals and promoted cultural relativism. Uller Uprising was a product of the 50's when atomic power and The Space Race were dominant worries. 

Uller Uprising was published in 1952 and was written by H. Beam Piper. In the future, Terrans will colonize planets through charter companies to use for settlement and for trade. One of these planets is Uller. The colony is run similarly to how the British East India Company ran India in the 19th Century. In fact, the book is a science fiction retelling of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. The Terrans have made deals with the native alien species, some of the races work for the Terrans and some are mistreated. A group of the four-armed Reptilian aliens start an uprising against the Terrans. The Terrans and their native allies must battle to save the colony. Is it even worth saving? Is Piper endorsing or condemning imperialism and colonialism? 

This book was pure military science fiction, and I felt like I was reading a military briefing of an event that happened on a distant planet. We are introduced to the main characters and learn about how they feel about the aliens, but it doesn't go much deeper than that. They are for the Terran cause and will do what is necessary to stop the uprising.  One character goes from being a hippie defending the natives and is against colonialism, to wanting to fight and kill the natives. Almost being killed in a terrorist attack will do that to you. 

Though the book was action packed, I felt that it dragged at times. I also didn't like that we didn't get to hear the Uller aliens' point of view and why they would resort to terror and nuclear war to get their planet back. We only get the biased view of our human soldiers, mainly General Carlos von Schlichten. 

Carlos von Schlichten would never be a hero in a novel today. He wears a monocle and is proud of his Nazi heritage. He does not apologize to anyone, calls the females on his team "girls" and seduces the hippie girl to his way of thinking. 

My favorite part of the book was the world building. I read the Piper wrote more books in the universe and I am interested in reading more. In Piper's world, and this isn't a spoiler, the Earth is destroyed by a nuclear war except for the Southern Hemisphere. All of the humans left are a mix of Southern Hemisphere races. Carlos von Schlichten is a mix of Argentian Spaniards and German refugees. Other characters are a mix of Chinese and African. The humans organize into a Terran Federation and colonize other worlds. Piper then goes into detail about the planets in the star system where the story takes place.

The book was a fun adventure and is definitely not a point of view we see much in 2025. I definitely see how the 60's and 70's were a reaction to 50's. I grade it B for good, mostly for the excellent world building.