Birthright

About this book

Emil Dalmady is a proud, hot-tempered factor from the cold colony world of Altai. He has run the Solar Spice and Liquors Company's trading post on the distant planet Suleiman, until a curt message strips him of his post and orders him home. Furious and determined to defend his honor, he storms through six layers of company bureaucracy on Earth, demanding to know who fired him and why. He never expected the answer to come from the top. In a luxurious penthouse above Chicago, he finds himself face to face with Nicholas van Rijn, the legendary, cunning and outrageously theatrical merchant prince of the Polesotechnic League. Is this a reprimand, a trap, or something far stranger? Poul Anderson's Birthright is a sharp, witty science fiction story of interstellar trade, alien cultures and the unending battle of economics. Set in the Polesotechnic League future, it features van Rijn's famously mangled English, a marginal spice trade on a hydrogen-breathing world, and the rising ambitions of a young star nation. With clever business intrigue and a spirited clash of personalities, it is a fine introduction to one of science fiction's most memorable rogues. Start reading Birthright online instantly in your browser, right after purchase.

Author

Poul Anderson

Length

~36 pages

Reading time

43 min

Chapters

1

Released

November 11, 2026

Languages

🇬🇧 EN · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇩🇪 DE · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇧🇷 PT-BR · 🇲🇽 ES-MX · 🇵🇹 PT · 🇺🇦 UK · 🇨🇿 CS · 🇸🇰 SK · 🇬🇷 EL · 🇭🇺 HU · 🇹🇷 TR · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇷🇴 RO · 🇧🇬 BG · 🇭🇷 HR · 🇷🇸 SR · 🇸🇮 SL · 🇱🇹 LT · 🇱🇻 LV · 🇪🇪 ET · 🇸🇪 SV · 🇩🇰 DA · 🇳🇴 NB · 🇫🇮 FI · 🇯🇵 JA · 🇰🇷 KO · 🇨🇳 ZH · 🇹🇼 ZH-TW · 🇮🇩 ID · 🇻🇳 VI · 🇹🇭 TH · 🇮🇳 HI · 🇸🇦 AR · 🇮🇱 HE

Formats

eBook

Print format

Paperback, 13.5 × 21 cm, 40 pages

Age rating

All Ages