The Blue World

Author: Jack Vance

A spaceship with a bunch of delinquents crashes on a water-covered planet. The survivors manage to adapt to the circumstances and rebuild a kind of civilization, living on the giant floating leaves of water plants. No metals to work with though, which kind of makes it difficult to defend themselves again the giant tentacled, extremely voracious, semi-intelligent sea-creatures who regularly raid the colonists' carefully tended plantations and orchards. King Kragen is the biggest one of those, and the colonists have adapted to him by making him into a kind of god, who must be appeased and submitted toall through the agency of a dedicated and unproductive priesthood, of course. Except for Sklar Hast, who's going to try and kill King Kragen, no matter what the cost. The priests, of course, aren't exactly happy at the prospect of him succeeding. Why it's at this place on the list: Because there were more significant underrated novels. That's all. This one's a classic Vancean tale of a young man at odds with his society and determined to thumb his nose at the system, no matter what the cost. As usual, Vance's mordant wit takes a good swipe at the nonsensicalities of religion, parasitical priests and society's acceptance of traditions that make no sense. Read if you like: Social commentary and satire, wrapped up in a tale of coming-of-age and rebellion, and set in a most unusual environment that would have seriously taxed human ingenuity.