This Hugo nominated novel is a lot of fun, it didn't win the Hugo, neither did the other nominees "The Sirens of Titan" and "Dorsai!" they all lost out to "Starship Troopers", a pretty nice group of novels for 1959. I'd decided to read it in celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day 2017, so a few days later I had time to read it. The beginning is decidedly pirate free but the fast moving story doesn't take too long to get to the pirates. I've never seen pirates such as these and the way they turn a profit while saving galactic civilization is highly entertaining. ( )

One of the best of Murray Leinster in my opinion. It's got the classic Leinster hero who's a very smart engineer, turns out to be surprisingly good at manipulating people, takes bold and clever action, but can be a bit clueless about people at times. (And those are the times you are snickering at him.)

This book has some of Leinster's best social satire--at times approaching even the Retief books by Keith Laumer, but with a much lighter touch. It also has a pretty good plot: a brilliant engineer finds society not receptive to his world-changing inventions, so he goes off to change another world. Along the way, he saves several other worlds.

I think this book is enjoyable for a wide range of ages. My boys (7 and 10) loved it, and so did I.

The very light and fluffy romance feels dated and stereotypical for early science fiction (i.e., its stereotypes would be offensive if released today), so you have to appreciate it as a piece of period fiction. That's not really an integral part of the story, though.

By the way, this story is also known as "The Pirates of Zan", and you can buy it under that name too. I have no idea why he called it the Pirates of Ersatz originally, because (unless I missed it) that name does not appear in the book, but Zan does. ( )

Great fun! One of the classics that I've read a number of times over the decades (yah, I'm old), and have enjoyed it every time. It holds up well over the years, unlike a lot of other books.
It is a classic Leinster book, so if you don't like his style then you won't like this.
Not laugh-out-loud funny, but certainly a light-hearted romp. What saves it, I think, is Leinster's wry humour and clear insights into people and societies. ( )

Great fun read. Classic Space Opera that is not to be taken to seriously. All Leinster's books are good. I'll buy this one for my teen son. ( )

An enjoyable book about the adventures of a space pirate and how he reinvigorates a stagnant society. ( )