The novel “City of the Chasch”, also known as “The Chasch”, by Jack Vance was published for the first time in 1968. It is the first novel in the Tschai tetralogy, also known with the global title “Planet of Adventure”.

An Earth starship reaches the Carina 4269 system, from where 200 years earlier a signal was sent. A scout-boat is sent to investigate a planet that seems habitable but soon after its launch the starship is destroyed by a missile launched from the surface. The scout-boat escapes destruction and can land but the two crew members are attacked by what appear to be humans.

Paul Waunder gets killed while Adam Reith manages to hide and sees other human groups who come to check the situation with some individuals belonging to species Reith doesn’t know. Eventually, the survivor gets captured by a local tribe and is forced to quickly understand the situation in which he ended up to avoid big trouble.