Planet of Adventure is a series of four science fiction novels by Jack Vance, published between 1968 and 1970. The novels relate the adventures of the scout Adam Reith, the sole survivor of an Earth ship investigating a signal from the distant planet Tschai. Setting Tschai is a planet orbiting the star Carina 4269, 212 light-years from Earth. It is populated by various sentient alien species. The native Pnume have been subjected to invasions by three species. In addition, there are humans, captured and brought to the planet long ago by one of the spacefaring species; some of them live as slaves or servants of each of the alien races, while others have managed to create their own societies. Each of the four novels relates Reith's adventures with one of the species, and is named after that species. In order, the books are: City of the Chasch Servants of the Wankh The Dirdir The Pnume Tschai inhabitants Chasch The somewhat reptilian Chasch arrived a hundred thousand years prior to the tale's start, and are divided into three warring factions, the decadent Old Chasch, the creatively sadistic Blue Chasch, and the barbarian Green Chasch. Dirdir The birdlike, or feline, predatory Dirdir have warred with the Chasch and the Wankh in the past, but on Tschai maintain an uneasy peace due to their relative military parity. In the first book they are described as "sheep-like", but Vance appears to have changed their characterization by the third, in which they are compared to leopards. The Dirdir are described as having a very complex sexuality, with many different genders that leads to many different combinations of gender-compatibility when it comes to sex and breeding, though each breeding still seems to involve only two individuals. Humans The human client races, the Pnumekin, Chaschmen, Dirdirmen and Wankhmen resemble their alien patrons to some degree, due to selective breeding, surgery and the desire of the humans to emulate their respective masters. The religious fiction that their dead are reborn as Chasch keeps the Chaschmen obedient. The Dirdirmen view themselves as degenerate Dirdir and strive to minimize their differences. The Wankhmen, on the other hand, act as the sole interpreters of the Wankh and as a result, are able to manipulate the alien race to their own advantage. The Pnumekin are kept docile by drugs; the Gzhindra, ostracised and exiled Pnumekin, act as agents for the Pnume. Vance's