The Dirdir

His exploration ship blasted from orbit, Terran scout Adam Reith is stranded on Tschai, a world colonized by three alien species -- the Chasch, the Dirdir, and the Wannek -- while the planet's original inhabitants, the mysterious Pnume, lurk underground. In the third book of the four-volume cycle, Reith resolves to build his own spacecraft, to escape Tschai and return to Earth. But the project requires a vast quantity of sequins, the precious stones that are Tschai's common currency -- whic...