«World Without Stars» by Poul Anderson

A far-future tale of marooned space travelers, a near-immortal hero, and a universe-spanning love from a multiple Nebula Award–winning author.In a far-future era, death is virtually no more, banished except in the case of severe, violent trauma, enabling mankind to spend what were once entire lifetimes exploring the farthest reaches of the vast universe. When the interstellar vessel Meteor is dispatched to investigate a distant orb circling a giant red sun, an error in calculations sends the ship crashing into a different world altogether, casting its surviving crew into the heart of a savage, planetwide war of primitive alien tribes. With no means of escape and hostiles on every side, the situation appears hopeless for Captain Felip Argens. But for the mission’s true leader—crewman, adventurer, and ship’s bard Hugh Valland—impossible is not an option. If necessary, he will alter destiny to end the terrible conflict and bring his men safely back home, even if it takes decades, or centuries, or longer—for a remarkable love patiently awaits Valland’s return to Earth. It is she who sustains him, who inspires his actions, his courage, his song, with a love that is a miracle, a memory, a tragedy, and a dream.One of the most thoughtful and lyrical works by the incomparable Poul Anderson—winner of seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards over the course of his acclaimed career—World without Stars is a thrilling deep-space adventure and a magnificent feat of world building by a luminary of science fiction’s golden age.