Trapped Between Two WorldsFrom the back cover:
"Jan Kulozik is one of Earth's privileged elite. A brilliant engineer, he enjoys all the blessings of a 23rd-century civilization which survived global collapse and conquered the stars. Then he meets Sara, the beautiful, desirable agent of a rebel underground dedicated to smashing the iron rule of Earth's masters. She shows him a sordid world he never dreamed existed! And suddenly Jan has to choose - between slaves and masters. His choice plunges him into a web of intrigue, assassanition and betrayal that will lead him to death . . . or to the stars."
I liked this book a lot. It's the first book of the late, great Harry Harrion's To the Stars trilogy. I read the second book back when I was in high school and only recently decided to read all three parts.
As far as dystopian fiction goes, I don't think there's anything new here. What makes the book, however, is Harrion's writing and characterization. The story moves briskly and smoothly throughout, and I admit, I did not expect the one big thing to happen at the end that happened. The main character is very capable, but not a superman. He is outsmarted by the baddies even when everything seems perfectly planned.
Even more impressive, Harrison is capable of telling his tale in a couple of hundred pages. The entire trilogy combined are not as long as a single volume in the ten book traps writers push off on readers today.
Fortunately, all three books (Homeworld, Wheelworld, and Starworld) have recently been released in ebook format, from Amazon at least. If you prefer a hard copy, they're not too difficult to find at affordable prices from used online booksellers.
Definitely worth checking out.
Enjoy!