A Circus of Hells by Poul Anderson (American, 1970)

Summary:
Junior Lieutenant Dominic Flandry is stationed in a world that has been largely ignored in the more recent years by the empire. As such he isn’t worried about how the Merseians, an enemy to the Terran empire, are involved in the planet. He is offered a million credits to make a dubious trip to find Wayland, a distant world that the empire has also forgotten but is supposed to be rich in resources like ores and metal. He goes along with Djana, a well-intentioned prostitute. When he finally reaches the planet, he finds its mines still fully functional, to the point where they have been building a thousand different types of robots that seem to be going after each other constantly. When they leave the planet Flandry realizes that they have been sold out to the Merseians. They take over his ship and are taken to another planet, Talwin. A young scientist offers to spare them only if Flandry escorts him through an expedition of the planet they are in. When they finish their mission Flandry and Djana part ways after she curses him for rejecting her feelings for him.

Another summary:
The novel is set in an unspecified time in the future where humans have managed to expand their civilization to reach places far away from Terra (Earth) in the galaxy. The expansion of the empire brings the necessity of military services in order to control new planets. The way in which society has developed in different environments is not shown to the reader, only some of them. The mere presentation of not pleasant zones or cities does not constitute a criticism towards the world the author lives in. The perspective of the author is fairly neutral and focuses on the adventures of the protagonist instead of suggesting the social issues that could be going on in the empire. Through the novel the reader is able to see how the expansion of humans has led to the loss of control of certain planets, either because there is a lack of interest in colonizing them or because they are far from the government headquarters. This shows the inherent development of these zones, for example, the way robots behave under no human supervision in an inhospitable planet. The ideology of the races featured is of not much importance as the interests of individuals are. Nevertheless, it is evident that humans have continued using a hierarchical political system, naming themselves an empire. Other species inhabit the galaxy, though; the Marseian, for instance. The plot of the novel focuses on a notorious merchant who wants to profit from a long-forgotten planet, Wayland. Once, Wayland was a place where mining was the main economic activity; however, with the passage of time it was abandoned along with autonomous robots, which eventually learned defensive tactics. The reader follows Lieutenant Dominic "Nicky" Flandry, a man who is contacted by Ammon, the mercenary, to explore Wayland and retrieve information about its possible economic potential. He is accompanied by Djana, a prostitute who is in charge of checking the reliability of Flandry's information. After both leave Irumclaw, they are intercepted by Wayland robots and are forced to survive in the hostile planet. They are first rescued and then taken as prisoners by the Marseians. A Marseian scientist called Ydwir, helps them to escape. Eventually, they part ways after receiving the payment for their mission.

Another summary:
Flandry is a junior officer of the Irumclaw Base, where he is being trained. Then he meets Ammon, who assigns him a scouting mission on a backwater planet; he has to be a kind of spy and report to Ammon everything he finds out about this planet. He would get a huge payment for this. On this mission, Djana (who used to be a prostitute) goes with him, and she is in charge of checking his reliability and reporting everything. They arrive on this planet called Wayland. The planet is a treasure mine as it is full of expensive heavy metal. Their ship gets damaged and they suddenly find out that the planet is full of robots. Flandry gets captured with Djana by the Merseians, who take Djana prisoner and send Flandry to another strange planet where life only awakens in certain climates. The Merseians make Djana sell out Flandry, but he forgives her and creates a plan to escape. Flandry starts to study the life forms on that planet and Djana develops her mental powers with the Ydwir help. Finally, Flandry and Djana both survive, Ydwir helps them escape. Flandry and Djana receive the payment for their mission. Flandry tries to convince Djana to become a Terran Intelligence agent, but she rejects him as she realizes he is just using him. Finally, they go on their own way.

World view: Describes in a variety of aspects and with some consistency an imaginary state or society which is regarded as better, in some respects at least, than the one in which its author lives.
Future projections: Presents a future-historical goal to be achieved by the efforts of human beings.
Ideology: The majority is oppressed by a ruling elite or an individual powergroup that come to dominate society to their own interests.
Characters, plot and writing style: The story features a rebellion against the adverse circumstances (revolutionaries may exploit newer technologies for these ends).
Classification: Dystopia