This is a sad tale of humanity's tendencies to greed and control and destruction. Written, I would suggest, in fairly standard sci-fi style, it tells of an expedition to a newly discovered, life-supporting planet, the titular Jem. Once there, the supposedly scientific and exploratory mission soon descends into military chaos and destruction of the indigenous life forms. Whilst providing some parallels with our own tragic history and sad present, this novel is unremarkable and, in some ways, very dated (or is it just that I wish humanity was, by now, so much better than we are portrayed in this novel?). Pohl was clearly a capable writer, but this example hasn't inspired me to seek out any of his many other works. There is a character with the surname Vandemeer in "Jem", and I would suggest works by Jeff Vandermeer if you want exceptional science fiction rather than this outdated example.