Read: "Space Prison," Tom Godwin, 1958 (manybooks.net)
Why: Space and Prison
Takeaway: People just die and die and die in this book. The main characters are dropped off on an inhospitable Earthlike planet by their alien oppressors. They reform society with one goal: to lure the oppressors back and beat them. The fictional aspect is how everyone works together with only a few exceptions to become a strong and powerful society capable of beating an alien oppressor. There's one snake-in-the-grass character, who is an administrator, and then the rest of the story is Arthurian, long quests and battles by noble guys who know all kinds of science. It is a dream of scientists, I guess, to breed out everyone of weak character, every backbiter and bureaucrat and lazy commentator on the action.