Trader to the Stars is part of an imaginary future universe that is often dubbed the "Technic History" by critics, although Anderson avoids such labels.

Technic civilization is covered in two series of stories and novels. The first series focuses on the Polesotechnic League, a vast galactic trading organization, and it follows the adventures of Van Rijn and his protege, David Falkayn. The second and larger series focuses on the Terran Empire, which evolves a couple of centuries after the end of the Polesotechnic League. These complex series are notable for their sophisticated storytelling techniques and for their imaginative depth that reveals societies far more fully realized than in most science fiction.

Trader to the Stars comprises three novellas, part of a continuing series of short stories and novels about the Polesotechnic League. Other books in the series: War of the Wing Men, 1958, novel (reprinted as...