Reviews for The Book of Skaith, Volume 1: The Ginger Star

The average rating for The Book of Skaith, Volume 1: The Ginger Star based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-05-23 00:00:00 Daryl St. Laurent After a ten year haitus on the planet Hollywood, the "Queen of Space Opera" returned to the form with The Ginger Star (1974), the first volume of the trilogy known as "The Book of Skaith." A decade of screenwriting work (Eldorado, The Rockford Files, The Long Goodbye, etc.) had made the thoroughly professional Brackett an even more accomplished writer, and in this trilogy'her last science fiction/ fantasy novels'she demonstrates what she has learned. Eric John Stark lands on Skaith, a world lit by a dying red sun, a world only recently introduced to space travel. He has come there to search for his mentor and foster-father, the diplomat Simon Ashton, who disappeared while on a mission to arrange for group emigration. The planet faces doom, slow but inevitable, by the waning light of its ginger-colored star, but the Lord Protectors of Skaith fear the general chaos--and the loss of control--that would come with mass emigration. Are the Lords themselves responsible for Ashton's disappearance? Stark--a hard man who lives up to his name--is determined to uncover the truth. This first volume of the trilogy takes us from Stark's arrival at the southern starport Skeg to his arrival at "The Citadel," the Lord Protectors' mythic stronghold in the far north. Along the way we encounter many peoples and tribes'some genetically adapted to the waning of "Old Sun," some half-crazy with prophecy in the face of doom--as Stark wields destruction and forms alliances while he seeks to discover the fate his old friend. The astonishing thing about this novel'even more so than many earlier Brackett novels'is the extraordinarily swift story-telling, the inventive world-building, and the way both are accomplished without ever sacrificing credibility, character motivation, or the twilight atmosphere of a declining world. Brackett is a writer who deserves to be better known. This is required reading for all who love science fiction/ fantasy trilogies, for Brackett shows us how this sort of thing should be done.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-11-07 00:00:00 Sid Schmidt A rousing sword & planet, sci-fi fantasy that I think sets itself apart. The rich world building is especially captivating. Skaith is an intriguing alien world under a dying sun, with a multitude of strange human and semi-human races, all reduced to a pre-industrial state after the decline of advanced civilizations millennia past. A form of economic slavery has taken hold, with some groups compelled to work and provide for others who serve a kind of divine role as "holy" wanderers and essentially cannon fodder for the ruling elite to mobilize en masse as needed to ruthlessly enforce their will. The story relies heavily on the "chosen one" prophecy trope, which feels overused and tired to me. I think the story would have worked just as well without it. Anyway, the plot is tight and brisk, full of wonderfully crafted adventuring, conflict and action. Eric John Stark, or simply "Stark", is smart, capable and able to tap into an innate animal nature when needed, but refreshingly modest as far as heroes come.