So where did Sword worlds go to?
- Thread starter zozotroll
- Start date
Just waiting for it to come back from print!
Likely a day or two after Gen Con (next week).
For anyone interested, the book that Mark Miller used to create the Sword Worlds (Space Viking, by H Beam Piper) has had a sequel published called The Last Space Viking.
The settings generally the same, the characters are all new however. The book's plot and language are roughly Piper-esque. If you are interested its available via micropress at www.hostigos.com.
Here's what the site has:
THE LAST SPACE VIKING by John F. Carr and Mike Robertson takes place a hundred years after Lucas Trask founded the League of Civilized Worlds. Many changes have occurred in the Old Federation and King Trask's plans for a new galaxy order are brought to a sudden halt when a new power emerges from the ashes of the Old Federation. Will King Rodrik the First of Tanith be able to salvage his grandfather's dream, or become a tool of the new Mardukan Empire?
Space Vikings have been raiding and terrorizing the worlds of the Old Federation for hundreds of years. Great fortunes have been made and hundreds of planets conquered and despoiled. Unfortunately, the Sword-Worlds have gone into tehir own decline just as the League of Civilized Worlds is faced with its greatest defeat. Soon, the first real threat to Space Viking domination must be overcome and brought to heel. Will the disparate Space Vikings join together, or be sent packing back to the Sword-Worlds in defeat?
Captain David Morland of Joyeuse might well be the last of the great Space Viking captains. He emerges at a time when the Old Federation is changing, and not for the better. All Morland wants is his own Space Viking base world to use as a place for organizing raids and trading parties into the thousands of worlds of the long-dead Federation. Generations of Space Viking marauders have taken their toll and plunder-worthy planets have declined as more and more of the Old Federation worlds have slipped into barbarism. But first, Morland has to find the right world and conquer it before he's discovered by a new power determined to end the Space Viking menace, one way or another!
The settings generally the same, the characters are all new however. The book's plot and language are roughly Piper-esque. If you are interested its available via micropress at www.hostigos.com.
Here's what the site has:
THE LAST SPACE VIKING by John F. Carr and Mike Robertson takes place a hundred years after Lucas Trask founded the League of Civilized Worlds. Many changes have occurred in the Old Federation and King Trask's plans for a new galaxy order are brought to a sudden halt when a new power emerges from the ashes of the Old Federation. Will King Rodrik the First of Tanith be able to salvage his grandfather's dream, or become a tool of the new Mardukan Empire?
Space Vikings have been raiding and terrorizing the worlds of the Old Federation for hundreds of years. Great fortunes have been made and hundreds of planets conquered and despoiled. Unfortunately, the Sword-Worlds have gone into tehir own decline just as the League of Civilized Worlds is faced with its greatest defeat. Soon, the first real threat to Space Viking domination must be overcome and brought to heel. Will the disparate Space Vikings join together, or be sent packing back to the Sword-Worlds in defeat?
Captain David Morland of Joyeuse might well be the last of the great Space Viking captains. He emerges at a time when the Old Federation is changing, and not for the better. All Morland wants is his own Space Viking base world to use as a place for organizing raids and trading parties into the thousands of worlds of the long-dead Federation. Generations of Space Viking marauders have taken their toll and plunder-worthy planets have declined as more and more of the Old Federation worlds have slipped into barbarism. But first, Morland has to find the right world and conquer it before he's discovered by a new power determined to end the Space Viking menace, one way or another!
FreeTrav
Cosmic Mongoose
Sadly, I feel that Mr Carr has an inflated idea of the value of his work; every item he's written that I've wanted has been priced high enough that I've looked once and said "I don't want it that badly.". The one item of his that I obtained - legally - was part of the Paratime/Lord Kalvan series, and was quite frankly mediocre at best; he is not, however much he would like to believe so, and regardless of how many hangers-on he has who tell him he is, H. Beam Piper - he's not even close.
FreeTrav said:
I have the two Lord Kalvan books you speak of. Those I enjoyed, but I'm also a huge fan of the Paratime universe. I also have Timecop, which wasn't nearly as good at the Kalvan things. Which book were you referring to?
I was disapointed somewhat with The Last Space Viking. I thought the writing and character development wasn't on par with Space Viking. I believe he was trying to remain true to Piper's style, but I think it fell short. Piper had some really great ideas, but his own writing also sometimes fell in the juvenile category (though I think it was common for the era).
If you liked Little Fuzzy/Fuzzy Sapiens, there are two new Fuzzy books out as well (Fuzzy Ergo Sum and Fuzzy Nation). Which, of all things, TWO new Fuzzy books released at the same time? So odd..
GypsyComet
Emperor Mongoose
The Fuzzies have been that way for a while. After years of wishing someone had saved the lost third volume, one was commissioned and published from author Ardath Mayhar. Less than a year later, the lost manuscript was found.
FreeTrav
Cosmic Mongoose
GypsyComet said:
William Tuning also seems to have gotten into the act. And at least one of the two new ones was written by John Scalzi - Fuzzy Nation, I think.
The Fuzzy books that I'm aware of are:
1. Little Fuzzy (HBP)
2. Fuzzy Sapiens (HBP)
3. Fuzzies and Other People (HBP)
4. Golden Dream: A Fuzzy Odyssey (Ardath Mayhar)
5. Fuzzy Bones (William Tuning)
and the two new ones, at least one of which is Scalzi.
GypsyComet
Emperor Mongoose
I remember that one now. I don't recall being impressed.
Is Scalzi the one doing the new "reset" book?
Is Scalzi the one doing the new "reset" book?
As far as I know, Carr was only the replacement for Pournelle, whom Pi-FreeTrav said:
per wanted to continue his series, but who unfortunately was too busy
with his own projects and his cooperation with Niven, and so handed the
work over to Carr, who - in my opinion - is not in the same league as Pi-
per or Pournelle. However, as is often the case with translated books,
perhaps Carr is better than I think, and only his translator has fumbled.
(By the way, there are also opposite cases, for me Donaldson turned out
to write much worse than his translator did.)
FreeTrav
Cosmic Mongoose
rust said:
I don't read Carr in translation; as your opinion of the German translation matches mine of the English original, I'd say that if his translator fumbled, he probably didn't make things too much worse.
Nivenpournelle is a better writer than either Niven or Pournelle, and I suspect that Nivenpournelle could do a credible job on any of HBP's series. Pournelle could, as well, but probably not quite up to Nivenpournelle's level.
GypsyComet said:
The Scalzi one has, at time, some interesting and sharp (in a good way) dialogue. But its different. The Diehr book is said to be more of a 'true' continuation. I enjoyed both, but felt they each lacked 'something'.
The oddest thing was that both had the exact same under-plot, whereby Jack Holloway's son shows up on the planet and duels Jack over honor. That must have been listed somewhere as a plot device in Piper's original notes I think, at least if they both had the same issue come up.
I was actually hoping for something of a pickup from Fuzzy Sapiens, where the Fuzzies history woudl have been explored more, or even where they showed up in a Fuzzy starship. Great Ghu!
GypsyComet
Emperor Mongoose
phavoc said:
That would be Golden Dream, IIRC.
