The Lake Of the Gone Forever - Leigh Brackett

Novelette

Number of words : 13000
Percent of complex words : 5.8
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.4

READABILITY INDICES

Fog : 7.2737
Flesch : 78.9105
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.3282



SETTING

Iskar

A planet that is the target of the Rohan expedition. Location not given.


The White City

Settlement that must be passed through.

The Lake of the Gone Forever

A black body of water that contains transuranic element traces that someone preserve memories of those interred there, including Rand's father and his wife.



CHARACTERS


Rand Conway

A son who has come to the planet Iskar to find out what happened to his father, a previous visitor, now dead.

Marcia Rohan

Another member of the crew and daughter of Charles.

Peter Esmond

The expedition ethnologist.

Krah

Patriarch of the Iskarians, father of Rand's mother.

Ciel

Young woman who resents life on Iskar greatly after she learned what it could be like elsewhere.

Conway

Rand's father, known to the locals as Conna, has a relationship and child with an Iskarian woman.

Charles Rohan

Millionaire trade baron, made money from the Jovian Moon sphere.

Captain Frazer

Master of the Rohan.


VEHICLE

Rohan

Charles Rohan's ship, that brings them to Iskar.


WEAPONS

Samson riot guns

Fire shells of anesthetic gas.


RACES

Iskarians

The natives of the planet Iskar. A primitive warrior race.


ORGANISATIONS

Interplanetary Society of Ethnologists

Peter Esmond is a member, and hopes for great prestige from this expedition.


PLOT

Rand Conway has writings by his father about the planet Iskar, and sees an opportunity to discover what happened, as well as to make money for Charles Rohan, who provides a ship.

Along with his crew, who are barely tolerated as outsiders that do not fit into the worldview of the primitive spear-wielding warrior culture who treat women as property.

He discovers Krah, the patriarch, is his grandfather. A girl, Ciel, wants to leave this place because of her poor treatment. Along with memories and visions of his family Rand discovers that being with her by the Lake means he is married, according to local custom.


3.5 out of 5