The Moon That Vanished - Leigh Brackett

Novelette

Number of words : 17000
Percent of complex words : 4.4
Average syllables per word : 1.3
Average words per sentence : 12.2


READABILITY INDICES

Fog : 6.6
Flesch : 81.5
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.9



SETTING


Palace of All Possible Delights

Dingy bar near the Sea of Morning Opals where Heath is found by Alor and Broca.

Sea of Morning Opals

Where you must go to find the Moonfire. An ocean.

Upper Seas

Part of the Sea of Morning Opals

Dragon's Throat

Part of the Sea of Morning Opals

The Guardians

Part of the Sea of Morning Opals, black areas to avoid.


CHARACTERS

David Heath

Man who found the Moonfire and lived.

Kalruna

Owner of the Palace of All Possible Delights.

Ethne

Venusian temple woman whom Heath feverishly desires.

Alor

Venusian moon cult handmaiden, and a reality Heath can love.

Broca

Venusian uplander and proscribed cult member, of the Sarn tribe.

Johor

A ship captain working for the priests.

Vakor

A priest of the moon cult.


RACES

Nahali

Swamp-dwellers of Venus.

Sarn

An uplands tribe of Venus.


PLACES

Omaz

River near the Sea of Morning Opals.

Deep Swamps

Inland Venus.

High Plateaus

Upland area of Venus.



VEHICLES

Ethne

David Heath's ship.

Lahal

Johor's ship.


CONCEPTS

Moonfire

Myth says it is leftover from the body of a dead god, and can give you powers. Likely some radioactive material that alters the brain.


ANIMALS

Swamp-dragon

Small, reasonably intelligent lizard creatures with claws and wings.


ORGANISATIONS

Mysteries of the Moon

Oldest Venusian cult.

Children of the Moon

Priests of the cult.



PLOT

David Heath is the only man to have travelled to the Moonfire and lived long enough afterwards for people to approach about a return trip. Alor and Broca are renegades of the Venusian Moon Cult that want to go there. Heath reluctantly agrees, haunted by previous memories. The priests of the cult do not want them to reach the Moonfire and gain powers, so hire another captain and attempt to attack them at sea. Heath has the advantage here, and they managed to reach their destination, but again, not to everyone's taste.


4 out of 5