Monday, March 29, 2010

The Beast-Jewel Of Mars - Leigh Brackett

Novelette

Number of words : 14900
Percent of complex words : 6.0
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.1


READABILITY INDICES

Fog : 7.2
Flesch : 78.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.3





CHARACTERS

Burk Winters

An ex-space officer, looking for his Shanga addicted ex-girlfriend.

Johnny Niles

A young ship officer, shipmater of Winters.

Kor Hal

Head of the Shanga organisation.

Jill Leland

Winters' lost old girlfriend.

Halk

Keshi assistant of Hal's.

Fand

She is a Shanga and Valkis ruler.


VEHICLES

Starflight

The ship Winters and Niles were on.

Flatcars

Ground transport.


PLACES

Kahora

Martian Trade City.

Vhia

Venusian city.

N'York

Earth city.

Sun City

Mercurian city in the Twilight Belt.

Glassite Refuges

Outer Worlds population centres.

Tri-Planet

A Kahoran hotel.

Jekkara

Martian Low Canal city.

Valkis

Martian Low Canal city, also site of the Shanga operation and Kings.

Barrakesh

Martian Low Canal city.

Kesh

Barbarian region of Mars.

Phobos

Martian moon.

Caer Dhu

Ancient Martian city where Shanga was invented.


TECHNOLOGY

Shanga

The going back drug. Reverts people to a primitive state.

Neuro-psychic therapy

Mental adjustment technique on Mars for stress relief.


CONCEPTS

High Martian

Ancient Martian language.

Pithecanthropus Erectus

Early Terran ancestor.


ORGANISATIONS

Kings of Valkis

Ancient Martian rulers.



PLOT

Winters quits the ship he is on to go back to the Shanga organisation on Mars, to try and find Leland, an old lover. The going back drug tempts him with its primitive animalistic reversion and life.

A negotiation and large payment leads him to Valkis and the woman in charge. A fanatic of the Martian old ways - and happy to see Terrans disgrace themselves, especially for sport.

Winters tries to do something about this, and does find Leland. He instigates a conflict between the Shanga beasts and their guards, allowing the pair to escape, but wondering if they can truly get away from the drug, or if it can be stamped out.


4 out of 5

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