The Hounds of Skaith - Leigh Brackett

Novel

Number of words : 60000
Percent of complex words : 6.7
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.7


READABILITY INDICES

Fog : 7.4
Flesch : 77.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.3






PEOPLE


Eric John Stark

N'Chaka, wild man of Mercury. The Dark Man of prophecy.

Simon Ashton

Stark's mentor and father figure. Reunited after finding him on Skaith.

Gelmar

Chief Wandsman of Skeg.

Baya

A Farer woman working for Gelmar.

Gerrith

Wise woman of Irnan, and prophet.

Yarrod

An Irnanese leader and martyr.

Breca

Halk's shieldmate, slain in battle.

Halk

An apostate Wandsman, now with Yarrow, a warrior. Breca's shieldmate.

Mordach

Chief Wandsman of Irnan.

Jerann

Irnan Council chief.

Kazimni

An Irnan military leader.

Amnir

A Komrey trader, that died in conflict with Stark.

Hargoth

Priest-king of the Towers.

Vasth

A Wandsman.

Kell a Marg

A leader of the Children of Skaith-Our-Mother. The Skaith-Daughter.

Fenn

One of the Children of Skaith-Our-Mother. A courtier.

Ferdic

One of the Children of Skaith-Our-Mother. A courtier.

Flay

The old Northhound king-dog.

Gerd

The leader of the Northhounds with Stark.

Ferdias

One of the Lords Protector.

Yetko

An Harsenyi.

Ekmal

An Ochar chief.

Jofr

Ekmal's son.

Ildann

Hearth-Keeper of the Hann.

Romek

Keeper of the Hearth of Ochar.

Klatlekt

Hairless, horny, four-armed and tentacled doorkeeper of the Fallarin.

Alderyk

King of the Fallarin.

Houndmaster

Keeper of the Northhounds at Yurunna.

Mika

The Houndmaster's favorite bitch.

Grith

One of Stark's Northhounds.

Tuchvar

From Tregad, an apprentice houndmaster.

Varik

A Farer boy.

Pedrallon

A red Wandsman Coordinator, disgraced for being pro-migration.

Sabak

Ildann's son.

Clain

A red Wandsman.

Delvor

Warlord of Tregad.

Welnic

Red Wandsman of Tregad.

Sanghalain

Ruler of Iubar, in the White South.

Morn

Comrade of Sanghalain, has the mind-touch.

Jal Bartha

A Wandsman.

Llandric

A Wandsman of Pedrallon's.

Penkawr-Che

A ship captain.



PLACES

Pax

The chief habitable planet of Vega.

Pax

The major city of the chief habitable planet of Vega.

Twilight Belt

Habitable zone on Mercury.

Skaith

A newly discovered world in the Orion Spur.

Skeg

The spaceport on Skaith.

Fertile Belt

Most of the Skaith population live past here.

The Barrens

Area of Skaith interior.

Worldheart

Where lies the Citadel of the Lords Protector.

Irnan

A city-state of Skaith in the temperate zone.

Izvand

A city in the Barrens.

Komrey

City-state of Skaith.

Bleak Mountains

A large range.

Witchfires

Mountain range near Thyra.

House of the Mother

Children of Skaith-Our-Mother dwelling.

The Citadel

Dwelling of the Lords Protector. Now a smoking ruin.

Yurunna

A strong city. Where the Yur are bred, and other mutations.

Orion Spur

Largely unexplored area of the galaxy.

Ged Darod

City of the Wandsmen.

Hearth of Hann

Where the Hann live.

Ennaker

Skaith name for a Star also called Fregor by those that live on its third world, and Chunt.

The Place of Winds

Where the Fallarin live.

Tears of Lek

A lake.

Tregad

A city-state, east of Irnan and north of Ged Darod.

Greath Sea of Skaith

An ocean to the south.

Iubar

A City-state.


CONCEPTS

Galactic Union

A democratic federation of star-worlds flung across half the Milky Way.

Three Ladies

A constellation viewed from Skaith.

Great Migrations

People moving because of the changing conditions on Skaith.

Dark Goddess

Deity worshipped by the Outdwellers.

Great Wandering

When more of Skaith was nomadic.

Strayer

A god with a hammer.

Skaith-Mother, Sea-Mother, Sky-Father

Skaith deities.




ORGANISATIONS

Ministry of Planetary Affairs

Simon Ashton's employer on Pax.

Mercury Metals and Mining

Stark's parents worked here when they were killed.

Galactic Center

Based at Pax.

Lords Protector

Skaith Rulers. Heads of the Wandsmen.

Wild Bands

Groups of bandits.

Diviners

Children of Skaith-Our-Mother priests.

Earth Police Control

Ashton's old employer when he found Stark as a boy.

Lesser Hearths of the Seven Hearths of Kheb

A suffering group of lesser tribes.



RACES

Harsenyi

Nomads.

Farers

Wanderers and hedonists.

Children of the Sea-Our-Mother

Ocean dwellers that find people tasty. A genetic hybrid experiment that is reverting.

Little Sisters of the Sun

Desert altered humans.

Children of Skaith-Our-Mother

White furred people, genetically modified.

Wandsmen

The ruling class of Skaith.

Irnan

One of the migrating peoples. Have applied to emigrate off the dying planet via the Galactic Union.

The Ochar

A powerful tribe. The First-Come.

Yur

The Well-Created. Strangely modified beings.

The Fallarin

A winged people created through mutation. Flightless, but psychokinetic.

Hann

A Lesser Hearth tribe.

Marag

A Lesser Hearth tribe.

Kref

A Lesser Hearth tribe.

Thuran

A Lesser Hearth tribe.

Qard

A Lesser Hearth tribe.

Thorn

A Lesser Hearth tribe.


ANIMALS

Northhounds

Large intelligent telepathic canines.

Runners

Monsters that prey on people in the desert storms, very strong.

Swiftwing

Sky-piercer. Wind-rider. Lightning-brother. A bird of war.

Tarf

Servants of the Fallarin.



TECHNOLOGY


Water of Vision

An Irnan tool of foresight.


MEDIA

Hymn of Life

Song of the Little Sisters of the Sun.


VEHICLES

Planet hopper

Small transport craft from a spaceship used for in atmosphere travel.

Arkeshti

Penkawr-Che's ship.


The second part of the Skaith trilogy follow directly from the first. Stark has turned the Citadel of the Lords Protector into a flaming ruin, and now leads a pack of Northounds - the most powerful creatures on the planet. With Ashton at this side this allows him to attempt to put together more forces and alliances that can oppose the Wandsmen and their feudal grasp on power.

He travels to other places than in the first, to the tribes of the Lesser Hearths, and the Fallarin, and uses some lateral thrinking to help the former take down the Ochar, who work for the Wandsmen.

With new allies, he also has to break the hold the centre for mutation Yurunna has.

Finally, he needs to get Ashton off planet, with some envoys, to try and get some high tech aide via politics, in case things turn ugly back on Skaith, where he has decided to stay.


4.5 out of 5