Novel
Number of words : 40000
Percent of complex words : 5.7
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.1
Flesch : 80.2
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.5
CHARACTERS
Richard Gunn Urquhart
Rick, man with a destiny, and ability to cast a long Shadow.
Llaw's grandmother
A seeress who forsees Rick's destiny.
Karadok
Ancient Martian king of Ruh.
Beudach
Chief of the fighting men of the Ruh.
Llaw
A Martian dwarf.
Haral
Last of the line of Karadoc.
Parras
Seer of Ruh.
Ed Fallon
Head of the Terran Exploitations Company.
Jaffa Storm
His right hand man. Rather large Terro-Mercurian.
Hugh St. John
Unionist politician.
Vargo
Venusian muscle leader.
Mayo McCall
Anti-Terran activist and technician.
Jimmy
Press-ganged rebel.
Eran Mak
Civilised Martian Low-Canaler bandit and leader.
Christy
One of Fallon's.
Kyra
A Winged One woman.
William Lee Yancey
A young ship crewman Rick leaves money too that helps him get back on Mars.
ANIMALS
Black Apes
Used as press-gang hounds by the Terran Exploitations Company.
ORGANISATIONS
Terran Exploitations Company
Just as bad as they sound.
Crimpers
Press-gang groups.
Moderates
Political group of compromise between Earth and Mars.
Pan-Martians
Pro Mars political group.
Union Party
Unionist political group that wants to promote Earth's role on Mars.
Interplanetary Co-ordination Authority
Interworld legislative body.Has a Labor Board.
First Interplanetary Bank of Mars
Has an office in New York.
MPG
Martian Planetary Government.
MPP
Martian Planetary Patrol.
PLACES
Thieves' Quarter
Dodgy part of Ruh.
Phobos
Moon of Mars.
Street of Nine Thousand Joys
Street where you can purchase time with ladies of questionable virtue, in Ruh.
Ruh
Martian City-State.
King City
Capital of Ruh.
Deimos
The other Moon of Mars.
Administration Pylon
Large building, holds the TEC offices.
New Town
City being built.
Arianrhod
Has cliff caves.
Old City
In Ruh.
Kahora
Martian Trade city.
Polar Cities
The Thinkers live here, in a fabled cold region.
Darkside
Cold shadowed side of the planet.
Number Five Drift
Where one of the press gangs works.
Tower of Destiny
Place of seers.
Vhia
Trade City of Venus.
Jekkara
Martian Low Canal city.
Caer Hebra
Ancient city.
Thieves' Quarter
Dodgy part of Ruh.
Losanglis
Earth city.
Valkis
Low Canal city.
Jekkara Port
City spaceport.
Madame Kan's
Dodgy bar in Jekkara.
RACES
Marshies
Derogatory term for the locals.
Middle-Swampers
Venusians. Used as muscle by Fallon.
The Thinkers
First race of Mars. Still live in the Polar Cities.
Winged Ones
Ancient Martian flyers.
Shunni
Martian tribe.
PLANTS
Yrl-wood
Martian tree.
CONCEPTS
Low Martian
Common dialect.
Goliath
Biblical giant.
High Martian
Ancient dialect.
TECHNOLOGY
Venusian spider-silk
Used to make clothes.
Blaster
Energy hand weapon.
Collar of Ruh
Symbol of authority.
Visaplate
Part of a telescreen.
Fallonite
The chemically amorphous substance that was already beginning to revolutionize the Terran plastic industry.
Florent mirror
Uses infra red instead of visible light.
Tsamo
A Martian knockout drug.
Thought Projector
Thinker shield to keep people out.
MEDIA
Banner of the Twin Moons
Ruh war symbol.
Winged Victory of Samothrace
Old earth statue.
WEAPONS
Banning Shocker
Large non-lethal beam weapon.
Mickey shocker
Handgun beam weapon, non-lethal.
Disintegrators
Thinker weapon.
Mental amplifiers
Thinker weapon.
Energy projectors
Thinker weapon.
VEHICLES
Mary Ellen Dow
Ship they wanted Rick to leave on.
PLOT
Rick is not too keen on being pressganged into the rapacious and growing aptly named Terran company.
He also runs into prophecy when it is told that he will be an important player in the future of Mars - although he is not anyone of any particular note.
Others of import include a Winged Race woman, a technician who also opposes Fallon and company, a local gangster and a politician. If they can work out some sort of arrangement and leadership they will have the resources to oppose Fallon and his even less scrupulous and violent enforcer Jaffa Storm and his force of hired Venusian thugs.
3.5 out of 5
Showing posts with label mars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mars. Show all posts
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Sorcerer of Rhiannon - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 10000
Percent of complex words : 7.5
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.6
Flesch : 74.1
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.8
CHARACTERS
Max Brandon
A grave-robber. Or adventurous explorer, depending on who you ask.
Jarthur
Head of the Society for the Preservation of Martian Relics.
Sylvia Eustace
Wants to marry Brandon. A bit of an adventurer herself.
Dhu Kar
Venusian. Brandon's rival.
Tobul
Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Dead.
Kymra
Tobul's rival.
ORGANISATIONS
Society for the Preservation of Martian Relics
Respecters of Martian culture.
RACES
Prira Cen
The Blue Hairs, the oldest race of Mars.
Sorcerers of the Lost Islands
Rulers of Mars 40,000 years ago.
PLACES
Rhiannon
Place where the Lost Sorcerers ruled.
Lost Islands
Sorcerer hangout.
Phobos
Moon of Mars.
TECHNOLOGY
Circlet
Allows one of the dead minds to control a body.
WEAPONS
Needle gun
Handgun.
Projector
Can finish off one of these dead minds.
Prism
A negative energy device of destruction.
PLOT
Max Brandon is a charismatic archaeologic of questionable ethics, that ends up in trouble in the desert. He is looking for the Lost Islands of Rhiannon, where the ancient Sorcerer race dwells.
He gets more than he bargained for when he is possessed by a dead sorcerer, thanks to good old-fashioned super science crown. Even worse, the woman who wants to make an honest man of him is also taken by Tobul's arch enemy of another race.
Super science destruction looms, until a rival archaeologist arrives and they decide to make a deal - two ancient Martian figures with a body sharing arrangement could make a differenc for Mars.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 10000
Percent of complex words : 7.5
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.6
Flesch : 74.1
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.8
CHARACTERS
Max Brandon
A grave-robber. Or adventurous explorer, depending on who you ask.
Jarthur
Head of the Society for the Preservation of Martian Relics.
Sylvia Eustace
Wants to marry Brandon. A bit of an adventurer herself.
Dhu Kar
Venusian. Brandon's rival.
Tobul
Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Dead.
Kymra
Tobul's rival.
ORGANISATIONS
Society for the Preservation of Martian Relics
Respecters of Martian culture.
RACES
Prira Cen
The Blue Hairs, the oldest race of Mars.
Sorcerers of the Lost Islands
Rulers of Mars 40,000 years ago.
PLACES
Rhiannon
Place where the Lost Sorcerers ruled.
Lost Islands
Sorcerer hangout.
Phobos
Moon of Mars.
TECHNOLOGY
Circlet
Allows one of the dead minds to control a body.
WEAPONS
Needle gun
Handgun.
Projector
Can finish off one of these dead minds.
Prism
A negative energy device of destruction.
PLOT
Max Brandon is a charismatic archaeologic of questionable ethics, that ends up in trouble in the desert. He is looking for the Lost Islands of Rhiannon, where the ancient Sorcerer race dwells.
He gets more than he bargained for when he is possessed by a dead sorcerer, thanks to good old-fashioned super science crown. Even worse, the woman who wants to make an honest man of him is also taken by Tobul's arch enemy of another race.
Super science destruction looms, until a rival archaeologist arrives and they decide to make a deal - two ancient Martian figures with a body sharing arrangement could make a differenc for Mars.
3.5 out of 5
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The Road To Sinharat - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 13000
Percent of complex words : 6.7
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.8
Flesch : 74.1
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.1
CHARACTERS
Dr Matthew Carey
A Low Canaller on the run. Against the Rehabilitation Project.
Derech
Owes Carey, so helps him get away.
Howard Wales
Earth Interpol man.
Alan Woodthorpe
Rehabilitation Project administrator.
Arrin
Martian woman of the old school, travels with them.
PLACES
Jekkara Low Canal
Full of black water.
Barrakesh
Low Canal city.
Kesh
Martian dryland area.
Shun
Martian dryland area.
Sinharat
The Ever-Living. The Forbidden city.
Valkis
Martian Low Canal city.
Kahora
Martian city.
Kharif
Suffered from the Ramas by proximity.
RACES
Ramas
Ancient Martian immortals by body transfer.
Shunni
Martian Dryland tribe.
CONCEPTS
Low Martian
Common dialect.
High Martian
Ancient language.
ORGANISATIONS
United Worlds Court
Body for justice.
Rehabilitation Project
Carey tried to sabotage this project to irrigate Mars.
Council of City-States
Martian political body.
United Worlds Planetary Assistance Committee
Rehabilitation organisation.
PLOT
Dr Matthew Carey has done his best to hinder and slow down the Rehabilitation Project, but now is on the run, with the Interpol variant after him. An old acquaintance helps him escape, and they go on the run in the desert along with a Martian woman.
The end up in Sinharat, and see that this sort of thing has happened before, with the Ramas - and the Dryland tribes are willing to go to war over the Rehabilitation Project. When Wales catches up to Carey and realises the precarious situation and they see some Rama history tapes he agrees it is a bad idea, and tells the chiefs they will shut down the Project.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 13000
Percent of complex words : 6.7
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.8
Flesch : 74.1
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.1
CHARACTERS
Dr Matthew Carey
A Low Canaller on the run. Against the Rehabilitation Project.
Derech
Owes Carey, so helps him get away.
Howard Wales
Earth Interpol man.
Alan Woodthorpe
Rehabilitation Project administrator.
Arrin
Martian woman of the old school, travels with them.
PLACES
Jekkara Low Canal
Full of black water.
Barrakesh
Low Canal city.
Kesh
Martian dryland area.
Shun
Martian dryland area.
Sinharat
The Ever-Living. The Forbidden city.
Valkis
Martian Low Canal city.
Kahora
Martian city.
Kharif
Suffered from the Ramas by proximity.
RACES
Ramas
Ancient Martian immortals by body transfer.
Shunni
Martian Dryland tribe.
CONCEPTS
Low Martian
Common dialect.
High Martian
Ancient language.
ORGANISATIONS
United Worlds Court
Body for justice.
Rehabilitation Project
Carey tried to sabotage this project to irrigate Mars.
Council of City-States
Martian political body.
United Worlds Planetary Assistance Committee
Rehabilitation organisation.
PLOT
Dr Matthew Carey has done his best to hinder and slow down the Rehabilitation Project, but now is on the run, with the Interpol variant after him. An old acquaintance helps him escape, and they go on the run in the desert along with a Martian woman.
The end up in Sinharat, and see that this sort of thing has happened before, with the Ramas - and the Dryland tribes are willing to go to war over the Rehabilitation Project. When Wales catches up to Carey and realises the precarious situation and they see some Rama history tapes he agrees it is a bad idea, and tells the chiefs they will shut down the Project.
3.5 out of 5
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Last Days of Shandakor - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 5.9
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.1
Flesch : 77.4
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.4
CHARACTERS
John Ross
An anthropologist studying Mars on a Terran foundation grant.
Kardak
Jon Ross' head drover.
Corin
Shandakor man John Ross meets in a bar.
Duani
Young Shandakor woman.
Rhul
He is a leader in Shandakor.
Millikan
Nobel prize winner for physics, for work on the electron.
ORGANISATIONS
Shunni
Martian desert tribe.
Keshi
Martian desert tribe.
Kings of Mekh
Ancient Martian rulers.
PLACES
Jekkara
Martian Low Canal city.
Valkis
Martian Low Canal city.
Barrakesh
Martian Low Canal city.
Drylands
Desert area of Mars.
Upper Shun
High plains in the Shunni tribal region.
Kahora
Martian Trade City.
Shandakor
Fabled Martian city, almost dead.
Wells of Karthedon
On the way to Shandakor. The locals will not go past this point.
Outer Kesh
Boundaries of this desert tribal region.
Mekh
Martian barbian region to the east.
Taarak
Far eastern region of Mars.
Norlands
Martian barbarian region.
Marches
Martian barbarian region.
Western Gate
Entrance to Shandakor.
Place of Sleep
Final resting place the denizens of Shandakor have chosen.
TECHNOLOGY
Cinnabar
Mercury sulfide, red colored.
Globe
Shandakor illusion generator.
CONCEPTS
High Martian
Ancient Mars language.
PLOT
John Ross is an Earth anthropologist who comes across a resident of Shandakor and his story while stopping for a drink. He offers to travel back with him, but Corin doesn't make it. There are literally barbarians at the gates of Shandakor, but Ross enters anyway.
The locals won't let him leave, because it would show they are weak. Which is actually true, as their water supply is cut off, and they have no weaponry capable of dealing with a vastly superior numerical force. Despite the chained Ross' pleas, they decide to go to The Place of Sleep, but Duani makes sure he is free first.
4.5 out of 5
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 5.9
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.1
Flesch : 77.4
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.4
CHARACTERS
John Ross
An anthropologist studying Mars on a Terran foundation grant.
Kardak
Jon Ross' head drover.
Corin
Shandakor man John Ross meets in a bar.
Duani
Young Shandakor woman.
Rhul
He is a leader in Shandakor.
Millikan
Nobel prize winner for physics, for work on the electron.
ORGANISATIONS
Shunni
Martian desert tribe.
Keshi
Martian desert tribe.
Kings of Mekh
Ancient Martian rulers.
PLACES
Jekkara
Martian Low Canal city.
Valkis
Martian Low Canal city.
Barrakesh
Martian Low Canal city.
Drylands
Desert area of Mars.
Upper Shun
High plains in the Shunni tribal region.
Kahora
Martian Trade City.
Shandakor
Fabled Martian city, almost dead.
Wells of Karthedon
On the way to Shandakor. The locals will not go past this point.
Outer Kesh
Boundaries of this desert tribal region.
Mekh
Martian barbian region to the east.
Taarak
Far eastern region of Mars.
Norlands
Martian barbarian region.
Marches
Martian barbarian region.
Western Gate
Entrance to Shandakor.
Place of Sleep
Final resting place the denizens of Shandakor have chosen.
TECHNOLOGY
Cinnabar
Mercury sulfide, red colored.
Globe
Shandakor illusion generator.
CONCEPTS
High Martian
Ancient Mars language.
PLOT
John Ross is an Earth anthropologist who comes across a resident of Shandakor and his story while stopping for a drink. He offers to travel back with him, but Corin doesn't make it. There are literally barbarians at the gates of Shandakor, but Ross enters anyway.
The locals won't let him leave, because it would show they are weak. Which is actually true, as their water supply is cut off, and they have no weaponry capable of dealing with a vastly superior numerical force. Despite the chained Ross' pleas, they decide to go to The Place of Sleep, but Duani makes sure he is free first.
4.5 out of 5
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
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
Quest Of the Starhope - Leigh Brackett
Short Story
Number of words : 5700
Percent of complex words : 6.2
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.3
Flesch : 79.2
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.6
CHARACTERS
Bert Quintal
Exploitative explorer.
Butch
Quintal's indentured small Venusian lifeform with mental powers. He keeps him working for him due to threats against his wife.
Chika
Chief of a group of winged Martians, the People of the Sky.
Hjan
Chika's mate, he also heads a working group.
VEHICLES
Starhope
Quintal's spaceship.
TECHNOLOGY
Cyclotron
A type of particle accelerator.
Anti-gravity metal
The People of the Sky have access.
PLOT
Quintal is exploring Mars with Butch, looking to make money in an unsavoury manner. Already forcing Butch to work for him, he discovers the People of the Sky, and the technology they have access to.
This will be worth a fortune, so he tries the same hostage taking intimidatory tactics he has used before. Eventually, Butch and Chika decide they have had enough and take the offensive to take care of Quintal.
4 out of 5
Number of words : 5700
Percent of complex words : 6.2
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.3
Flesch : 79.2
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.6
CHARACTERS
Bert Quintal
Exploitative explorer.
Butch
Quintal's indentured small Venusian lifeform with mental powers. He keeps him working for him due to threats against his wife.
Chika
Chief of a group of winged Martians, the People of the Sky.
Hjan
Chika's mate, he also heads a working group.
VEHICLES
Starhope
Quintal's spaceship.
TECHNOLOGY
Cyclotron
A type of particle accelerator.
Anti-gravity metal
The People of the Sky have access.
PLOT
Quintal is exploring Mars with Butch, looking to make money in an unsavoury manner. Already forcing Butch to work for him, he discovers the People of the Sky, and the technology they have access to.
This will be worth a fortune, so he tries the same hostage taking intimidatory tactics he has used before. Eventually, Butch and Chika decide they have had enough and take the offensive to take care of Quintal.
4 out of 5
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Purple Priestess Of the Mad Moon - Leigh Brackett
Short Story
Number of words : 6900
Percent of complex words : 8.5
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 14.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 9.2973
Flesch : 68.7083
Flesch-Kincaid : 7.3469
CHARACTERS
Harvey Selden
An artifact expert working for the Bureau of Interworld Cultural Relations.
Bentham
Third Officer on the Goddard.
Firsa Mak
A Martian, concerned with the old rituals.
Altman
An Earthman, guest of Mak's.
Mrs Altman
Altman's wife.
Lella
A Martian woman who participates in the old rituals.
Loughlin Herbert
A diplomat who died while looking into the Mad Moon ritual.
VEHICLES
TSS Goddard
An observation ship.
PLACES
Kahora
Martian city, growing. Now an eight-domed administrative centre of the planet.
Triangle
Part of Kahora, representing the Three Worlds.
Vashna
Martian moon. Also called Deimos.
Denderon
Martian moon. Also called Phobos, and the Mad Moon in certain phases.
N'York
Earth city.
Jekkara
Martian city.
Valkis
Martian city.
Low Canals
An area of Mars these cities are in.
CONCEPT
Umbrella Treaty
Old Martian corruptible agreement.
High Martian
Martian dialect.
Low Martian
Martian dialect.
Purple Priestess
Ancient servant of a Dark Lord, and not so ancient, as it turns out.
ORGANISATIONS
Bureau of Interworld Cultural Relations
Selden's employer, concerned with the arts on various planets.
World Government of Terra
Earth political body at the time of the Umbrella Treaty.
Martian Federation of City-States
Martian political body at the time of the Umbrella Treaty. Broke.
Khalide Kings of Jekkara
Two thousand years ago, their Seventeenth Dynasty. Lella has jewellery from that time.
PLOT
Selden goes down to Mars from an observation ship, and visit Mak's house with Bentham. He meets a woman Lella, of a type he has not seen before. From there he is shanghaied into observing the Purple Priestess Mad Moon ritual and isn't able to cope, but survives. The others want him to tell the Bureau, but he runs for Earth instead, into therapy. However, at the end a communique arrives from Lella, saying she is waiting for him at the next ritual.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 6900
Percent of complex words : 8.5
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 14.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 9.2973
Flesch : 68.7083
Flesch-Kincaid : 7.3469
CHARACTERS
Harvey Selden
An artifact expert working for the Bureau of Interworld Cultural Relations.
Bentham
Third Officer on the Goddard.
Firsa Mak
A Martian, concerned with the old rituals.
Altman
An Earthman, guest of Mak's.
Mrs Altman
Altman's wife.
Lella
A Martian woman who participates in the old rituals.
Loughlin Herbert
A diplomat who died while looking into the Mad Moon ritual.
VEHICLES
TSS Goddard
An observation ship.
PLACES
Kahora
Martian city, growing. Now an eight-domed administrative centre of the planet.
Triangle
Part of Kahora, representing the Three Worlds.
Vashna
Martian moon. Also called Deimos.
Denderon
Martian moon. Also called Phobos, and the Mad Moon in certain phases.
N'York
Earth city.
Jekkara
Martian city.
Valkis
Martian city.
Low Canals
An area of Mars these cities are in.
CONCEPT
Umbrella Treaty
Old Martian corruptible agreement.
High Martian
Martian dialect.
Low Martian
Martian dialect.
Purple Priestess
Ancient servant of a Dark Lord, and not so ancient, as it turns out.
ORGANISATIONS
Bureau of Interworld Cultural Relations
Selden's employer, concerned with the arts on various planets.
World Government of Terra
Earth political body at the time of the Umbrella Treaty.
Martian Federation of City-States
Martian political body at the time of the Umbrella Treaty. Broke.
Khalide Kings of Jekkara
Two thousand years ago, their Seventeenth Dynasty. Lella has jewellery from that time.
PLOT
Selden goes down to Mars from an observation ship, and visit Mak's house with Bentham. He meets a woman Lella, of a type he has not seen before. From there he is shanghaied into observing the Purple Priestess Mad Moon ritual and isn't able to cope, but survives. The others want him to tell the Bureau, but he runs for Earth instead, into therapy. However, at the end a communique arrives from Lella, saying she is waiting for him at the next ritual.
3.5 out of 5
Martian Quest - Leigh Brackett
Short Story
Number of words : 6200
Percent of complex words : 6.8
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.4
CHARACTERS
Martin Drake
A chemist pretending to be a secretary coming to the Martian reclaimed area.
Terra Brooke
A girl, neighbour of Drake's in his new area.
Tels
Venusian settler in the reclaimed area. Drake's land is next to his.
George Breckner
Martin Drake's businessman uncle.
PLACES
Rivatka
A Martian reclaimed area.
Tchava
A Martian reclaimed area.
Thern
A city, centre of Rivatka.
ORGANISATIONS
Tri-Council
Solar System political organisation.
Interworld Enterprises
Company of Martin Drake's uncle.
ANIMALS
Vaard
Martian hairy, ugly hairless horselike animal.
Khom
Great Martian desert lizard. "Wicked triangular heads shot up from the ruined vines, horny reptilian heads framed in ruffs like Triceratops. Bodies two feet longer than a tall man raised high in ominous preparation on strong clawed legs, and tails—...Khom had a tail as long as his body and his head together; a mighty, supple flail armed with rows of deadly spikes."
PLOT
Martin Drake comes to Mars, an Earthman basically indentured to a wealthy uncle who took him in. After a lab incident, the chemist leaves, and decides to settl e in the Martian reclaimed area. He meets his neighbour, who begins to fill him in on the problems they face.
The chief of these other than hard work and hard living in a dry desert landscape is a giant lizardlike creature that eats all their crops, and is mostly impervious to standard weaponry. Tels discovers Drake is no secretary, but a chemist, and implores him to study the problem - as the program will have its funding cut off in less than two weeks.
Drake gets nowhere until one of the Khom is killed, and he gets to dissect the body, uncovering how the beasts feed - and what he can do to their food cycle to basically wipe them out, much like poisoning rats or ants to go back and spread the damage to their fellow.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 6200
Percent of complex words : 6.8
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.4
CHARACTERS
Martin Drake
A chemist pretending to be a secretary coming to the Martian reclaimed area.
Terra Brooke
A girl, neighbour of Drake's in his new area.
Tels
Venusian settler in the reclaimed area. Drake's land is next to his.
George Breckner
Martin Drake's businessman uncle.
PLACES
Rivatka
A Martian reclaimed area.
Tchava
A Martian reclaimed area.
Thern
A city, centre of Rivatka.
ORGANISATIONS
Tri-Council
Solar System political organisation.
Interworld Enterprises
Company of Martin Drake's uncle.
ANIMALS
Vaard
Martian hairy, ugly hairless horselike animal.
Khom
Great Martian desert lizard. "Wicked triangular heads shot up from the ruined vines, horny reptilian heads framed in ruffs like Triceratops. Bodies two feet longer than a tall man raised high in ominous preparation on strong clawed legs, and tails—...Khom had a tail as long as his body and his head together; a mighty, supple flail armed with rows of deadly spikes."
PLOT
Martin Drake comes to Mars, an Earthman basically indentured to a wealthy uncle who took him in. After a lab incident, the chemist leaves, and decides to settl e in the Martian reclaimed area. He meets his neighbour, who begins to fill him in on the problems they face.
The chief of these other than hard work and hard living in a dry desert landscape is a giant lizardlike creature that eats all their crops, and is mostly impervious to standard weaponry. Tels discovers Drake is no secretary, but a chemist, and implores him to study the problem - as the program will have its funding cut off in less than two weeks.
Drake gets nowhere until one of the Khom is killed, and he gets to dissect the body, uncovering how the beasts feed - and what he can do to their food cycle to basically wipe them out, much like poisoning rats or ants to go back and spread the damage to their fellow.
3.5 out of 5
Mars Minus Bisha - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 8000
Percent of complex words : 6.5
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.2
Flesch : 78.2
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.2
CHARACTERS
Fraser
An Earthman and doctor. Working on Mars on a Grant.
Bisha
Martian outcast girl. Thought to be carrier of an epidemic.
Tor-Esh
Martian healer.
ORGANISATIONS
Medical Foundation
Terran organisation that gives charitable grants to allow doctors to work with people that need it. In this case on Mars.
Old Men
Martian elders.
PLACES
Karappa
Martian city. Site of the Terran consulate.
VEHICLES
Trac-car
Desert transport.
TECHNOLOGY
Quonset
A small temporary dwelling.
MEDIA
Wagner's Fire Music
A favorite of Fraser's.
PLOT
A Terran doctor working for charity on Mars comes across a girl who has been outcast by her tribe. He thinks she may be carrying a disease. However, when he starts to feel bad and thinks he may be catching it, he talks to a Martian healer:
"You have come with your thundering ships, your machines and your science, giving the lie to our gods, who we thought had created no other men but us. You look upon us as degraded and without knowledge—and yet you too are an ignorant people, not because you have forgotten, but because you have not yet learned. There are many sciences, many kinds of knowledge. There have been races on Mars who could build the canals. There were others who could see without eyes and hear without ears, who could control the elements and cause men to live or die as they willed it, who were so powerful that they were stamped out because men feared them. They are forgotten now, but their blood is in us. And sometimes a child is born—"
He realises that the girl is a sort of parasitical vampire, a throwback to an older race, living off others, although with those of her kind, of whom there apparently are more. Which is why her tribe wanted to kill her. The doctor still wants to try and find a way to save her, even at risk to himself, which is where it finishes.
4 out of 5
Number of words : 8000
Percent of complex words : 6.5
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.2
Flesch : 78.2
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.2
CHARACTERS
Fraser
An Earthman and doctor. Working on Mars on a Grant.
Bisha
Martian outcast girl. Thought to be carrier of an epidemic.
Tor-Esh
Martian healer.
ORGANISATIONS
Medical Foundation
Terran organisation that gives charitable grants to allow doctors to work with people that need it. In this case on Mars.
Old Men
Martian elders.
PLACES
Karappa
Martian city. Site of the Terran consulate.
VEHICLES
Trac-car
Desert transport.
TECHNOLOGY
Quonset
A small temporary dwelling.
MEDIA
Wagner's Fire Music
A favorite of Fraser's.
PLOT
A Terran doctor working for charity on Mars comes across a girl who has been outcast by her tribe. He thinks she may be carrying a disease. However, when he starts to feel bad and thinks he may be catching it, he talks to a Martian healer:
"You have come with your thundering ships, your machines and your science, giving the lie to our gods, who we thought had created no other men but us. You look upon us as degraded and without knowledge—and yet you too are an ignorant people, not because you have forgotten, but because you have not yet learned. There are many sciences, many kinds of knowledge. There have been races on Mars who could build the canals. There were others who could see without eyes and hear without ears, who could control the elements and cause men to live or die as they willed it, who were so powerful that they were stamped out because men feared them. They are forgotten now, but their blood is in us. And sometimes a child is born—"
He realises that the girl is a sort of parasitical vampire, a throwback to an older race, living off others, although with those of her kind, of whom there apparently are more. Which is why her tribe wanted to kill her. The doctor still wants to try and find a way to save her, even at risk to himself, which is where it finishes.
4 out of 5
Friday, January 8, 2010
Sea-Kings Of Mars - Leigh Brackett
Novel
Number of words : 45000
Percent of complex words : 6.4
Average syllables per word : 1.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 9.2
Flesch : 73.4
Flesch-Kincaid : 7.2
: The Sword Of Rhiannon - Leigh Brackett
SETTING
Jekkara
Martian City.
Madam Kan's
Dodgy bar in Jekkara.
Old Town
Suburb of Jekkara. Old Jekkara, with its docks of stone and marble still standing in the dry and dust-choked harbor, was old beyond any Earth conception of the world.
New Town
Suburb of Jekkara. The New Town of Jekkara, the living town down by the canal, had been old when Ur of the Chaldees was a raw young village.
Tomb Of Rhianon
Where Penkawr finds the sword, and Carse ends up travelling back in time.
Sark
Ancient Martian city.
Khondor
Ancient Martian city.
White Sea
Where Carse is taken prisoner and made to row.
Black Banks
Off the White Sea.
Caer Dhu
Dhuvian city.
CHARACTERS
Matt Carse
"Archaeologist, renegade, looter of tombs."
Pankawr of Barrakesh
Finds The Sword of Rhiannon, and wants to give it to Carse.
Rhiannon
A Quiru. "...the Cursed One, whose sinful pride had caused some mysterious catastrophe." and "...sinned by teaching too much wisdom to the Dhuvians."
Boghaz Hoi
A Valkisian. "...big, fleshy and soft-looking, a Martian who wore a kilt that looked ridiculously scanty on his fat figure. His face was moonlike, creased and crinkled in a reassuring grin"
Scyld
A Sark slaveship captain.
Lady Ywain
Sark princess and slaver. "She stood like a dark flame in a nimbus of sunset light. Her habit was that of a young warrior, a hauberk of black mail over a short purple tunic, with a jeweled dragon coiling on the curve of her mailed breast and a short sword at her side. Her head was bare. She wore her black hair short, cut square above the eyes and falling to her shoulders. Under dark brows her eyes had smoldering fires in them. She stood with straight long legs braced slightly apart,"
King Garach
Sark ruler and Yvain's father.
Callus
Scyld's slaveship whip man.
Jaxart
Khond slave.
Shallah
A Swimmer.
Naran
Her mate.
Lorn
Slave, of the Sky Folk, wings crippled.
Rold
Ruler of the Sea-Kings in Khondor.
Emer
Rold's sister. A seer.
Ironbeard
Rold's admiral.
S'San
Dhuvian travelling on the Sark slave ship.
Thorn of Tarak
One of the Sea-Kings.
Hishah
A Dhuvian.
FOOD
Thil
Martian alcoholic drink.
WEAPONS
Proton-gun
Deadly hand weapon.
The Sword of Rhiannon
Ancient Quiru blade, made by its namesake.
PLACES
Valkis
Martian Low-Canal City.
Barrakesh
Martian Low-Canal City.
Kahora
Martian city.
Phobos
Moon of Mars.
ORGANISATIONS
Earth Police Control
After Carse.
The Wise Ones
Three Swimmer elders and judges.
The Sea-Kings
An alliance to the West that opposes Sark.
RACES
Quiru
Hero-gods who were human yet superhuman, who had had all wisdom and power.
Sark
Slavers. Rule east, north and south of the White Sea.
Khond
People of Khondor.
Swimmers
Ancient Martian Aquatic people, Halflings.
Skyfolk
Ancient Martian winged people, Halflings.
Dhuvians
The Serpents, Halflings. Masters of Ancient technology.
TECHNOLOGY
Krypton-lamp
Runs using krypton, the element.
PLOT
Matt Carse is a tomb raider, and stumbles across a dodgy acquaintance who has beaten him to this one and found the Tomb of Rhiannon, and the Sword within. He wants to sell it to Carse because he will be able to flog it more easily and for a better price. Carse takes the sword and finds the Tomb - but is sent back in time to that of Sark and the Sea-Kings.
He is taken for a Khond spy and falls in with Bolgaz the rogue, who wants the Sword, and will try and use Carse to try and save himself from Sark slavers, but no luck. They end up manning the oars on Lady Ywain's ship, which also harbours a Dhuvian. Carse is a wild-card in the situation, and no-one is quite sure of him as he does not fit in politically. He engineers an uprising, and also has an 'I hate you, kiss me now' chemistry with Ywain. the warrior princess of Sark.
They head for Khondor, where the leader Rold's sister, a seer, foretells bad things because of Sark - and the influence of Rhiannon upon him does not help anyone into trusting him. It is Rhiannon's fault that the Dhuvians have Quiru technology and it is this which makes Sark impregnable. However, because of his time in the Tomb, Carse has actual contact with the mind of Rhiannon - which can speak through his body, so this is both good and bad. It gives the Sea-Kings an opportunity to take down Sark's forcefield through Rhiannon's help, and initiation a more just society.
This accomplished, Carse realises he should go home, even though he rather likes the ancient past. Ywain, an outcast and alive and free on sufferance asks to go with him, as she has no place left and didn't like her home anyway. Carse agrees, and they take the time trip through the Tomb back to his Jekkara.
4.5 out of 5
Number of words : 45000
Percent of complex words : 6.4
Average syllables per word : 1.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 9.2
Flesch : 73.4
Flesch-Kincaid : 7.2
: The Sword Of Rhiannon - Leigh Brackett
SETTING
Jekkara
Martian City.
Madam Kan's
Dodgy bar in Jekkara.
Old Town
Suburb of Jekkara. Old Jekkara, with its docks of stone and marble still standing in the dry and dust-choked harbor, was old beyond any Earth conception of the world.
New Town
Suburb of Jekkara. The New Town of Jekkara, the living town down by the canal, had been old when Ur of the Chaldees was a raw young village.
Tomb Of Rhianon
Where Penkawr finds the sword, and Carse ends up travelling back in time.
Sark
Ancient Martian city.
Khondor
Ancient Martian city.
White Sea
Where Carse is taken prisoner and made to row.
Black Banks
Off the White Sea.
Caer Dhu
Dhuvian city.
CHARACTERS
Matt Carse
"Archaeologist, renegade, looter of tombs."
Pankawr of Barrakesh
Finds The Sword of Rhiannon, and wants to give it to Carse.
Rhiannon
A Quiru. "...the Cursed One, whose sinful pride had caused some mysterious catastrophe." and "...sinned by teaching too much wisdom to the Dhuvians."
Boghaz Hoi
A Valkisian. "...big, fleshy and soft-looking, a Martian who wore a kilt that looked ridiculously scanty on his fat figure. His face was moonlike, creased and crinkled in a reassuring grin"
Scyld
A Sark slaveship captain.
Lady Ywain
Sark princess and slaver. "She stood like a dark flame in a nimbus of sunset light. Her habit was that of a young warrior, a hauberk of black mail over a short purple tunic, with a jeweled dragon coiling on the curve of her mailed breast and a short sword at her side. Her head was bare. She wore her black hair short, cut square above the eyes and falling to her shoulders. Under dark brows her eyes had smoldering fires in them. She stood with straight long legs braced slightly apart,"
King Garach
Sark ruler and Yvain's father.
Callus
Scyld's slaveship whip man.
Jaxart
Khond slave.
Shallah
A Swimmer.
Naran
Her mate.
Lorn
Slave, of the Sky Folk, wings crippled.
Rold
Ruler of the Sea-Kings in Khondor.
Emer
Rold's sister. A seer.
Ironbeard
Rold's admiral.
S'San
Dhuvian travelling on the Sark slave ship.
Thorn of Tarak
One of the Sea-Kings.
Hishah
A Dhuvian.
FOOD
Thil
Martian alcoholic drink.
WEAPONS
Proton-gun
Deadly hand weapon.
The Sword of Rhiannon
Ancient Quiru blade, made by its namesake.
PLACES
Valkis
Martian Low-Canal City.
Barrakesh
Martian Low-Canal City.
Kahora
Martian city.
Phobos
Moon of Mars.
ORGANISATIONS
Earth Police Control
After Carse.
The Wise Ones
Three Swimmer elders and judges.
The Sea-Kings
An alliance to the West that opposes Sark.
RACES
Quiru
Hero-gods who were human yet superhuman, who had had all wisdom and power.
Sark
Slavers. Rule east, north and south of the White Sea.
Khond
People of Khondor.
Swimmers
Ancient Martian Aquatic people, Halflings.
Skyfolk
Ancient Martian winged people, Halflings.
Dhuvians
The Serpents, Halflings. Masters of Ancient technology.
TECHNOLOGY
Krypton-lamp
Runs using krypton, the element.
PLOT
Matt Carse is a tomb raider, and stumbles across a dodgy acquaintance who has beaten him to this one and found the Tomb of Rhiannon, and the Sword within. He wants to sell it to Carse because he will be able to flog it more easily and for a better price. Carse takes the sword and finds the Tomb - but is sent back in time to that of Sark and the Sea-Kings.
He is taken for a Khond spy and falls in with Bolgaz the rogue, who wants the Sword, and will try and use Carse to try and save himself from Sark slavers, but no luck. They end up manning the oars on Lady Ywain's ship, which also harbours a Dhuvian. Carse is a wild-card in the situation, and no-one is quite sure of him as he does not fit in politically. He engineers an uprising, and also has an 'I hate you, kiss me now' chemistry with Ywain. the warrior princess of Sark.
They head for Khondor, where the leader Rold's sister, a seer, foretells bad things because of Sark - and the influence of Rhiannon upon him does not help anyone into trusting him. It is Rhiannon's fault that the Dhuvians have Quiru technology and it is this which makes Sark impregnable. However, because of his time in the Tomb, Carse has actual contact with the mind of Rhiannon - which can speak through his body, so this is both good and bad. It gives the Sea-Kings an opportunity to take down Sark's forcefield through Rhiannon's help, and initiation a more just society.
This accomplished, Carse realises he should go home, even though he rather likes the ancient past. Ywain, an outcast and alive and free on sufferance asks to go with him, as she has no place left and didn't like her home anyway. Carse agrees, and they take the time trip through the Tomb back to his Jekkara.
4.5 out of 5
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Short Story
Number of words : 6000
Percent of complex words : 7.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.5
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.5
Flesch : 73.0
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.9
SETTING
Ptakuth
Ancient Martian city with advanced technology that can confer immortality, so the legend goes and truth reveals.
CHARACTERS
Terence Shane
Earthman adventurer.
Thaldrek of Ved
Martian adventurer.
Zendra Challoner
Shunni goddess-queen leader, only half Shunni.
Harold Challoner
Zendra's father. Apparently became a god and suicided, after he led a previous expedition to Ptakuth.
PLACES
Atlantis
Ancient legendary city on Earth.
Phobos
Moon of Mars.
ORGANISATIONS
Martian Archaeological Foundation
Terry Shane's employer.
RACES
Shunni
Martian barbarians.
PLOT
Terry Shane is an adventurer hired by the Martian Archaeological Foundation to find Ptakuth. He has a rival, in Indiana Jones style, and one somewhat dodgier.
They run into Zendra Challoner and some Shunni warriors. She is half Shunni, and her father found Ptakuth - and died, because: ""This much I can say, Shane; tell it to the men of the Martian Foundation, and let them make what good they can of it. The cyclotron fired hydrogen bullets against a screen of yttrium. Using rubidium filters, the scientists of Ptakuth generated a ray with a wonderful property; the property of making the human bloodstream radio-active with a gamma-principle. This gamma element in the blood gave a power of regeneration to the body cells, but most of all, being in itself a germ-destroying element, it made the human body immune to all disease. You can see how this would extend the life span.
"The tragedy was that the ray destroyed whatever mysterious center of the brain it is that controls sleep. Imagine, Shane; a lifetime of several centuries, with never a moment's relaxation in sleep, never a quiet time of darkness and rest. Every second of every day lived to the uttermost. Ptakuth went mad! Like Challoner, it destroyed itself, and the rest of the world said it was cursed. Ptakuth was shunned."
There's another flaw that Shane's rival Thaldrek understands. Stand in there too long, and you die. Shane has to keep this from happening both to Zendra, and himself.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 6000
Percent of complex words : 7.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.5
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.5
Flesch : 73.0
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.9
SETTING
Ptakuth
Ancient Martian city with advanced technology that can confer immortality, so the legend goes and truth reveals.
CHARACTERS
Terence Shane
Earthman adventurer.
Thaldrek of Ved
Martian adventurer.
Zendra Challoner
Shunni goddess-queen leader, only half Shunni.
Harold Challoner
Zendra's father. Apparently became a god and suicided, after he led a previous expedition to Ptakuth.
PLACES
Atlantis
Ancient legendary city on Earth.
Phobos
Moon of Mars.
ORGANISATIONS
Martian Archaeological Foundation
Terry Shane's employer.
RACES
Shunni
Martian barbarians.
PLOT
Terry Shane is an adventurer hired by the Martian Archaeological Foundation to find Ptakuth. He has a rival, in Indiana Jones style, and one somewhat dodgier.
They run into Zendra Challoner and some Shunni warriors. She is half Shunni, and her father found Ptakuth - and died, because: ""This much I can say, Shane; tell it to the men of the Martian Foundation, and let them make what good they can of it. The cyclotron fired hydrogen bullets against a screen of yttrium. Using rubidium filters, the scientists of Ptakuth generated a ray with a wonderful property; the property of making the human bloodstream radio-active with a gamma-principle. This gamma element in the blood gave a power of regeneration to the body cells, but most of all, being in itself a germ-destroying element, it made the human body immune to all disease. You can see how this would extend the life span.
"The tragedy was that the ray destroyed whatever mysterious center of the brain it is that controls sleep. Imagine, Shane; a lifetime of several centuries, with never a moment's relaxation in sleep, never a quiet time of darkness and rest. Every second of every day lived to the uttermost. Ptakuth went mad! Like Challoner, it destroyed itself, and the rest of the world said it was cursed. Ptakuth was shunned."
There's another flaw that Shane's rival Thaldrek understands. Stand in there too long, and you die. Shane has to keep this from happening both to Zendra, and himself.
3.5 out of 5
The Veil Of Astellar - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 5.4
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.4
Flesch : 79.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.8
SETTING
The Veil
A ship swallowing region.
Jekkara
Martian City
Madame Kan's
Notorious Jekkaran bar.
Astellar
Small hidden world of space vampire aliens.
CHARACTERS
Stephen Vance-Jay Goat
Spaceman, changed by his encounter in the Veil, originally from Beverly Hills, California. Now three hundred years old.
Missy
Dead woman.
Brad
Passenger on the Queen Of Jupiter. Partner of Virgie.
Virgie
Passenger on the Queen Of Jupiter, has a baby.
Gallery
Black Irish sensitive.
Shirina
Astellarian leader and recruiter of Vance. "She, and her race, had no need of clothing. Their lazy, sinuous bodies had a fleecy covering that wasn't fur or feathers or tendrils but something of all three. They had no true color. They changed according to light, in an endless spectrum of loveliness that went far beyond the range you humans know.
Now, in the dark, Shirina's aura glowed like warm pearl. I could see her face, faintly, the queer peaked triangular bones covered with skin softer than a humming-bird's breast, the dead-black, bottomless eyes, the crest of delicate antennae tipped with tiny balls of light like diamonds burning under gauze."
Flack
Man who became an Astellarian.
ORGANISATIONS
Interworld Space Authority Headquarters
Travel administrators.
FOOD
Thil
Martian booze.
Desert-cactus brandy
Obviously Martian booze.
VEHICLES
Queen Of Jupiter
Passenger ship.
CONCEPTS
Getak
A gambling game.
TECHNOLOGY
Rosson deflectors
Allow ships safer passage through the Asteroid Belt.
X-Crystals
Psi-amplifiers in the Veil.
PLOT
Vance was human, once until he entered the Cloud of Astellar. Now over 300 years old he helps lure people to Astellar so their life forces can be drained, keeping the Astellarians alive. Doing so on Mars, he influences the liner Queen of Jupiter back to Astellar. However, a passenger, Virgie on board has a locket belonging to his long dead lover named Missy, and bears a resemblance. He earlier gave his name to her as J. Goat. Indeed, a second time around as Virgie's influence on him leads him to attack the Astellarians and destroy the means to renew his own longevity.
4 out of 5
Short Story
Number of words : 6000
Percent of complex words : 7.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.5
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.5
Flesch : 73.0
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.9
: The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
SETTING
Ptakuth : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Ancient Martian city with advanced technology that can confer immortality, so the legend goes and truth reveals.
CHARACTERS
Terence Shane : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Earthman adventurer.
Thaldrek of Ved : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Martian adventurer.
Zendra Challoner : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Shunni goddess-queen leader, only half Shunni.
Harold Challoner : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Zendra's father. Apparently became a god and suicided, after he led a previous expedition to Ptakuth.
PLACES
Atlantis : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Ancient legendary city on Earth.
Phobos : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Moon of Mars.
ORGANISATIONS
Martian Archaeological Foundation : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Terry Shane's employer.
RACES
Shunni : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Martian barbarians.
PLOT
Terry Shane is an adventurer hired by the Martian Archaeological Foundation to find Ptakuth. He has a rival, in Indiana Jones style, and one somewhat dodgier.
They run into Zendra Challoner and some Shunni warriors. She is half Shunni, and her father found Ptakuth - and died, because: ""This much I can say, Shane; tell it to the men of the Martian Foundation, and let them make what good they can of it. The cyclotron fired hydrogen bullets against a screen of yttrium. Using rubidium filters, the scientists of Ptakuth generated a ray with a wonderful property; the property of making the human bloodstream radio-active with a gamma-principle. This gamma element in the blood gave a power of regeneration to the body cells, but most of all, being in itself a germ-destroying element, it made the human body immune to all disease. You can see how this would extend the life span.
"The tragedy was that the ray destroyed whatever mysterious center of the brain it is that controls sleep. Imagine, Shane; a lifetime of several centuries, with never a moment's relaxation in sleep, never a quiet time of darkness and rest. Every second of every day lived to the uttermost. Ptakuth went mad! Like Challoner, it destroyed itself, and the rest of the world said it was cursed. Ptakuth was shunned."
There's another flaw that Shane's rival Thaldrek understands. Stand in there too long, and you die. Shane has to keep this from happening both to Zendra, and himself.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 5.4
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.4
Flesch : 79.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.8
SETTING
The Veil
A ship swallowing region.
Jekkara
Martian City
Madame Kan's
Notorious Jekkaran bar.
Astellar
Small hidden world of space vampire aliens.
CHARACTERS
Stephen Vance-Jay Goat
Spaceman, changed by his encounter in the Veil, originally from Beverly Hills, California. Now three hundred years old.
Missy
Dead woman.
Brad
Passenger on the Queen Of Jupiter. Partner of Virgie.
Virgie
Passenger on the Queen Of Jupiter, has a baby.
Gallery
Black Irish sensitive.
Shirina
Astellarian leader and recruiter of Vance. "She, and her race, had no need of clothing. Their lazy, sinuous bodies had a fleecy covering that wasn't fur or feathers or tendrils but something of all three. They had no true color. They changed according to light, in an endless spectrum of loveliness that went far beyond the range you humans know.
Now, in the dark, Shirina's aura glowed like warm pearl. I could see her face, faintly, the queer peaked triangular bones covered with skin softer than a humming-bird's breast, the dead-black, bottomless eyes, the crest of delicate antennae tipped with tiny balls of light like diamonds burning under gauze."
Flack
Man who became an Astellarian.
ORGANISATIONS
Interworld Space Authority Headquarters
Travel administrators.
FOOD
Thil
Martian booze.
Desert-cactus brandy
Obviously Martian booze.
VEHICLES
Queen Of Jupiter
Passenger ship.
CONCEPTS
Getak
A gambling game.
TECHNOLOGY
Rosson deflectors
Allow ships safer passage through the Asteroid Belt.
X-Crystals
Psi-amplifiers in the Veil.
PLOT
Vance was human, once until he entered the Cloud of Astellar. Now over 300 years old he helps lure people to Astellar so their life forces can be drained, keeping the Astellarians alive. Doing so on Mars, he influences the liner Queen of Jupiter back to Astellar. However, a passenger, Virgie on board has a locket belonging to his long dead lover named Missy, and bears a resemblance. He earlier gave his name to her as J. Goat. Indeed, a second time around as Virgie's influence on him leads him to attack the Astellarians and destroy the means to renew his own longevity.
4 out of 5
Short Story
Number of words : 6000
Percent of complex words : 7.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.5
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.5
Flesch : 73.0
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.9
: The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
SETTING
Ptakuth : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Ancient Martian city with advanced technology that can confer immortality, so the legend goes and truth reveals.
CHARACTERS
Terence Shane : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Earthman adventurer.
Thaldrek of Ved : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Martian adventurer.
Zendra Challoner : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Shunni goddess-queen leader, only half Shunni.
Harold Challoner : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Zendra's father. Apparently became a god and suicided, after he led a previous expedition to Ptakuth.
PLACES
Atlantis : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Ancient legendary city on Earth.
Phobos : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Moon of Mars.
ORGANISATIONS
Martian Archaeological Foundation : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Terry Shane's employer.
RACES
Shunni : The Treasure Of Ptakuth - Leigh Brackett
Martian barbarians.
PLOT
Terry Shane is an adventurer hired by the Martian Archaeological Foundation to find Ptakuth. He has a rival, in Indiana Jones style, and one somewhat dodgier.
They run into Zendra Challoner and some Shunni warriors. She is half Shunni, and her father found Ptakuth - and died, because: ""This much I can say, Shane; tell it to the men of the Martian Foundation, and let them make what good they can of it. The cyclotron fired hydrogen bullets against a screen of yttrium. Using rubidium filters, the scientists of Ptakuth generated a ray with a wonderful property; the property of making the human bloodstream radio-active with a gamma-principle. This gamma element in the blood gave a power of regeneration to the body cells, but most of all, being in itself a germ-destroying element, it made the human body immune to all disease. You can see how this would extend the life span.
"The tragedy was that the ray destroyed whatever mysterious center of the brain it is that controls sleep. Imagine, Shane; a lifetime of several centuries, with never a moment's relaxation in sleep, never a quiet time of darkness and rest. Every second of every day lived to the uttermost. Ptakuth went mad! Like Challoner, it destroyed itself, and the rest of the world said it was cursed. Ptakuth was shunned."
There's another flaw that Shane's rival Thaldrek understands. Stand in there too long, and you die. Shane has to keep this from happening both to Zendra, and himself.
3.5 out of 5
Water Pirate - Leigh Brackett
Short Story
Number of words : 6000
Percent of complex words : 6.6
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.67
Flesch : 72.5
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.3
SETTING
In 2418
Valkis
Martian city.
Teka Desert
Mountainous dry area out from Valkis.
CHARACTERS
Johan Gray
Chief of Special Duty of the Convoy Fleet.
Jaffa Gray
His son and investigator.
Lhara
A warrior-girl of Kesh.
Lhar
Her brother.
Rha
An alien from Vhila, a golden swimmer from a water-world with three suns.
ORGANISATIONS
Trans-Galactic Convoy Fleet
Shipping protection group.
PLACES
Kesh
Martian barbarian dryland state.
VEHICLES
Kallman two-seater
Small flying craft.
TECHNOLOGY
Ultra-visor
Display mechanism.
WEAPONS
Paralysis Gun
Non-lethal sidearm.
Heat Gun
Lethal sidearm.
PLOT
Rha, an alien from a water-world has taken Lhara's brother hostage. She finds Jaffa Gray, son of a powerful administrator, and paralyses him, wanting to use him. She finds out Rha is more than a bandit, being an alien scientist wanting to save his amphibious people, under siege on their own world. He too wants to use Jaffa's ability to sway his father for help. Jaffa decides that his cause is worthy enough to forgive his crimes, and offers to intercede.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 6000
Percent of complex words : 6.6
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.67
Flesch : 72.5
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.3
SETTING
In 2418
Valkis
Martian city.
Teka Desert
Mountainous dry area out from Valkis.
CHARACTERS
Johan Gray
Chief of Special Duty of the Convoy Fleet.
Jaffa Gray
His son and investigator.
Lhara
A warrior-girl of Kesh.
Lhar
Her brother.
Rha
An alien from Vhila, a golden swimmer from a water-world with three suns.
ORGANISATIONS
Trans-Galactic Convoy Fleet
Shipping protection group.
PLACES
Kesh
Martian barbarian dryland state.
VEHICLES
Kallman two-seater
Small flying craft.
TECHNOLOGY
Ultra-visor
Display mechanism.
WEAPONS
Paralysis Gun
Non-lethal sidearm.
Heat Gun
Lethal sidearm.
PLOT
Rha, an alien from a water-world has taken Lhara's brother hostage. She finds Jaffa Gray, son of a powerful administrator, and paralyses him, wanting to use him. She finds out Rha is more than a bandit, being an alien scientist wanting to save his amphibious people, under siege on their own world. He too wants to use Jaffa's ability to sway his father for help. Jaffa decides that his cause is worthy enough to forgive his crimes, and offers to intercede.
3.5 out of 5
Saturday, December 12, 2009
The Ark Of Mars - Leigh Brackett
Planet Stories, September 1953, (Sep 1953, Jack O'Sullivan, Love Romances Publishing Co., Inc.; Stamford, CT, $0.25, 116pp, Pulp, magazine) Cover: Kelly Freas - [VERIFIED]
American Science Fiction Magazine, #26, (1954, uncredited, Malian Press, -/9, ph, magazine)
I've read this as incorporated into Alpha Centauri or Die! So no length measurement other than it is likely a novella, but could be a long novelette, as Alpha Centauri or Die is 40,000 words, so about half that. Rating is from what I read in the above.
3 out of 5
The National Library has a copy :- http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1587289
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?77141
American Science Fiction Magazine, #26, (1954, uncredited, Malian Press, -/9, ph, magazine)
I've read this as incorporated into Alpha Centauri or Die! So no length measurement other than it is likely a novella, but could be a long novelette, as Alpha Centauri or Die is 40,000 words, so about half that. Rating is from what I read in the above.
3 out of 5
The National Library has a copy :- http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1587289
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?77141
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