Novelette
Number of words : 11800
Percent of complex words : 8.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.9
Flesch : 75.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.5
PEOPLE
Eric John Stark
N'Chaka, Man-Without-a-Tribe.
Aarl
Lord of the Third Bend. The Lord of the Abyss. Martian wizard.
Shorr Khan
King of Aldeshar in the Marches.
Song Durr
A dodgy bloke on Aldeshar.
Flane Fell
King of Tranett.
Kan Martan
One of the Lords of the Marches.
Narin Har
Chief of the joint scientific mission against the new creature.
Jhal Arn
Ruler of the Mid-Galactic Empire.
PLACES
Great Rift Valley
On Mars.
Sinharat
Ancient Martian city.
Algol
A star.
Beteleguse
A star.
Marches of Outer Space
Holds a number of the smaller star-kingdoms.
Aldeshar
A star in the Marches.
Altoh
Throne world of Aldeshar.
Donalyr
Capital of Altoh.
Strior
A planet.
Naroten
A planet.
Dendrid's Veil
A dark nebula.
Tranett
A sun.
Maktoo
A sun.
The Twins of Keldar
Suns.
Ceidri
The farthest inhabited world known.
Vega
A star-system. Has a great computer.
Rigel
A star-system. Has a great computer.
Fomalhaut
A star-system. Has a great computer.
Deneb
A star-system.
Altair
A star-system.
Antares
A star-system.
Lyra
A star-system.
Cygnus
A star-system.
Cassiopeia
A star-system.
Lepus
A star-system.
Corvus
A star-system.
Orion
A star-system.
Kesh
Martian drylands area.
Shun
Martian drylands area.
RACES
Ramas
Nearly-immortal Martians with whom Stark had once done battle in the dead city of Sinharat.
Ceidrins
People of Ceidri. Small, dark and furry.
Creature
A new being. A giant space entity of enormous power.
ORGANISATIONS
Star Kings
Men who rule a future universe.
Lords of the Marches
Rulers of the Marches region of space.
Barons of Hercules
Rulers of the Hercules cluster.
TECHNOLOGY
Helix
Amplifies Aarl's mental powers.
FTL drive
Allows travel at greater than the speed of light.
Antimatter
Possible useful for destroying young giant godlike space entities.
CONCEPTS
Dendrid
The Goddess of Death.
Galactic Arbitrary Time
Used to co-ordinate across multiple planets.
VEHICLES
Hover-cars
Flying personal transport.
Phantom scout
A fast ship.
PLOT
Aarl summons Stark, who agrees. He tells him that he is needed to help stop a great menace, and build and alliance with Shorr Khan. Something that Stark is definitely good at.
So he ends up 200,000 years in the future thanks to Aarl. He bears witness to a huge new space entity that he feels is godlike, upon contact. However, it is a stellar scale menace in this nebula void, and the Star Kings agree to try and remove it.
Stark thinks it was wrong, but Aarl reminds him survival is the higher law, and man won, here.
3.5 out of 5
http://www.webscription.net/chapters/1893887162/1893887162___1.htm
Showing posts with label z novelette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label z novelette. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 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
Sunday, March 28, 2010
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
Thursday, January 7, 2010
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
Saturday, December 26, 2009
The Vanishing Venusians - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 6.4
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.1
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.6
Flesch : 77.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.9
SETTING
The Sea of Morning Opals
An ocean on Venus.
CHARACTERS
Matt Harker
Crusty ship captain.
Rory McLaren
Young man of Matt's crew.
Vila
Rory McLaren's Venusian wife.
Viki
His daughter to be.
Sim Gibbons
Elderly colonist.
Button
Harker's name for a Venusian girl they meet, a telekinetic who is probably part plant.
ANIMALS
Golden Swimmers
Venusian creatures. Possibly part plant. Have claws.
Flower-hounds
Venusian plant-animal hunters.
Leshen
Swamp dragons.
PLOT
Harker leads a crew of newly arrived colonists to Venus by ship, looking for somewhere to settle. Seeing a possibility, he takes McLaren and Gibbons with him to explorer, but encounter some local plant-animal hybrids, both animal and sentient, to lethal but successful consequence.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 6.4
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.1
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.6
Flesch : 77.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.9
SETTING
The Sea of Morning Opals
An ocean on Venus.
CHARACTERS
Matt Harker
Crusty ship captain.
Rory McLaren
Young man of Matt's crew.
Vila
Rory McLaren's Venusian wife.
Viki
His daughter to be.
Sim Gibbons
Elderly colonist.
Button
Harker's name for a Venusian girl they meet, a telekinetic who is probably part plant.
ANIMALS
Golden Swimmers
Venusian creatures. Possibly part plant. Have claws.
Flower-hounds
Venusian plant-animal hunters.
Leshen
Swamp dragons.
PLOT
Harker leads a crew of newly arrived colonists to Venus by ship, looking for somewhere to settle. Seeing a possibility, he takes McLaren and Gibbons with him to explorer, but encounter some local plant-animal hybrids, both animal and sentient, to lethal but successful consequence.
3.5 out of 5
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
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
The Citadel Of Lost Ships - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 6.2
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.3
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.2
Flesch : 78.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.6
SETTING
Kraylen tribe
Dwindling group of Venusian natives.
Romany settlement
Dwelling for a group of outsiders. Live by a code of helping those who ask for it.
CHARACTERS
Roy Campbell-Thomas Black
Well-known wanted criminal, hides out with the Kraylens and the Romany.
Kraylens
Venusian tribe leader.
Tredrick
Romany Terran overchief.
Eran Mak
Chief Councilor.
Marah
Man with a hook.
Zard
A Romany.
Old Ekla
Romany elder.
Stella Moore
Romany leader.
PLANTS
Liha trees
Venusian tree.
ORGANISATIONS
Spaceguard
Coalition law-enforcement. After Roy Campbell.
Terra-Venusian Coalition Government
Settlement government.
CONCEPTS
Latnik
Someone who is not Romany.
PLACES
Tehara Province
Venusian area.
Lhi
Frontier town in Tehara Province.
Polar Cities
Of Mars.
Kesh
Martian city.
Balakar
Martian city.
Tamboian
Martian city.
Wells of Tamboina
Martian water source.
Martian Mak's
Old trade market in Lhi.
Lhi
Venusian city.
TECHNOLOGY
Needle-gun
Hand weapon.
Infra-beam
Detectors on ships.
VEHICLE
Fitts-Sothern
Small flying craft.
Black Star
Campbell's Fitts-Sothern.
Krub
Type of freighter.
RACES
Drylanders
Martian people.
Shenyat
Ganymede people.
Taxil
Mercurian backwater people.
Baraki
Titanian telekinetic cave dwellers.
Callistans
"Beyond her was a thin, small man with four arms. He wore no clothing but his
own white fur and his head was crowned with feathery antennae. Even in the blue night the antennae and the man's eyes burned living scarlet."
PLOT
Roy Campbell is on the run from the coalition spaceguard, but the Kraylen tribe have little in the way of resources left to hide him as in the past. In fact, they need help. Campbell ends up travelling to the Romany to see if he can find some. They have their own conflicts - those who are traditional, and those who want change and to become more mainstream with money and power. Harboring a criminal has repercussion. The Romany, as with their planet-bound namesakes are a persecuted group. Campbell decides he can better use his infamy by going elsewhere to highlight their plight.
4 out of 5
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 6.2
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.3
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.2
Flesch : 78.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.6
SETTING
Kraylen tribe
Dwindling group of Venusian natives.
Romany settlement
Dwelling for a group of outsiders. Live by a code of helping those who ask for it.
CHARACTERS
Roy Campbell-Thomas Black
Well-known wanted criminal, hides out with the Kraylens and the Romany.
Kraylens
Venusian tribe leader.
Tredrick
Romany Terran overchief.
Eran Mak
Chief Councilor.
Marah
Man with a hook.
Zard
A Romany.
Old Ekla
Romany elder.
Stella Moore
Romany leader.
PLANTS
Liha trees
Venusian tree.
ORGANISATIONS
Spaceguard
Coalition law-enforcement. After Roy Campbell.
Terra-Venusian Coalition Government
Settlement government.
CONCEPTS
Latnik
Someone who is not Romany.
PLACES
Tehara Province
Venusian area.
Lhi
Frontier town in Tehara Province.
Polar Cities
Of Mars.
Kesh
Martian city.
Balakar
Martian city.
Tamboian
Martian city.
Wells of Tamboina
Martian water source.
Martian Mak's
Old trade market in Lhi.
Lhi
Venusian city.
TECHNOLOGY
Needle-gun
Hand weapon.
Infra-beam
Detectors on ships.
VEHICLE
Fitts-Sothern
Small flying craft.
Black Star
Campbell's Fitts-Sothern.
Krub
Type of freighter.
RACES
Drylanders
Martian people.
Shenyat
Ganymede people.
Taxil
Mercurian backwater people.
Baraki
Titanian telekinetic cave dwellers.
Callistans
"Beyond her was a thin, small man with four arms. He wore no clothing but his
own white fur and his head was crowned with feathery antennae. Even in the blue night the antennae and the man's eyes burned living scarlet."
PLOT
Roy Campbell is on the run from the coalition spaceguard, but the Kraylen tribe have little in the way of resources left to hide him as in the past. In fact, they need help. Campbell ends up travelling to the Romany to see if he can find some. They have their own conflicts - those who are traditional, and those who want change and to become more mainstream with money and power. Harboring a criminal has repercussion. The Romany, as with their planet-bound namesakes are a persecuted group. Campbell decides he can better use his infamy by going elsewhere to highlight their plight.
4 out of 5
The Blue Behemoth - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 5.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 8.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 5.6
Flesch : 79.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.3
SETTING
Nahru
Small town on Venus, current location of Shannon's Circus.
CHARACTERS
Buckhalter Shannon
Circus proprietor.
Jig Bentley
His business manager.
Micky
Circus worker.
Simon Beamish
Wants to hire Shannon for a circus tour.
Gow
Shannon's animal handler.
Kanza
The Martian croaker.
Sam Kapper
A hunter.
Melak
Local hard man.
Jarin
One of the circus.
Malek
One of the circus.
Ahra
Nahali woman, amused by offworlders in trouble. Gives advice on how to stop the Cansin rampage.
Quern
Circus hypnotist.
RACES
Marshies
Venus indigenes.
PLACES
Tehara Belt
A potential circus tour spot.
Nahali
Venusian area.
ANIMALS
Cansin
Large blue Venusian swamp-animal.
Vapor snakes
A painful experience if they touch you, knock you out.
Zurat
Martian communal animal.
Mercurian cavecat
Very large feline.
Martian sandtigers
More very large felines.
Ganymedan puffballs
Rolling carnivores, with tentacles.
ORGANISATIONS
Shannon's Imperial Circus, the Greatest Show in Space
Buckhalter's circus, currently in trouble.
Savitt Brothers
Rival circus.
FOOD
Thildatim
Venusian booze.
Lhak
Venusian booze.
PLACES
Triangle
Term for the three major inner worlds.
PLOT
Shannon's circus is broke, and dodging their creditors in a small Venusian dump, when a wealthy Beamish wants to hire them. This is for ulterior motives involving money and a rare creature. The cansin is a huge Venusian beast worth a lot. However, here the females have found a male - and their bonding is strange. Large beasts rampaging means breakout and other dangerous circus animals loose. So dodgy circus business managers have to try and put a stop to it, before the town is destroyed. The criminal element becomes more concerned with staying alive.
4 out of 5
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 5.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 8.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 5.6
Flesch : 79.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.3
SETTING
Nahru
Small town on Venus, current location of Shannon's Circus.
CHARACTERS
Buckhalter Shannon
Circus proprietor.
Jig Bentley
His business manager.
Micky
Circus worker.
Simon Beamish
Wants to hire Shannon for a circus tour.
Gow
Shannon's animal handler.
Kanza
The Martian croaker.
Sam Kapper
A hunter.
Melak
Local hard man.
Jarin
One of the circus.
Malek
One of the circus.
Ahra
Nahali woman, amused by offworlders in trouble. Gives advice on how to stop the Cansin rampage.
Quern
Circus hypnotist.
RACES
Marshies
Venus indigenes.
PLACES
Tehara Belt
A potential circus tour spot.
Nahali
Venusian area.
ANIMALS
Cansin
Large blue Venusian swamp-animal.
Vapor snakes
A painful experience if they touch you, knock you out.
Zurat
Martian communal animal.
Mercurian cavecat
Very large feline.
Martian sandtigers
More very large felines.
Ganymedan puffballs
Rolling carnivores, with tentacles.
ORGANISATIONS
Shannon's Imperial Circus, the Greatest Show in Space
Buckhalter's circus, currently in trouble.
Savitt Brothers
Rival circus.
FOOD
Thildatim
Venusian booze.
Lhak
Venusian booze.
PLACES
Triangle
Term for the three major inner worlds.
PLOT
Shannon's circus is broke, and dodging their creditors in a small Venusian dump, when a wealthy Beamish wants to hire them. This is for ulterior motives involving money and a rare creature. The cansin is a huge Venusian beast worth a lot. However, here the females have found a male - and their bonding is strange. Large beasts rampaging means breakout and other dangerous circus animals loose. So dodgy circus business managers have to try and put a stop to it, before the town is destroyed. The criminal element becomes more concerned with staying alive.
4 out of 5
Terror Out Of Space - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 4.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.1
Flesch : 80.4
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.7
CHARACTERS
Lundy
A policeman on a mission.
Jackie Smith
An unconscious colleague.
Mike Farrell
A bleeding out colleague.
ORGANISATIONS
Tri-World Police
Law enforcement organisation.
PLACES
Vhia
Trade City on Venus.
Nahali
Get canebrakes here.
CONCEPTS
The Madness from Beyond, or The Vampire Lure
"The guys who suddenly went sluggy and charged off the rails all made it clear that they had met the ultimate Dream Woman of all women and all dreams. Nobody else could see her, but that didn't bother them any. They saw her, and she was—She. And her eyes were always veiled."
ANIMALS
Seadragon
Venus sea animal.
Kelp-beasts
What it says.
PLANTS
Flower-things
Can move.
FOOD
Vakhi
Venusian alcohol.
Canebrakes
From Nahali.
RACES
Cloud People
Live in the highlands on Venus.
Plant-men
Small, blue grey transform into green and winged.
The Others
Cannibal lurers.
PLOT
Three space policeman in a bad way in a small vehicle come under the influence of a powerfully hypnotic creature. One of them can function, and meets some plant people and one of the hypnotisers.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 4.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.8
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.1
Flesch : 80.4
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.7
CHARACTERS
Lundy
A policeman on a mission.
Jackie Smith
An unconscious colleague.
Mike Farrell
A bleeding out colleague.
ORGANISATIONS
Tri-World Police
Law enforcement organisation.
PLACES
Vhia
Trade City on Venus.
Nahali
Get canebrakes here.
CONCEPTS
The Madness from Beyond, or The Vampire Lure
"The guys who suddenly went sluggy and charged off the rails all made it clear that they had met the ultimate Dream Woman of all women and all dreams. Nobody else could see her, but that didn't bother them any. They saw her, and she was—She. And her eyes were always veiled."
ANIMALS
Seadragon
Venus sea animal.
Kelp-beasts
What it says.
PLANTS
Flower-things
Can move.
FOOD
Vakhi
Venusian alcohol.
Canebrakes
From Nahali.
RACES
Cloud People
Live in the highlands on Venus.
Plant-men
Small, blue grey transform into green and winged.
The Others
Cannibal lurers.
PLOT
Three space policeman in a bad way in a small vehicle come under the influence of a powerfully hypnotic creature. One of them can function, and meets some plant people and one of the hypnotisers.
3.5 out of 5
Runaway - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 15000
Percent of complex words : 9.0
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 10.5
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.8
Flesch : 72.7
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.7
SETTING
Los Angeles
Anthony Reid lives here with his family and unhappily works as an accountant.
Venus
Reid chucks it all in and heads for another planet.
CHARACTERS
Anthony Reid-Joseph Rucker
Accountant that decides to bail out and go to Venus.
Tony Reid
His son.
Phyllis Reid
His daughter.
Fern Reid
His wife.
Mr Jennings
Boss of Jennings Accounting Services.
George Grosset
Friend of Reid's in Los Angeles.
Bill Stocker
Fellow employee.
Dr Eckworth
His psychiatrist.
Crider
Runs a criminal labor operation on Venus.
Holfern
Worker on Venus.
Linson
Worker on Venus.
Everett
Worker on Venus.
Dr Hinojosa
State shrink.
Mr Horst
Immigration officer.
Dr. Buerhle
Madhouse resident doctor.
Mr. Haggerty
Fellow inmate.
Perez
Fellow inmate.
ORGANISATIONS
Jennings Accounting Services
Reid's employer.
Anglo-Martian Enterprises
A company account.
Crider Mining Company
A standover merchant.
TECHNOLOGY
Plastibrik
Building materials.
Solaray
Building materials, glass.
PLOT
Anthony Reid is an accountant with a family in Los Angeles. He has an existential crisis and chucks it all in and heads for Venus. He discovers the current situation there is no better, and in fact with dangerous conditions and a lot of desperate men, no place for someone to be that chose to be there.
He ends up in a mental institution, trying to reorient, along with some in simlar situations.
4 out of 5
Number of words : 15000
Percent of complex words : 9.0
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 10.5
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.8
Flesch : 72.7
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.7
SETTING
Los Angeles
Anthony Reid lives here with his family and unhappily works as an accountant.
Venus
Reid chucks it all in and heads for another planet.
CHARACTERS
Anthony Reid-Joseph Rucker
Accountant that decides to bail out and go to Venus.
Tony Reid
His son.
Phyllis Reid
His daughter.
Fern Reid
His wife.
Mr Jennings
Boss of Jennings Accounting Services.
George Grosset
Friend of Reid's in Los Angeles.
Bill Stocker
Fellow employee.
Dr Eckworth
His psychiatrist.
Crider
Runs a criminal labor operation on Venus.
Holfern
Worker on Venus.
Linson
Worker on Venus.
Everett
Worker on Venus.
Dr Hinojosa
State shrink.
Mr Horst
Immigration officer.
Dr. Buerhle
Madhouse resident doctor.
Mr. Haggerty
Fellow inmate.
Perez
Fellow inmate.
ORGANISATIONS
Jennings Accounting Services
Reid's employer.
Anglo-Martian Enterprises
A company account.
Crider Mining Company
A standover merchant.
TECHNOLOGY
Plastibrik
Building materials.
Solaray
Building materials, glass.
PLOT
Anthony Reid is an accountant with a family in Los Angeles. He has an existential crisis and chucks it all in and heads for Venus. He discovers the current situation there is no better, and in fact with dangerous conditions and a lot of desperate men, no place for someone to be that chose to be there.
He ends up in a mental institution, trying to reorient, along with some in simlar situations.
4 out of 5
Monday, December 21, 2009
Cube From Space - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 5.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.0
Flesch : 81.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.3
SETTING
Jovian Gulf
Non-travelled area of space.
Mercury
Where the aliens land, it is being cautiously worked.
CHARACTERS
Red
A hijacker, pirate, and all around dodgy customer.
Korah
Alien traveller in the Cube, from another star.
Wick
Broke Red's nose with a spanner.
Saran
Another Rakshi.
Crom
Warrior of Yf, opponent of the Rakshi.
Markham Chandler
Runner of outpost on Mercury.
Jat
Chandler's Martian enforcer.
Hildegarde Smith
A farmer's daughter.
ORGANISATIONS
Triangle
The Inner Worlds.
Spaceguard
Police body. Job is to catch people like Red.
TECHNOLOGY
Venusian spider-silk
Used for clothing.
Temple of the Flame
Alien stasis transport chamber and power supply.
Blaster
Energy pistol.
RACES
Rakshi
Korah's people. "There were shoulders, narrow but powerful, and long wiry arms ending in strong, slender hands with seven fingers. There was a head, magnificently domed, and a face that was rather too small, though the features were beautiful and cut with uncompromising strength. Crowning that splendid skull was a crest of something soft and feathery that shimmered iridescently.
The whole creature glowed with a faint, pulsing phosphorescence.
The eyes that watched Red were long and opalescent, slightly tilted. They burned with little flickering points of fire. ... The creature laughed. Its teeth were pointed like a cat's and its tongue was blue.
"
Yf
Crom's people
PLACES
Circe
The Pleasure World.
Treasure City of Mars
A good place to plunder for aliens.
PLOT
The disreputable Red is in trouble in space when he is picked up by aliens. They decide to go to Mercury, to take the world. On board is a prisoner, Crom, from another alien race--enemies of the Rakshi.
On Mercury Red falls in with the locals, including their leader Chandler and finally agrees to help oppose the aliens, and frees Crom to attack them with his specialist sword weapon.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 5.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.7
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.0
Flesch : 81.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.3
SETTING
Jovian Gulf
Non-travelled area of space.
Mercury
Where the aliens land, it is being cautiously worked.
CHARACTERS
Red
A hijacker, pirate, and all around dodgy customer.
Korah
Alien traveller in the Cube, from another star.
Wick
Broke Red's nose with a spanner.
Saran
Another Rakshi.
Crom
Warrior of Yf, opponent of the Rakshi.
Markham Chandler
Runner of outpost on Mercury.
Jat
Chandler's Martian enforcer.
Hildegarde Smith
A farmer's daughter.
ORGANISATIONS
Triangle
The Inner Worlds.
Spaceguard
Police body. Job is to catch people like Red.
TECHNOLOGY
Venusian spider-silk
Used for clothing.
Temple of the Flame
Alien stasis transport chamber and power supply.
Blaster
Energy pistol.
RACES
Rakshi
Korah's people. "There were shoulders, narrow but powerful, and long wiry arms ending in strong, slender hands with seven fingers. There was a head, magnificently domed, and a face that was rather too small, though the features were beautiful and cut with uncompromising strength. Crowning that splendid skull was a crest of something soft and feathery that shimmered iridescently.
The whole creature glowed with a faint, pulsing phosphorescence.
The eyes that watched Red were long and opalescent, slightly tilted. They burned with little flickering points of fire. ... The creature laughed. Its teeth were pointed like a cat's and its tongue was blue.
"
Yf
Crom's people
PLACES
Circe
The Pleasure World.
Treasure City of Mars
A good place to plunder for aliens.
PLOT
The disreputable Red is in trouble in space when he is picked up by aliens. They decide to go to Mercury, to take the world. On board is a prisoner, Crom, from another alien race--enemies of the Rakshi.
On Mercury Red falls in with the locals, including their leader Chandler and finally agrees to help oppose the aliens, and frees Crom to attack them with his specialist sword weapon.
3.5 out of 5
A World Is Born - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 8000
Percent of complex words : 6.6
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.5
Flesch : 77.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.9
SETTING
Eros prison blocks
On Mercury, part of the Moulton project.
Darkside
Permanent cold side of Mercury.
Sunside
Permanent hot side of Mercury.
Twilight Belt
The zone in-between.
CHARACTERS
Mel 'Duke' Gray
28 year old war veteran and prisoner.
Tom Ward
Fellow project worker.
John Moulton
Architect of prison on Mercury and the Moulton Project.
Jill Moulton
His daughter, a project leader.
Dio
Martian prisoner.
Caron of Mars
Chairman of the IPA
ORGANISATIONS
Interstellar Police
Chasers of Mel Gray.
Moulton Project
Involved with work on Mercury.
Interplanetary Prison Authority
Also called the IPA.
League of Worlds
Political body, interplanetary.
CONCEPTS
Second Interplanetary War
Yet another outbreak.
ANIMALS
Fire-things
Like to consume lightning.
PLOT
Mel Gray, an ex-criminal and soldier is forced to work as a laborer on Mercury for the Moulton Project. The Moultons want to make Mercury a productive planet, but have a Martian rival in Caron who would rather see it destroyed.
Gray arranges to escape, but comes into conflict with Caron and also has Jill Moulton along. Rather taken with her he decides that he is willing to help her fight for Mercury.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 8000
Percent of complex words : 6.6
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 9.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.5
Flesch : 77.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.9
SETTING
Eros prison blocks
On Mercury, part of the Moulton project.
Darkside
Permanent cold side of Mercury.
Sunside
Permanent hot side of Mercury.
Twilight Belt
The zone in-between.
CHARACTERS
Mel 'Duke' Gray
28 year old war veteran and prisoner.
Tom Ward
Fellow project worker.
John Moulton
Architect of prison on Mercury and the Moulton Project.
Jill Moulton
His daughter, a project leader.
Dio
Martian prisoner.
Caron of Mars
Chairman of the IPA
ORGANISATIONS
Interstellar Police
Chasers of Mel Gray.
Moulton Project
Involved with work on Mercury.
Interplanetary Prison Authority
Also called the IPA.
League of Worlds
Political body, interplanetary.
CONCEPTS
Second Interplanetary War
Yet another outbreak.
ANIMALS
Fire-things
Like to consume lightning.
PLOT
Mel Gray, an ex-criminal and soldier is forced to work as a laborer on Mercury for the Moulton Project. The Moultons want to make Mercury a productive planet, but have a Martian rival in Caron who would rather see it destroyed.
Gray arranges to escape, but comes into conflict with Caron and also has Jill Moulton along. Rather taken with her he decides that he is willing to help her fight for Mercury.
3.5 out of 5
Thralls Of the Endless Night - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 12000
Percent of Complex Words : 3.9
Average syllables per word : 1.3
Average words per sentence : 9.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 5.4
Flesch : 85.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 3.7
CHARACTERS
Wes Kirk
Angry young man.
Captain's daughter
Young woman and daughter of the Ship master.
Ma Kirk
The mother.
Lil Kirk
His sister.
Pa Kirk
His father.
Captain
Master of The Ship.
First Officer
His second in command.
Second Officer
Next in the chain of command.
Third Officer
Officer Of the Day when Pa Kirk is killed.
Jakk Randl
Rebel, friend of Wes.
Wite
Second son of the First Officer.
Frank
Han man, hunter.
Russ
Han man, hunter.
Samel
Pirut leader.
Sada
Pirut woman.
TECHNOLOGY
Heat stone
Mineral used for warmth.
Attoblast
Powerful explosives.
ORGANISATIONS
Hans
People living outside the ship.
Piruts
Other group of people living outside the ship.
ANIMALS
Shags
"Five squat thick shapes with six legs; four powerful legs with claws and two
slender ones held in against the chest, armed with sucker discs for climbing. Five pairs of black eyes watching, hungry and infinitely patient. Five tucked bellies hurning under pale, shaggy hair."
MEDIA
Treaty of Alliance
"between the Sovereign Earth and the Union of Jovian Moons, providing for Earthly colonization and development of the said Moons, and mutual aid against Aggressor Worlds."
PLANTS
Sucking-plant
Used as a painful disciplinary device.
PLOT
An asteroid with a crashed Ship, and people huddled outside it as well, trying to keep warm with the few heat-stones that are left. As do the Piruts, some distance off. Both groups think the Ship dwellers are hoarding heat and technology. The latter are aggressive enough to organise a ruse and attack, using Wes' father and hunters as diversionary beat.
Wes, fired up by his dead rebel friend gets violent, and is given to the sucking plant. The captain's daughter frees him, and they end up being pursued by shags and captured by Pirut's. Wes organised with them to raid the Ship.
They discover their suspicions are false, but the Ship does contain powerful explosives. The people here are the remnants of a past conflict between a government and pirates in an interplanetary war. Unwittingly deployed, the explosives do heat up the place.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 12000
Percent of Complex Words : 3.9
Average syllables per word : 1.3
Average words per sentence : 9.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 5.4
Flesch : 85.8
Flesch-Kincaid : 3.7
CHARACTERS
Wes Kirk
Angry young man.
Captain's daughter
Young woman and daughter of the Ship master.
Ma Kirk
The mother.
Lil Kirk
His sister.
Pa Kirk
His father.
Captain
Master of The Ship.
First Officer
His second in command.
Second Officer
Next in the chain of command.
Third Officer
Officer Of the Day when Pa Kirk is killed.
Jakk Randl
Rebel, friend of Wes.
Wite
Second son of the First Officer.
Frank
Han man, hunter.
Russ
Han man, hunter.
Samel
Pirut leader.
Sada
Pirut woman.
TECHNOLOGY
Heat stone
Mineral used for warmth.
Attoblast
Powerful explosives.
ORGANISATIONS
Hans
People living outside the ship.
Piruts
Other group of people living outside the ship.
ANIMALS
Shags
"Five squat thick shapes with six legs; four powerful legs with claws and two
slender ones held in against the chest, armed with sucker discs for climbing. Five pairs of black eyes watching, hungry and infinitely patient. Five tucked bellies hurning under pale, shaggy hair."
MEDIA
Treaty of Alliance
"between the Sovereign Earth and the Union of Jovian Moons, providing for Earthly colonization and development of the said Moons, and mutual aid against Aggressor Worlds."
PLANTS
Sucking-plant
Used as a painful disciplinary device.
PLOT
An asteroid with a crashed Ship, and people huddled outside it as well, trying to keep warm with the few heat-stones that are left. As do the Piruts, some distance off. Both groups think the Ship dwellers are hoarding heat and technology. The latter are aggressive enough to organise a ruse and attack, using Wes' father and hunters as diversionary beat.
Wes, fired up by his dead rebel friend gets violent, and is given to the sucking plant. The captain's daughter frees him, and they end up being pursued by shags and captured by Pirut's. Wes organised with them to raid the Ship.
They discover their suspicions are false, but the Ship does contain powerful explosives. The people here are the remnants of a past conflict between a government and pirates in an interplanetary war. Unwittingly deployed, the explosives do heat up the place.
3.5 out of 5
The Halfling - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 10000
Percent of complex words : 4.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 5.9
Flesch : 81.1
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.6
SETTING
California
"It was something pretty special in the line of California sunsets, and it made me feel swell, being the first one I'd seen in about nine years. The pitch was in the flatlands between Culver City and Venice, and I could smell the sea."
CHARACTERS
Jade Greene-John Damien Greene
Carnival proprietor.
Laura Darrow
New dancer tryout and assassin, Callistan cat-person.
Sindi
Martian carnival dancer from the Low Canals.
Laska
Cat-man from Callisto.
Tiny
Venusian deep-jungle man.
Punk
Kid hired by Jade. Actually an Immigration cop.
ORGANISATIONS
Jade Greene's Interplanetary Carnival
"The Wonders of the Seven Worlds Alive Before Your Eyes."
CONCEPTS
Martian getak
Carny game.
Venusian shalil
Carny game.
MEDIA
Enhali's Primitive Venus
Laura's tryout music.
RACES
Venusian lizard-men
Reptilian people with sharp teeth and claws.
Phobos moth-people
Small flyers.
Spider-people
Sticky lasso spinners.
Europans
A couple of Europans with wiry little bodies and a twenty-foot wing-spread were doing Immelmans over the geek top
FOOD
Venusian coffee
Very strong stuff, caffeine-wise.
Jitsi-beans
Mercurian vegetable.
Venusian fruit juice
Squeeze 'em.
ANIMALS
Mercurian cave tiger
A screaming feline, 20 feet long with eight legs and a barbed tail.
Ionian quags
Deep, rusty voiced cats.
Martian sand-cat
Desert feline.
Venusian cat
White tiger-like creature.
PLOT
A woman turns up at the carnival wanting to try out as a dancer. She is amazing, so is hired. Things go to hell as his cat-man goes crazy and dies, and his other dancer is killed. When the punk kid he hired is also killed, he discovers Laura has slipped up and determines she is a killer - tracking down renegade Callistans. She can influence feline animals, and sets a lot of beasts free, forcing Jade to start shooting anything catlike, including Laura.
4 out of 5
Number of words : 10000
Percent of complex words : 4.3
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.6
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 5.9
Flesch : 81.1
Flesch-Kincaid : 4.6
SETTING
California
"It was something pretty special in the line of California sunsets, and it made me feel swell, being the first one I'd seen in about nine years. The pitch was in the flatlands between Culver City and Venice, and I could smell the sea."
CHARACTERS
Jade Greene-John Damien Greene
Carnival proprietor.
Laura Darrow
New dancer tryout and assassin, Callistan cat-person.
Sindi
Martian carnival dancer from the Low Canals.
Laska
Cat-man from Callisto.
Tiny
Venusian deep-jungle man.
Punk
Kid hired by Jade. Actually an Immigration cop.
ORGANISATIONS
Jade Greene's Interplanetary Carnival
"The Wonders of the Seven Worlds Alive Before Your Eyes."
CONCEPTS
Martian getak
Carny game.
Venusian shalil
Carny game.
MEDIA
Enhali's Primitive Venus
Laura's tryout music.
RACES
Venusian lizard-men
Reptilian people with sharp teeth and claws.
Phobos moth-people
Small flyers.
Spider-people
Sticky lasso spinners.
Europans
A couple of Europans with wiry little bodies and a twenty-foot wing-spread were doing Immelmans over the geek top
FOOD
Venusian coffee
Very strong stuff, caffeine-wise.
Jitsi-beans
Mercurian vegetable.
Venusian fruit juice
Squeeze 'em.
ANIMALS
Mercurian cave tiger
A screaming feline, 20 feet long with eight legs and a barbed tail.
Ionian quags
Deep, rusty voiced cats.
Martian sand-cat
Desert feline.
Venusian cat
White tiger-like creature.
PLOT
A woman turns up at the carnival wanting to try out as a dancer. She is amazing, so is hired. Things go to hell as his cat-man goes crazy and dies, and his other dancer is killed. When the punk kid he hired is also killed, he discovers Laura has slipped up and determines she is a killer - tracking down renegade Callistans. She can influence feline animals, and sets a lot of beasts free, forcing Jade to start shooting anything catlike, including Laura.
4 out of 5
The Dancing Girl Of Ganymede - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 5.7
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.2
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.7
Flesch : 78.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.1
SETTING
Komar
"He shouldered his way toward the square where the Street of the Gamblers joins the Street of Maidens and the Street of Thieves."
Quarter of the Sellers of Dreams
"Poetic name for a maze of filthy rat-runs stinking with the breath of nameless substances."
CHARACTERS
Tony Harrah
A man on Ganymede looking to bet.
Marith
A Wanderer and dancer.
Tok the aboriginal
Harrah's servant.
Kehlin
Marith's brother.
CONCEPTS
Inner Worlds
Solar System bodies closest to Earth.
RACES
Wanderers
"a sort of interplanetary gypsy, one of the vast worldless tribe of space who travel from planet to planet but are citizens of none. Their blood is a mixture of every race in the System capable of cross-breeding and they are outcaste below the lowest." They are also limited telepaths and androids.
PLOT
Harrah finds Marith dancing, and when she gets into trouble moves to help. Men are after her, and the others like her, the androids. They are trained to hunt them down and take out Harrah. Her brothers find her, and Harrah discovers the truth about who they are. Escaped laborers who want to be free. The local Ganymede aboriginals also fear them, leading to a fiery confrontation.
""Do you love me, Marith? Do you love me still after what I've done?"
She answered, "You have set me free."
"
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 11000
Percent of complex words : 5.7
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 11.2
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 6.7
Flesch : 78.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.1
SETTING
Komar
"He shouldered his way toward the square where the Street of the Gamblers joins the Street of Maidens and the Street of Thieves."
Quarter of the Sellers of Dreams
"Poetic name for a maze of filthy rat-runs stinking with the breath of nameless substances."
CHARACTERS
Tony Harrah
A man on Ganymede looking to bet.
Marith
A Wanderer and dancer.
Tok the aboriginal
Harrah's servant.
Kehlin
Marith's brother.
CONCEPTS
Inner Worlds
Solar System bodies closest to Earth.
RACES
Wanderers
"a sort of interplanetary gypsy, one of the vast worldless tribe of space who travel from planet to planet but are citizens of none. Their blood is a mixture of every race in the System capable of cross-breeding and they are outcaste below the lowest." They are also limited telepaths and androids.
PLOT
Harrah finds Marith dancing, and when she gets into trouble moves to help. Men are after her, and the others like her, the androids. They are trained to hunt them down and take out Harrah. Her brothers find her, and Harrah discovers the truth about who they are. Escaped laborers who want to be free. The local Ganymede aboriginals also fear them, leading to a fiery confrontation.
""Do you love me, Marith? Do you love me still after what I've done?"
She answered, "You have set me free."
"
3.5 out of 5
No Man's Land In Space - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 9000
Percent of complex words : 7.5
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 10.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.2
Flesch : 73.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.6
SETTING
Sark
Outlaw asteroid used as a base by space pirates. Name means bitter in Martian.
No Man's Land
Barren Sark waste.
Ashi Geyser
Eruption in No Man's Land.
CHARACTERS
Geoffrey Dana
Outlaw leader and builder of Sark community.
Loren
A young Venusian pirate.
Daddy Gibbs
Aging pirate.
Faruk
Renegade Venusian scientist, creator of monsters.
Varno
Terro-Venusian halfbreed.
Thompson
Earthman found bloodless.
Neta
Disappeared Venusian.
Jordan Andrews
Chemical industrialist.
CONCEPTS
Earth-Venus War
Interplanetary military conflict.
ORGANISATIONS
Andrews Chemical Works
Sark industrial plant.
Interplanetary Control
Not fans of pirates.
Venusian High Command
Leaders of the war effort.
ANIMALS
Lunar ape
Result of Faruk's Moreauvian experiments.
WEAPONS
Needle gun
Weapon that can fire anaesthetic or poison darts.
PLOT
Earth and Venus are at war, and Mars is considering which way to jump. On Sark, an asteroid outlaw base this is causing tensions between pirates from the various planets. A problem for Dana, their leader. More so when a young aide Loren bolts after several of Dana's men have been killed by being drained of blood, or just disappearing.
Loren has discovered ahead of Dana that mad scientist Faruk of Venus has come to Sark, seeking to create a super weapon to win the war. This super weapon comes in the form of a hybrid monster, and Faruk wants to create more.
Dana, Loren and others on confrontation realise this is really a bad thing. The fight though causes the asteroid to start breaking up. The scientist is worth a lot of money, though, so Dana has to decide if he will actually make his first non self-centred act and kill him rather than save him. He can't live on any planet because of his crimes.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 9000
Percent of complex words : 7.5
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 10.4
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.2
Flesch : 73.3
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.6
SETTING
Sark
Outlaw asteroid used as a base by space pirates. Name means bitter in Martian.
No Man's Land
Barren Sark waste.
Ashi Geyser
Eruption in No Man's Land.
CHARACTERS
Geoffrey Dana
Outlaw leader and builder of Sark community.
Loren
A young Venusian pirate.
Daddy Gibbs
Aging pirate.
Faruk
Renegade Venusian scientist, creator of monsters.
Varno
Terro-Venusian halfbreed.
Thompson
Earthman found bloodless.
Neta
Disappeared Venusian.
Jordan Andrews
Chemical industrialist.
CONCEPTS
Earth-Venus War
Interplanetary military conflict.
ORGANISATIONS
Andrews Chemical Works
Sark industrial plant.
Interplanetary Control
Not fans of pirates.
Venusian High Command
Leaders of the war effort.
ANIMALS
Lunar ape
Result of Faruk's Moreauvian experiments.
WEAPONS
Needle gun
Weapon that can fire anaesthetic or poison darts.
PLOT
Earth and Venus are at war, and Mars is considering which way to jump. On Sark, an asteroid outlaw base this is causing tensions between pirates from the various planets. A problem for Dana, their leader. More so when a young aide Loren bolts after several of Dana's men have been killed by being drained of blood, or just disappearing.
Loren has discovered ahead of Dana that mad scientist Faruk of Venus has come to Sark, seeking to create a super weapon to win the war. This super weapon comes in the form of a hybrid monster, and Faruk wants to create more.
Dana, Loren and others on confrontation realise this is really a bad thing. The fight though causes the asteroid to start breaking up. The scientist is worth a lot of money, though, so Dana has to decide if he will actually make his first non self-centred act and kill him rather than save him. He can't live on any planet because of his crimes.
3.5 out of 5
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Woman From Altair - Leigh Brackett
Novelette
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 7.0
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.1
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.7
Flesch : 76.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.6
SETTING
McQuarrie Place
A large, old, expensive house in the New York area.
CHARACTERS
Rafe McQuarrie
The non-spacer brother. Their business manager.
David McQuarrie
Returning starship captain.
Bet McQuarrie
David and Rafe's kid sister.
Ahrian
David's alien wife, from Altair II.
Miss Lewisham
David's fiancee.
Marthe Walter
Old school friend of Bet's. Artist, and becomes Rafe's fiancee.
Griffith
Another spacer.
PLACES
Pleiades
Star constellation the Anson McQuarrie travelled to.
VEHICLES
Anson McQuarrie
The family starship.
ANIMALS
Buck
Rafe McQuarraie's large dog.
Hazel
Bet's old mare.
CONCEPTS
One-Making
Altair II marriage ritual.
PLOT
David McQuarrie comes back from an interstellar mission, surprising his fiancee by bringing an alien wife. She moves into the household. His brother Rafe is the protagonist, and soon after has his own fiancee, a woman from their school days who turns up at the homecoming.
Things turn strange as animals go crazy, killing their younger sister Bet, and almost claiming others. Rafe and Marthe work out Ahrian has the ability to cause this to happen - telepathic talents enhanced by jewellery focuses she has been making as gifts. The pair decide to stop her, but have to deal with her husband and the reason why she has been attacking.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 12000
Percent of complex words : 7.0
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 12.1
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.7
Flesch : 76.6
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.6
SETTING
McQuarrie Place
A large, old, expensive house in the New York area.
CHARACTERS
Rafe McQuarrie
The non-spacer brother. Their business manager.
David McQuarrie
Returning starship captain.
Bet McQuarrie
David and Rafe's kid sister.
Ahrian
David's alien wife, from Altair II.
Miss Lewisham
David's fiancee.
Marthe Walter
Old school friend of Bet's. Artist, and becomes Rafe's fiancee.
Griffith
Another spacer.
PLACES
Pleiades
Star constellation the Anson McQuarrie travelled to.
VEHICLES
Anson McQuarrie
The family starship.
ANIMALS
Buck
Rafe McQuarraie's large dog.
Hazel
Bet's old mare.
CONCEPTS
One-Making
Altair II marriage ritual.
PLOT
David McQuarrie comes back from an interstellar mission, surprising his fiancee by bringing an alien wife. She moves into the household. His brother Rafe is the protagonist, and soon after has his own fiancee, a woman from their school days who turns up at the homecoming.
Things turn strange as animals go crazy, killing their younger sister Bet, and almost claiming others. Rafe and Marthe work out Ahrian has the ability to cause this to happen - telepathic talents enhanced by jewellery focuses she has been making as gifts. The pair decide to stop her, but have to deal with her husband and the reason why she has been attacking.
3.5 out of 5
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