Synopsis: Outcast in space. Michael Trehearne had always been an
outcast among his people on Earth. He knew he was different. He did not know
how or why. Then one day, on the wind-swept coast of Brittany, a bewitchingly
beautiful girl appeared & told him he had the look of the Vardda--those
elite star travelers who alone could withstand the rigors of intergalactic
flight.
Michael had to join them, had to find his place in the
universe at last. But it would not be easy. For even when they allowed him to
risk his life aboard their ship, to seal his fate upon their planet, even then,
they viewed him as an outcast, a dangerous changeling who suddenly threatened
them. He was a man who sooner or later would have to be destroyed! (from the back of the book)
Review: Classic Pulp Science Fiction. Laser guns, space-travel, new worlds, plots of murder, and galaxy-changing events!
Leigh Brackett writes excellent action-adventure stories. My
only qualm with her writing is the women – that tend towards the stereotypical sex-bomb
or damsel-in-distress, and seem to be there only to further the plot for the
hero. But, she was writing to a particular audience and that is what they
wanted!
As for this particular story, it was more well-written then
others by her. I say that because I had strong opinions about the choices the
characters made and could only have that if I cared about the outcome. To
point, I agreed with the “villains” of the story and not the hero. The hero’s
fight, I thought, seemed idealistic and based on naive and short-sighted
assumptions about a world he had just entered. The villains seems to understand
the long-reaching consequences of the hero’s action (that being war, suffering,
and death for millions of people) but because the hero’s action lead to the “Free
Choice” of others, we’re supposed to agree with it. Maybe if you are an
emotion-driven person, yea, but not for a logical person.
But then, it’s that the mark of a good book? It stirs the
mind and engages the heart?
Bookmarks: 3.5 of 5
Awards: None
ISBN: 345-24668-3-150
Year Published: 1952
Date Finished: 1-29-2019
Pages: 164
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