Lords of the Starship
Encyclopedia
Lords of the Starship is a 1967 science fiction
novel which marked the debut of author Mark S. Geston
, written while he was a sophomore
at Kenyon College
. It was originally published in paperback
by Ace Books
, then reprinted for the British market in hardcover
by Michael Joseph in 1971 and in paperback by Sphere Books
a year later. Gregg Press
published an archival edition in 1978; and Baen Books
included it in its 2009 omnibus of Geston's early novels, The Books of the Wars.
The novel takes a darkly cynical view of human nature
; some critics have called it a very black comedy
.
, the Caroline Republic is hostile towards its neighbors although sharing their dire economic straits. Outside the declining remains of civilization lie ruins and wastelands populated by mutant
s and monsters. It is generally felt that humanity lost its vitality long ago.
To a leading politician of the Caroline the aged veteran General Toriman proposes a centuries-long scheme to build the nation by taking control of an ancient shipyard hundreds of miles away which was apparently designed to build spacecraft
. Ostensibly, the purpose of the project will be the construction of a spaceship seven miles long called the "Victory" to carry the population of the despairing world to a paradise planet called "Home". In fact, the ship will never be completed, but the effort will revitalize the nation's economy and perhaps restore mankind's missing quality.
General Toriman dies and the cynical politicians of the Republic rouse the population to begin the project. The River Road from the Caroline homeland to the Yards is forced with a bloody battle between a Caroline military force and mutants, during which the ghost
of the ancient hero Miolnor IV appears to save the day.
Work begins on constructing the ship. Despite their antiquity, the Yards' machinery and buildings seem to have been perfectly preserved and materials for the construction of the ship are discovered. Legends say that the fortifications still standing nearby defended human civilization against Dark Powers over the mountains to the west.
The magnificent city
of Gateway grows in the hills above the Yards while the Victory slowly takes shape. Much of the population of the Caroline moves to the Yards and its society is formally divided into two classes. The Technos supervise construction and are aware of the motivational "myth of the ship" plan while the People believe that the voyage to the planet Home is the actual goal.
Some Technos realize that, although Gateway has become rich and prosperous through the Victory project, the Caroline homeland is still as miserable as its neighbors. Before they can act on this knowledge the People revolt, led by a man named Coral who claims truthfully that the Technos have lied and do not intend to complete the Victory. Most of the Technos are killed although one is allowed to bring the news to the Dresau Islands in the eastern sea. The Dresau Navy has a proud tradition as the last surviving remnant of vital humanity and its leader believes the Victory project has a sinister purpose, possibly directed by heirs of the dark power Salasar, which once ruled most of the earth.
After almost two centuries of construction, the Victory is completed and the women and children of the People are placed aboard in suspended animation. Led by the Dresau Navy the gathered enemies of Coral's triumphant People attack with their restored ships and scavenged weapons. The defenses of the Caroline Empire are ineffective, and an apocalyptic
battle rages about the Yards, with millions fighting. At the height of the battle the sea turns red with blood and the dead of past wars rise in support of the assault. The legendary fortresses fire missiles toward the west.
Before any of the men of the People board the Victory it moves down the ways to the sea. It turns its huge engines toward the shore and they ignite, incinerating the fighting armies, ships, Yards, and Gateway. The "Victory" then redirects the destruction onto itself and its millions of passengers. Balls of fire arrive over the mountains to complete the destruction.
When the wreckage of the Yards has cooled, the man who has been called General Toriman, Miolnar IV, and Coral arrives. The Victory project and its opposition have been devised by the heirs of Salasar, which built the allegedly ancient shipyards for the purpose. He signals the completion of the project; the military powers of the east have been destroyed and invasion by those in the west can begin.
, although praising Geston as a promising new writer and finding "quite a bit of enjoyment" in the novel, concluded that Lords was "a bad and disappointing book on its own terms." Brian Stableford
characterized it as an "earnestly stylish stud[y] of terminal cultural decadence".
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel which marked the debut of author Mark S. Geston
Mark S. Geston
Mark Symington Geston is an American science fiction author and fantasy author.-Biography and writing career:...
, written while he was a sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
at Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
. It was originally published in paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
by Ace Books
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
, then reprinted for the British market in hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
by Michael Joseph in 1971 and in paperback by Sphere Books
Sphere Books
-History:Founded in 1961, Sphere Books began work on its first publication, the 1962 paperback edition of Gottfried Benn's The Trainee Man. Originally part of The Thomson Corporation, Sphere was sold to Pearson PLC in 1985 and became part of Penguin...
a year later. Gregg Press
Gregg Press
Gregg Press was founded about 1965 by Charles Gregg in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey to distribute in the United States the antiquarian reprints published in the UK by Gregg Press International....
published an archival edition in 1978; and Baen Books
Baen Books
Baen Books is an American publishing company established in 1983 by long time science fiction publisher and editor Jim Baen. It is a science fiction and fantasy publishing house that emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, military science fiction, and fantasy...
included it in its 2009 omnibus of Geston's early novels, The Books of the Wars.
The novel takes a darkly cynical view of human nature
Human nature
Human nature refers to the distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that humans tend to have naturally....
; some critics have called it a very black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
.
Story
In the far future, on an Earth devastated by millennia of warWar
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
, the Caroline Republic is hostile towards its neighbors although sharing their dire economic straits. Outside the declining remains of civilization lie ruins and wastelands populated by mutant
Mutant
In biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...
s and monsters. It is generally felt that humanity lost its vitality long ago.
To a leading politician of the Caroline the aged veteran General Toriman proposes a centuries-long scheme to build the nation by taking control of an ancient shipyard hundreds of miles away which was apparently designed to build spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
. Ostensibly, the purpose of the project will be the construction of a spaceship seven miles long called the "Victory" to carry the population of the despairing world to a paradise planet called "Home". In fact, the ship will never be completed, but the effort will revitalize the nation's economy and perhaps restore mankind's missing quality.
General Toriman dies and the cynical politicians of the Republic rouse the population to begin the project. The River Road from the Caroline homeland to the Yards is forced with a bloody battle between a Caroline military force and mutants, during which the ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
of the ancient hero Miolnor IV appears to save the day.
Work begins on constructing the ship. Despite their antiquity, the Yards' machinery and buildings seem to have been perfectly preserved and materials for the construction of the ship are discovered. Legends say that the fortifications still standing nearby defended human civilization against Dark Powers over the mountains to the west.
The magnificent city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Gateway grows in the hills above the Yards while the Victory slowly takes shape. Much of the population of the Caroline moves to the Yards and its society is formally divided into two classes. The Technos supervise construction and are aware of the motivational "myth of the ship" plan while the People believe that the voyage to the planet Home is the actual goal.
Some Technos realize that, although Gateway has become rich and prosperous through the Victory project, the Caroline homeland is still as miserable as its neighbors. Before they can act on this knowledge the People revolt, led by a man named Coral who claims truthfully that the Technos have lied and do not intend to complete the Victory. Most of the Technos are killed although one is allowed to bring the news to the Dresau Islands in the eastern sea. The Dresau Navy has a proud tradition as the last surviving remnant of vital humanity and its leader believes the Victory project has a sinister purpose, possibly directed by heirs of the dark power Salasar, which once ruled most of the earth.
After almost two centuries of construction, the Victory is completed and the women and children of the People are placed aboard in suspended animation. Led by the Dresau Navy the gathered enemies of Coral's triumphant People attack with their restored ships and scavenged weapons. The defenses of the Caroline Empire are ineffective, and an apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
battle rages about the Yards, with millions fighting. At the height of the battle the sea turns red with blood and the dead of past wars rise in support of the assault. The legendary fortresses fire missiles toward the west.
Before any of the men of the People board the Victory it moves down the ways to the sea. It turns its huge engines toward the shore and they ignite, incinerating the fighting armies, ships, Yards, and Gateway. The "Victory" then redirects the destruction onto itself and its millions of passengers. Balls of fire arrive over the mountains to complete the destruction.
When the wreckage of the Yards has cooled, the man who has been called General Toriman, Miolnar IV, and Coral arrives. The Victory project and its opposition have been devised by the heirs of Salasar, which built the allegedly ancient shipyards for the purpose. He signals the completion of the project; the military powers of the east have been destroyed and invasion by those in the west can begin.
Reception
Algis BudrysAlgis Budrys
Algis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names "Frank Mason", "Alger Rome", "John A. Sentry", "William Scarff", and "Paul Janvier."-Biography:...
, although praising Geston as a promising new writer and finding "quite a bit of enjoyment" in the novel, concluded that Lords was "a bad and disappointing book on its own terms." Brian Stableford
Brian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published as by Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford...
characterized it as an "earnestly stylish stud[y] of terminal cultural decadence".