The Hand of Zei
Encyclopedia
The Hand of Zei is a science fiction
novel written by L. Sprague de Camp
, the second book of his Viagens Interplanetarias
series and its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna.
As with some other de Camp works, The Hand of Zei has a convoluted publication history. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction as a four-part serial in the issues for October, 1950-January, 1951. The text was redivided into two parts for its first publication in book form by Avalon Books
, appearing as the separate volumes The Search for Zei (1962) and The Hand of Zei (1963). To facilitate the new division, de Camp wrote a new ending for the first and a new beginning for the second to briefly recapitulate the portion of the story already told. The two parts were then reissued together in paperback by Ace Books
in 1963, back to back and inverted in relationship to each other, as an "Ace Double". The Ace versions were slightly abridged by the author. The novel was published in the UK by Compact Books as The Floating Continent (1966). A restored text bringing both segments back together was finally published by Owlswick Press in 1981. A new paperback edition utilizing this text was issued by Ace Books
in 1982 as part of the standard edition of the Krishna novels. An E-book
edition was published by Gollancz
's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. The novel has been translated into Dutch
, French
, German
and Czech
.
As with all of the "Krishna" novels, the title of The Hand of Zei has a "Z" in it, a practice de Camp claimed to have devised to keep track of them. Short stories in the series do not follow the practice, nor do Viagens Interplanetarias works not set on Krishna.
-like Sunqar area of Krishna's Banjao Sea — and incidentally to find Shtain, who is suspected to have been kidnapped to Krishna. Arriving on the planet, the Earthmen travel to their goal in disguise as native Krishnans; Barnevelt himself is given the alias of the famous general, Snyol of Plesht, from the Antarctic nation of Nichnyamadze (setting of the Krishnan short story "Calories
"). Snyol's formidable reputation proves at various times both a boon and a hindrance to their mission.
The two are dogged at every step by pirates from the Sunqar who believe their true goal is to disrupt the pirates' smuggling operation. Complications arise when the two become embroiled in the affairs of the native monarchy of Qirib, whose princess Zei is kidnapped by the pirates. Dirk is ordered by Queen Alvandi to recover the princess while George remains behind as a hostage. Dirk must therefore take the lead in rescuing Zei, putting down the pirates, recovering Shtain, and settling the affairs of Alvandi's topsy-turvy kingdom, in which the women bear arms and the men languish in perfumed idleness.
To make matters worse, Dirk falls in love with Zei, an entanglement fraught with its own dangers and complications. Not only is she a princess, but as potential queen of Qirib she would have the responsibility of taking a new king-husband annually, ritually executing and feasting on each when his term as consort reaches its end. And even could that obstacle be overcome, as representatives of two different species Barnevelt and Zei could never be a true couple ... or could they?
genre, representing both a tribute to the Barsoom
novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs
and an attempt to "get it right", reconstructing the concept logically, without what he regarded as Burroughs' biological and technological absurdities.
As dated in the 1959 version of de Camp's essay "The Krishna Stories" and James Cambias's GURPS Planet Krishna (a 1997 gaming guide to the Viagens series authorized by de Camp), the main Krishnan events of The Hand of Zei take place in the year 2143 AD., falling between the second part of "Finished
" and The Hostage of Zir
, and making it the sixth story set on Krishna in terms of chronology. The introductory section of the story is set much earlier, on Earth in about 2132 A.D., and the final scene is set slightly later, on Krishna in 2144 A.D.
," The Hand of Zei may have been influenced by the author's then recent collaboration with Finn Ronne
on the non-fiction book Antarctic Conquest: the Story of the Ronne Expedition 1946-1948
(1949); the ghostwriter protagonist has a relationship to his explorer boss similar to the one de Camp had with Ronne, and adopts the alias of an inhabitant of Krishna's Antarctic region. Off all the Krishna stories only these two make use of the Antarctic setting.
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 written by L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
, the second book of his Viagens Interplanetarias
Viagens Interplanetarias
The Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels...
series and its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna.
As with some other de Camp works, The Hand of Zei has a convoluted publication history. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction as a four-part serial in the issues for October, 1950-January, 1951. The text was redivided into two parts for its first publication in book form by Avalon Books
Avalon Books
Avalon Books was a New York-based specialty science fiction publisher active from the mid 1950s through the late 1960s. It issued much of the hardcover material in the genre during the period, particularly in the earlier portion...
, appearing as the separate volumes The Search for Zei (1962) and The Hand of Zei (1963). To facilitate the new division, de Camp wrote a new ending for the first and a new beginning for the second to briefly recapitulate the portion of the story already told. The two parts were then reissued together in paperback 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...
in 1963, back to back and inverted in relationship to each other, as an "Ace Double". The Ace versions were slightly abridged by the author. The novel was published in the UK by Compact Books as The Floating Continent (1966). A restored text bringing both segments back together was finally published by Owlswick Press in 1981. A new paperback edition utilizing this text was issued 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...
in 1982 as part of the standard edition of the Krishna novels. An E-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
edition was published by Gollancz
Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. The novel has been translated into Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
.
As with all of the "Krishna" novels, the title of The Hand of Zei has a "Z" in it, a practice de Camp claimed to have devised to keep track of them. Short stories in the series do not follow the practice, nor do Viagens Interplanetarias works not set on Krishna.
Plot and storyline
Travel writer Dirk Barnevelt and lecturer George Tangaloa, associates of interplanetary explorer and documentarian Igor Shtain, are drafted on Shtain's disappearance to complete his commission to explore the Sargasso SeaSargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea is a region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current; on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. This...
-like Sunqar area of Krishna's Banjao Sea — and incidentally to find Shtain, who is suspected to have been kidnapped to Krishna. Arriving on the planet, the Earthmen travel to their goal in disguise as native Krishnans; Barnevelt himself is given the alias of the famous general, Snyol of Plesht, from the Antarctic nation of Nichnyamadze (setting of the Krishnan short story "Calories
Calories (story)
"Calories" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published under the title "Getaway on Krishna" in the magazine Ten Story Fantasy in the issue for Spring, 1951...
"). Snyol's formidable reputation proves at various times both a boon and a hindrance to their mission.
The two are dogged at every step by pirates from the Sunqar who believe their true goal is to disrupt the pirates' smuggling operation. Complications arise when the two become embroiled in the affairs of the native monarchy of Qirib, whose princess Zei is kidnapped by the pirates. Dirk is ordered by Queen Alvandi to recover the princess while George remains behind as a hostage. Dirk must therefore take the lead in rescuing Zei, putting down the pirates, recovering Shtain, and settling the affairs of Alvandi's topsy-turvy kingdom, in which the women bear arms and the men languish in perfumed idleness.
To make matters worse, Dirk falls in love with Zei, an entanglement fraught with its own dangers and complications. Not only is she a princess, but as potential queen of Qirib she would have the responsibility of taking a new king-husband annually, ritually executing and feasting on each when his term as consort reaches its end. And even could that obstacle be overcome, as representatives of two different species Barnevelt and Zei could never be a true couple ... or could they?
Setting
The planet Krishna is de Camp's premier creation in the Sword and PlanetSword and planet
Sword and Planet is a subgenre of science fantasy that features rousing adventure stories set on other planets, and usually featuring Earthmen as protagonists. The name derives from the heroes of the genre engaging their adversaries in hand to hand combat primarily with simple melee weapons such as...
genre, representing both a tribute to the Barsoom
Barsoom
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote close to 100 action adventure stories in various genres in the first half of the 20th century, and is now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan...
novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
and an attempt to "get it right", reconstructing the concept logically, without what he regarded as Burroughs' biological and technological absurdities.
As dated in the 1959 version of de Camp's essay "The Krishna Stories" and James Cambias's GURPS Planet Krishna (a 1997 gaming guide to the Viagens series authorized by de Camp), the main Krishnan events of The Hand of Zei take place in the year 2143 AD., falling between the second part of "Finished
Finished (story)
"Finished" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction in the issue for November, 1949...
" and The Hostage of Zir
The Hostage of Zir
The Hostage of Zir is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the seventh book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and the fifth of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the third Krishna novel. It was first published in hardcover by...
, and making it the sixth story set on Krishna in terms of chronology. The introductory section of the story is set much earlier, on Earth in about 2132 A.D., and the final scene is set slightly later, on Krishna in 2144 A.D.
Relationship to other works
Like the other early Krishna story "CaloriesCalories (story)
"Calories" is a science fiction short story written by L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published under the title "Getaway on Krishna" in the magazine Ten Story Fantasy in the issue for Spring, 1951...
," The Hand of Zei may have been influenced by the author's then recent collaboration with Finn Ronne
Finn Ronne
Finn Ronne was a U.S. Antarctic explorer.-Background:Finn Ronne was born in Horten, in Vestfold county, Norway. His father, Martin Rønne , was a polar explorer and served in Roald Amundsen's successful expedition to the South Pole...
on the non-fiction book Antarctic Conquest: the Story of the Ronne Expedition 1946-1948
Antarctic Conquest
Antarctic Conquest: the Story of the Ronne Expedition 1946-1948 is a 1949 science book by Norwegian-American Antarctic explorer Finn Ronne and science fiction writer L. Sprague de Camp, published in hardcover by G. P. Putnam's Sons. The role of de Camp, who was commissioned as a ghost writer to...
(1949); the ghostwriter protagonist has a relationship to his explorer boss similar to the one de Camp had with Ronne, and adopts the alias of an inhabitant of Krishna's Antarctic region. Off all the Krishna stories only these two make use of the Antarctic setting.