The Hostage of Zir
Encyclopedia
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 Berkley/Putnam
in 1977, and in paperback by Berkley Books
in 1978. A new paperback edition was published 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 Hostage of Zir was de Camp's first Krishna novel in a quarter century, the previous one (The Tower of Zanid
) having been written in 1952 and published in 1958.
As with all of the "Krishna" novels, the title of The Hostage of Zir 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.
" stereotype, he readies for his task as best he can and squires his flock off on their grand circuit of the northern Varastou nations among which the Terran spaceport of Novorecife is situated.
The first portion of the novel is an episodic account of their misadventures cruising down the Pichide River, in the Free City of Majbur, and the island kingdom of Zamba. The next few stops, including a visit to the republic of Katai-Jhogorai, are passed over summarily; the real action begins when the group reaches Baianch, capital of the northern kingdom of Dur. There, while taking the new railway to the end of the line, the party is kidnapped by Barré vas-Sarf, bandit ruler of the restive province of Zir. Barré hopes to use them as bargaining chips in his dispute with Tashian bad-Garin, prince-regent of Dur. Reith escapes, only to be captured in turn by the forces of Shosti, the Witch of Zir.
Shosti is Barré's rival for control of Zir and the leader of a local religious cult; her designs on Reith are quite different, as her prophecies lead her to believe she must mate with a red-haired Terran to engender a savior god. A previous captive, Felix Borel (protagonist of the earlier Krishna short story "Perpetual Motion
"), had been executed after failing to impregnate Shosti. Reith reads his own fate in Borel's, knowing Terrans and Krishnans are not interfertile – the latter, while near human in appearance, are an alien species. Once more he succeeds in escaping, subsequently leading a raid to free his tourists.
Apparently safe back in Baianch, Reith relates his adventures to Tashian, only to be tricked by the crafty regent into an intimate encounter with Vásni bad-Dushta'en, Princess of Dur, and then married off to her by force. Tashian's regency will last only as long as Vásni produces no legitimate male offspring, a lack her marriage to Reith will ensure. Separated again from his tourists, Reith grimly sets about planning yet another escape. This he achieves thanks to a fortuitous diplomatic visit to Baianch by Pandr (prince) Ferrian bad-Arjanaq of the island nation of Sotaspé, whom Reith had previously encountered in Zamba. Ferrian was the protagonist of the earlier Krishna short story "Finished
".
Returning to Novorecife, he learns his tour group has come back before him, and most of them have left the planet. He resolves to depart as well, but reconsiders when the guide of the second tour group to reach Krishna suffers an accident, leaving an opening for an experienced guide...
Fergus Reith would go on to become the main recurring character in the Krishna series, reappearing in a minor role in The Prisoner of Zhamanak
, and as the protagonist of The Bones of Zora
and The Swords of Zinjaban
.
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 James Cambias's GURPS Planet Krishna (a 1997 gaming guide to the Viagens series authorized by de Camp), the action of The Hostage of Zir takes place in the year 2145 AD., falling between The Hand of Zei
and The Prisoner of Zhamanak
, and making it the seventh story set on Krishna in terms of chronology. Cambias's dating may be too early, however, as internal evidence in Zhamanak indicates that it occurs shortly after Hostage, while internal evidence in The Bones of Zora
indicates that it occurs shortly after Zhamanak, with the events of "The Virgin of Zesh
" happening between. As "Virgin" is securely dated to 2150, this could shift the dating of Hostage and Zhamanak as late as 2148 and 2149, respectively.
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 seventh 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 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 Berkley/Putnam
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
in 1977, and in paperback by Berkley Books
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
in 1978. A new paperback edition was published 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 Hostage of Zir was de Camp's first Krishna novel in a quarter century, the previous one (The Tower of Zanid
The Tower of Zanid
The Tower of Zanid is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the sixth book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and the fourth of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the seventh Krishna novel. It was first published in the magazine...
) having been written in 1952 and published in 1958.
As with all of the "Krishna" novels, the title of The Hostage of Zir 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
Tour guide Fergus Reith arrives on the backward world of Krishna with a gaggle of tourists, the first such group to visit the planet. Though he is woefully unprepared and his charges collectively epitomize the "Ugly TerranUgly American
Ugly American is an epithet used to refer to perceptions of loud, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless and ethnocentric behavior of American citizens mainly abroad, but also at home...
" stereotype, he readies for his task as best he can and squires his flock off on their grand circuit of the northern Varastou nations among which the Terran spaceport of Novorecife is situated.
Shosti is Barré's rival for control of Zir and the leader of a local religious cult; her designs on Reith are quite different, as her prophecies lead her to believe she must mate with a red-haired Terran to engender a savior god. A previous captive, Felix Borel (protagonist of the earlier Krishna short story "Perpetual Motion
Perpetual Motion (short story)
"Perpetual Motion" 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 "Wide-Open Planet" in the magazine Future in the issue for September-October, 1950...
"), had been executed after failing to impregnate Shosti. Reith reads his own fate in Borel's, knowing Terrans and Krishnans are not interfertile – the latter, while near human in appearance, are an alien species. Once more he succeeds in escaping, subsequently leading a raid to free his tourists.
Apparently safe back in Baianch, Reith relates his adventures to Tashian, only to be tricked by the crafty regent into an intimate encounter with Vásni bad-Dushta'en, Princess of Dur, and then married off to her by force. Tashian's regency will last only as long as Vásni produces no legitimate male offspring, a lack her marriage to Reith will ensure. Separated again from his tourists, Reith grimly sets about planning yet another escape. This he achieves thanks to a fortuitous diplomatic visit to Baianch by Pandr (prince) Ferrian bad-Arjanaq of the island nation of Sotaspé, whom Reith had previously encountered in Zamba. Ferrian was the protagonist of the earlier Krishna short story "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...
".
Returning to Novorecife, he learns his tour group has come back before him, and most of them have left the planet. He resolves to depart as well, but reconsiders when the guide of the second tour group to reach Krishna suffers an accident, leaving an opening for an experienced guide...
Fergus Reith would go on to become the main recurring character in the Krishna series, reappearing in a minor role in The Prisoner of Zhamanak
The Prisoner of Zhamanak
The Prisoner of Zhamanak is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the eighth book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and the sixth of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the fourth Krishna novel...
, and as the protagonist of The Bones of Zora
The Bones of Zora
The Bones of Zora is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp, the ninth book of the former's Viagens Interplanetarias series and the seventh of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the sixth Krishna novel...
and The Swords of Zinjaban
The Swords of Zinjaban
The Swords of Zinjaban is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp, the eleventh book of the former's Viagens Interplanetarias series and the eighth of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the eighth Krishna...
.
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 James Cambias's GURPS Planet Krishna (a 1997 gaming guide to the Viagens series authorized by de Camp), the action of The Hostage of Zir takes place in the year 2145 AD., falling between The Hand of Zei
The Hand of Zei
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....
and The Prisoner of Zhamanak
The Prisoner of Zhamanak
The Prisoner of Zhamanak is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp, the eighth book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and the sixth of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the fourth Krishna novel...
, and making it the seventh story set on Krishna in terms of chronology. Cambias's dating may be too early, however, as internal evidence in Zhamanak indicates that it occurs shortly after Hostage, while internal evidence in The Bones of Zora
The Bones of Zora
The Bones of Zora is a science fiction novel written by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp, the ninth book of the former's Viagens Interplanetarias series and the seventh of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the sixth Krishna novel...
indicates that it occurs shortly after Zhamanak, with the events of "The Virgin of Zesh
The Virgin of Zesh
The Virgin of Zesh is a science fiction novella written by L. Sprague de Camp, the fourth book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and the third of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the fifth Krishna novel.It was first published in the magazine...
" happening between. As "Virgin" is securely dated to 2150, this could shift the dating of Hostage and Zhamanak as late as 2148 and 2149, respectively.